Online video consumption has increased by 121% since 2019, prompting more advertisers to invest in video advertising. Easy accessibility and immediate consumption make videos a powerful and popular marketing tool. Yet, it has become increasingly challenging for brands to compete for attention in overcrowded digital marketplaces.
Enter the interactive video ad.
As a form of non-linear media, interactive video ads allow viewers to interact with clickable elements like expandable product cards and end-screen carousels within a video.
They also can allow for unique branding differentiation and provide detailed analytics on click-through rates, engagement, campaign and product performance comparisons, and A/B testing.
Research suggests these rich and highly engaging formats drive a 9x higher impact on purchase intent and are more cost-efficient, with investment extending 52% further than non-interactive videos.
As e-commerce evolves, so does customer experience. Now you can use interactive videos to drive engagement and distinguish your brand from the competition.
Table of Contents
Why Marketers Prefer Interactive Advertising
Types and Examples of Video Interactive Ads
1. Shoppable Ads
2. Feature Ads
3. Upsell Ads
4. Engagement Ads
5. Promotion Ads
6. Landing and Home Page Ads
How to Use These Examples to Engage Viewers and Increase Conversions
Why Marketers Prefer Interactive Advertising
Interactive video ads are game-changers that convert viewers into leads through well-timed calls to action (CTAs). They are increasingly popular among advertisers for several reasons:
1. Highly Engaging
Capturing a customer’s attention long enough for a conversion is challenging. Despite this, interactive videos have 3x longer viewing times, 2x more conversions, and 14x more click-throughs to purchase.
It’s worth noting that 82% of Gen Z-ers skip ads, and over 50% use ad blockers. Interactive videos give your ad that extra something that may entice the younger generations to pay attention.
Advertisers using interactive video ads maximize engagement by directly inviting viewers to participate in the viewing experience. This immersive and interactive experience ensures video ads will remain an effective marketing channel, especially among digital natives.
2. A Seamless User Experience
Videos are already a key part of the customer journey, but they’re usually considered upper-funnel content. Interactive video ads have revolutionized how content and commerce interact.
“Customers want a shopping experience that’s aligned and seamless with their viewing experience,” says COTU’s User Researcher, Donna Chan.
Interactive video ads eliminate friction between the point of interest and the point of sale by taking customers directly to product pages. Given this seamless user experience, it’s unsurprising that 64% of consumers report spending more time watching an interactive video ad.
3. Improved Customer Data
Among interactive video’s many advantages, Chan also points out that you’re “able to track how each user engages with various interactive elements, which provides a wealth of information not previously available for brands.”
The advanced analytics offered by many interactive video platforms like COTU allow you to track various KPIs and compare campaigns. As a result, you can test far more specifically what consumers find most compelling.
Campaign views, product views, engagement rates, and click-through rates offer a snapshot of where customers are along their buying journey. Analysis of this data can help you better understand your audience’s behavior, preferences, and expected ROI through how they engage with interactive video elements.
4. Eradicate Marketing Silos
Marketing and sales go hand in hand naturally, yet within companies these teams are often siloed, and occasionally, their goals can feel at odds with each other. When organizations invest in interactive videos, they realize “they can tell a story creatively, the way they want and can also feature specific products and drive revenue all in the same video,” adds Chan.
This way, an interactive video ad effectively combines marketing and sales goals. This promotes cross-departmental collaboration, which enhances promotion, user interaction, and, ultimately, sales.
5. Higher Conversion Rates
35% of marketers report an increase in conversions, and 25% report an increase in sales when they use interactive video. Average conversion rates for interactive videos increased from 8.6% in 2016 to 12.7% in 2020. That is to say, interactive videos have far higher conversion rates than traditional video commercials.
The best interactive videos provide real value and delight viewers while making it easy for them to find products or services through clickable elements within the videos. In addition, they show the viewers how featured products address customer pain points and provide enough information to help customers with decision-making.
Types and Examples of Video Interactive Ads
Engaging your audience with interactive ads is the new marketing frontier. Below are a few examples of how you can use different interactive features to create impactful videos that can increase engagement and sales.
