Programmatic trading is already standard practise across digital display and digital video.

Programmatic native advertising works in a similar way – by serving native ad placements across sites on an impression basis, using real-time data and technology so that only the most relevant native advertisement is displayed to a specific user. 

The technological innovation around programmatic native advertising means that advertisers now have the ability to deliver tailored advertising messages, in real time, direct to customers.

Below are five creative changes that will become more important as native advertising is traded programmatically.

Mobile will grow in importance

Native advertising is undoubtedly the best ad medium for mobile. Feeds are fast becoming the most effective way for brands to distribute content and mobile advertising is all about the feed.

In-feed native ad placements perform exceptionally well on the small screen, particularly if you compare them to the performance of display on most mobile devices.

And mobile native ads are the defacto way to target Millenial audiences with advertising messages. Programmatically traded native advertising will see an explosion in the number of native ad campaigns running on mobile. 

Image will be even more important

Most native advertisers and publishers are aware of how important a good image thumbnail already is for their campaigns, especially for campaigns that run on mobile ‘small screen’ devices.

Research shows that we process images 60,000 times faster than test and can increase engagement by as much as 94%.

As the data grows to back this up multiple images, tested rigorously, updated regularly, will become the norm for programmatic native ad campaigns of the future. 

Video will get personal

According to Getty Images, its best-selling video of 2014 was one shot from a dog’s perspective.

The company saw increased sales of ‘point of view’ or first person visuals grow among mobile creatives and consumers.

GoPro video technology and other tech innovations make creating this style of content easier – it’s a trend that is likely to continue in native advertising.

Likewise we can expect to see new innovations in up-close and personal video content, with HD quality increasingly the driving force behind this. 

The power of the word will grow

There are already many tried and tested strategies for improving native advertising CTR; it’s common to run multiple headlines and descriptions with campaigns.

But as the data available increases and uniformity of measurement and analysis grow, there will be greater emphasis on real-time adjustments to native campaign headlines and descriptions – driving engagement levels ever higher.

We will have more time for creativity

Native advertising is arguably the most creative digital ad format there is. The content opportunities are endless, but the scalable technology and real-time bidding of programmatic ensure that there will be few technological or audience limitations to those creative ideas. 

We have only just scratched the surface on what the creative possibilities are for native advertising.