On the whole, it may appear that native advertising has hit a plateau — but MediaRadar insight shows that the ad format shows no sign of slowing within the B2B space.

We included native advertising in our four types of B2B advertising to watch in 2019, with every indication that native ads only have room to grow within B2B markets.

Now, MediaRadar research has found that B2B native advertising saw a huge amount of growth from 2018 to 2019.

Native Advertising Growth Based in Value for B2B

Native advertising is a relatively new ad format that provides value to both brands and their audience.

Jesper Laursen at the Native Advertising Institute points to this value: “Native advertising is still an advertising method in its infancy, but it is already a thriving and dynamic one — where new offerings, new partnerships, and new opportunities are evolving quickly.”

John E. Lincoln, CEO of Ignite Visibility, writes that native ads were initially founded in the value that content marketing brought B2B brands: “Native advertising is born out of brands finding better and more direct ways of getting their content in front of their target audience.”

Given those insights, the growth of native advertising for B2B is not surprising in and of itself.

What is more surprising is just how much B2B native advertising grew from 2018 to 2019.

MediaRadar found that native ads saw 50 percent year-over-year growth. It’s the highest rate of increase when compared to mobile, video and display advertising.

In contrast, the three other ad formats considered saw a small portion of this growth rate:

Mobile only saw a 20 percent increase.
Video saw a 13 percent increase.
Display saw just an 11 percent increase.

Display ads remain the most common ad format used by B2B advertisers, but its growth doesn’t even come close to that of native advertising.

Native Ads: A New Means of Engagement for Advertisers and B2B Publications

The growth of B2B native ads in 2018 was both rapid and stable. The number of B2B brands utilizing native ads grew every quarter in 2018, rising from just over 400 in the beginning of the year, to more than 600 by year’s end.

The growth points to both how popular native advertising has become and at how B2B publications are getting better at incorporating it into what they offer advertisers. “According to our data, it seems that native content has developed and matured,” says MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman. “Proving that native advertising is here to stay and serves as one of the more stable and reliable forms of advertising when compared to mobile, video and display.”

Its growth is stable, its RPO is reliable and its format is engaging.

Among all B2B industry categories, the top contributors to this massive native advertising growth were realtors, legal services and tech recruiting.

While not poised to overtake display ads, native ads clearly hold promise as advertisers and publications work together to bring value to their target audiences.