International Media Support and CityDog Media

Teh

2O22

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 2

International Media Support and CityDog Media

1. Executive Summary and Introduction .................................... 3

2. What Is Native Advertising? ............................................. 6

3. The CityDog.by Example ................................................8

4. Media Outlets and Native Advertising ...................................11

4.1 The Team ........................................................... 12

4.2 Workﬂow ............................................................15

4.3 Budgeting ...........................................................21

4.4 Content Distribution .................................................21

4.5 Communication with Clients ........................................22

4.6 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ...................................24

5. Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising ...................25

5.1 Special Thematic Projects – LOCALS, Moldova .......................26

5.2 The Annual Contract and Deﬁned Media Plan – Varosh, Ukraine .......31

5.3 A Creative Agency for Social Change – Platfor.ma, Ukraine. . . . . . . . . . . . 36

5.4 Native-only Content Monetization – Kloop, Kyrgyzstan ..............42

5.5 Native Podcasts and Video Stories – YOUR.TJ, Tajikistan .............46

6. The Native Advertising Toolkit ...........................................51

7. Takeaways ..............................................................55

СONTENTS

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 3

International Media Support and CityDog Media

1. Executive Summary

and Introduction

International Media Support and CityDog Media

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 4

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Generating income is crucial to the

viability of any news media, whether they

are non-proﬁt or for-proﬁt organisations.

Quality journalism costs money to

produce. But ﬁnding diversiﬁed revenue

sources to pay for it is a fundamental

challenge. We need to continue to

delve into the different ways quality

news and information can make money.

By focussing on income, we bring the

economic problems facing journalism

to the fore, providing a starting point

for media viability that is focussed on

business practices.

IMS is committed to strengthening our

media partners as organisations and

businesses so that they can defend and

assert their editorial independence.

Finding workable revenues is a key

component of this work – revenues plural,

because research and experience indicate

that in most media ecosystems today,

media need to draw on a variety

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

of income streams in order to survive.

Our approach to business viability is

to ignite interest and enable capabilities

in local contexts for future-oriented

responses, so that our media partners

can harness their entrepreneurial spirit

and feel more conﬁdent in the business

side of their operations. Our support is

tailored to each media partner’s needs

and where they are in their development.

In the politically pressured and fragile

economies in which our partners

operate, the barriers to starting a media

organisation are relatively low, but the

barriers to sustainability are anything but

that; a challenge too often exacerbated

by ethnocentricism. Little research into

what makes journalism sustainable is

focussed on these kinds of economies.

In particular, native advertising,

featured topics and heroes

• Advertisers and the magazine must

act as partners

• Most importantly, the magazine must

preserve its full editorial independence

regarding all the content it produces.

But the publication’s commercial

department, consisting of two full-time

managers, works hand-in-hand with the

editorial team, which produces both

editorial and commercial content

This long-term partnership model has

proved to be sustainable even during

the Covid-19 crisis, economic stagnation

and political turmoil in today’s Belarus.

The secret to this success is the added

value of the special projects and long-

term partnerships. For the brands it

became a way to stay connected with and

show support for their customers during

hard times. For CityDog, partnering with

the brands allowed both to create and

disseminate content that was relevant

and meaningful for audiences when they

needed it most. While Belarus remained

locked down on the ground and in the sky,

CityDog’s special projects explored life

in different cities and uncovered hidden

history jewels across the country.

As citizens took their daily activities

online, CityDog spotlighted cybersecurity

issues. Most importantly, the model

has helped the magazine to never stop

inspiring its audience to dream and not

to abandon hope.

CityDog is a leader of native advertising

not only in Belarus but in the broader

post-Soviet region. CityDog’s business

model is driven by native advertising

revenue. As a result, the magazine’s

team is constantly reﬁning its

techniques and strategies to improve

the model and to make it work more

effectively and efﬁciently with its

limited human resources and budget.

The magazine is open to sharing its

model and know-how with other

independent media.

The Playbook’s “Media Outlets and

Native Advertising” section (Section 4)

presents CityDog’s model in detail,

including how to: build a team, organize

workﬂow, budget for a native advertising

project, measure effectiveness and

communicate with partners. Moreover,

the Playbook’s principles can be easily

adapted for different types of native

advertising models.

THE CITYDOG.BY EXAMPLE

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 11

International Media Support and CityDog Media

4. Media Outlets

and Native Advertising

4.1 The Team

4.2 Workﬂow

4.3 Budgeting

4.4 Content Distribution

4.5 Communication with Clients

4.6 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

12THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The optimal native advertising team

should, at a minimum, consist of

professionals in the following roles:

• Project manager

• Native project editor

• Content creator (generates ideas and

formats to meet clients’ objectives) *

• Author *

• Photographer/Videographer*

• Designer/Layout *

• IT specialist *

• Proofreader *

• Content distributor/SMM manager *

* Not all these positions need be full-

time; some may be combined with other

editorial work or outsourced to freelancers.

The creative/production team is a subset

of these individuals, including the:

• Native project editor

• Content creator

• Author

• Photographer/Videographer

• Designer/Layout

The composition of every team

responsible for creating a speciﬁc

native project should be determined

on a unique basis; each project will be

different and the team must reﬂect the

project’s objectives, scale, complexity

and deadlines, as well as the outlet’s

editorial and business model, human

resources, skills, and technical capacity.

4.1 THE TEAM

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

13THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The project manager’s responsibilities include:

• Processing incoming partnership requests from new

or existing clients

• Identifying potential clients/partners

and negotiating with them

• Cross-selling different advertising options to maximize

beneﬁts for both the client and the outlet

• Managing the project, including:

• Consulting with clients

• Preparing contract documents

• Tasking the project’s creative team

• Implementing project management

• Overseeing deadlines and fullling the project’s agreements

• Tracking the project’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Assessing the project’s results, impact and effectiveness

• Preparing a report for the client

• Debrieng the client and the production team

• Developing recommendations for future initiatives

4.1 THE TEAM

ATTENTION:

Project manager ≠ Native editor

The project manager is responsible for

the project’s logistics, communication

with the client and compliance with all

agreements between the client and the

media outlet.

The native project editor is in charge

of organizing the workﬂow within the

creative team and the production cycle

for the outlet.

ATTENTION:

Attempts to combine these

fundamentally different roles

into one individual is problematic

and is a common cause of strain

The project manager’s qualiﬁcations should include:

• Deep understanding of the local advertising market

• Strong communication skills

• Interest in digital media, including digital advertising

and publishing

• Understanding the speciﬁcs of content advertising and how

to assess its effectiveness (client investment vs. KPIs)

• Experience in preparing commercial offers

• Ability to identify clients’ goals and objectives

• Ability to formulate and set tasks for

the creative team

In addition, the position should include the following

preferences:

• Higher education degree in marketing, management or media

• Work experience as a project manager in media or IT

• Contacts with advertising agencies and sales houses,

and/or direct contacts with potential clients

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

14THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Tip 1: If your media team has individuals

with different sets of competencies, they

can combine several roles.

CityDog has had cases in which one

person performed several roles within its

native advertising projects. Some possible

combinations include:

• Author and photographer

• Author and designer/layout

• Native project editor and proofreader

• Native project editor and content

distributor

• Content creator and native project editor

This approach can be effective initially,

when an outlet is just entering or

beginning to experience growth in the

native advertising market. However,

as volumes increase, it is crucial to

more clearly delineate team roles

and/or expand the team. If this is not

done in a timely fashion, the outlet

risks confronting a number of serious

problems, including team member

burnout, missed deadlines, decline in

the quality of creative ideas and project

implementation, and loss of clients and

revenue.

Tip 2: If your client offers existing

photo and video materials for use in your

joint native advertising project, make sure

they match the tone of voice and visual

style of your outlet and will not look

out of place on your website.

If the client’s visuals are in harmony

with your media, integrate them into

the project and save money on visual

production.

In most cases, however, it is better to

create all content in-house using your

creative team to ensure that the project

is really native for your media outlet and

your audience.

4.1 THE TEAM

Helpful Tips for Effective Team Approaches

Tip 3: When brainstorming creative

ideas and formats for a project, be

sure to maintain its objectives and the

outlet’s user experiences at its core.

Complicated formats and unusual

designs might not always be the best

solutions in making a project more

effective. Consider if any off-the-shelf

formats and/or templates that have

already proven to be effective for your

outlet might work better in achieving the

project’s objectives. This strategy can

help save time and money on production.

Moreover, readers like familiar and user-

friendly formats; with them, audiences’

interaction with the project’s content

will be more predictable and positive.

If ready-made solutions do not meet the

project’s objectives and/or if your client

insists on an innovative format and is ready

to pay for it, do not limit your creativity.

Go for it and don’t be afraid to experiment!

