Interactive video ads signify a revolutionary change in digital advertising, turning passive spectators into dynamic participants. Through the smooth integration of interactive elements such as touchpoints, quizzes, and clickable features, these ads present an unparalleled avenue for brands to connect with their audience. Viewers are no longer just observers but are encouraged to engage deeply with the ad content, making choices and initiating actions that steer the storyline.

According to the State of Video Marketing report, 17% of video marketers intend to incorporate interactive video into their video marketing strategy. But now, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s understand what is interactive video advertising, the reason why advertisers need to implement creative intelligence in their advertising media plan, and how to choose the best tech partner to get started with interactive video ads.

What is Interactive Video Advertising?

By definition, Interactive video advertising allows consumers to engage and interact with an ad, nurturing communication between brands and their audiences. This dynamic approach enables brands to establish and cultivate meaningful connections with their audience.

Interactive v/s Linear Video Ads

Traditional linear video ads typically allow limited interaction, such as play, pause, rewind, and fast-forward functionalities. In contrast, Interactive videos empower viewers to interact directly with the content using various digital actions like clicking, dragging, scrolling, hovering, and gesturing. This interactivity is facilitated through several tools, including:

• Hotspots: clickable areas within the video that may lead to external web pages or reveal additional content within the video itself, like product details.
• 360 views: enabling users to explore the video environment by dragging the screen to view in different directions.
• Branches: offering viewers multiple paths to customize and control the content they see.
• Data inputs: integrating form fields where users can input information like their name, age, etc., directly within the video.
• Quizzes: combining interactive buttons and branching to deliver assessments and provide personalized results at the conclusion of the video.

These functionalities enhance viewer engagement, making the video experience more enjoyable, memorable, and interactive.

Reasons for Brands to Adopt Interactive Video Ads

Giving viewers choices is increasingly popular, exemplified by Bear Grylls’ innovative use of interactivity in his Netflix series, “You vs Wild.” Similarly, on the advertising front, interactive video ads offer brands a powerful tool to engage consumers and convey messages more effectively.

There are several key factors that contribute to the rapid adoption of these formats:

1. Short Attention Time Span of Consumers

The internet has evolved into a fierce arena where capturing the attention of an easily distracted online audience is a constant challenge. In response to this, snackable content has emerged as a solution to cater to the short attention spans of the masses. On social media platforms, brands have effectively utilized snackable content to engage their audience. However, on the broader web landscape, its interactive layers are emerging as a highly effective strategy for capturing attention and encouraging users to engage with brands on a deeper level. Interactive elements within content not only grab attention but also invite users to actively participate, creating a more immersive and memorable experience. This deeper level of engagement nurtures stronger connections between brands and their audience, ultimately driving brand awareness and loyalty in a crowded digital space.

2. Higher Engagement

Encouraging users to engage with an advertisement by incorporating gamification elements is an effective strategy for conveying a brand message. Research indicates that interactive video ads lead to a 47% increase in the time spent with the ad. Additionally, when users interact with these ads, advertisers benefit from triple the amount of time spent engaging with the consumer.

3. Better Brand Recall

Interactive video ads, when executed effectively, are not just cool and innovative; they also excel in achieving what every advertiser aims for memorability. Research indicates that these ads leave a lasting impression, so much so that even if users don’t actively engage with them, they are still 32% more likely to remember the interactive ad compared to a linear ad.

4. Measure KPIs beyond views

Linear video ads traditionally focus on viewability and completion as KPIs, but interactive video ads offer deeper insights into user engagement. Tracking interactions with interactive elements provides valuable data, allowing brands to define KPIs based on campaign goals. This enables better measurement of ad effectiveness and optimization strategies.

How to Choose an Interactive Video Company?

Finding the right agency partner is crucial when embarking on your first interactive video project. It’s essential to choose a partner whose experience, skills, and capabilities match your requirements. That’s why we’re excited to introduce you to Crafters, a creative intelligence solution that can help bring your interactive video vision to life.

Our proprietary technology and engaging creatives turn your ads into immersive journeys, transforming brand stories into great captivating experiences.

1. Experience a sales boost like never before with Shoppable Videos!

These interactive masterpieces empower viewers to make purchases directly from the video itself. Explore, interact, and shop seamlessly as you watch, turning passive viewing into instant gratification. Elevate your sales strategy with Shoppable Videos today!

2. Reach the Right Audience in the Right Context at the Right Moment

Deliver ads on relevant platforms like CTV and Open Web, reaching viewers actively engaged in your niche. Crafters generate ads using non-personally identifiable information such as weather, geography, and time of day, ensuring user privacy and compliance with evolving regulations.

Conclusion

Digital video advertising expenditure has been on a remarkable upward trajectory, with substantial year-on-year increases. Although the global online advertising market is expected to mature and experience slower growth in 2024 and beyond, one niche that will maintain its prominence is video advertising. Forecasts predict a year-over-year growth of over 6% for video advertising in 2024. (Source: Statista).

Interactive video ads are poised to become a cornerstone of this growth, transitioning from a niche market to a mainstream advertising format. Brands are taking notice of these trends, and we anticipate witnessing a surge of highly original and creative interactive video ads in 2024 and beyond.

