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Caring is sharing, and the mantra doesn’t get old at the Native Advertising Days, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary by returning to the UK capital for an edition called ‘London Calling’ from May 13-14.
The irony in that choice of title is not lost on the experienced delegates, as the floorspace has always been a clash-free zone in which the industry’s most renowned movers gladly share their innermost secrets working in the native advertising/content industry.
For newbies, though, this novelty won’t wear off in a hurry. The look on their faces as the inspirations come thick and fast is something to behold.
Jesper Laursen, the founder and still the chief executive of the Native Advertising Institute, has succeeded in cultivating a community where selflessness trumps ‘the self’ – to the extent that ‘Caring is Sharing’ has become a badge of honour
The delegates keep on returning to this ‘Circle of Friends’ because the insights keep on delivering, and this has enabled the industry to get stronger and wiser together.
As one jury member remarked: “Let’s shape the future together.”
It's not all gloom: It's time to get excited about AI and get busy
“We’re all doomed”, “It’s all about survival”, “We’re the last generation” – it sounds like the end of days, but by the conclusion of Day 1 of Native Advertising Days, there was no disputing what had been the most pressing subject on most jury members’ minds: our old friend AI.
Or 100 interns (or why not experts) giving you ideas), a focus group giving you insights, and ultimately a level playing field initiator – the jury members had different ways of describing AI, but were in full agreement about the need to engage it, explore the possibilities and evolve.
So it was no surprise to see AI dominate proceedings during the round-table discussions. And then when the jury members’ attention was diverted by a presentation and a panel discussion, AI inevitably came into view each time.
Axel Springer’s co-presenters Juliane Sydow and Yvonne Beister took us on a hero’s journey – the classic storytelling structure in which the hero (AS working in a normal world disrupted by new tech) is guided by an older, wiser character (like Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars) – because their company is getting a lot of mileage out of regarding AI as their mentor.
In a short time, AS has created two AI tools: MIA, which handles digital sales, and Hey, a storytelling tool made with help from Microsoft, which in return gets to train its AI models using AS content.
Hey, in particular, has been a revelation. It enables readers of a story to ask questions as they scroll – and already the average time spent on a story has doubled from four to eight minutes.
Interaction, gamification, dialogues with brands, and all the time learning more about the readers – consuming a story is clearly no longer a linear experience!
Why stop at AI prompts when you can make you own AI tools
The takeaways continued to flow during the panel discussion where Yvonne Beister was joined by Justin Cross from Dotdash Meredith and Max Schuler from Schibsted Brand Studio.
Both gave presentations of AI-driven models their companies have created – to enhance reader engagement and sales of native ads to small and medium-sized companies respectively.
Max, in particular, raised eyebrows, because his model is unapologetically disruptive – but the choice is doing nothing and watching the walls crumble.
Justin, on the other hand, served up a daintier morsel: an interactive recipe provider, which assesses your resources and may very well end up recommending … crumble.
The excitement among the audience was palpable as jury members fought to ask them questions … and to get their contact information after the discussion ended.
“I’ll have to steal this one”, “I can give it to you”, “I’ll show you mine, if I show you yours” – again the caring and the sharing!
“You have put together a community that truly cares, and that’s rare,” a jury member told Jesper Laursen as he departed.
Mind a little blown, a full evening to digest, the jury member will return tomorrow, excited about what Day 1 will bring.