Tip 4: If a client proposes a one-time

request for an interactive native advertising

format (a quiz, survey, poll, etc.) and you

lack an off-the-shelf solution in your

portfolio, it might make more sense

economically to use one of the many

existing external tools (see TOOLKIT

section) instead of investing time and

money in developing your own solution.

Tip 5: If your outlet wants to start using

new and complex native advertising formats

(podcasts, videos, games, etc.) and plans to

include them in projects on a regular basis,

this might be the right moment to expand

your team’s in-house capabilities.

However, you can start this process by

outsourcing the production of initial

formats – partially or fully – to professional

video and sound production teams/studios.

This strategy will help your outlet to ensure

quality, save on costs, and learn about the

process for the future.

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

15THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

You are part of a dynamic media outlet.

Its mission, vision, target audience

and content policies are well-deﬁned.

Your team is maintaining or building

its brand recognition. You are ready to

enter the native advertising market and

to offer added value to your outlet’s

audience and potential clients.

4.2 WORKFLOW

A Step-by-Step Guide to Native Advertising

This is what you need to do:

• Bring together a creative/production team

• Refocus and reshape the worldview

of your sales/commercial department:

unlike display ads, native advertising is

not about pushing direct and volume

sales; it is about building a two-way

communication model between your

media outlet and its speciﬁc audience

and commercial partners and brands

• Produce basic guidelines and tools (i.e. a

media kit, native advertising brief, contract,

email and presentation samples, Customer

Relationship Management (CRM) systems)

that will help your project managers

to effectively position your outlet,

explain your native advertising offers,

and demonstrate successful examples

to potential clients – success in sales

depends on these steps to a great degree

• Design the process of receiving and

processing information from the client

about its objectives in and expectations

from a native advertising partnership

• Elaborate and ﬁne-tune the creative

process of developing project ideas

and proposals (project ideas, concepts,

content, formats, presentations, etc.)

• Determine a clear, accurate and

understandable pricing process

• Always remember that quality

content and striking presentation and

implementation are the basis of every

successful native advertising offer

• Automate and optimize workﬂow,

whenever possible. For content

distribution, use Social Media

Management (SMM) systems, such

as SMMplanner or Hootsuite, or ﬁnd

other similar services here. For project

management, consider using Slack and

Trello

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

16THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

STEP 1:

Assign a project manager

• If you have several on your team, assign

a speciﬁc manager to a speciﬁc project

based on:

• Workload

• Experience

4.2 WORKFLOW

The Process

STEP 2:

Gather information about the potential partner’s company/brand

• Ask the client to ﬁll out your native advertising brief (for an example, see Platfor.ma). Never skip this stage, as a well-

completed brief is the foundation for the next steps and a guarantee of productive cooperation

• The brief should include – but not limited to – the following information:

• The client’s name and contact information

• The name of the company/brand/product

• A description of the client’s target audience

• A description of the brand/product/service the client would like to advertise

• What is unique about the brand/product/service or what makes it different from its competitors?

• What is the overall goal of the advertising campaign?

• What are the campaign’s specic objectives?

• Does the client have a specic format of native advertising in mind? If so, which? (provide a list

of options offered by your media outlet)

• The client should provide some references to/examples of advertising projects he or she liked

• What absolutely must be included/mentioned in the native advertising campaign (messages, images, colors, product

placement, etc.)?

• Is there is a strict deadline for when the project should start? Ask the client to indicate a timeline

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

17THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

STEP 3:

Introduce the client and its request to the team

• The project manager organizes a meeting with

the core editorial team and introduces the client

and the brief

• CityDog uses the following tools to foster project

communication and team coordination:

• Trello (with Trello bot integrated into Slack)

• Slack

• Email

• Daily staff meetings

• Weekly meetings of the project team (project

manager, native project editor, key team members)

STEP 5:

Reach agreement with the client

• Present the project proposal to and

discuss it with the client

• Once the project plan is initially approved,

prepare a contract

• Clearly deﬁne payment agreements

and procedures in the contract (CityDog

normally works via advance payments)

• Sign the contract

STEP 4:

Brainstorm creative ideas

• Produce a maximum of 3 quality ideas per project

• Decide on format(s) to be used

• Assign a native project editor (based on topic,

formats and experience)

• Deﬁne the topic for the native advertising material and write

a synopsis (or, for a longer-term special project, create a media plan)

• Form a production team, based on the formats and scope

of the project

• Develop a detailed project plan and KPIs

• Produce a project budget

• Prepare a project proposal and presentation for the client

4.2 WORKFLOW

The Process

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

18THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

STEP 6:

Implement the project

• Responsible team members → project manager and native project editor

• Native project editor → topics and synopsis

• Native project editor → production team

• Questions from production team: content related → native project editor; logistics → project manager

• Production team → draft to native project editor (including all visual materials)

• Native project editor → editing process

• Designer → design and layout

• IT specialist → coding (when needed)

• Native project editor → draft materials to project manager

• Project manager:

→ Reads, checks, corrects

→ Commercial director

→ Lawyer (if needed)

→ Proofreader

→ Link to preview to the client

STEP 7:

Gain ﬁnal client approval and if...

YES

• Assign a publication date

• Inform the native project editor, editor-in-chief and content

distribution manager that the material is ready

for publication

• Publish

MAYBE

• Client → edits

• Project manager → discusses edits with native project editor

• Native project editor and project manager → determine

which edits are acceptable and which are not

• Project manager → communicates and negotiates ﬁnal edits

with the client

ОК → YES /NO → CANCEL

CANCEL

• Manager negotiates the conditions for terminating

the contract without publication

4.2 WORKFLOW

The Process

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

19THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

STEP 8:

Start post-production activities

• Distribute the content across different platforms

• Monitor and collect feedback from readers (comments, likes, shares)

• Recommend the client participates in discussions regarding reader feedback

• Gather and analyze KPIs (website and social media)

• Prepare a performance report with KPIs achieved and feedback for the client

• Debrief with the creative/production team and broader editorial team (lessons learned)

STEP 9:

Close the project

• Prepare and sign necessary documentation

• Submit the performance report to the client

• OPTIONAL → debrief with client

• Postmortem: what could we do differently to achieve better results?

• Is there an interest in continuing cooperation?

• Study past client campaigns and examples of similar projects

• Hold a set-up meeting

• Form a project team

• Brainstorm

• Conduct intermediate meetings and exchange ideas

• Finalize the project idea – topic, format, duration

• Prepare budget

• Create a presentation with a project proposal

• Meet with the client

With longer-term special projects,

the brainstorming and project development

stage is slightly different:

4.2 WORKFLOW

The Process

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

20THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

4.2 WORKFLOW 4.2 WORKFLOW

Basic Rules for Project Idea Brainstorming A Media Outlet’s Objectives for Native Projects

• Include the project manager, editor,

content creator and author

• Focus on discussing why and how the

client’s product/service/brand can be

interesting or useful to your audience

• Don’t be afraid to voice your ideas,

even if they sound unconventional

or obvious – they may stimulate the

team’s creative thinking. There are no

bad ideas at this stage

• While brainstorming general creative

ideas, don’t do a deep dive as too

many details may slow or prevent

the generation of alternative ideas.

Details should be discussed at a later

stage, once the project idea has been

formulated

• Create quality, useful, interesting

and relevant content for the audience.

Keep readers’ interests and pain

points in mind

• Use formats native (i.e. typical) for your

media outlet

• Write catchy (but not misleading or

click bate) headlines – they should be

engaging, emotional and empathic

• Develop visually-rich but user-

friendly content (photos, illustrations,

infographics, etc.). Readers like this

type of content and are more likely to

share it, thus organically promoting the

project

• Engage readers by using different

tools such as promo codes, polls,

surveys, interactive formats and micro

interactions. Give your readers the

possibility to actively participate in,

not just passively consume, content

• Use, when possible, existing solutions

(your own or external), but always test

whether they work correctly on different

devices and in different browsers/

operating systems before publishing

and distributing your native materials

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

21THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

ATTENTION: The principles of pricing

native projects are fundamentally

different from the process of

determining the cost of display ads!

Cost components:

• Management costs

• Content creation costs (editor,

authors, photographers/

videographers, design, IT solutions,

purchasing graphic (and/or audio/

video) materials, etc.

• Costs of placement on your website

and content distribution across

different platforms

• Paid promotion in social media

and/or search engines

• Your proﬁt margins

4.3 BUDGETING

External factors to consider when

planning your budget:

• Competitors’ advertising products

• Competitors’ KPIs

• Competitors’ prices

Other Important Elements:

• Consider account surcharge coefﬁcients

(i.e. time-sensitive, holiday season, post

payment)

• Limit the number of free editing rounds

in the contract (CityDog permits up to

three). If the client comes back again

with more edits, charge extra

• Offer discounts for loyal clients (mark-

downs for advertising agencies and

sales houses, bulk discounts for direct

contracts with clients, special offers

for returning clients, etc.)

