Interactive Videos: The Future of Marketing

We have recently launched our first interactive video 'Why Startups Fail?'. We are super excited about this because Interactive Video gives us so many creative opportunities! So let us tell you a bit about why Interactive Video is the future!

The power and dominance of video content in marketing is now an established fact. However, with so much video content now streaming through the feeds, marketeers are looking for ways to be a step ahead, to stand out through all that noise, grab the viewer's attention and lure them into their world by offering something new and exciting. At Zedem, we have the skillset to create and customize the right interactive video for you, live action or animatied, combining a great idea with this great tool to help you maximize your connection with your audience and spread your message more effectively.

‘Oh but that’s just another type of video,’ you’ll say, ‘How different can it be?’

Well, allow us to explain…

Its implementation is relatively new so it is somewhat misunderstood or underappreciated. But interactive video can be a very effective tool.

A recent industry-related survey has found that only 24% of the interviewed marketeers had used interactive video and yet out of those, the staggering percentage of 92% has praised its efficiency.

Why should you use it?

Well, let’s start from the basics:
- It’s interactive! That means immediate engagement by definition.
- It is attention-grabbing!
- It is interesting! Fascinating, if done well!
- It gives you the satisfaction of making choices and seeing the immediate results of your choice. It gives the viewer a bit of control over the experience, therefore a better connection with it through participation.
- It allows for countless possibilities creatively!

Interactive methods of engagement are already being used in small but significant ways around the web. Take a look at Instagram story polls, Facebook likes, shares, Pins!

You can utilize that interactive effect and maximize it through video.

There are many methods and types of Interactive Video you can use:

Educational interactive video: You can make learning fun and engaging for children and adults alike, by using interaction to test or acquire knowledge. In 'Why Startups Fail?' we used interactive animation in an educational format, allowing the learner to make choices such as picking what they want to learn more about, thus tailoring the experience to their individual needs and purposes.

Enriching the tale: Mended Little Hearts, an organization for children with a heart condition, had a wonderful interactive campaign with a nice message. With each donation pledge, you add color and richness to the picture, gving a heart-warming experience to the viewer, who watches the metaphorical and literal benefit of their contribution.

Interactive Storytelling: Remember how exciting it was when you could choose different endings to fairytales in interactive books? Then video games? Now you can do that in video advertisement, morphing the experience into a game, engaging you viewer for longer. Take for example the interactive ad for Tippex.

Questionaire: You can use interactive questionaires to collect data, educate or provide the best solutions for your potential client based on their answers and needs.

Polls. Everyone loves polls! (Unless it’s election year). People like to speak their piece. You can have polls on your videos, collecting general information but also providing statistics to your audience, allowing them to participate in a form of dialogue.

Hot spots and annotations: Hotspots and annotations on video can give the viewer immediate access to learning more, linking to a relevant video, purchasing something that the video advertises and more. Check out this ad by Orabrush.

Interactive Slider: An excellent example is the Earth 2045 campaign for a major Swedish pension management company. It uses interactive slider videos to inspire sustainable investments. The slider allows the viewer to ‘see’ versions of the future and the effects of their actions, in a literal, immediate sense through their interaction with the video but also in a speculative way, provoking them to contemplate how their retirement choices can affect the future.

More importantly, interactive video provides the viewer with choices. Choices mean further engagement, participation, and act as an invitation. You are presenting your message but the viewer makes choices on how to experience it. Moreover, you provide a special, entertaining, even educational experience tailored to your brand and your viewers.

Essentially, you invite them to play along in the playground of the digital world!