I’ve talked before about the emergence of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Chief Customer Officer (CCO). The C-suite is evolving once again. This time it’s the Chief Native Officer (CNO). What is this new role all about? What is it meant for? Why would you need a CNO in your organization? Before I explore these questions, let’s explore native advertising.
Native advertising – When genuine endorsement and paid advertisement enter each other’s orbits
Ever spot the term “sponsored content” on content that looks identical in structure, layout, and format to regular articles on a website? These are native ads – ads that are not meant to look like ads. What purpose do they serve?
The biggest advantage of native ads are that they don’t look like ads. This is why they provide a much less disruptive advertising experience. There’s a common misconception that if an endorsement is paid, it can’t be genuine. Native ads turn this idea on its head. I think it’s absolutely possible to endorse a product with genuine intentions despite receiving compensation to support it. I do agree that the line can be blurry so the content needs to be really good.
Native ads are getting bigger
In a 2014 report, BI Intelligence found native ads to be more effective than traditional ads. This is especially true on mobile devices. The report also predicts native ads to hit the $21 billion mark by 2018. With Facebook Newsfeed ads and promoted tweets quickly becoming major sources for ad revenue generation on social media, the arena of social-native is expanding rapidly.
Now that we understand the current state of native ads, let’s discuss the role of a CNO.
Chief Native Officer – Tying the paid and earned media strategies
As digital content continues to evolve, organizations will need to bridge the gap between their paid and earned media efforts. All this must happen with the emphasis on creating engaging content. Today, the roles of PR and ad agencies greatly overlap. This creates a mishmash of paid and earned media services, and presents many opportunities for brands to create a common, unified brand messaging strategy combining paid and earned media through native ads. According to a Mediapost article, Native Advertising Shakes Up Agency And Brand Ecosystem, “the role of the CNO will not only satisfy marketers’ needs for engaging content, but also ensure their clients’ paid and earned media strategies have a cohesive theme and voice.”
Dedicated Leader
The biggest reason to get a Native Officer is that while digital agencies and publishers work together, they don’t necessarily do so as a team. In fact, there are instances where they don’t see eye to eye. While publishers are great at creating content, they can treat branded content like a “second-class citizen.” On the other hand, digital agencies consider themselves star content creators for brands. In such circumstances, there’s a pressing need for a “dedicated task force” to exploit native ads to their fullest potential. The CNO should lead this pack, guiding the brand towards rewarding native advertising campaigns and best practices.
