What You Should Know:
- Interactive ads (also known as engagement ads or immersive ads) are the next frontier when it comes to reaching mobile consumers and getting them to click through, with the bonus of building brand awareness.
- A recent industry study found that the average interactive ad resulted in 47% more time with consumers in comparison to a standard display ad.
- Aiming to turn advertising opportunities into advertising experiences, interactive ads incorporate features such as 360-degree videos, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR).
- VR may still be developing, but AR is rapidly gaining popularity. This is mainly because, unlike VR, it doesn’t require a headset, but also because of user familiarity with AR experiences that have been rolled out by mainstream platforms like Snapchat and Facebook.
- To make the creation of interactive ads more attainable and affordable, some agencies have experimented with combining pre-existing assets (images, videos, etc.) and interactive elements.
Level Insight:
The world of advertising is becoming more interactive with AR and VR gaining popularity. This means we’ll have new, unique opportunities to reach target audiences, but also that we’ll need to improve the interactivity of our standard display ads and be prepared to keep up with the interactive technology featured in AR and VR ads. The real challenge and learning opportunity will come from determining how users should interact with an ad and which type of ad best supports a desired user experience.