Characteristics of a good native article
Value-Adding
A strong native article piques the reader’s curiosity by offering new insights or perspectives. Share something the audience doesn’t already know — pure product promotion can be found elsewhere.
Human
Featuring a real person with a name and face makes the story relatable. This could be an industry expert, a company representative, or a satisfied customer whose experience adds authenticity.
Honest
Native content must follow good marketing practices: avoid misleading claims and refrain from exaggeration. Be mindful of any industry-specific regulations that apply.
Aligned with media style
A successful native article mirrors the language, tone, and structure of the news media in which it appears. Study examples from the target publication to ensure a natural fit in both content and design.
Watch the video to see where and how the digital native appears on our news sites
All content-related materials for native articles — such as logos, article images or videos, background materials, texts, and links—must be sent by email to: palvelupiste@karkimedia.fi
Deadlines:
-
Regional native campaigns: materials must be submitted at least 1 week before the campaign starts
-
National digital native campaigns (with ready materials): deadline is 2 weeks before the campaign starts
If materials are incomplete, submitted late, technically non-functional, or raise editorial concerns, Kärkimedia cannot guarantee the campaign will launch as scheduled. In such cases, Kärkimedia also reserves the right to remove the material entirely from its platforms.
If Kärkimedia needs to modify the materials on behalf of the client, an hourly service fee will be charged separately for the work performed.
If the above material guidelines are not followed, or if the submitted content contains other issues or deficiencies, the editor-in-chief of the news media outlet reserves the right to decline publication of the material as is.
Instructions for translation:
- Send the content to be translated by email (please do not send PDFs).
- Use the appropriate email address based on the publication:
- Hufvudstadsbladet: annons@hbl.fi
- Vasabladet: sales@vasabladet.fi
- Österbottens Tidning: sales@ot.fi
The translated material will be returned to you via email.
Please allow 2–3 business days for the translation process.
Accepted video platforms for embedding:
- YouTube
- Vimeo
Note: On mt.fi, only YouTube embeds are supported.
Technical Specifications for Video Files
- Format: MP4
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080 px
- Frame rate: 24–60 fps
- Audio: Stereo, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
- Audio levels: According to EBU R128 standard (-23 LUFS)
- Video bitrate: 8,000–16,000 kbps
- Audio bitrate: 384 kbps
- Maximum file size: 2 GB
Language Consideration
If your campaign is published on Swedish-language sites, we recommend considering language accessibility — e.g., adding Swedish subtitles to the video.
Need help with video production?
Video production services are also available through Kärkimedia upon request.
To include the introduction, please provide the following:
- A high-quality logo in PNG format with a transparent background (no white or colored box around the logo)
- Brand guidelines, if available
- A short company description
- Links to your website and/or social media channels
- Provide both the URL and the desired link text (i.e. the word or phrase to be hyperlinked)
- You may include multiple links, for example to your online store, homepage, or social media accounts
Main Image Guidelines
- The main image must be a high-resolution horizontal photo (landscape format).
- No text or logos should appear in the image.
- A product photo alone is not suitable as the main image.
- The image should resemble an editorial/news photo or be an illustrative image that fits the article context.
Additional Images
- You may submit additional horizontal images to be placed within the article text.
- Recommendation: Maximum of 5 additional images
- All images should be visually consistent in style if multiple are used in one article.
Technical Specifications
- Main image: aspect ratio 16:9, minimum size 1920 × 1080 px
- Other images: horizontal format only, minimum width 1000 px
- File format: JPG or JPEG
- File size: under 2 MB per image
- Do not send ZIP files or downloadable image links — please attach image files directly
- Clearly indicate which image is the main image and which are supplementary
Usage Rights
The advertiser is responsible for ensuring that all submitted images have valid commercial usage rights for the full duration of the campaign.
Additional Notes
- For the homepage native ad, the image should appear editorial and not look like a product advertisement
- Avoid using only product or promotional photos
- Text overlays are not allowed in any image
General Guidelines:
- Submit the text in Word format or another file type that allows easy copy-pasting.
Do not send text as a PDF. - The content must be in Finnish and comply with proper spelling and grammar rules.
- Press releases, product descriptions, or marketing-style texts are not accepted as ready material. The content must be written as a journalistic-style article.
This means it should ideally include a headline, ingress (lead text), and body text, with the use of subheadings strongly recommended. - The product name should not appear in the headline.
- Avoid using abbreviations such as esim., mm., tms.
- When writing, consider the tone and style of the news media environment (objective, reader-focused language).
Required Elements:
- Headline: maximum 80 characters
- Ingress (lead): maximum 250 characters
- You may also use the beginning of the article as the ingress, but please clearly indicate which part is intended to be used.
- Body text: no length restrictions, but longer is not always better. Recommended length: approx. 3,000 characters
- Subheadings and paragraph breaks must be clearly marked in the draft
- Text links: provide desired URL links and clearly indicate where they should appear within the text
Information to include with submitted materials:
- When providing materials for a native article, please include the following details:
- Article title: Clearly indicate which text is intended as the headline.
- Ingress (lead): Specify the short introduction text that appears before the body of the article.
- Subheadings and paragraph structure: Mark any subheadings and indicate how you would like the article content to be divided into paragraphs.
- Main image: Identify which image is intended as the article’s main visual.
- Social media links: Provide clear instructions for any links you want included, specifying the platform or destination (e.g. company website, service page) and the full URL.
Please note!
- All submitted material must be ready for publication.
- Only send the images and videos you want used in the article — please do not send excess material.
- Advertiser’s own measurement tags are not accepted.