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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/325830
C A N A D A W I D E M E D I A L I M I T E D P r o m o t e d C o n t e n t and the ability to comment on and share a thoughtful piece of brand journalism. Lastly, native has worked initially because it's presented in a trustworthy environment—one where the media outlet has effectively vouched for the quality and integrity of the advertiser due to its deeper leniency to interact with the reader. But native ads can also annoy your customers… … by shilling your brand in media that is off-brand Sure, you can make your bank look cool in a youth culture magazine. After all, what marketer wouldn't want to engage the under-30 crowd early. But if your native ad on a skate and surf site is all rad and sick in-stream on the youth site yet appears as a lame old dude in dad jeans on the other side of the click-through to your site, then you're just confusing everyone. The lesson: ensure continuity in all your marketing. That includes the media outlets with which you place native ads. … by forgetting about the call to action It's all well and good if you tell a great story about your brand in 400 words (and better yet if your prospects actually inish reading it) but you have to make direct response a priority. Think about it: you've hooked someone to stay a while and drink your Kool-Aid. Are you going to just let them walk? Get them to take a sample package of powder. Or leave their business card for a chance to win a free jug. Or get them to share their own Kool-Aid mix. You get the idea. Provide value for your prospect's time with your native ad. … by being boring and irrelevant Too many publishers create dry marketese for clients and call it "native." A sales pitch at 500 words is still a sales pitch. Publishers are increasingly devoting more time and craftsmanship to native ad creation. It's the only way for this nascent ad unit to grow. A boring and irrelevant shill is a waste of your ad money and your prospect's time. Ensure that your ad appears in a host media outlet's proper vertical and complementary context. In-stream and contextual is why you paid way more for a native ad, after all. —Tom Gierasimczuk Native ads also provide that rush of engagement that a solid content marketing project delivers: time-on-site approaching two minutes and the ability to comment on and share a thoughtful piece of brand journalism p148-155-CWM40.indd 154 14-06-04 11:46 AM