Consumers Look At Native Ads More Than Display, According To New Sharethrough Study

Over the past several months, Sharethrough worked with IPG Media Lab complete the industry’s first native ad effectiveness study using both eye-tracking and survey-based techniques.

The goal of the study was to measure visual attention and brand lift for native ads from top brands, including National Geographic, Southern Comfort, and a premium travel brand in comparison to traditional display ads.

After surveying 4,770 consumers and using eye-tracking technology on 200 consumers, some of the more telling statistics were:

• Consumers looked at native ads 53% more frequently than display ads.
• 25% more consumers were measured to look at in-feed native ad placements (the most common editorial native ad format) than display ad units.
• Native ads registered 18% higher lift in purchase intent and 9% lift for brand affinity responses than banner ads
• 32% of respondents said the native ad “is an ad I would share with a friend of family member” versus just 19% for display ads.