The snowball effect of native advertising

Contestants for the celebrity episode of Holiday Swap KZN.

With US regulators now pushing for distinction between online ads and articles the line between sponsored/paid for and earned content is more blurred than ever.

That's where native advertising comes in - it's a clear marketing message, but formatted and worded in such a way that it's not just a strong call-to-action to 'buy the brand' - it actually offers consumers helpful, entertaining information that leaves them wanting more. Exceedingly commonplace in the print and online realm, it's now raising its head in the world of broadcasting, with increasing success.

Launch Factory's Holiday Swap KZN branded content reality TV show is an excellent example of this. It effectively showcases domestic destinations and gets the target market returning for more. All the booking tools were cleverly provided for viewers to book the experience they had just seen on TV via web, mobile or a call centre. The show increased in viewership every week of its run and the rest is history, especially as growing local tourism is high on the government's agenda and is one of SA Tourism's objectives.

The outcome was so impressive that it went on to win the award for the Most Native Ad Format at the Drum Content Awards in the UK on 19 November, beating off stiff international competition and the only SA company to win on the night. Launched last year, the awards honour the best in modern marketing, with this award recognising the rise of native advertising.

View the Holiday Swap KZN ad screener embedded below for an idea of the concept:

It's hardly a surprising win when you look at the success of some of Launch Factory's other shows. Take Airtel Touching Lives, now produced in five African territories and recent winner of Best Community Relations Programme of the Year in Ghana for the third time. Or Ghana's Vodafone Healthline - so successful it's now in its fifth season. There's longevity, community interest and a strong sense of nation-building present, also clear in the Holiday Swap KZN concept.

Spero Patricios, MD of Launch Factory, tells us more...

1. What does the Drum Content Award win mean to Launch Factory?

Patricios: It cements the fact that branded content has become a formidable force in marketing. It's refreshing to know that as South Africans, we can compete amongst the best in the world and win. When we first embarked on this branded content journey 12 years ago, it was uncharted waters. It's good to see that it's now not only recognised as a powerful marketing tool, but also being awarded and that that our work is acknowledged internationally and recognised as some of the beast work in the world.

2. Talk us through the relevance of native content.

Patricios: When it comes to engaging television, it's important to create content that is engaging for the viewers and then craft the brand message as part of the entertainment. Consumers of media are very fickle and have so many choices that it is vital that we engage the viewers in the entertainment way before we introduce the brand, and the brand - although subtle - is the hero. For example, our Healthline show, now in its fifth season, is the TV brand for Vodafone. Healthline is now a brand on its own and has developed into a call centre, online medical assistance portal and added much more value to the brand's bottom line.

3. A true snowball effect. Describe the rise of branded TV content and how you expect it to further change the local media landscape.

Patricios: Media buying has become very difficult, but in essence the traditional way of purchasing media is that of 'renting' viewers from the broadcaster. That's because the media owner purchases or commissions content, and makes a concerted effort to increase viewership and then sells advertising opportunities around that content. Branded content allows the brand to then begin to own its own audiences by creating bespoke content that is relevant to their audience.

It's an old cliché now, but the internet and mobile have truly changed consumer viewing habits. In the age where the consumer has the power and is in control, the question was, 'how do we engage our viewers outside of the 30-second commercial'? The answer was to convince brands to own the full 30-minutes of content, and therefore start to win their audiences and drive them to various media platforms where engagement can happen on a number of various levels.

With engagement the order of the day across the industry, we're bound to see more native content bursting onto our screens soon.

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