4.4 CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

To be visible where your readers are,

utilize:

• Browsers (push notiﬁcations)

• Email (thematic and personalized

e-newsletters – use Mailchimp or other

services)

• Search engines and their services

(Google and regional/local ones)

• Social media

• Messengers

• Ofﬂine events

Tailor and package your content for your

social media pages, public thematic

groups and messengers:

• Interact with users on different

platforms, using their native engagement

tools

• Remind your readers about your project;

promote it in several waves but don’t

overdo it

• Try organic reach in social media ﬁrst;

use paid promotion for speciﬁc targeting

needs or to boost the reach of the

project later, if necessary

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

22THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

4.5 COMMUNICATION WITH CLIENT

Recommendations to Improve Client/Partner Relations

Reach a Common Understanding:

• Make sure your outlet has developed

a detailed native advertising brief

• Explain, convince and insist that every

client ﬁll out completely a brief for each

native project

• Ask questions to clarify anything that

is unclear in the brief

• Indicate a realistic timeframe for the

project’s implementation

Promote Effective Communication:

• Develop a professional media kit (see

examples at CityDog and 34travel);

it will save you lots of time and is a big

step toward signing a contract

• Try to establish direct contact with your

client/partner. Avoid intermediaries,

if possible

• Promote points of contact by assigning

one project manager and one native

editor to each project

• Inform your client/partner about any

changes in the project beforehand,

NOT after the fact

• If your written communication becomes

stuck, talk to your client (schedule a

telephone call or a personal meeting)

Maintain Professional Commitments:

• Be very attentive and careful when

budgeting for the project

• Study, analyze and follow advertising

and other laws in your country

• Respect copyright laws in all content

production

• Draw up a contract that will protect

your outlet and team. Closely read

the client’s version of the contract

before signing it (if necessary, suggest

amendments)

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

23THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

best to meet the objectives. Never give

an approximate or average estimate,

which might be misleading, until you

have properly formulated your project

proposal and closely calculated all costs.

Once the client approves your project

idea and proposal, then you can negotiate

the ﬁnal budget.

“We don’t like your suggested project

idea/topic/format. Can you ﬁx it?”

When brainstorming creative ideas for

a native advertising project, remember

that it should address and meet the

client’s objectives, as laid out in the brief,

correspond to the style and tone of your

media outlet, and serve your audience.

The project’s ideas/topics/formats are not

supposed to meet the personal tastes of

the client. If you face this situation, ask

the client for detailed arguments and

always refer to the brief. This may help

you both to come to an agreement.

“We don’t like your headline.

Can you use ours?”

If your headline truly matches the tone

of voice of your media outlet,

corresponds to the content of the article

and is empathic, try your best to defend

it, preferably in writing. If the client still

insists on dictating another headline,

you will be protected against his or her

claims should the altered article be less

effective or not meet the project’s KPIs.

“We don’t like the style of the native

article and have completely rewritten it.

Will you publish the attached version?”

This approach is completely

unacceptable, as it contradicts the key

principles of native advertising. It also

might mean that either the brief or the

contract, or both, were not prepared

correctly. Once the project proposal

and plan are approved, the client can

“We would like to place a native ad on

your website. We already have an article

prepared. Is this possible and what is

the price?”

Ready-made paid articles or press

releases are a form of direct advertising.

Media outlets – not clients – create and

produce native advertising content.

As the name suggests, the content is

native to the publication and its audience.

“We would like to partner on a special

thematic project. How much

will it cost?”

There is no standard price – one price

does not ﬁt all. The price depends on the

scope, length and format of the special

project. It is impossible to quote a price

upfront, before the client completes the

brief, since you can’t know the client’s

objectives, what the company wants to

promote, and what formats will work

4.5 COMMUNICATION WITH CLIENT

Common Questions from Clients

only conduct fact checking and make

suggestions for edits, but not change or

rewrite the article.

“There are negative comments about the

article. That means your editorial team

did a bad job. What should we do?”

You cannot control what readers write

in comments. Sometimes negative

commentators are linked to the client’s

competitors. In other cases, the article

generates a public discussion and readers

may have different opinions on the

subject. Try to explain to the client that

the best and most productive strategy is

to engage with the commentators and to

join the discussion constructively, instead

of blaming and shaming or, even worse,

censoring them. This will strengthen the

client’s image in the eyes of the audience

and potential customers.

Media Outlets and Native Advertising

24THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The Client’s KPIs:

• Quality of the project’s content and

its technical execution

• Referrals from the native article

to the client’s website and/or social

media pages

• Lead generation

• Sales conversion rate

• LTV (Life Time Value) – total worth to

a business of a customer over the entire

period of their relationship

• ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend) –

amount of revenue earned on every unit

of currency (i.e. dollar) spent on

advertising

Native Project KPIs to Pitch

to the Client:

• Reach on the website (unique

views, page views, scroll rate)

• Engagement and reach indicators

on social media

• Qualitative feedback from readers

(comments, discussions, etc.)

KPIs Your Media Outlet Should Track

and Analyze:

• Audience reach on website – unique

views, page views, and socio-

demographic reader proﬁle

• Engagement – the share of users who

read native articles

• Scroll rate – how far internet users

read the article (for example, if a scroll

rate is below 50 percent, then users

read on average less than half

of the article)

• Time spent on the post

• Bounce rate

• Number of likes in social media

• Reach on social media – reactions,

comments, and shares

• Click Through Rate (CTR) analysis

• Qualitative feedback from readers

4.6 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

Keep in mind:

• CTR and lead generation are linked

directly to the demand for the

client’s product or services. Native

advertising formats are not designed

to and cannot guarantee them

• The same applies to sales

conversion. Native advertising

is designed to increase brand

recognition and build a relationship

with customers, not to generate

direct sales. However, including

promo codes or other forms of

user engagement, if possible, might

stimulate sales

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 25

International Media Support and CityDog Media

5. Different Aspects and Examples

of Native Advertising

5.1 Special Thematic Projects – LOCALS, Moldova

5.2 The Annual Contract and Deﬁned Media Plan – Varosh, Ukraine

5.3 A Creative Agency for Social Change – Platfor.ma, Ukraine

5.4 Native-only Content Monetization – Kloop, Kyrgyzstan

5.5 Native Podcasts and Video Stories – YOUR.TJ, Tajikistan

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

26THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

City: Chisinau, the capital of Moldova

Languages: Russian, Romanian

Launch: 2011

Team: 5 full- and 5 part-time/freelancers

Type of media: Digital city magazine

Audience:

• Website: 250,000 users/month

• Facebook: 41,500+ followers

• Instagram: 10,600 followers

Native Advertising Focus:

Special Thematic Projects

In the ﬁrst decade of the 21st century,

post-Soviet cities were undergoing

fundamental transformations and modern

urban culture was emerging. As part of

this process, groups of urban activists and

media professionals founded digital city

magazines in the capitals of several former

Soviet republics. These new media are

not only reporting on and documenting

the changes taking place in these cities,

but are also participating directly in urban

Moldova is a former Soviet republic in Eastern

Europe with a population of 2.6 million. Freedom

House’s 2021 Freedom in the World report rated

the country as “Partly Free” in terms of political

rights and civil liberties. Its 2021 Nations in Transit

report noted that a drastic drop in 2020 advertising

revenue due to Covid-19 affected the ﬁnancial

stability of the media. Reporters Without Borders’

2021 World Press Freedom Index ranked Moldova

89 out of 180 countries, stressing the “excessive

inﬂuence” of oligarchs. IREX’s ﬁnal Media

Sustainability Index in 2019 found Moldova’s

indicator for business management by independent

media to rank in the “Unsustainable Mixed System”

category due, in part, to the “monopolization” and

small size of the advertising market. According

to Statista, ad spending in the digital advertising

market was projected to reach $40 million in

2021, a growth of 10%. The average ad spending

per user in search advertising, the market’s largest

segment, was projected to amount to $5.36 in 2021.

LOCALS

5.1 SPECIAL THEMATIC PROJECTS BY LOCALS

(

MOLDOVA

)

movements and contributing to building

urban communities. LOCALS is an example

of such a city magazine in Moldova.

LOCALS targets active city residents who

are 25-34 years old. The magazine focuses

on city news, civic activism, and urban

development and culture. LOCALS features

urban trendsetters who help make Chisinau

an exciting place to live. It publishes 10-15

posts per day, including seven curated city

news articles, three journalistic pieces and

ﬁve updates to its event calendar.

Like city magazine counterparts in other

countries, LOCALS centres its business

model on native advertising. Its concept

looks modern and cool, like the magazine

itself. Moreover, native articles provide

the publication with another way to

produce useful and stylish content, thus

serving its mission and its audience’s

interests. LOCALS is a pioneer of native

advertising in Moldova, where banners and

direct ads dominate the market.

