Dive Brief:
- Native ads aren't new, but appeared to have a Renaissance in 2014.
- To commemorate the best branded content of the year, Sharethrough released its list of the most shared sponsored content of the year on social media.
- The winner went to Intel's listicle "15 Things We Did At School That Future Students Will Never Understand," published on BuzzFeed. Second place went to Smartwater's "7 Simple Exercises That Undo the Damage of Sitting," published in Art of Manliness, and third place went to Anthem Blue Cross's "The Expendables 3 Cast Interview," published in Complex.
Dive Insight:
The branded content that made it on the list had tens of thousands of shares, proving the power of truly effective sponsored content for a brand. If advertising trends keep moving in this particular direction, native ads only look like it will increase in relevancy for 2015. Take a look of the full list here.