The native ad for Shell in The Washington Post jumps out from the rest of the page with its yellowish background color screen
I, for one, am happy to see that digital platforms are not the exclusive domain for native advertising. In fact, I have advocated it as recently as three months ago during a presentation for a group of European editors.
There is no doubt in my mind that advertising has always had a special lure and attraction to our audiences, while not necessarily to the editors who produce content for those readers.
Now The Washington Post has taken that first step to include a native ad in print. This is not another advertorial, mind you.
It is a specifically tailored ad for a page with content related to that of the Shell advertising.
“Unlike print advertorials of the past, the content does not appear as an insert or in standard ads; instead, it is integrated among editorial stories on the page featuring background shading and ‘sponsor generated content’ labeling,” Post spokeswoman Jennifer Lee said.
Interesting to note that Shell can be considered a pioneer already in the area of native advertising. Since 2013, the petroleum firm has ran a series of native ads as part of The Economist, emphasizing the environment, society and the role that Shell plays in what it refers to as “running a safe, efficient, responsible and profitable business.”
I am sure that newspaper publishers everywhere will be looking at The Washington Post native ad in print initiative with great interest. Many will rightfully conclude that this is part of new owner Jeff Bezos’ initiatives to reinvent the old and respected brand.