The uniqueness of LOCALS is native

special projects – a series of articles

developed with one partner and united

around one theme. For the publication,

a special project usually consists of four

articles published over a period of two

months. The magazine runs a maximum

of two special projects at the same time.

For some projects, the team creates

a dedicated branded section (a landing

page) on its website. The magazine also

publishes stand-alone advertorials and

quizzes; it is currently experimenting

with native podcasts.

Native advertising generates

50 percent or more of the magazine’s

total revenue. The rest is derived from

banners, PR articles and foreign grants.

Selling and implementing native special

projects is much more proﬁtable than

placing banners and publishing paid

articles. To be sustainable, the magazine

needs to sell one special project

per month.

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

27THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Regular partners include mobile telephone

operators (one of which has commissioned

several different thematic special projects over

the past year), a local bottled water brand, and

a market research agency. Restaurants, shops

and other small and medium-sized enterprises

(SMEs) prefer one-time native articles.

5.1 SPECIAL THEMATIC PROJECTS BY LOCALS

(

MOLDOVA

)

Advertising Market and Clients

In Moldova, advertising agencies prefer

placing paid news, usually in the form

of a press release, about the arrival

of a new product or service to the

market (i.e. a new model of a TV set or

a washing machine). This format is the

popular among readers. As a result, the

magazine is now developing a dedicated

“Health” section for its website.

In Ukraine, marketing and advertising

agencies are concentrated in the capital

and work mainly with national media. At

the local or regional levels, there are no

agencies that place advertising in media;

local SMM agencies focus exclusively on

social networks. Therefore, Varosh works

with local businesses directly.

Unlike the majority of internet media,

Varosh does not place banners on its

website. Instead, the magazine focuses

on creating quality commercial content

and seeks to foster a new culture of

promoting content advertising in

its region.

5.2 ANNUAL CONTRACTS AND DEFINED MEDIA PLANS  VAROSH, UKRAINE

Advertising Market and Clients

The magazine is on a mission to explain

to business owners and their marketing

managers why it is important to invest in

creating content that does not advertise

their products or services directly but

rather helps to strengthen their brands and

build relations with customers. One such

example is a long-form story about a

unique Roma pop-jazz quartet and festival,

which was sponsored by a local medical lab.

Among Varosh’s regular advertisers are

medical centres and labs, a reproductive

health clinic, a beauty and wellness

centre, car dealerships, and restaurants.

Until recently, the magazine cooperated

exclusively with local businesses and the

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

33THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Native content does not conﬂict

with editorial content. Our commercial

articles are on topics that we want

and like to cover as a media outlet.

Therefore, our audience appreciates

native projects as well.

Rosana Tuzhanska, cofounder

and editor-in-chief

5.2 ANNUAL CONTRACTS AND DEFINED MEDIA PLANS  VAROSH, UKRAINE

Content production

The editor-in-chief also acts as the

commercial director responsible for

ﬁnding and working with business partners,

managing contracts, and communicating

with clients. Instead of a sales manager,

the team hired another journalist last year

in order to fulﬁll the growing demand for

native advertising content production.

All native content is clearly marked as

“advertising.” Since October 2021, each

native piece has two markers – one at the

beginning and one at the end of the post.

There is no division between editorial and

commercial work; the magazine’s editorial

team produces all commercial content.

Editors, journalists and photographers

work on both editorial and advertising

articles. Team members enjoy developing

both editorial and advertising materials,

as both consist of quality content that is

of interest and value to the magazine’s

audience. The careful selection of

business partners helps to ensure that

there are no toxic clients or irrelevant

topics for the magazine.

Formats:

The magazine mainly offers text and

photo native advertising, with a focus

on interviews, reports, human interest

stories and long-form articles. The

favorite genre of both the editorial team

and advertisers tends to be interviews.

Technology:

Varosh runs on WordPress and uses its

plugins to create various formats.

The “Disability is not an obstacle” special project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

34THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Varosh offers the following KPIs for

its commercial materials:

• A minimum of 1,500 views on

the website

• A 10,000-15,000 reach on Facebook

On average, its special projects generate

6,000 views, a very good indicator in

Ukraine, even for national media websites.

Some of Varosh’s native advertising articles

have reached 120,000 users on Facebook

and generated more than 1,000 likes.

The level of media literacy among

the magazine’s clients varies greatly.

The majority is satisﬁed with very basic

performance reports, including links

to the published materials and number

of views. For sophisticated partners,

the editorial team prepares more detailed

reports or supplies speciﬁc indicators

on a monthly basis.

5.2 ANNUAL CONTRACTS AND DEFINED MEDIA PLANS  VAROSH, UKRAINE

Content Distribution and KPIs

All commercial articles appear on the

magazine’s website and its Facebook

and Instagram pages. Journalists also share

the articles on their individual social media

pages and do it gladly as they are proud of

the content they produce. Additionally, they

distribute posts with links through thematic

public pages and groups in social media.

Paid promotion via social networks

is done at the client’s request or when

the target audience is located outside

of the Zakarpattia region. For example,

a reproductive health clinic sought to

boost its clients from neighboring regions

of Ukraine and nearby countries; Varosh

therefore expanded its geographical reach

through paid ads on Facebook

and Instagram.

The average budget for the paid promotion

of a publication is $5-$10 (with a maximum

budget of $50).

Varosh’s main page, featuring both editorial and native advertising content

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

35THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Title: Partnership with a local

medical centre

Period of implementation:

March – October 2021.

Objective: Using explanatory journalism

that draws on simple words to discuss

complex medical topics and dispel myths

that negatively affect readers’ health.

Format: Series of interviews with doctors

from the partner medical clinic, illustrated

with photos.

Distribution:

• Publication on Varosh’s website and

Facebook and Instagram pages.

• Paid promotion in social networks.

Posts in thematic public groups in social

media.

KPIs:

• The ﬁve articles on the website generated

over 20,000 views.

• The Facebook posts reached over

100,000 people.

Results:

• An increase in the brand recognition of

the partner.

• The development of the personal brands

of the clinic’s doctors featured in

the project.

• A growth in lead generation, as readers

contacted specialists after reading

the interviews.

5.2 ANNUAL CONTRACTS AND DEFINED MEDIA PLANS  VAROSH, UKRAINE

Native Advertising Example

Click on the images to see the interviews from the partnership with a local medical centre series

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

36THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

City: Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine

Language: Ukrainian

Launch: 2010 as an educational event

calendar; 2013 as an internet magazine

Team: 5 people

Type of media: Digital magazine

for the creative class

Audience:

• Website: 80,000 users/month

• Facebook: 63,000 followers

• Instagram: almost 4,500 followers

Native Advertising Focus:

A Creative Agency for Social Change

Platfor.ma (“platform” in Ukrainian

and Russian) is an acknowledged

leader in native advertising in Ukraine.

It was founded in 2010 as an internet

event calendar that collected, listed

and promoted different educational

Platfor.ma

5.3 A CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE  PLATFOR.MA, UKRAINE

opportunities. In 2013, the website

relaunched as a digital magazine, becoming

an inﬂuential niche outlet focusing on

career development and opportunities that

reached more than 200,000 users a month.

In 2017, the team decided to rethink its

approach and focus solely on producing

long-form, high-quality native materials,

while moving away from what they deﬁned

as “lesser” formats. The magazine evolved

into a creative agency that promotes

social change and uses its website as

a platform for distributing the agency’s

native content.

Rather than offering the usual mix

of articles and news posts, Platfor.ma

publishes three news pieces per day

as a “mini-format” and one long-form

article per week or even biweekly. Its

daily curated news posts help to promote

important civic and social initiatives while,

at the same time, allowing the website to

remain visible and relevant in the media

landscape. These publishing changes

naturally resulted in a decrease in trafﬁc

to the site, which now draws about

80,000 users per month.

The team does not, however, consider

trafﬁc to be the deﬁning criterion for

success. Instead, Platfor.ma now focuses

on a new content distribution model:

it designs a speciﬁc publishing and

distribution approach for each native

project, depending on its objectives

and target audiences. The team works

as a creative agency but with the

advantage of possessing its own media;

the outlet has built a quality audience

and the team ensures a broad reach by

also distributing its native content across

other platforms. Moreover, Platfor.ma

can charge more for its native projects

than other, larger media, as its prices

are not linked solely to trafﬁc.

Initially, Platfor.ma was funded by foreign

grants but the magazine soon adopted

native advertising as its ﬁrst monetization

tool; today native advertising generates its

main revenue stream. These projects also

provided a springboard for the team to move

beyond being just a media outlet and evolve

into a creative agency. Currently, native

advertising on the website and associated

social media pages generates 60 percent of

Platfor.ma’s revenue while the outsourcing

of the agency’s creative services brings in

the remaining 40 percent. Notably, all the

agency’s native projects have a component

of social importance and utilize storytelling.

