The global native ad market will swell to to nearly two-thirds of all mobile display ads and will comprise nearly $53 billion in ad spend by 2020 according to research from Facebook.
The social media giant commissioned research from global business analyst IHS Technology for its Audience Network, as part of a bid to push take-up of the platform. In March, it bolstered Audience Network with the launch of the Native Partner Program, which allows app publishers using one of the approve third-party platforms to tape into Facebook's native ad formats.
The new study, called 'The Future of Mobile Advertising is Native” predicts that 75.9% of all digital ad spend will be mobile in less than five years.
In the Asia-Pacific region specifically, native advertising will reach $14.1 billion by 2020 and third-party in-app native (advertising which is served by a third party onto a publisher's app) will reach $3.6 billion.
Asia-Pacific is also looking at the largest regional increase in native advertising spend in the next five years at a 177% compound annual growth rate between 2015-2020.
"The growth of the native ad market – to $53b by 2020 – is a mandate against bad ads,” Facebook says in a statement. “Native is the best experience for people because it respects their experiences, especially on mobile. For publishers, this can mean longer time spent on your property and increased revenue. For advertisers, native can mean more value for your business.”
The study also found that engagement is between 20-60% higher with native ads than standard banner ads. Banner ads can often be ignored as people have trained themselves not to look at the top or bottom of an app; the most common locations for banner ad placement.
Native is also more likely to drive higher retention, eCPMs and click-through rates, the report claims.
Speaking to AdNews, Big Mobile CEO Graham Christie says that there is no doubt native is one of the main driving factors in the mobile ad space, but he says native will evolve hugely in that time.
"What we'll see in the next five years to 2020 is what is considered native will change," Christie says.
"What we're hearing from brands is that they are really looking at ways to avoid being in a controlled, homogenised environment."
Christie says Facebook has already recognised this need with its move to Canvas, which has given brands a more creative platform for brand storytelling.
"What is considered native and what is considered rich-media format display will start to blur considerably," Christie says.
"Brands are advertising to stand out. They need to not just get an ROI in terms of performance, but they need to get attention.”
Facebook also broadened the reach of the Audience Network platform in January, giving publishers the tools to sell advertising across mobile advertising.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.