Power of Native

February 2022

Background & Methodology

WHAT

In order to understand thevalue that Native
recommendations bring to
publishers and advertisers,
Outbrain partnered with
Savanta to conduct aquantitative online researchstudy amongst consumers
18+.

Data has been weighted on age and gender to represent census data

WHEN

WHO

Between December 2nd,
2021 and January 4th, 2022

N=9,159 Consumers in thefollowing countries:• US: n=1,017• UK: n=1,007• France: n=1,015• Germany: n=1,004• Italy: n=1,039• Spain: n=1,050• Israel: n=1,014• Australia: n=1,003• Japan: n=1,010

Executive Summary•

Consumers are shifting towards more intentional online behavior.
• 21% are planning to spend less time on social media within the next six months. The most popular
alternatives to passively browsing on social media include moving offline (39%); switching toeditorial sites, such as news and lifestyle websites (36%); and working or studying (33%).

•Online content on editorial sites (e.g., news and lifestyle sites) is more positively perceived than socialmedia sites.
• 75% trust editorial sites compared to 54% for social media sites. This trust is particularly notable
among household decision makers.
• Consumers are also more likely to trust ads on editorial sites (68%) versus social media (55%). Ads
on social media are least trusted across sites.
• Ads on social feeds are considered the most intrusive ad format while native ads, mimicking thelook, feel, and surrounding editorial content are seen as the least intrusive (also compared todisplay and paid search ads).

•Personalized recommendations and visual experiences are increasingly important to consumers.
• 53% of those 18-24 consider a fully customized visual experience unique to their preferences to be
their ideal experience.

Online Behavior &Content Trust /Preferences… and room for a pic.

While the majority expect to spend similar amounts of time on social media in the next 6months, 1-in-5 plan to spend less time – going offline, focusing on work/study, and visiting
news and lifestyle sites instead
What to Do Instead of Social Media
Anticipated Time Spent on Social
Media in Next 6 Months
58%

Same amount of time

21%

Less time

10%More time

39%

36%

33%

18%

Getting offline

News/Magazine andLifestyle/Hobby Sites(Net)*

Working or studying

Streaming content forentertainment*National news/magazine websites (19%), local news/magazine websites (17%), and lifestyle and hobby sites (15%)
Q22. Which of the following describes how you anticipate the time you spend on social media to change in the next 6 months? n= 9159
Q23. You mentioned that you plan to spend less time on social media in the next 6 months. How do you anticipate you will spend this time instead? n= 1899

16%

Online shopping

Content and recommendations found on sites with editorial content like news, special
interest/hobby, and lifestyle sites are significantly more trusted than recommendations onsocial media sites
Content and Recommendations Trust
Search engine results (A)

85% BCDEFGH

Retailers / shopping sites (B)

80% DEFGH

Special interest or hobby sites (C)

79% DEFGH

News sites (D)77% EFGH

Lifestyle and culture sites (E)Financial and investing sites (F)69% FGH
58% GHSocial media sites (G)54%

Blogs, forums, and online communities (H)53%

A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H denote significantly higher than other group at the 95% confidence level
Q2. How much do you trust the content and recommendations you find on each of the following? %s reflect T3B (Completely + A lot + Somewhat)
N=9159Average:75%

Household decision makers are more likely to trust the content and information they find on
editorial environments than non decision makers; the reverse is true on social media
Content and Recommendation Trust by DM Authority
Decision Maker (A)Non Decision Maker (B)Search engine results

74%

Retailers / shopping sites

73%

News sites70%

80% B

78% B

70% B
65%

Lifestyle and culture sites

60% B

Financial and investing sites

52%

Social media sites

54%

Blogs, forums, and online communities

81% B

68%

Special interest or hobby sites

87% B

63% A

54%
57%

A/B denote significantly higher than other group at the 95% confidence level
Q2. How much do you trust the content and recommendations you find on each of the following? %s reflect T3B (Completely + A lot + Somewhat)
N=9159 | Decision Maker: N=8157 | Not a DM: N=577

Average:
Decision Maker: 76% B
Non-Decision Maker: 69%

Advertising found on sites with user generated content like social media, blogs, and online
communities is significantly less trusted than advertising found on search engine results,
editorial sites, and retail sites
Ads TrustSearch engine results (B)

68% EFGH

Retailers / shopping sites (C)68% EFGH

Special interest or hobby sites (A)

70% BCDEFGH

News sites (D)67% FGH

Lifestyle and culture sites (E)Financial and investing sites (F)

66%

FGH

59% GH

Blogs, forums, and online communities (G)56%Social media sites (H)55%

Average:
68%

A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H denote significantly higher than other group at the 95% confidence level
Q3. How much do you trust the advertising you see online from each of the following? %s reflect T3B (Completely + A lot + Somewhat)
N=9159 | <34 years old: N=3,331 | >34 years old: N=5,828

