A study called "Benchmarking the Effectiveness of Native Ads" states that the visual attraction of native ads (52%) is more frequent than with traditional banner ads. The study, which used eye-tracking tools, was conducted by Sharethrough and the IPG Media Lab with the aim to identify the impact of banner ads of top brand on the web.
The main findings of the study were:
71% of respondents described native ads as ads that they "personally identify with"; this number stands against only 50% for banner ads.
32% of respondents agreed that a native ad "is an ad I would share with a friend or family member." However, only 19% would do so with a banner ads.
25% of respondents looked more at in-feed native ad placements than at banner ads.
Native ads achieve a 18% increase in purchase intent versus banner ads that get a 9% upside for brand affinity.
Spot On!
The interesting point about this study to me was that native ads and editorial content move closer to another. Almost the same percentage of respondents said they looked at native ads (26%) next to editorial content (24%). However, they potentially spend more time viewing the content compared to native ads.
Is this more proof that content marketing is increasingly becoming important for companies and brands?