If you own a high-end brand or are a media buyer, you’ve probably harnessed the potential of native advertising. The topmost platforms for native ads include Outbrain, Taboola, RevContent, and Yahoo Gemini, but there are also several others. If you’ve been working on Outbrain, you’ve likely noticed that this traffic source has added a bunch of new formats. The company is located in Israel and is one of the top players in the world of native advertising. Outbrain now has a selection of super exciting ad formats you can check and select.
Unveil Keynote Event at Outbrain
Recently, the platform released its Unveil event, which is its keynote. Here, you can read their latest announcements and information about new products on the market. The Unveil event of March 2022 was all about going digital due to COVID. Here are some of the main highlights and ad formats you might find interesting.
The Clip Format
Videos are garnering significant interest as super conversion growing tools in the past few years on social media like Facebook. Now, they are also taking the world of native advertising by storm. At Outbrain, videos are not just tools for raising brand awareness but also performance-driven. The end goal here is to generate conversions.
With that context, understand that a Clip is a 10-second video or gif, with an “end card” at the end. This card displays a Call to Action and enables advertisers to introduce their products in more detail. The exciting thing about this strategy is that it’s conversion-driven. Outbrain also mentioned that by using Clip, advertisers could double their conversion rates, which is incredible.
The Story Ad Format
Story ads are similar to Instagram stories, but they are available on websites on the open web. Brand owners and advertisers who are already using stories on Instagram can sort of recycle their content. They can use the Story ad format to, perhaps, connect with other audience demographics. Users on Instagram are typically from the younger generation, and Story ads might just be the perfect way to reach out to them on the open web.
The Zoom Experience
The Zoom Experience on Outbrain is another interesting way to integrate native advertising. If you scroll down on an article, you will see a big picture covering a mobile phone's full screen. When users scroll further, they’ll notice that the image gets somewhat smaller. It will now display a logo and a “Buy Now” button. They may also see a quick introduction about the brand and a Call to Action. The page design is dynamic and smartly configured to be visually appealing and cover the user’s screen as they read.
Zoom Advertising is Unlike Typical Native Advertising Features
Interestingly, the Zoom Experience is entirely uncharacteristic of native advertising because, as a rule, native ads are unobtrusive. Or, they don’t interrupt the user experience but only add to it or enhance it. When readers scroll through the page they have selected, the Zoom Experience ad obstructs their view. There’s nothing natural about this ad, unlike typical native ads like image ads, which appear at the end or bottom of the reader’s chosen page. Ad formats like these indicate that Outbrain is ready to be bolder and experiment with not-so-subtle advertising moving forward.
The Takeaway!
If you were to check back with the Unveil Event at Outbrain, you would have noted these three new ad formats. At the event, Outbrain also announced several other features like new bidding strategies and technology they introduced. If you’ve been looking for more information about whether these formats actually work, watch this space. At Purple Black, we will test these formats and use our algorithms to gather relevant data. Meanwhile, feel free to get in touch with us by clicking here and adding your contact information. We also provide free consultations.
