You've boosted the post, set the targeting, and watched the CTR flatline. The problem usually isn't the budget. It's that the ad reads like an ad. These six campaigns solved that problem in six different ways.
1. The Wall Street Journal x Netflix — "Cocainomics"
What they did: To promote Narcos, Netflix partnered with WSJ to produce a full editorial feature on the economics of the Colombian drug trade. It wasn't a banner or a sponsored post with a logo slapped on it. It was a deeply reported, interactive piece that people sought out and shared on its own merits.
The takeaway: When your brand funds content that is genuinely worth reading, the audience continues going back to it. Neither could have pulled it off alone, WSJ brought credibility and the audience and Netflix brought the topic. Find a publisher whose editorial voice matches your story and then let them tell it.
2. Siemens Energy x NYT Paid Post — "Unlocking the Grid"
What they did: Siemens Energy worked with the New York Times' branded content studio to produce an interactive, data-rich feature on the challenges facing the modern energy grid. The piece used scrolly-telling, charts, and expert voices to explain a genuinely complex infrastructure problem, with Siemens Energy positioned as the company actively working to solve it.
The takeaway: The New York Times audience does not click on banner ads, but they do read long-form features about energy infrastructure. That is the entire logic of this placement. Siemens Energy is not a consumer brand, but it has a story that matters to policymakers, investors, and business leaders who read the Times. The NYT Paid Post format gives that story the same visual treatment and credibility as editorial content. If your brand is trying to reach an influential but hard-to-reach audience, the right publisher with the right format does more than any display buy at the same budget.
3. Deloitte x BBC StoryWorks — "Resilient Edge"
What they did: Deloitte partnered with BBC StoryWorks to produce a branded podcast hosted by Deloitte's own CTO of Global SAP Alliance. Each episode brings in senior leaders from companies like SAP, Mitsubishi Chemical, and Esri to talk through real AI implementation, supply chain transformation, and what it actually takes to build a data-driven organization. The show charted on Apple Podcasts in the US, UK, and Spain and reached tens of thousands of downloads.
The takeaway: A podcast is one of the few native formats where the audience opts in, comes back episode after episode, and spends 30 to 45 minutes with your brand's ideas. Deloitte is not interrupting anyone. Executives are subscribing. The BBC StoryWorks association adds editorial credibility, and putting Deloitte's own CTO in the host chair means the content is genuinely authoritative rather than ghostwritten fluff. If you are in professional services and your buyers consume long-form content, a branded podcast on the right platform builds the kind of trust that a sponsored article can start but never finish.
4. Amazon Ads x Insider Studios — "An Advertising Tail"
What they did: Amazon Ads partnered with Business Insider's in-house studio to explain a genuinely confusing product: its own advertising network. Instead of a white paper or a sales one-pager, they built an interactive video experience starring a golden retriever named Bluey who walks viewers through how Amazon's ad ecosystem actually works. The campaign drove a +23-point lift in brand awareness, a +12-point lift in brand favorability, and a +17-point lift in recommendation intent.
The takeaway: If your product requires explanation, the format has to hold attention long enough to complete the message. A static article loses people halfway through. An interactive video with a dog keeps them watching. Amazon also made a smart channel choice here. Business Insider's audience skews toward marketers and business decision-makers, exactly the people Amazon needed to convince. Match the format to the complexity of the message, and match the publisher to the buyer.
5. Tesco Finest x The Guardian — Feast App Partnership
What they did: Tesco Finest became the exclusive launch partner for The Guardian's Feast cooking app, taking 100% share of voice across the platform. The partnership did not stop at a logo placement. Tesco co-created recipe collections with Guardian food writers, linked every ingredient directly to a pre-loaded Tesco basket, and extended the sponsorship across the Feast print supplement, newsletters, social, and the Comfort Eating with Grace Dent podcast. Every touchpoint connected back to a purchase.
The takeaway: This is native advertising with a direct attribution path built in. Most sponsored content leaves a gap between the reader enjoying the content and actually buying something. Tesco closed that gap with shoppable recipes. A Guardian reader browses a seasonal pasta feature, clicks an ingredient, and lands on a Tesco checkout with the basket already filled. The partnership also gave Tesco 100% share of voice on a brand new platform from day one, meaning no competitor noise during the launch period. If you can find a publisher building something new that fits your category, getting in as the exclusive launch partner is worth far more than buying a standard placement on an established one.
The Three Things Every Good Native Ad Does
Every single one of these campaigns did the same three things:
- The ad fit the environment it lived in
- The content gave the audience something before asking for anything
- The targeting was built around context
Symphonic Digital helps brand marketing teams make every dollar of their native budget work harder, from sharper audience targeting to stronger creative testing and cleaner performance insights. Let’s find the opportunities hiding in your campaigns.
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