1. Shoppable Ads
85% of consumers want to see more videos from brands. However, like many other shoppers who enjoy consuming video content, you’ve probably seen a product in a commercial and wanted to buy it immediately, only to be dismayed when you couldn’t find it.
Shoppable ads solve this issue by adding clickable links to the respective product pages right in the video. These ads drive conversions by reducing friction in the customer’s journey while facilitating the decision-making and purchase process.
Soccer Products Ad
This shoppable ad shows a boy leaving home and arriving at an empty soccer field. Interactive product cards appear on the video as he uses the brand’s products. When a user clicks on a card, it expands to show the viewer the product price and the “Buy Now” CTA to purchase it.
COTU analytics runs in the background and reports to you the products that get the most interest from the viewers so that you can tweak your campaigns accordingly.
Ad Type: Informative
Purpose: Showcase product usage in real-life situations to attract and engage the target audience segment (soccer enthusiasts).
Best for Industries: E-commerce and retail industries such as clothing, groceries, electronics, beauty, home decor, and furniture.
Marketing Goals: Product sales and ROI.
2. Feature Ads
Feature ads emphasize a product’s features and benefits rather than its brand reputation. These commercials are great for promoting high-ticket items (cars, technology, etc.) that consumers like to see videos of as part of their research and decision-making process.
Educating shoppers about specific products through video reduces misconceptions resulting from inadequate knowledge. It also reinforces brand differentiation. In such advertisements, brands try to convince audiences their new products are better, thus creating a desire in them to buy their new products.
COTU Brand Ad
Several creative scenes in this fun product demo illustrate the potential of interactive video ads. The video also highlights how interactive elements can sell services as effectively as products. High production value combined with the compelling “Schedule a COTU Demo” CTA at the end of the video subconsciously compels the viewer to click on it and see COTU in action.
With COTU, you can measure several metrics to understand viewer response. You can gauge your ad success through metrics such as the number of click-throughs and leads generated.
Ad Type: Informative
Purpose: Educate consumers on specific product details.
Best for Industries: Retail, service, and consumer industry products like technology, vehicles, electronics, and software.
Marketing Goals: Product awareness, lead generation, positioning, and differentiation.
3. Upsell Ads
Upsell or grouped product ads let you increase a customer’s value by encouraging them to purchase complementary products or add-ons. These ads work well for brands looking to sell grouped products like camping gear or sports outfits.
These interactive video ads allow you to market an aspirational lifestyle and upsell products efficiently. You can group separate items that belong to a set to create a recommended product group, such as a fishing tool kit.
Outdoor Sports Products
Three different product sets appear in this outdoor mashup video for three different sports. Products appear in scenic action-packed shots demonstrating the products’ functionalities in real-world settings. Expandable cards let viewers know more about the products and make it easier for interested buyers to make up their minds. Then they can click on the links of the respective product cards and buy all the products in a set.
Since COTU can measure how many people clicked on the cards or the CTAs, you can compare customer interest in different sets of products. You can make several inferences from the collected data and apply the knowledge to iterate on campaigns or future product selection.
Ad Type: Persuasive, Reminder
Purpose: Help shoppers buy a complete look or set of products.
Best for Industries: Service, SAAS, outdoor equipment, makeup, DIY, and apparel.
Marketing Goals: Customer lifetime value and retention through product diversity.
4. Engagement Ads
Video engagement ads aim to create meaningful customer interactions over time by delivering relevant and personalized messages to viewers.
87% of marketers believe interactive videos have much higher engagement rates than static content because they facilitate and motivate user participation.
Shareable videos are highly effective in spreading brand awareness at a lower cost. Ultimately, engaging brand experiences result in increased lead conversion rates. You can also use a product carousel at the end of the video, increasing profits at a low incremental cost.
Belize
This is an aspirational story of a young man who’s starting his career as a guide. The video narrative is built around his commitment as he talks about the value of hard work and determination required to achieve a goal.
As he goes about his routine using different products, the shoes or the cap he’s wearing are brought into focus. At the same time, product cards appear to the side inconspicuously. Interested viewers can get more information about the products by clicking on them or buy them right away by following the CTA.
“Outdoor lifestyle brands that can weave products into aspirational narratives do really well with interactive video ads because they combine great natural scenes with product demonstrations.” —Donna Chan, User Researcher at COTU.
