Client MGID Featured on Native Advertising Institute.
For many, the brand Hallmark evokes images of sentimental cards, saccharine made-for-TV-movies and keepsake holiday ornaments. However, what isn’t commonly known is that grandma’s favorite spot to score Precious Moments figurines was actually a trailblazer in the world of native advertising – establishing the practice back in 1951 – years before the advent of the internet.
Before everyone became tethered to their laptops, tablets and smartphones, the TV screen offered brands the best avenue for converting casual consumers to clamoring customers via advertising. In its eponymous long-running “Hallmark Hall of Fame” series, Hallmark turned the actual content of the program – original TV movies – into one long advertisement for its brand.
Much like the greeting cards it sells, the “Hallmark Hall of Fame” movies tended to veer towards tearjerker territory, reinforcing the company ethos. However, it was the ads that ran amid the movies, which really cemented Hallmark’s place as a native advertising pioneer. Ads were usually heart-touching vignettes with a piece of Hallmark content, making each break from the movie an opportunity to tell an emotional story involving a Hallmark card.
The native advertising industry has come a long way since those halcyon days, however, despite the prevalence of native advertising (or perhaps even because of it), some brands are still getting it wrong. Here are the top 7 deadly sins to avoid.
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