This document discusses challenges and lessons learned from building a native advertising platform. It covered trying separate, hybrid, and combined approaches for sponsored and editorial content. Key challenges included weak storytelling tools, complex technical changes, and data discrepancies across systems. The lessons were to create a common definition of native, experiment aggressively by not architecting from scratch at first, and to invest heavily once successful approaches are found. It also recommends building native directly into applications for benefits like no ad blocking and low latency.

1. DOs DONTs
NATIVE

2. We’ll cover challenges in three areas
!
Product
!
Technology
!
Operations

3. IF YOU WANT
TO GO HOME
NOW…
Native is not an
evolved banner
Experiment… a lot
Change more
than ad product

4. Our Product Mission
Build a scalable, flexible
branded content machine
A platform with the stability &
consistency of display
Support 20 different brands
and editorial workflows
Enable unique, experimental
revenue models for our sellers

5. What did we try?

6. SEPARATE
SYSTEMS
FOR SPONSORED AND
EDITORIAL CONTENT
Completely separate
production workflows
APPROACH #1
Everything served via
native ad server
Centrally controlled &
scalable

7. QUALITY
THE CHALLENGE
Exacerbated ad/
editorial divide
Weak storytelling
tools

13. QUALITY
THE CHALLENGE
Exacerbated ad/
editorial divide
Weak storytelling
tools

14. A HYBRID
APPROACH #2

15. A HYBRID
Editorial CMS for
branded contentAPPROACH #2
Ad server for
promotional drivers

16. COMPLEXITY
Complicated tech
change managementTHE CHALLENGE
Insane production
coordination

17. 13 steps across at least 6 teams
… for each and every campaign

18. Ad blocking
Latency
DISCREPANCIE
S
ANOTHER CHALLENGE!

19. DISCREPANCIE
S
ANOTHER CHALLENGE!
Native ad
server
Advertiser ad
server
CMS

20. CMS
Publisher ad
server
Native ad
server
Advertiser ad
server
DMP
DISCREPANCIE
S
ANOTHER CHALLENGE!
Contextual
analytics
Analytics

21. COMBINE
SPONSORED AND
EDITORIAL CONTENT
APPROACH #3

22. COMBINE
SPONSORED AND
EDITORIAL CONTENT
1-for-1 parity with
editorial UX
APPROACH #3
Access to editorial &
content optimization tools
Ad / editorial
alignment

23. What did we learn?

24. COMMON
DEFINITION
OF NATIVE
CREATE A
Native advertising
Branded Content
Sponsored Edit
Sponsored Content
LESSON #1

25. EXPERIMENT
AGGRESSIVELY
LESSON #2 Resist the urge to architect from
scratch (you’re going to get it
wrong)
Then, make a big bet to force
org & roadmap alignment
AND INVEST HEAVILY
ONCE YOU FIND SUCCESS
De-risk while experimenting

26. BUILD NATIVE
INTO YOUR APP
MAKE THE INVESTMENT
LESSON #3
No ad blocking
Low latency
High quality
Editorial wins, too

27. DOs DONTs
NATIVE