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.

But with Interactive ads, viewers are active participants in the experience. You interact with the ad in some way, such as controlling a video or entering details into a calculator.

This participation makes interactive advertising more engaging and memorable.

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

Let’s get to it.

What is Interactive Advertising?

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

• Website banners

• Social media

• Videos

Businesses can also use offline approaches. These can include interactive display windows or community campaigns.

Interactive advertising increases awareness and boosts engagement for your business. Popular ways to make ads interactive include using 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 your audience. Potential customers 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

More Engagement

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

This active participation is a recipe for significantly increasing engagement.

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

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 user preferences and behaviors guides 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. Then, you can use the insights to refine your advertising strategies in future campaigns for better results.

Increased Brand Awareness

Creating memorable and engaging interactive ad experiences helps you spread brand awareness.

Formats like interactive videos and augmented reality are engaging and create a positive impression.

Interactive content, such as quizzes, is super shareable. This content helps 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 and move on to your competitors.

Make your interactive ads intuitive and engaging.

For instance, create interactive calculators that make complex information easier to understand. Users can input their information and get relevant recommendations and product details.

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

7 Best Types of Interactive Advertising

1. Quizzes

dE87Ja48E3wM6yhwb

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

sLrmRPQiyc8iLXo9m

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

Interactive ads let you take advantage of personalization. Afterall, everyone wants to feel special, including your potential customers.

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

When you customize the user experience, it makes your ads more relevant and appealing to each viewer.

Say you install solar, and I'm looking for solar installation.

• I’m doomscrolling Instagram, as I do, and your solar ad pops up.

• A solar 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 - all based on the specific info I entered.

Now, I feel special.

I click your bright, clear call-to-action button (always include one of these), and now 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. Gimme that dopamine hit - now!

This immediate interchange keeps users engaged.

For instance:

• A quiz can offer instant results.

• This creates a more satisfying and informative user experience.

• 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 back in the day...

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

Engaging formats like interactive calculators and quizzes make users 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 (i.e. emotional).

• 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 emotionally invested in outcomes.

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.

to a website calculator is a way to get leads for your business, fast!

RZF9egLas6eNbbA9g

Find more examples of succesful interactive ads here.

How Convert_ Helps You Create Content for Interactive Ads

Convert_ is a powerful no-code tool that helps you build and customize interactive content. You can create calculators, product configurators, quizzes, surveys, and tests to:

• Spread brand awareness

• Increase engagement

• Build an audience

• Strengthen relationships

• Drive more sales

• Retain customer loyalty

For instance, you can set up a calculator with your ads and let potential customers interact with your offerings. They can get instant quotes for services or learn more about your products.

Explaining the benefits with a calculator is an engaging way to help customers make informed buying decisions. When you combine this with instant quotes, you refine the sales process and increase conversions.

Convert_ makes creating interactive content straightforward and offers other advantages:

• Most powerful calculations on the market

• Unlimited users for any payment plan

• Embeds into any website

• Excellent integrations

• Highly customizable

• Easy to use

• Free plan

Our software does all the heavy lifting for you. Benefit from a user-friendly, drag-and-drop builder for creating powerful interactive content - without coding skills.

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 with your business. Your audience gets personalized content, real-time feedback, and memorable experiences.

People buy with emotion, almost 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_ gives you the tools to create interactive ads on a tighter budget. You don’t need coding skills, and you don’t have to pay expensive developers.

Sign up for the free forever plan, choose a template, and start creating interactive content today.