What we offer is more than native

advertising. We create value content

produced with the support of a brand.

Julia Salizhenko, creative director

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

37THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

5.3 A CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE  PLATFOR.MA, UKRAINE

Advertising Market and Clients

Based in the capital, having a strong brand

in the media and creative sectors, and

driven by a professional and innovative

team, Platfor.ma has secured a strong

position in Ukraine’s advertising market

and has no shortage of clients. Among

its regular partners are leading Ukrainian

businesses, particularly those from the

booming IT sector, including well-known

global electronics and computer brands.

The team also works with international

organisations such as UNICEF, the UN,

the WHO and others, cultural institutions,

and national NGOs.

True to its fundamental values, the agency

has a strict policy of not partnering

with alcohol and tobacco brands,

pharmaceutical companies, casinos and

other gambling institutions, and not

representing any political interests.

The team also screens the ownership of

its potential clients and chooses not to

work with those founded or funded by

Russian oligarchs.

While some of Platfor.ma’s native projects

are light and entertaining, all have social

signiﬁcance. Sometimes, companies

that have contracted with the agency to

produce creative ideas or organize PR

campaigns end up becoming Platfor.ma’s

partners and sponsoring special projects

on important social issues not directly

related to the companys’ ﬁelds of work.

This was the case with a well-known global

IT startup of Ukrainian origin that ﬁrst

came to the agency as a commercial client

and now sponsors the “Medical Leaders”

special project that promotes family

doctors as part of the reform of Ukraine’s

healthcare system.

Platfor.ma’s landing page, including links to the creative agency’s special projects

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

38THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The agency’s core team consists of ﬁve

people: a creative director, who also acts

as a project and ﬁnancial manager, an

editor-in-chief, an art director responsible

for visual style and design, an author, and

an account manager who is in charge of

communicating with partners. The agency

plans to hire two more “universal content

creators,” as its number of projects is

increasing.

The agency works as one creative unit,

with the same team working on Platfor.ma-

based special projects and on outsourcing

contracts. Work on any project starts with

a client ﬁling a brief that is available on the

website. In practice, most clients contact

the agency by telephone or email and

request the brief.

Based on information provided in the

obligatory brief, the team offers the client

either a special project on Platfor.ma itself

or an outsourcing campaign in other media.

Once the format is agreed on, the agency

generates three ideas for the planned

project or campaign. This stage normally

requires a week. The team also might

include a research stage, which requires

an additional 3-7 days, in order to identify

any major “pain points” before developing

a complex project idea selected by the

client. This was the case when Platfor.ma

was tasked to come up with a “Taxi driver

code of conduct” for a delivery company.

The team ﬁrst conducted in-depth

interviews with 10 drivers before starting

to craft a project idea.

Once the client approves the project idea,

the team draws up a contract, has it signed,

and only then moves on to the production

stage. It prepares and presents to the client

a detailed content plan. The team also

provides visual references for the future

project and discusses the tone and voice of

the writing. Normally, the agency designs

a unique visual style for each project.

The team clearly marks all native

advertising content. The partner’s

logo appears on the ﬁrst screen of the

publication. The lead to the article states

that it has been created “in partnership

with...” At the end of the article, there is a

promo frame with the name of and a short

introduction to the partner. In the agency’s

long-form projects, this frame also appears

in the middle of the text. The partner’s

brand is tagged in all social media posts.

Formats:

Platfor.ma offers only two native

advertising formats: a news post for a

ﬁxed price of $380 and a special thematic

project that starts at $3,800.

Technology:

Platfor.ma runs on WordPress. It creates

the majority of its special projects on Tilda.

For very complex projects, which require

developing unique front- and back-ends,

the team hires external programmers.

We treat our clients as partners with

whom we are in the same boat. It is in

our common interest to produce a great

project, which the audience will love.

The clients have a right to voice their

opinion. When our partners suggest

some changes, we try to react calmly

and be open-minded. If the change is

justiﬁed and doesn’t harm the project,

we can agree. In some cases, we need

to insist on our vision, explain and even

educate our partners, but we do so

politely. This applies to both content

and design. If the situation hits a dead

end, I prefer to have a call with the client

and talk it through. Conversation is

usually more productive than an endless

chain of emails and messages, where

emotions might be misconstrued. Such

an approach helps to avoid conﬂicts.

Julia Salizhenko, creative director

5.3 A CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE  PLATFOR.MA, UKRAINE

Content Production

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

39THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The Platfor.ma team is attuned to trends

and rapid changes in media consumption

and diversiﬁcation. Therefore, it does not

consider the magazine’s website to be its

anchor platform, but focuses on broader

content distribution. The team delivers its

content on platforms that are native to the

target audience of a speciﬁc project. With

this approach, users are more likely to see

content that is designed for them, get and

understand the messages of the campaign,

and recognize the partner’s brand.

For each special project or campaign,

Platfor.ma produces internally a content

distribution map. In most cases, the team

creates a branded landing page with text

and illustrations on the website. If it is

normal for the project’s target audience

to consume information on Instagram,

the project’s content is also packaged

as “Stories” and then distributed there.

If Facebook is the natural habitat of the

target audience, the content is packaged

for its photo gallery. Each week, the team

publishes two-three posts about the

project on various platforms and writes

about it in its e-newsletter, which has

over 5,000 subscribers.

Platfor.ma’s main content distribution

channels are Facebook, Instagram,

Telegram, Twitter, and its e-newsletter.

If a project requires a broader reach,

including in the country’s regions,

Platfor.ma may recruit local opinion

leaders, place press releases in key media

outlets, and partner with regional TV

stations. In this case, Platfor.ma assumes

the role of a PR agency. One such

example was a communication campaign

on “The Day of Cancer Survivors”, for

which Platfor.ma’s team created a

separate landing page and also spread

it across different media outlets and

platforms reaching over 6 million people.

Paid promotion in social media is usually

included in a project budget, but the team

always starts with distributing the content

organically to see if it resonates with the

audience and then decides if a paid boost

is needed.

It is important that, according to

Platfor.ma’s model, the team distributes

and promotes large special projects over

a long period of time, at least one month,

with regular posts in social media that

share interesting facts and engage with

users. The objective is to multiply and

maximize the created content.

The main KPI is the total number of

contacts with the target audience,

which includes the number of views on

the website and the project’s reach on

social media. For Platfor.ma, the number of

views on social networks and messengers

carry the same weight as views on the site.

Qualitative indicators include comments

and reposts. The team tracks and saves

screenshots with reposts and comments

in social media. The team also has

a dedicated Slack channel, where team

members can share links and other

feedback they receive regarding the

project. This is very important for the

team and the client.

At the end of the project’s

implementation, the partner receives

a detailed performance report with KPIs

and 2-3 screenshots with reposts

and feedback.

5.3 A CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE  PLATFOR.MA, UKRAINE

Content Distribution and KPIs

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

40THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Title: Education in Overdrive

Period of implementation: April-July 2019

Objective: To motivate Ukrainians to

capitalize on opportunities to study

abroad, in particular through the

Erasmus+ program.

Creative idea and formats: Erasmus+ is the

EU’s largest educational program; it aims

to improve education and to create new

life possibilities for participants. Unlike

students in many European countries,

Ukrainians do not have a tradition of

studying abroad. Ukrainians generally see

going to university in Europe as something

too difﬁcult, very expensive, and available

only for a chosen few.

After conducting audience analysis,

the team concluded that the biggest

challenge was not a lack of motivation,

as previously thought; on the contrary,

many Ukrainians would like to study

abroad. The real problem was accessibility.

When presenting the opportunity to

study abroad, the program’s organizers

tended to employ complicated language

and terminology, while important and

practical information was often located in

hard-to-ﬁnd places online.

Respondents also noted that there were

no stories about real-life Ukrainians who

had been accepted and studied in Europe.

In existing materials, participants were

presented as some kind of superstars,

while counterparts wanted to read

stories about how someone normal, even

ordinary, could come by the chance to

study abroad. Because of this approach,

those interested tended to think that few

Ukrainians were actually studying in the

EU and saw no point in even trying to

apply to study abroad programs.

5.3 A CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE  PLATFOR.MA, UKRAINE

Native Advertising Example

The “Education in Overdrive” special project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

41THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

To make the idea of studying abroad more

accessible and user-friendly, the team

updated the visual style of the Erasmus+

program’s materials to make them simpler

and more attractive. Together with

Erasmus+ experts, Platfor.ma transformed

the lengthy and complex materials about

education abroad into a handy, simple-to-

use and easily navigated content map. In

addition, the team produced stories of real

people, real Ukrainians – students, young

professionals, and teachers – and their

educational experiences in the EU. Each of

the stories represented a segment of the

project’s target audience. Finally, Platfor.ma

created a quiz to help readers assess their

chances of qualifying for education abroad.