Ad Type: Persuasive
Purpose: Engage customers with an inspiring storyline and let them view the products in real-life.
Best for Industries: Outdoor, sports, automotive, electronics, beauty and clothing companies.
Marketing goals: Brand and product awareness.
5. Promotion Ads
All ads encourage purchases, but promotional advertising urges people to do it now. Businesses use them to boost sales of specific products or services over a short period.
Incentives and a “ticking clock” distinguish promotional videos from other types of advertising. Examples include temporary prices, discount coupons, bundle offers, etc.
The ultimate goal of promotional video advertising is to grow and stabilize revenues and profits throughout the year.
Recipe Ad
This pizza ingredient demo ad is ideal for grocers who run weekly ingredient or seasonal specials. It illustrates how interactive video ads can fit into a larger content marketing strategy.
A company may include a link to its website to drive traffic from the video to the homepage or the recipe page. It can suggest other content or promotional deals within the video or simply get viewers to subscribe to a newsletter for weekly recipe updates.
COTU analytics will enable you to measure the viewer’s response to each CTA. This will help you understand which promotions were most popular among your target audience and at what stage of the buyer’s journey most of your audience is.
Ad type: Persuasive, Reminder
Purpose: Provide consumers with deals and offers they can’t refuse.
Best for Industries: Retail industries such as food, decor, furniture, and electronics.
Marketing Goal: Upsell and cross-sell.
6. Landing and Home Page Ads
Landing page video ads are created explicitly for marketing campaigns and website home pages. Did you know they can improve conversions by 86%?
With interactive landing page videos, you can not only engage visitors, but it will also only take one click for them to learn more or reach the destination pages—whether they are product pages, whitepapers, or educational blog posts.
COTU Website
You can see a video on COTU’s homepage that perfectly showcases what COTU’s commerce tools can do. There’s no need for expansive web copy—any visitor can see how easy and simple it is to add product cards to COTU videos. With COTU analytics, you can measure the success of your landing page in converting leads.
Ad Type: Informative
Purpose: Introduce consumers to new products
Best for Industries: Any industry.
Marketing Goals: Brand and product awareness.
How to Use These Examples to Engage Viewers and Increase Conversion
Food, beauty, fashion, travel, and automotive industries can all benefit from interactive video ads. COTU allows you to create interactive ads without any technical knowledge or coding know-how.
You can create interactive videos with COTU in a few simple steps and use these tips to ensure your interactive video ads are able to achieve their goals.
1. Ensure Interactive Elements Are Relevant: Every interactive detail should align with the advertising campaign goal. You want to drive viewers further down the sales funnel, so bear this in mind when conceptualizing your videos.
2. Make Finding Products Easy: Consumers expect a seamless user experience. Clickable links should pop up the same time your products appear, so customers are not confused and can find more information about the products that catch their eye.
3. Focus on the Product: Remember that video is a visual medium. COTU research has found that viewers don’t want interactive elements to intrude on their viewing experience. Add clickable product cards at one side of the video (like COTU does) to ensure a non-disruptive viewing experience.
4. Consider Mobile Users: Over 60% of the digital viewers watch videos on their smartphones, and a majority of them watch them vertically. Vertical videos have a 9:16 aspect ratio, which is something to keep in mind if your target audience favors mobile use.
5. Plan, Plan, Plan: To leverage the full potential of your interactive video ads, you will need to have a well-crafted video marketing campaign. For example, shoppable fashion ads often upsell items or entire looks. Therefore, you need to know which products you want to group together in each ad.
6. Consider Your KPIs: You can improve your sales funnel and product offerings with interactive video ads because they provide granular customer data. Your video needs advertising goals and set KPIs so that you can track, measure, and compare its performance.
Interactive video ads offer exciting possibilities for e-commerce marketers and brands selling physical products ranging from active outdoor gear to electronics, sports equipment, and more.
“Creating an immersive video experience translates into sales because consumers want to see gear in real-time through video content,” Chan concludes.
Eager to explore the innovative possibilities of interactive video? Request a COTU demo today and discover how to wow customers with cutting-edge video technology that increases brand engagement and sales.