The possibilities are endless. Work with one of our interactive experts for your next campaign. Get started now.

In today’s digital world, brands have a golden chance to shake things up in the sports industry with interactive video ads. Forget boring 15-second promos! Traditional video ads might work for movies and TV, but just like those industries, sports are going digital, and interactive ads are leading the charge. Viewers are tired of passive ads and want something engaging, that pulls them in and makes them want more.

Brands are realizing these fans are the perfect audience for interactive video ads. By adding games and ways for viewers to play along, these ads create a whole new experience that keeps people glued to the screen, coming back for more, and even tuning in live.

But that’s not all. Interactive video ads open a door to a whole new level of connection between brands and their target audience. By letting viewers interact, brands can gather valuable information about their preferences and habits, like what they like and how they behave. Incorporating elements of interactivity and gamification, these ads create an immersive experience that keeps viewers hooked, wanting more and tuning into live programming.

In this blog, let’s dive into the importance of sports marketing with some different types of interactive ad templates and see how sports brands can use them in their own campaigns!

Sports Marketing: Fans, Videos, & Winning Big Online

A study by Grand View Research, Inc. predicts that the global sports technology market is likely to achieve a substantial size of 55.14 billion USD by 2030, demonstrating an impressive (CAGR) of 20.8% from 2023 to 2030. This remarkable growth indicates the abundant opportunities within this dynamic and evolving landscape.

Sports teams used to promote themselves through megaphones and posters, but now they use the internet! Fans are online all the time, watching tons of sports stuff.

Videos are the biggest stars! Live streams let fans watch games and interviews live, even if they’re far away. Watching the winning shot on Facebook Live, feeling the excitement even through your phone! Teams also make short videos showing behind-the-scenes stuff or amazing player moments. These videos get people excited and make them feel closer to the team.

Also See: Sports Advertising Playbook

Leveling Up Advertising: Exploring Innovative Interactive Ad Templates

Interactive ads improve visibility & top of the mind recall while driving high impact through consumer engagement, multilingual marketing & retargeting. Let’s explore some of these templates:

Gamified Sports Experiences

Sports brands can create engaging mobile games aligned with popular sports themes. For example, a cricket-themed mobile game using phone’s motion sensors for realistic batting and bowling actions. Users could tap to start, choose heads or tails for the toss, and physically swing their phones to bat or bowl. This gamified experience not only entertained users but also aligned with their interests, creating a memorable interaction.

Real-Time Sports Data Integration

Integrating real-time sports data into interactive ads adds an immersive element. In a cricket-themed campaign, advanced sensors prompted users to shake their phones, simulating a ‘run out’ experience based on the live match scores. This sensory-rich approach leveraged the excitement of the game, providing users with a unique and interactive way to engage with the brand.

Contextual, Timely and Data-Driven Campaigns

Brands can optimize campaigns by incorporating timely and data-driven elements. An example involves a financial services promotion that dynamically featured live scores exclusively during matches. In the world of contextual & data driven advertising, brands can further optimize their campaigns through NLP analysis. NLP algorithms can analyze articles, newsletters related to finance.

By understanding the context of the text, brands can strategically place ads within relevant and brand-safe environments, ensuring that their promotions align with the thematic content and resonate with the intended audience. This ensures laser-focused targeting, capitalizing on the cricket buzz and effectively promoting the brand’s services during relevant moments.

Fitness-Centric Interactive Ads

Capitalize on the fitness zeitgeist by gamifying the user experience and fostering a sense of accomplishment. Brands can achieve this by developing interactive advertisements, such as virtual obstacle courses with leaderboards, that tap into users’ competitive nature and intrinsic desire for recognition. This strategic approach demonstrably increases user engagement, driving repeat interactions and solidifying your brand as a leader in the fitness space.

Discover: Crafters Creative Gallery

Score a Winning Play with Fans: Best Practices for Sports Brands in the Digital Age

Here are the best practices to unleash your inner MVP and score big with your passionate audience:

1. Personalized playbook: Use data-driven insights to understand your fans’ preferences, then tailor content and offers that resonate. Like exclusive behind-the-scenes footage for die-hards, or location-based discounts for regional supporters. Personalized experiences build deeper connections and make fans feel valued.

2. Content that Captivates: Craft engaging content that ignites emotions and sparks interaction. Think user-generated content campaigns, where fans become the stars. Or, unleash interactive quizzes and polls that get everyone buzzing. Remember, interactive content isn’t just about likes and shares – it’s about building a community of passionate fans.

3. AI Powered Precision: Go beyond basic targeting with AI enabled contextual targeting. This tech analyzes the content fans are consuming (videos, social media) and delivers ads that are relevant to their real-time interests. For instance, a fan reading an article about a rising rookie! They might see an ad for that player’s jersey right then and there. It’s like having a dedicated scout for each fan, ensuring every ad resonates, boosting engagement, and driving conversions.

4. Level Up the Fan Experience: Don’t just offer seats, offer portals! Embrace cutting-edge tech like gamification and AR/VR to create immersive experiences. Fans scoring virtual goals with their favorite players, or taking a virtual tour of the locker room.

These innovative touches leave lasting impressions and make your brand the ultimate destination for die-hard enthusiasts.