Spoiler alert: no matter how badly you do

on the test, there is always a chance.

Distribution:

• Publication on the website and targeted

distribution in social media.

KPIs:

• 449,300 total contacts

• 30% share coefﬁcient

• > 04:00 minute average time on page

Results:

• Target audience reached across all

regions.

• Positive feedback from students and

teachers.

• The EU Delegation to Ukraine uses

the content map and materials created

by Platfor.ma for this project to explain

and promote the opportunities offered

by the Erasmus+ program.

See more examples of Platfor.ma’s special

projects here (in English).

5.3 A CREATIVE AGENCY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE  PLATFOR.MA, UKRAINE

Native Advertising Example

The “Education in Overdrive” special project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

42THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Kloop is a household name among media

in Central Asia, the origins and meaning

of its title are shrouded in legend. The

founders do not disclose the secret even

to the publication’s staff.

Kloop is produced in Russian and Kyrgyz.

Some of the content appearing in Russian

is translated into two other languages, but

the Kyrgyz editorial team also produces

its own original content, as the interests

of the website’s Russian-, Kyrgyz- and

Uzbek-speaking audiences differ. Kloop

targets readers aged 25 and older across

the country, but its core audience is

located in the capital of Bishkek. More

women than men read the website due

to its focus on gender issues.

Funded mainly by grants in 2018, Kloop

began utilizing native advertising that

same year as a means to diversify its

revenue streams. With talented and

creative personnel, the team decided

that native advertising better ﬁt Kloop’s

5.4 NATIVEONLY CONTENT MONETIZATION  KLOOP, KYRGYZSTAN

Cities: Bishkek, the capital (Russian-

language editorial team and commercial

department), and Osh (Kyrgyz-language

ofﬁce), in southern Kyrgyzstan

Languages: Russian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek

Launch: 2007

Team: 35-40 people, including two in the

commercial department

Type of media: News website specializing

in citizen and investigative journalism

Audience:

• Facebook: 134,000 followers

• Instagram: 82,000+ followers

• YouTube: almost 82,000 subscribers

Native Advertising Focus:

Native-only Content Monetization

Kloop is one of the leading independent

media outlets in Kyrgyzstan. It was

founded by young civic activists and is

known for its innovative use of technology

and citizen journalism school. Even though

Kloop

Kyrgyzstan is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia

with a population of 6.6 million. Freedom House’s

2021 Freedom in the World report rated the country as

“Not Free” in terms of political rights and civil liberties.

Reporters Without Borders’ 2021 World Press Freedom

Index ranked Kyrgyzstan 79 of 180 countries, noting

that “the pluralism of the Kyrgyz media is exceptional

in Central Asia.” Regarding internet freedom, Freedom

House’s 2021 Freedom on the Net report assessed

the country as “Partly Free” and in decline; it cited

reports that the “government skews the advertising

market” and that “media outlets are seldom able to

generate the appropriate cash ﬂow to assure their

independence.” IREX’s ﬁnal Media Sustainability

Index in 2019 found Kyrgyzstan’s indicator for business

management by independent media to rank in the

“Unsustainable Mixed System” category. According

to Statista, ad spending in the digital advertising

market was projected to reach $17 million in 2021, a

growth of 12%. The average ad spending per user for

social media advertising was projected to amount

to $2.51 in 2021.

mission and vision than any other model of

content monetization. In 2020, the website

completely abandoned banner ads.

Following a growing demand among

clients for promo videos, especially for

social media, and engaging with customers,

Kloop decided to capitalize on this trend

by specializing in producing native videos,

quizzes and games. While Kloop publishes

these on its website, clients can also post

them on their own social media pages or

use them in paid promo campaigns.

The “Heroes among us” special video project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

43THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Relatively new to the native advertising

ﬁeld, Kloop is still building its client base.

However, the publication managed to

secure a long-term partnership with a

popular airline ticket website; it publishes

regular advertorials based on a content

plan and receives a commission from

tickets sold via the partner’s widget

that is embedded in Kloop’s website.

The publication also cooperates with a

number of international organisations,

a leading mobile telephone operator,

restaurants and others.

Despite many businesses still preferring

banners to content ads, Kloop sees a

strong potential for native advertising and

plans to put more effort into creating and

promoting native content in the Kyrgyz

language. The team is proud to have

dedicated partners with whom it shares

common values and interests.

5.4 NATIVEONLY CONTENT MONETIZATION  KLOOP, KYRGYZSTAN

Advertising Market and Clients

As in many other emerging markets,

native advertising is still a new and

somewhat alien concept in Kyrgyzstan.

Large companies with solid advertising

budgets can afford the format, but their

owners and managers often lack the skills

needed for digital marketing, which often

leads to misunderstandings with media

outlets about the product and expected

results. Productive communication

between the outlets and advertisers is

a frequent challenge. SMEs prefer the

cheaper option of paid promotion via

social networks and are more interested

in generating clicks than in building

relations with customers.

The “Why women in Kyrgyzstan ﬂy less than men” advertorial

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

44THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The publication’s editorial and

commercial departments are strictly

divided. The commercial team consists of

two staff – a director and a native editor

– and hires freelance authors to produce

native content. The editorial team is not

involved in the creation of content for or

management of commercial projects so

that it remains fully independent.

The commercial director is responsible

for ﬁnding and negotiating with the clients

as well as managing the native projects.

At the initial meeting with a potential

client, the commercial director and

native editor discuss general plans and

needs. To follow up, the client ﬁlls out a

brief with questions about the objectives,

target audience, tone of voice and style

of the future publication. Based on this

information, Kloop’s commercial director

and editor generate 2-3 project ideas.

Once the client approves one of

the proposed project ideas, the team

starts preparing the material. It hires

freelance authors, photographers and

videographers when necessary.

When the draft is ready, the team shares

the text and other materials with the

client for review via a Google document.

With commercial clients, one series

of edits usually sufﬁces. With large

international organisations, such as

the UN, several rounds of editing and

approving are often required due to these

clients’ complex structures and protocols.

To optimize the time spent on each

project, the team is considering limiting

the number of editing cycles to three

and mandating this in its contracts.

The clients pay Kloop after the

publication of the ﬁnal materials.

Despite the glass wall between

the editorial and commercial teams,

the two are united by Kloop’s mission

and professional standards. Its current

commercial editor joined the website

as a freelance journalist in 2017, became

a staff reporter in 2019, and was offered

her current position in 2020.

Kloop’s commercial publications often

raise awareness about important social

issues. For example, a recent advertorial

for the airplane ticket website revealed

that women ﬂy less frequently than

men in Kyrgyzstan and explained the

underlying gender inequality reasons

I like my job because it stimulates

my professional development, as I

constantly generate creative ideas and

work with different formats. I don’t feel

burned out because I’m not focused on

the news cycle, which is pretty grim in

Kyrgyzstan.

Aizirek Imanalieva, commercial editor

5.4 NATIVEONLY CONTENT MONETIZATION  KLOOP, KYRGYZSTAN

Content Production

for it. One of the native quizzes was

dedicated to the ﬂaws and corruption

plaguing Kyrgyzstan’s judicial system.

Kloop clearly marks all native content

as “created in partnership with…”

at the beginning and at the end of its

text publications and at the end of

its video materials.

Formats:

• Video

• Interactive formats, mainly quizzes

and games

• Advertorials

Technology:

Kloop does not have an in-house

IT specialist. For interactive formats

and long-read pieces, it depends on

subscriptions to external services and

tools, such as Genial.ly, Riddle.com,

Calconic and Tilda, which are used by

both the editorial and commercial teams.

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

45THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

In addition to publishing native materials

on its website and social pages, Kloop

also runs paid promotions on Facebook,

Instagram, YouTube and, more often

recently, on TikTok, at clients’ requests.

Advertorials that involve complex

issues or policies (i.e. materials created

in partnership with the UN and other

international organisations), as well

as native advertising pieces in Kyrgyz,

usually require boosting in order to reach

broader audiences. The extent of a promo

campaign depends on the client’s budget,

but normally starts at $30.

Occasionally, Kloop organizes online

contests with prizes. For example, those

who successfully passed a test about food,

prepared in partnership with a pizzeria,

could win a monthly supply of pizza.

Kloop uses views and engagement

rates as KPIs, but does not disclose

the baseline numbers publicly; it also

compiles and submits performance

reports to its clients.

5.4 NATIVEONLY CONTENT MONETIZATION  KLOOP, KYRGYZSTAN

Content Distribution and KPIs

A special project test produced in partnership with a pizzeria

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

46THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

media in Tajikistan), the launch of the

magazine coincided with the onset of

the pandemic. YOUR targets citizens

25-45 years old who care about their

country and its opinion leaders. Its name

is a play on an English and Tajik word:

“your” in Tajik means “a friend.” The name

conveys the magazine’s philosophy

of being close with its audience and a

friend for its readers. YOUR specializes

in creating educational content with a

focus on people with disabilities and their

families, their socialization, overcoming

stereotypes, etc.

