Interactive advertising engages your audience through interactive elements. You might use:

• Quizzes

• Calculators

• Gamified ads

• Interactive videos

Traditional static ads offer a passive experience. You watch the video or read the ad copy. 

Interactive ads require active participation from viewers, though. You interact with the ad in some way.

This makes interactive advertising more engaging and memorable.

I'll define interactive advertising, uncover its benefits, the best types, why it drives engagement, and examples of successful interactive ad campaigns.

Let’s get to it.

What is Interactive Advertising?

Interactive advertising invites your audience to participate in marketing campaigns actively. Companies use various digital media formats for interactive ads like:

• Website banners

• Social media 

• Videos

Businesses can also use offline approaches like interactive display windows.

Interactive advertising boosts engagement. You might use quizzes, calculators, polls, videos, and augmented reality.

Interactive ads use interactive content to create a two-way communication channel between your business and your ideal customer.

Key Characteristics

1. User participation - Unlike static ads, interactive ads need active engagement from the audience. People become a part of the advertising experience.

2. Real-time feedback - These ads often include elements that deliver immediate feedback. This enhances the user's sense of involvement and satisfaction.

3. Personalization - You can tailor interactive ads to individual users based on interactions. This gives people a more personalized and relevant experience.

4. Enhanced engagement - Interactivity leads to higher levels of engagement and retention. Because people are more likely to remember and interact with content they actively participate in.

5. Data Collection - You can gather valuable data from user interactions. This helps you refine your strategies and improve future campaigns.

The Benefits of Interactive Ads

Enhanced Engagement

Interactive ads capture attention by involving the audience directly. This active involvement transforms viewers from passive observers into active participants.

A recipe for significantly increasing engagement.

For instance, interactive content gets two times more engagement than static content.

The content is more memorable and effective.

Higher Conversion Rates

The personalized and engaging nature of interactive ads leads to higher conversion rates. They offer people more relevant content.

Adapting the ad experience to individual users' preferences and behaviors compels them to take desired actions.

Interactive content gets double the conversions compared to static content.

Better Data Collection

Interactive ads deliver valuable insights through user interactions. You can track metrics like:

• Clicks

• Viewing time

• Social shares

• Responses to quizzes

Data helps you understand user needs and problems more deeply.

Use it to refine your advertising strategies in future campaigns for better results.

Increased Brand Awareness

Create memorable and engaging interactive ad experiences to spread awareness.

Engaging formats like interactive videos and augmented reality can create a positive impression.

Interactive content like quizzes is super sharable. They can help you get in front of people and grow your audience.

Improved User Experience

An enjoyable user experience is vital for the success of your advertising campaigns. Otherwise, people leave - on to the next one.

Make your interactive ads intuitive and engaging.

For instance, create fun quizzes with short questions that are easy to complete.

A positive user experience increases the chances of people engaging with your business in the future.

7 Best Types of Interactive Advertising

1. Quizzes

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Quizzes are popular for interactive advertising. You engage people straight away by asking them questions.

Any business can take advantage of a good quiz.

I'm gathering ideas to make a quiz about copywriting - yep, a quiz can even make my industry fun.

Quizzes are great for:

• Spreading awareness

• Educating your customers

• Collecting valuable insights

Creating quizzes is super easy with Convert. You can choose a template and customize it in the drag-and-drop builder.

That's how I'm going to make my quiz.

2. Calculators

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Give users personalized results based on their inputs. Calculators address specific needs.

• Offer practical value

• Enhance user engagement

• Build customer satisfaction​

For instance, a mortgage calculator for a bank website offers users results based on their economic situation.

Such information can be invaluable for people and endear them to the business.

That's why calculators work so well in the buyer consideration stage.

Convert is a must-try if you need to build powerful interactive calculators.

3. Interactive Videos

Interactive videos can incorporate clickable elements, branching narratives, and other interactive features. People engage with the content instead of passively consuming it.

This format boosts user experience and improves information retention, making the content more memorable.

Check out an example here.

4. Augmented Reality (AR) Ads

AR ads overlay digital content onto the real world. The result is an immersive experience.

These interactive ads uniquely showcase products and make your business stand out.

