Context is Queen: Maximizing Engagement with Premium Sites

The company that your ads keep can significantly shape brand perception, either enhancing or undermining it. Ads placed on high-quality sites, such as reputable editorial and news sites, are generally more effective.  Our Teads measurement programme reveals that the news category in particular, consistently drives higher levels of attention in both live and lab testing environments. 

Through the Trinity Project, an extensive study of the open web conducted in partnership with Havas, we saw that deeper engagement with the content, slower scroll speeds and longer time spent with the assets are key drivers in effective advertising.  This engagement stems from contextual relevance, which boosts attention and subsequently, brand impact.

 

At Teads, our direct integration with publisher content allows us to have access to an array of signals including content type, topic and sentiment, across 2 billion monthly page views in 30 different languages. This data is analysed via tools such as Teads Ad Barometer for both targeting and consumer insight purposes, enabling us to deliver the right content to the right person at the right time in the right environment; creating  a seamless user experience where the ads feel like a natural part of the content rather than a distraction.

We are not alone in this thinking. The “Power of Context” report by Integral Ad Science (IAS) revealed that ad recall is higher when ads are relevant to the content.  Furthermore, 81% of people prefer ads that align with what they are viewing, and 65% of consumers hold a more favourable view of brands that offer contextually relevant ads.2

When audiences respect the content, they are more likely to respect the ads around it, leading to increased trust and favorability towards the advertised brands.  This principle also holds true for ad delivery.  In the Attention Economy work we conducted in partnership with dentsu, we revealed the importance of aligning with consumer expectations.  Teads ads are designed with consumers in mind, soliciting interaction on a voluntary basis through native ads that blend seamlessly with the content.  This approach not only enhances the user experience but also doubles the impact for advertisers in the same amount of time.3

In our recent ‘Value of Traditional News’ study conducted in the US in partnership with Lumen, we discovered that trusted news sources and engaging content were the key drivers of attention and brand outcomes, irrespective of whether the news was classified as ‘traditional’ or ‘soft’4.  Traditional news topics like politics, the economy, foreign policy, war, and climate generate stronger reader interest, resulting in higher content engagement (time spent on articles) and greater attention to the ads within them.

This increased attention in traditional news environments ultimately drives better brand outcomes, as metrics like brand recall improved by 77% with higher levels of attention. At the same time, when speaking of audience perception, 69% of consumers report that advertising in what might be considered “disconcerting” news does not negatively impact their perception of a brand, while 94% of US consumers have a neutral or positive perception of brands that advertise in “quality” news content.  In short, traditional news generates higher levels of attention to the ads, driving stronger brand results.4  When brands are not afraid to take a stand and are placed next to traditional news topics, it can help them stand out from the crowd and encourage audience engagement. 

By prioritizing context, at Teads, we are fostering a sustainable ecosystem where investment in high-quality, interesting, and relevant content benefits consumers, advertisers, and publishers.  It provides a unified ad targeting strategy that is easily scalable across different platforms, ensuring that brand messages remain consistent and effective regardless of where they are consumed. 

Contextual targeting allows marketers to place ads in environments that are directly relevant to the content being consumed, increasing the likelihood of the ads resonating with the consumers and driving higher engagement rates.  While content remains king, context is queen; premium content evokes positive emotional responses, enhancing ad effectiveness in a privacy-first manner.

To download the latest “The Value of Traditional News” study, click here.

Written by Anita Caras, International Vice President of Insights and Measurement, Teads

Sources:

1. Based on over 4,000 live campaign Teads have tested Globally 
2. The Power Of Context,  IAS, Sep 2020, 500 UK Respondents
3. The Attention Economy 2021, Teads & dentsu US & UK.
4. The Value of Traditional News 2024, Teads & Lumen, 900 US Respondents.  NB – Traditional news encompasses subjects like politics, the economy, foreign policy, war, and climate. In contrast, soft news includes areas such as sports, health, entertainment, style, and travel.