The website is published in Tajik and

Russian. However, the content is not

duplicated because the publication’s

Tajik- and Russian-speaking audiences

do not overlap. The Tajik website version

is read mainly in the country’s rural areas;

the Russian version is popular in urban

areas and among Tajiks living abroad.

But both audience segments consume

City: Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan

Languages: Tajik and Russian

Launch: January 2020

Team: 10 people, including four in the

commercial department

Type of media: National socio-political

online magazine

Audience:

• Website: 70,000 users/month

• Facebook: 17,000+ followers

(reach of 2.8 million and engagement

rate of 1 million)

• YouTube: 4,500 subscribers

• Instagram: 3,500 follower

Native Advertising Focus:

Native Podcasts and Video Stories

with Multiplatform Distribution

A group of experienced journalists

founded YOUR magazine. Registered in

October 2019 as a news agency

(the only possible way to register online

YOUR.TJ

Tajikistan is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia

with a population of 9.5 million. Freedom House’s 2021

Freedom in the World report assessed the country

as “Not Free,” noting that the government targets

independent outlets, routinely blocks critical websites,

and harasses independent journalists. Its 2021 Nations

in Transit report indicated that the authorities increased

restrictions on independent media in 2020. Reporters

without Borders’ 2021 World Press Freedom Index

ranked Tajikistan 162 of 180 countries, stressing that

“government pressure compounded by an economic

crisis has resulted in the closure of most independent

media outlets.” IREX’s ﬁnal Media Sustainability

Index in 2019 found Tajikistan’s indicator for business

management by independent media to be in the

“Unsustainable Mixed System” category due to a poor

economic situation and “lack of a full-ﬂedged market

policy.” According to Statista, ad spending in the digital

advertising market was projected to reach $16 million

in 2021, a growth of 5%. The average ad spending per

user in the social media advertising segment of the

market was projected to amount to $3.41 in 2021.

the magazine’s videos. Interestingly,

YOUR’s video content is also popular

in Ukraine, where there is an active

movement of parents of children with

disabilities and, therefore, a high demand

for quality content of this type in

the Russian language.

From the magazine’s start, its founders

planned that native advertising would

be the main source of income. The team

hoped to do away with the pseudo native

formats of paid press releases and PR

articles, which dominate the market, but

hasn’t been able to completely eliminate

them. Nevertheless, the emphasis is still

on developing native content, which

currently generates about 70 percent

of revenue.

5.5 NATIVE PODCASTS AND VIDEO STORIES  YOUR.TJ, TAJIKISTAN

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

47THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Native advertising is new and not very well

understood in Tajikistan. The majority of

businesses prefer direct and positive ads,

which are usually paid PR articles or press

releases. Normally, businesses do not

want to raise difﬁcult topics. To accustom

the market to native advertising, YOUR’s

editor-in-chief meets with business

associations and explains its advantages.

At the same time, the magazine works

on expanding its portfolio of interesting

native projects.

Since YOUR has its own audio and video

(AV) studio and expertise in multimedia

production, the team decided to

specialize in native podcasts and video

stories. YOUR’s inaugural clients were

international organisations and Tajik

NGOs looking for new ways to raise

public awareness about important social

issues. The magazine’s initial series

of native podcasts – on the history of

the world economy – was created in

partnership with a local NGO.

It was noticed by the publication’s

audience and became a good example for

attracting commercial clients. The ﬁrst

project involving commercial podcasts

was “I’ve got a question”, a series of expert

talks produced in partnership with one of

the country’s leading mobile telephone

operators.

Special podcast projects are currently

YOUR’s top selling native format.

A thematic project usually consists

of 10 podcasts with two published

per month.

5.5 NATIVE PODCASTS AND VIDEO STORIES  YOUR.TJ, TAJIKISTAN

The “I’ve got a question” special podcast project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

48THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Mobile telephone operators, banks and

microcredit organisations are the most

active advertisers in Tajikistan. Mobile

operators still prefer to place paid press

releases across different media without

adapting them or even changing their

headlines, which results in reductions

in search trafﬁc and annoys audiences.

Financial institutions favor using events

and contests to promote their services.

YOUR has succeeded in attracting and

retaining clients from both of these

segments. Another important group of

partners is international organisations

and NGOs. With them, the magazine

realizes native advertising contracts, not

grants, and considers this to be its unique

selling point on the Tajik market. In 2021,

for example, YOUR implemented a special

video stories project – “The business

environment” – in partnership with the

European Bank for Reconstruction and

Development (EBRD).

The magazine is expanding into other

sectors as well. In November 2021, the

publication launched its ﬁrst ever special

podcast project in partnership with

a medical centre.

Convincing companies to invest

in native advertising is still very

hard. Many do not realize that it is

possible to promote their business

through their own expertise and

in partnership with professional

media. It helps when a company has

managers who are already familiar

with native formats and appreciate

them, but this is rarely the case.

Zebo Tadjibaeva,

founder and editor-in-chief

5.5 NATIVE PODCASTS AND VIDEO STORIES  YOUR.TJ, TAJIKISTAN

Advertising Market and Clients

“The business environment” special video stories project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

49THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

5.5 NATIVE PODCASTS AND VIDEO STORIES  YOUR.TJ, TAJIKISTAN

Content Production

As a new media outlet, YOUR employs a

pro-active approach to cultivating clients.

The team conducts market research,

identiﬁes potential partners and comes up

with project ideas that might be interesting

for speciﬁc companies. Project ideas

are usually generated by the magazine’s

commercial department, which includes

an editor-in-chief, a commercial director,

a creative editor, and a podcast/video

producer. The commercial director is

responsible for sales, signing contracts,

project management and communication

with clients.

There is no glass wall between the

editorial and commercial departments.

YOUR editors and journalists produce

both editorial and advertorial content.

However, the editor-in-chief does

not participate in the management

of commercial projects or meetings

with commercial clients, but is in

charge of the special native projects

done in partnership with international

organisations and NGOs. In the future,

YOUR plans to create a separate native

advertising department and to divide

commercial and editorial production, but

this process requires additional resources

that the magazine currently lacks.

YOUR aims to partner only with reliable

companies with good reputations. It tries

to make every commercial publication

useful and visually attractive. As a result,

the magazine’s team has not received

negative feedback from its readers

regarding its native projects. On the

contrary, they often generate substantive

public discussions.

There is no law regulating native

advertising in Tajikistan. Nevertheless,

YOUR marks all its native materials

as “Created in partnership with…”

Descriptions for its YouTube posts also

indicate if the video contains advertising.

Native podcasts include disclaimers

stating that they were created in

partnership with a client but include no

other direct advertising of the client’s

brand or services.

Formats:

YOUR specializes in native podcasts in

the form of expert discussions and video

stories on important social topics. An

example of the latter is the “One special

day” video series, which is about the life

of families with autistic children, created

in partnership with a parents’ association.

YOUR text explainers with questions and

answers are also popular among its clients.

Technology:

YOUR runs on WordPress and uses its

plugins, i.e. AddTwenty20 – a “before

and after” photo slider. The magazine has

its own AV studio. The team used Ex.co

for creating quizzes before the service

changed its pricing policy.

The “One special day” special video stories project

Different Aspects and Examples of Native Advertising

50THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

5.5 NATIVE PODCASTS AND VIDEO STORIES  YOUR.TJ, TAJIKISTAN

Content Distribution and KPIs

Since podcasts alone do not generate

many plays, YOUR produces two versions –

audio and video – of its native materials.

The magazine disseminates the audio

version across 12 podcast platforms.

YOUR publishes the video version on

its website and YouTube, Facebook and

Instagram pages. This multiplatform

approach to content distribution provides

for a signiﬁcant increase in the reach,

which, in turn, allows the magazine to

develop more native projects.

For the magazine, Facebook tends to

generate more views than YouTube. For

example, the most popular video of the

“One special day” series generated almost

2 million views, 18,000 likes and over

1,300 comments on Facebook alone.

Unlike in most other regions, audiences in

Central Asia widely view Instagram as an

information rather than an entertainment

platform, therefore, news content there is

more popular than lifestyle images.

YOUR occasionally utilizes paid

promotion on Facebook and Instagram.

A budget of $4 is usually enough for the

promotion of one post. For some clients,

such as ﬁnancial institutions or a medical

centre, the magazine organizes online

contests at the end of its native materials

that result in some viewers winning prizes

or gift certiﬁcates.

The majority of customers set very

general objectives, such as an increase

of brand awareness or loyalty, without

any requirements that measure results

and they do not ask for any KPIs or

performance reports.

