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Established: 1996
Location: Austin, TX
Employees: 150
Post Date: 12/31/2013
Publication: Huffington Post
The banter around native advertising — and more specifically native content publishing — reached fever pitch this year. Every man and his dog had a view on how it should be defined, measured, labeled, scaled and priced. And while the the jury may still be out on a number of these issues, one thing we do know here at HuffPost Partner Studio is bloody good native content when we see it.
It is with that in mind that we compiled our list of the top native content campaigns for 2013 (ourselves excluded, naturally). Our selection criteria ties closely to our definition of native advertising; that is, advertiser-sponsored content that is transparent (i.e., clearly-labeled as such) and authentic to the platform, its readers, and the sponsor.
Developing: Residents Embrace Bizarre New Bird Species
Brand: White Wing
Publisher: TheOnion.com
Integration: A fictional special news report on the White Wing, "an odd never before seen bird" spotted in Shiner, TX
This is a great example of native content that is organic to the publisher's platform — it truly shares the same sensibility as other Onion content. Although The Onion, as a satirical news site doesn't have to play by the same rules as traditional publishers, a sense of humor goes a long way toward making a piece of content memorable. The piece offers a winking, knowing tone that goes over-the-top in product placement, but somehow still works.
