Interactive video sounds like a format reserved only for the science fiction genre; but it is fast becoming a mainstream reality, with publishers increasingly using it to create immersive experiences for their customers. Liam Brennan (pictured below), global digital director, MediaCom, tells ExchangeWire that brands and agencies will need to abandon traditional online video assumptions to fully embrace interactive video and dynamic content.

Increasing audience fragmentation, and a decline in live TV viewing among younger audiences, have led brands to build, or replace, lost reach with online video buys.

This is a smart move, but an apples-to-apples price comparison (with lower-cost, linear, non-interactive ad units) in a cross-screen plan can undercut the additional value of immersive and interactive video. Here’s what to do about it.

Customised immersion

We are far enough along in video’s evolution to know that online video can be delivered at scale in developed markets, making it a viable choice alongside regular TV. Indeed, new and exciting interactive units enable immersive, customisable experiences for viewers/users.

The most buzzworthy of these formats is the online VR (Virtual Reality) video. Largely pioneered by Google and Facebook (which bought Oculus in 2014), this 360° video format has matured past the gimmick stage and is now being used by many publishers and brands to tell deeper, more profound stories.

For example, National Geographic is using 360° video to create real world experiences by immersing viewers in the wonder and beauty of nature’s extreme locations, such as Kamchatka and Victoria Falls. And in a teaser for the recent film 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', viewers can 'ride' Rey’s desert speeder through the Jakku wasteland.

Research from the likes of Nielsen and Google has consistently shown that the longer viewers watch video content, the greater the positive impact on metrics such as ad recall, brand awareness and product purchase intent. This effect is likely to be as, if not more, profound with a fully-immersive user experience.

Whilst these immersive formats are considered to be the future of interactive video, the challenge lies with scale. They are difficult to distribute and many users lack the technology to experience these videos as the creator intended.

The personalised, seamless experiences

The real opportunity, however, may lie in the most simplistic interactive video experience – the one that, like a great horse, we let run. We let it run while it tells a story, brings the consumer in, enables in-video shopping, conversing with friends, buying and, ultimately, leads to the next story. And the next, and the next. This would require a total rethinking of how video is bought, sold and, most importantly, measured.

Obviously, we’re not there yet, but history tells us that we’re on our way. Consider the way banners used to be bought. Reach? Done.

Liam Brennan, Global Digital Director, MediaCom

Today, customisable, in-banner content is used to push individuals further down the purchase funnel, or to capture in-banner data that can reduce drop-off and increase conversion rates. The same evolution will move interactive video into the future. For the most part, video is still a 'watch and click' experience: consume short-form content, then click to a web page for more information or to buy. We made some progress with 'shoppable video' that enabled viewers to click on featured products to purchase via crude YouTube annotations or natively-developed products. Despite achieving CTRs dramatically higher than equivalent placements, further technical developments stalled.

We believe there is huge potential for dynamic video, not only to deliver immersive storytelling, but also to be used as an end-to-end format that would holistically embrace the entire consumer purchase process. Imagine a video where you could investigate a product, comparison shop, consult others, view deeper video-in-video product information, read reviews embedded from other sites and, finally, make a purchase. These videos could be further enhanced through the use of freely available consumer and purchase data to subsequently showcase more relevant products and services post your purchase, or indeed tailor the experience itself. But how would this be evaluated against a traditional format? How would this be priced and sold? Are advertisers and publishers willing to move on from the 'watch and click' model?

It could be years until we can unlock the true value of interactive video; but it is coming as surely as today’s previously-unforeseeable formats did. We are barely scraping the surface right now, and we can unlock video’s potential if we break free of tradition.

So… Imagine! Dream! Aren’t those always the first steps to anything great?

Rethinking interactive video

To move interactive video development along, there are three significant areas in which change is needed:

– Content: go beyond linear, short-form video and test longer, interactive stories with adaptations for different audiences.

– Costing/auditing: non-interactive CPMs won’t work, because the relationship between exposure and conversion will be entirely new. We’ll need an entirely new level-set in terms of pricing.

– KPIs: given that interactive video, by its very nature, could embed the entire purchase funnel, current brand-heavy video KPIs will shift towards purchase intent and completion.