YOUR employs the following KPIs for its

commercial materials:

• The number of views on the website

• 15,000 views and plays of a podcast/video

• At least 150,000-200,000 views and

plays of a series

• The engagement rate on social media

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 51

International Media Support and CityDog Media

6. The Native Advertising Toolkit

International Media Support and CityDog Media

The Native Advertising Toolkit

52THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Language versions:

English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese,

Russian, Ukrainian, and Japanese.

Price:

• Free basic version includes design and

support for one website with a limited

choice of content blocks.

• Professional version prices start at

$20/month and offer the possibility

of exporting the code and integrating

it into your website, which will work

autonomously from the website builder.

Examples: 1 / 2

Alternatives:

• Squarespace website builder.

Language: English. No free version

(prices start at $12/month).

• Readymag website builder. Language:

English. Free version available.

TILDA PUBLISHING

Summary: Website builder. Good for

creating landing pages for long-read

articles, editorials and advertorials as

well as selling and service pages, such as

media kits, online shops, event pages, etc.

Advantages:

• Large library of ready-to-use content

blocks, including for creating quizzes

and tests that will look like dedicated

pages on your website.

• Doesn’t require any coding.

Disadvantages: Well-known and broadly

used. Most websites and pages created

with Tilda have a similar look in terms

of design, layout and animation styles.

Therefore, your page might have a typical

Tilda look and not appear as your

original project.

INFOGRAM

Summary: Data visualization and

infographics platform. Allows the creation

of charts, diagrams and dashboards. Can

be used for creating interactive maps,

graphic designs for posts in social media,

and thumbnails for videos on YouTube.

Advantages:

• Free version for creating and sharing

infographics.

• Easy to use.

• Good tool for publishers who rarely use

data visualization.

Language: English

Price:

• Free basic version.

• Professional version subscription

packages start at $19/month.

Alternatives:

• Tableau data visualization and

infographics platform. Good for editorial

teams working extensively with data

visualization.

• Advantages: Large choice of tools and

built-in analytics.

• Disadvantages: Expensive at $70/

month (the Tableau Creator plan, which

allows not only browsing but also

creating content).

• Flourish, another data visualization

platform, which allows the creation of

interactive charts.

The Native Advertising Toolkit

53THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Alternatives:

• Elfsight - Before and After Slider.

Language: English. Price: Free, but only

for up to 200 views of posts using the

widget. Paid subscription is $5/month

for up to 5,000 views and $10/month for

up to 50,000 views.

• Twenty20 Image Before-After. A plug-in

for WordPress pages.

TIMELINE JS

Summary: Tool for creating timelines and

visualizing sequences of events. Good for

long-form articles, history publications,

explainers, investigations, news, etc. Also

developed by the Knight Lab studio.

Language: English

Examples: Here

JUXTAPOSE JS

Summary: “Before and after” slider tool.

Good for publications that require the

comparison of illustrations for pieces

focusing on architecture, interior designs,

urban space, fashion, beauty, retouching,

etc. Widget developed by the Knight Lab

studio at Northwestern University.

Advantages: Easy to use.

Disadvantages: Logo will appear and

be embedded on your website sliders.

However, the logo is not large.

Language: English.

Price: Free.

Examples: Here

THINGLINK

Summary: Tool for creating interactive

visual content. Allows the marking of

selected objects in photos or illustrations

and adding short descriptions, thus

making the visual content clickable and

more informative.

Advantages: Increases interaction with

your content.

Disadvantages: Free version is no longer

available. Content created earlier using

the free version is now available by

clicking on the ThingLink website (see

example below).

Language: English.

Price: From $25/month

Examples: Here

Alternatives:

Interactive Images by Genially was

originally developed for educational

purposes. Has free basic package.

СALCONIC

Summary: Calculator widget. Good for

materials in which users must do their

own calculations (i.e. prices, salaries,

squares, calories, etc.).

Advantages: Offers many ready-

made templates for different types of

information. Also allows the creation of

your own customized calculator.

Disadvantages: Free package includes

a very limited number of views per month

(see below).

Price: Free basic package (up to 5 widgets

with up to 500 views per month). Paid

packages start at $5/month.

The Native Advertising Toolkit

54THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

International Media Support and CityDog Media

TINYPNG

Summary: For the “smart” compression

of JPEG, PNG and WEBP ﬁles, permitting

a reduction of ﬁle size without any visible

loss in the quality of the images. Supports

image batch processing (up to 20 images

can be uploaded at the same time).

Price: Free.

ANCHOR

Summary: A free platform for creating,

distributing and monetizing podcasts.

It also offers a royalty-free audio and

music library.

Alternatives:

Simplecast is a platform for podcast

management and analytics.

Prices start at $15/month

UNSPLASH.COM

PIXABAY.COM

FREEPIK.COM

Summary: Free stock photos, images,

vectors and videos. Read the license terms

very carefully before using graphics from

any of these services.

UPSCALE.MEDIA

Summary: Using AI technology and

advanced computer vision algorithms,

this service allows the upscaling and

enhancing of low-quality images with only

a few clicks. Increases resolution up to

400 percent and works great for upscaling

compressed images from social networks.

Registration is not required.

Price: Free.

YOUTUBE AUDIO LIBRARY

Summary: Free music tracks and sound

effects which can be used for creating

video and other content. New tracks

are added twice a month. Read the

licensing terms very carefully before

using. To access and use the YouTube

Audio Library, you must login using

your Google account.

Alternatives:

• Pixabay.com/music offers music and

audio tracks for commercial and non-

commercial use.

• Freemusicarchive.org provides free

music for downloading.

THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK 55

International Media Support and CityDog Media

7. Takeaways

International Media Support and CityDog Media

Takeaways

56THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

7International Media Support and CityDog Media

The model

• Native advertising can be adapted

for use by any type of online media,

although it is more common among

niche outlets with speciﬁcally targeted

audiences.

• In order to succeed with native

advertising, an outlet must make sure

that the sponsored content corresponds

to its editorial values, content policies,

tone of voice and visual style. Most

importantly, it must be interesting to

and have value for the audience.

• The native advertising model can

take different forms, as laid out in this

Playbook. The right format depends

on the specialization of the media

outlet, size of the editorial team and

commercial department, available

talent and skills, and speciﬁcs of

the market.

Getting started

• A media outlet does not need to make additional

investments or have a big budget in order to start

experimenting with native advertising – utilize

the formats you already have, build on your

current editorial strengths, and take advantage

of available external tools/platforms for more

cost-effective content creation.

• Editorial and sponsored content can

be created either just by an editorial team or

by separate editorial and commercial

departments. There are pros and cons to each

approach. In both cases, however, it is crucial

that the outlet ensures its independence

by establishing clear rules and boundaries

governing relations with clients/sponsors.

• To reduce the risks of misunderstandings

with and interference from sponsors, it is highly

recommended that any and all cooperation

start with a request that a client ﬁlls out the

advertising brief.

TAKEAWAYS

Takeaways

57THE NATIVE ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK

7International Media Support and CityDog Media

Building on success

• Sending a thoughtful report that includes

the project’s quantitative and qualitative

results and conducting a debrief after

the project is concluded will increase

chances for continued cooperation. Media

outlets that are able to develop long-term

partnerships with repeat clients have better

chances to succeed with native advertising.

• In developing markets, businesses often

lack an understanding of and appreciation

for native advertising. This can be countered

by investing in market research, identifying

international organisations and companies

with social corporate responsibilities

corresponding to your outlet’s mission and

editorial policies, and meeting with business

owners, managers and associations and

educating them about native advertising.

These processes might take time and

effort, but they are likely to result in you

developing more native advertising partners.

TAKEAWAYS

Making it work

• Native advertising projects usually

involve a team effort and require

ongoing communication with partners/

sponsors. It is therefore crucial to

assign clear roles to team members

and establish smooth workﬂow

processes. Having a dedicated native

advertising manager, developing

a media kit, advertising brief and

communication guidelines, and utilizing

team cooperation tools, such as Slack

or Trello, will make a native advertising

model more efﬁcient.

• Native advertising content can and

should be disseminated across different

platforms, not only just via an outlet’s

website. Utilize and capitalize on multi-

channel content distribution, which will

increase the reach and effectiveness of

any native project. Use paid promotion

on social media when needed, but

remember that quality native advertising

content often generates its own organic

reach and engagement.

• Native advertising is all about building

relations – not only between an

outlet and its audience but also an

outlet and its partners. As with any

relationship, communication is very

important. Make sure that the manager

stays in touch with, regularly updates

and communicates with the client

throughout the project. In the event of

a problem or misunderstanding, talking

to the client on the phone or convening

an in-person meeting will likely be more

productive than a written exchange.

Design, layout and illustrations by Vitaly Degtyarev