For instance, users could try on virtual clothing.

5. 360-Degree Videos

These videos let users explore a scene from all angles. The New York Times does this with The Daily 360.

This content can create a more immersive experience. And it lets you take a look around.

Real estate businesses can make good use of 360-degree videos in interactive ads. People get a more engaging and realistic view​ of properties.

6. Gamified Ads

Gamified ads seem to be everywhere. They're like the McDonalds of the digital world.

Probably because they're so effective at capturing attention and encouraging interaction. These ads are ideal for spreading brand awareness.

7. Social Media Ads

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are perfect for interactive ads. Quizzes are excellent for engaging people on social media.

They leverage the social aspect of these platforms to increase engagement. Quizzes are highly sharable for social media.

5 Reasons Interactive Ads Drive Engagement

1. Personalization

Everyone wants to feel special. Interactive ads let you take advantage of personalization.

This drives higher engagement. Because you're tailoring content to individual preferences and behaviors.

Customizing the user experience makes these ads more relevant and appealing to each viewer.

Say you install solar - I'm looking for solar installation. And your ad finds me on Instagram.

A calculator embedded in the ad prompts me to enter information for personalized recommendations.

The output tells me exactly what system I need, how much it costs, and how much I'll save. This is all based on the specific info I entered.

Now, I feel special.

I click your bright, clear call-to-action button (always have one of these). You have a new red-hot lead. 

2. Real-Time Feedback

Who wants to wait for anything anymore? The average person won't wait half a second for a webpage to load.

Interactive ads offer real-time feedback. Instant results. Give me that dopamine hit - now!

This immediate interchange keeps users engaged.

For instance, a quiz can offer instant results. This makes the user experience more satisfying and informative.

An interaction-reward feedback loop encourages continued engagement.

That's why people stare at slot machines until their eyes catch fire.

3. Higher Retention Rates

Interactive ads significantly improve information retention. Active participation makes it easier for people to remember the information you present.

The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius had this figured out way back.

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

Engaging formats like interactive videos or gamified ads direct users to pay attention and interact. This improves recall and understanding of the ad's message.

4. Emotional Connection

Salesman and author Zig Ziglar once said:

"People buy on emotion and justify with logic."

Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman says that 95% of our buying decisions are subconscious.

Emotion is a powerful driver of engagement and buying behavior.

Interactive advertising creates strong emotional connections with your audience.

They interact with your ad, engage with the content, and get invested emotionally.

5. Social Sharing

Interactive content is more likely to be shared on social media. Content like quizzes can amplify your reach and spread awareness.

Users are more inclined to share engaging and unique experiences.

The most shared quiz published between 2017-2022 got a total of 5.5 million social interactions.

Social sharing also enhances your credibility and trustworthiness. Because people trust content recommended by their friends​.

3 Examples of Successful Interactive Ad Campaigns

1. Boursin Sensorium Campaign (Interactive Video)

This interactive video ad from Boursin lets users control the view on the screen. The ad takes viewers on a journey through a fridge.

You can look around and interact with the content from different views.

2. Narcos: Cartel Wars (Gamified Ad)

FTX Games partnered with Glispa for their game Narcos: Cartel Wars. Users can engage with the ad and play the game before buying it.

This participation is much more effective than simply watching a video ad.

3. Eltex (Interactive Calculator)

Eltex created a solar power calculator with Convert. They advertised it on their website to capture and qualify new leads.

The calculator started generating 30 new leads daily and got up to 5,000 interactions per month.

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Find more examples of succesful interactive ads here.

Conclusion

Interactive advertising has 5 leading benefits:

• Enhanced engagement

• Higher conversion rates

• Better data collection

• Increased brand awareness

• Improved user experience

These ads drive interaction. Your audience gets personalized content, real-time feedback, and memorable experiences.

People buy with emotion, on autopilot. Interactive advertising lets you build strong emotional connections with your ideal customers.

Incorporating interactive ads into your marketing strategy helps you stay competitive these days.

Are you ready to strike an emotional chord with your audience?

Convert makes creating interactive content easy - no coding needed. Use our templates and drag-and-drop builder to create:

• Product configurators

• Calculators

• Quizzes

• Surveys

• Tests