Our CEO, Todd Sawicki, presented at the Digiday Summit this spring about the rise of content ads. At Zemanta, we’re firm believers in using content to drive business goals. While marketers are natural storytellers, they don’t always have the channels to tell their story at scale. That’s where content distribution come in. But with an increase in the quality of content available, brands also need a customizable way to promote content beyond banners. Enter content and native ads.
New Paradigms in Digital Marketing
Content and native ads fit seamlessly into the content where they are placed, it doesn’t even look or read like an ad. Best of all, these ad formats enable content writers and marketers to place personalized messages into the content — messages that can engage the consumer without being disruptive. This way, ads can become an integral part of great content. When you combine this new level of personalization with the advances in audience data and RTB technology brands can now reach in-market consumers where ever they are.
If you’re a media buyer there’s a good chance you’ve experimented with content or native advertising. Maybe your clients have content they want to promote or you’re researching alternate channels because display is underperforming against your top-of-funnel goals. But it’s hard to develop a content program without understanding its ad formats, how it compares to other media channels and what (if any) standards exist.
In his presentation, Todd covers a wide variety of topics, including:
- A working definition of content ads and their place within the marketing funnel
- The difference between “content” and “native” ads
- How the content and native ad ecosystems have evolved over their short horizon and why programmatic will play a critical role in scaling this channel.
- Examples of ad format diversity
- Evolution of Zemanta’s business as a Content DSP
- Some predictions for technical standards that could speed up innovation