How CTV Is Unlocking New Interactive Ad Formats
Discover how tech-enabled CTV advertising is driving the future of digital advertising.
Curt Larson, chief product officer of Sharethrough, discusses new interactive programmatic ad formats that directly target consumers. He goes into detail about interactivity in CTV advertising and how new technologies and formats can enhance consumers’ advertising experience.
Interactive ad formats are becoming more important for advertisers as they strive to create engaging consumer experiences. By leveraging these formats, advertisers can increase brand awareness, drive sales, and improve customer engagement. The advertising industry has been leveraging new interactive ad formats in several ways.
Brands and advertisers are using QR codes in CTV ads to allow viewers to engage with commercials using their smartphones. It’s a direct way for advertisers to bridge the offline and online worlds. By scanning a QR code, consumers can be directed to a specific landing page, download an app, or receive a discount code for a brand in ways that streamline the customer experience.
When viewers pause a video or streaming service, pause screens offer large screen real estate to display an ad where viewers are likely to have their phones in hand. Most importantly for the viewer, this allows advertisers to showcase or promote products without interrupting an audience’s viewing experience. But these ads can be interactive allowing viewers to browse products or click through to a website in real-time.
Shoppable ads are also gaining traction, as vendors are quickly figuring out how to meet consumer expectations of “one-click shopping” on CTV. Allowing viewers to purchase products directly from an ad can be done through an interactive overlay on a video being watched or by including a buy button within the ad.
Improving Ad Experience for Consumers
Provided the ads don’t impede viewing the content, interactive ad formats make the ad experience more enjoyable and memorable because they add value to the viewer. This engagement can also help increase the time consumers spend with the ad, leading to better brand recall and purchase intent.
A research study by market researcher Aluma uncovered that 70% of the viewers that engaged with an ad bought a product, and NBCUniversal found that including an on-screen QR code in a shoppable CTV ad had a 73% higher conversion rate than the industry average.
Most importantly for all involved, interactive formats can be tailored to the individual consumer, making the ad experience more relevant and personalized. For example, shoppable content can cater to a consumer’s preferences or purchase history, making it more likely that they will find something useful about the ad content. Another valuable detail is that they’re easier for consumers to engage with, allowing viewers to quickly access more information or make a purchase without having to leave the ad experience.
Emerging Interactive Ad Formats
Some streaming platforms are quickly moving to introduce new interactive ad formats, like news and weather overlays and shoppable ads, as we mentioned. Still, other ad formats could gain traction in the near future based on current and emerging technological breakthroughs.
The basic next steps could see the progression of video ads, which are already highly engaging, but the future could see more interactive videos that allow viewers to take an active role in the content. With the rise of voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Siri, advertisers may begin to explore how voice-activated ads that respond to spoken requests or commands could be incorporated into the mix.
Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) may be used in advertising to create an even more immersive experience for consumers. For example, a beauty brand might create an AR ad allowing consumers to try different makeup looks within the ad time frame. Advertisers using VR could create interactive ads that allow consumers to explore a brand’s products or services in a 3D storefront environment.
Depending on how sophisticated generative AI like ChatGPT or Bard become in the next few years, they could be integrated into ad campaigns to provide the most personalized and interactive ad experience for consumers we’ve ever seen.
Ad-Supported Streaming Services
Generally, viewers have a strong penchant for interactivity. But one of the main concerns that consumers have about ad-supported streaming services is the intrusive and disruptive nature of traditional ads in the middle of their entertainment-watching. However, there is an ultimate benefit for fickle viewers. Interactive ad formats can create a more engaging and personalized ad experience that is less likely to be perceived as intrusive.
It all goes back to what is useful for the viewer if advertisers put in the work and utilize best practices toward that goal among others. By leveraging data about a consumer’s interests, behaviors, and preferences, advertisers can create ads that are more targeted and tailored to desired audiences and individual consumers, which become inherently beneficial.
For example, shoppable content and pause screens provide a convenient way for consumers to interact with ads and find more information about products or services they are interested in without seeming intrusive. Similarly, gamification can take ads from passive to active in the viewer’s mind, providing an entertaining and immersive experience that captures a consumer’s attention and makes them more likely to remember the advertised brand or product.
Delivering more relevance to consumers means being effective at driving engagement and purchase intent but also not totally interrupting the viewing experience. Interactive ad formats have the potential to create a more positive ad experience for consumers, which can help to overcome some of the concerns that consumers may have about ad-supported streaming services.
The Road Ahead
CTV advertising is rapidly growing, and streaming is expected to surpass traditional TV advertising in the next few years. Advertisers need new and innovative ways to engage viewers and deliver more effective advertising experiences or they’ll be done. It’s that simple.
Equally as simple is what CTV advertising can provide. Interactive advertising can interrupt viewers or give them something valuable.
According to our research, consumers are 52% more likely to pay attention to CTV ads that include any useful content with the ad. As long as platforms and vendors place the user experience at the center of the new ad formats, CTV has an exciting future ahead for digital advertising.
By using interactive ad formats, such as shoppable content, pause screens, and interactive video, advertisers can provide a more engaging and seamless experience that enhances the viewer’s overall ad experience.
The interactivity of the format also provides advertisers with valuable data and insights that can be used to optimize campaigns. By tracking and analyzing viewer engagement with interactive ads, advertisers can gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, allowing them to refine their ad strategies and improve their overall effectiveness.
The goal is to get better and more granular to drive cost-effective results. As CTV continues to grow in popularity, interactivity will become increasingly crucial — and eventually absolutely essential — in the future of CTV advertising.
Have you considered CTV advertising? What challenges or opportunities have you experienced? Share with us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
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