Brief:
- Native advertising will grow its share of U.S. display ad spending to 65% next year from 48% in 2016, researcher eMarketer estimated. U.S. advertisers will boost spending on native display ads by 25% this year to $43.9 billion, the company said.
- Native advertising also will grow its share of nonsocial digital display ad spending to 34% by 2020 from 26% last year, eMarketer forecast. Programmatic is the preferred buying method for nonsocial native ads, which are typically seen on mobile phones.
- Facebook will be the biggest beneficiary of the growth in native ad spending, with 96% of native ad spending going to social digital display ads, eMarketer said.
Insight:
Native advertising, which eMarketer describes as digital ads that match the design of a specific user experience and look like natural content on a platform, is overtaking digital media as brands seek to reach audiences who have shifted their media consumption to social media and mobile platforms. Native formats are becoming more popular on mobile apps, but eMarketer said that many traditional display unites are still being traded programmatically. The firm doesn't expect native ads to completely take over the display market as in-stream video inserts also become a more popular format for digital advertising.
Social advertising also influences nonsocial native campaigns, which may see more programmatic buying as advertisers get more experience with programmatic native ads outside of social networks, eMarketer said. Buy-side native platforms like Bidtellect give advertisers a way to reformat assets created for social and distribute them in other channels.
EMarketer's forecast echoes earlier research that shows significant growth in mobile native ads. By 2020, 89% of U.S. native ads will be mobile, up from 85.2% last year. In addition, 88% of native will be purchased programmatically in 2020, up from 87% last year. The share of native that comes from social will slightly decline from 77% in 2018 to 74% in 2020.
