Programmatic native advertising is one of the most powerful forms of advertising. 

It’s a non-intrusive and relevant ad experience for audiences. It’s an effective, flexible and cost-efficient form of advertising for advertisers. And it’s a smart revenue stream for publishers.

Last year programmatic native surged amid the pandemic. And we predicted that growth to continue into 2021. How’s that prediction holding up?

The latest major partnership in programmatic native: Condé Nast and Verizon

Programmatic native has rapidly advanced over the last six years and continues to evolve with new deals. 

The latest: Condé Nast’s partnership with Verizon. Condé Nast brands including Glamour and Vanity Fair will be creating content for Yahoo digital publications. Using Verizon’s demand-side platform (DSP), supply-side platform (SSP), and XR capabilities, the partnership will bring new opportunities for their advertiser and publisher customers. 

The platform will enable interactive advertising experiences and shoppable content in consumer categories, including Beauty, Food and Fashion. 

“With a unified ad platform, we’re able to bring premium content and commerce experiences to consumers, and unique and meaningful revenue opportunities to our advertiser and publisher customers,” said Iván Markman, Chief Business Officer at Verizon Media.

There are surely more partnerships like this to come. Over the next five years, the programmatic native market is expected to grow significantly. 

With this growth, interactive and engaging content will be a top priority for marketers and publishers.

MediaRadar Insights

Here at MediaRadar we regularly track programmatic native advertising trends. The most recent data confirms that buying and spending are clearly increasing in this space. 

• From January to May in 2021, there were 1,900 advertisers spending $2.6bn. In comparison, 926 advertisers spent $1.9bn in 2020.

• The 37% increase in spend and the 105% increase in the number of advertisers lines up with the predicted growth in this space.

• Programmatic native advertising year-to-date has a 9% retention rate. 181 advertisers returned to the space.
  • Of those advertisers, their spend accounts for 34% of all spend in the first five months of the 2021 ($866mm).

• Returning brands include: 
  • The Motley Fool
  • Pandora Jewelry
  • Microsoft
  • Amazon
  • Deloitte.

• Top spending brands from this year who were not in the programmatic native advertising space January – May of 2020 are: 
  • Clorox
  • SkyLux Travel
  • Caudalie
  • Poland Spring
  • Chewy.

Just as ad tech leaders anticipated, programmatic native is experiencing growth. But the low retention rate signifies that it’s not the only option for brands. We’ll continue monitoring overall patterns and top spenders to help inform your growth strategy.

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