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One of the first things taught when learning how to safely navigate the web is to avoid clicking on ads. Thanks to spam and virus horror stories, most people are afraid of the ads they see, especially the ones that want you to click on them the most. With how often ads encourage the viewer to “Click Here”, “Learn More” or “Win Big” it can be expected that by doing so the user gets redirected to a landing page. And in order to save themselves the frustration of being redirected from their content, users have learned to avoid the click at all costs, even if the ads are for big name brands. Consumers who no longer trust the ads they see in banner ads or even in-app have gone so far as to remove the ads entirely by installing ad-blockers.
But with the fear of clicking on ads so high, why are marketers still touting Click-Through Rates as a campaign success? Even if there are a lot of clicks reported, it is hard to tell the difference between accidental clicks versus intentional interest. For example, a user could be trying to click the close button of an ad that is blocking their content and because they missed the button by a millimeter they get directed to the ad landing page. While this is incredibly frustrating for the user, it is still counted as a click through for most marketers. And with more brands concerned about ad fraud, wouldn’t you be upset knowing your CTR was so high because of inaccurate reports?
In order to gain the trust of both brands and consumers while gauging what makes a campaign successful without resorting to inaccurate click through numbers, advertisers should start to take engagement rates more seriously. But how can advertisers encourage ad interactivity without the use of excessive clicking? It’s easy thanks to Immersive Technology!
With immersive technology, advertisers can start leveraging ad units that enhance the user experience instead of distracting or frustrating the viewer. Thanks to technologies that utilize device motion and a 360° canvas, consumers are given an opportunity to actively interact with the ad without having to risk clicking out. Thus giving them control over the ad experience.
Device Motion – Immersive Ads introduce “device motion” as a new metric. Because of a smartphone’s sensory inputs (gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer etc.), consumers can engage with immersive ads (content) on a mobile device without actually “clicking” on an ad. Instead, simply by moving their smartphone in any direction a consumer can easily engage with branded content (ads) without fear that they’ll be taken away from the content they were consuming. This ultimately can drive time spent with a brand.
Click here to learn more terms & metrics from our Immersive Media Glossary!
Because device motion tracks phone movement, metrics like interaction rates, total engagement time, and interacted view time are accurately showing how users engage with an ad and for how long. Knowing that a user actively engaged with branded content for an average of 15 seconds or more, provides more insight than just knowing if they clicked or not. With accurate reports of time spent with brand, advertisers can better re-target ads based on whether the viewer engaged, what they engaged with, and for how long.
To truly utilize device motion and to promote high engagement as a campaign success story, advertisers have to get creative with their creative. A 360° ad canvas means smartphone viewers can explore more than a traditional display ad. This means ads should feature elements that encourage users to move around and ‘play’ within the ad space. And with device motion and touch technology, all the user has to do is move their device/finger to interact. Because Immersive Smart Ads respond to how the consumer explores the content, consumers are able to engage with a unique experience unlike anything they’ve seen before. For example, this Starbucks ad features triggered elements based on the user moving around the 360° space.
Of course the CTR is still a valuable insight into calculating conversions, but if brands want their clients to trust and support them, they should be leveraging device motion to track active user engagement. Since active time spent with a brand can lead to better brand recall and brand affinity, advertisers need to start focusing on interaction rates over CTRs. And with highly engaging Immersive Smart Ads, users who avoid clicking can still interact with and spend time with the brand without the fear and frustrations that come with accidentally clicking out.