Younger age groups(<34 years old) generally
trust online ads morethan those 34+

Consumers prefer to see their recommendations personalized with headlines

Sentiment Towards Types of Recommendations
Don't care

Personalized recommendations (A)16%

Hate it

Dislike it

8%

19%

Headlines (B)

19%

6%

Static (still) images (C)

20%

7%

21%

Animations or video (D)

16%

10%

21%

18%

Like it

T2B(Net)Love it

44%

46%

44%

39%

13%

57% CD10%

57% CD

9%

53%

14%

53%

Household decision makers are
significantly more likely to preferpersonalized recommendations(59%) and headlines (58%) thannon decision makers (54% and52%)

A/B/C/D denote significantly higher than other group at the 95% confidence level
Q8. How much do you like it when a site you're currently on presents you with content recommendations using each of the following? T2B reflect “love it”+ “like it”.
N= 9159 | Decision Makers: N=8,157 | Non-decision Makers: N=577

Consumers are also receptive to fully customized visual experiences for theirrecommendations, with younger age groups overwhelmingly preferring an evolving
experience unique to their preferences
Ideal Recommendations Experience
A fully customized visual experience thatevolves based on preferences (A)

36% C

A standard visual experience that is
consistent every time they visit the site (B)

35% C

No preference (C)28%

18-24 years
old(A)

25-34 years
old(B)

35-44 years
old(C)

45-54 years
old(D)

55+ years
old(E)

53% BCDE

48% CDE

40% DE

36% E

23%

31%

36% A

37% A

38% AE

34%

15%

16%

23% AB

26% ABC

42% ABCD

A/B/C/D/E denote significantly higher than other group at the 95% confidence level
Q9. When you are visiting a site that provides personalized content recommendations, which of the following would you say is your ideal experience?
N=9159 | 18-24: n=1,344 | 25-34: 1,987 | 35-44: n=2,055 | 45-54: n=1,529 | 55+: n=2,244

Native Format
Perceptions

Native ads are considered the least intrusive ad type while social feed ads are the mostintrusive
Most to Least Intrusive Ads

29% BCD
26% D

25% D
20%

Social Feed Ad (A)Display Ad (B)Paid Search Ad (C)A/B/C/D denote significantly higher than other group at the 95% confidence level
Q17 Which type of content would you consider the most intrusive?
N=9,159

Native Ad (D)Consumers in APAC are
particularly averse to display ads

7-in-10 see Native Ads online with some frequency and the majority trust themFrequency

Trust

6%

7%
All the time
23%

Completely

14%

Most of thetime

64%

A lot

44%
40%

Occasionally

Somewhat

Seldom

Not much

17%
13%

30%
Never

Q10. When you are visiting a website, how often do you see content similar to this on the website? N=9,159
Q13. When you come across content like this, how much do you trust information you find when you click on it? N=7,975

Not at all6%

Who Trusts Native Ads?
AgeHousehold Composition

GenderAverage: 43
28%
18%
20%

55+

Kids
under 18
39%

Average: 43Male
Female51% 43.4 49%

45-54

No kids
59%

35-44
25-34

21%
14%

18-24

Education
Purchase Decision Authority

Some high school or less9%

Completed high school
51%
Primary

41%
SharedNot a DM

6%

Some college

35%
13%

Completed college
Completed graduate school

Q13. When you come across content like this, how much do you trust information you find when you click on it? %s reflect completely + a lot + somewhat
N=7,97522%
10%

Demographics

Global Demographics
Age
18-24

Education
Some high school

12%

25-34

18%

Completed high school

25-4418%

Some college45-54

18%

Completed college

55+

9%
35%
13%
22%

Completed graduate school

35%

10%

Post graduate school

Employment
Employed full time

GenderFamily Composition

7%

Internet Usage
3%

44%
6%

Employed part time

Student

Not employed
N=9,159

49% 51%

16%

5%

Male Female
33%

Childrenunder 1833%

More thanonce a day
Once a dayLess thanonce a day90%About SavantaFull-service, global,
market research agency
Branded in 2018, Savanta was built through acquisition of decades-old
research firms but with the nimble passion of a modern start-up450+
Staff
Offices in New York, London, Toronto,
San Francisco, Philadelphia, Delhi,
Oxford & Cambridge

18

Publicly traded parent company

Savanta Hub
We provide clients with the ultimate international
audience reach.
Savanta utilizes technology to provide instant access to hundreds ofconsumers across the globe via the Savanta Hub. All partners aremeasured against Savanta’s rigorous quality checks and only those
who qualify are able to join the Savanta Hub.

100 600 95mconsumers

19+

profile points+countries