4 Reasons Immersive Smart Ads Are Better Than Video and Display

Video and display ads are becoming a nuisance to many consumers when it comes to online experiences, leaving advertisers to use deceitful tactics in an attempt to get noticed. From display ads that take up large portions of space on websites, to pop-up ads that interrupt the viewer experience, there are a variety of annoyances causing consumers to quickly close ads or leave the page entirely.

Similarly, with video ads, users feel trapped as they stare at the countdown clock waiting to click the “skip ad” button. And for ads without the skip option, the viewer could close the page entirely thus causing them to abandon the content altogether.

With viewers actively ignoring or avoiding these traditional ads (i.e. banner blindness), brands need to start turning their campaigns into engaging user experiences. And as mentioned in our previous article about AI Immersive Ads, that means leveraging AI gathered data and Immersive Media so that brands can rate the effectiveness of an ad based on engagement instead of delivered impressions. With active engagement over passive viewing, it’s no wonder why Immersive Smart Ads are solving the problems of advertising today! Still unsure? Here are 4 Reasons why Immersive Smart Ads are better than video & display.

1. Immersive Smart Ads are User Friendly

From 360° videos and images to VR and AR experiences, brands leveraging Immersive ‘Smart’ Ads are allowing the viewer to explore content on their own terms, thereby placing the control of the brand experience in the hands of the consumer. Making advertising something fun and never before seen. And with some of these experiences being shareable, consumers are doing the advertising for free!

Take AR technology for example, brands can create ‘filters’ featuring creative from running campaigns, that consumers can use to share with their friends. Because the filters involve user participation, it encourages active engagement with the brand. More importantly, because Immersive Smart Ads track all actions transpiring within the ad, the behavioral data collected can be leveraged to improve the ad, thereby increasing active engagement, and also increasing overall ad performance. Which takes advertising to the next level by delivering ads that are highly engaging, and encourages viewers to participate by either clicking around the experience, moving their devices to explore, or placing consumers “inside” the ad space (VR/AR).

2. Immersive Smart Ads Produce Better Brand Recall

Advertisers who focus their ad spending on Immersive Smart Ads offer viewers unique experiences unlike any other. With the ability to move and click freely in a 360° canvas, play gamified ads, or create their very own ice-cream (like this Magnum ad below), consumers are actively spending more time familiarizing themselves with and engaging with the brand. Video & display ads on the other hand offer only fixed, “passive” perspectives/scenes/images and no chance for users to interact, besides clicking the skip ad or close button.

One of the many benefits of Immersive Smart Ads is that within one ad unit, brands can showcase multiple campaign messages. And when that ad unit includes “active” interactivity such as hotspots and ‘gamification’ mixed with more “passive” ad experiences such as video and sound, the ad unit offers a message for all types of people. Meaning because viewers aren’t limited to just 15 seconds like video display or stuck in a boring boxy format like digital display ads, they are retaining the brand message while simultaneously having fun. Therefore increasing the total time spent with the brand.

3. Immersive Ads Encourage Trustworthy Advertising

In today’s market, video and traditional display ads only track how many impressions were delivered (how many ads loaded), how long they watched (if running video ads), and click-throughs (numbers of clicks to site). And with such small amount of data, how do marketers even know if a consumer actively watched or viewed the video & display ads? With smart ad technology, Immersive Ads are bringing back trust in advertising; therefore standing out from the rest of the crowd.

Data collected from our smart ad technology goes above and beyond. For starters, we categorize engagement as not passive, but active. Meaning that in order for us to consider a consumer as engaging with an ad, their mobile device has to have moved at least 50°. This device motion is pivotal in proving to advertisers that the viewer isn’t just interacting with the ad by accident, but instead moving their smartphone in such a way to actually be ‘playing’ with the ad.

Given the lack of trust consumers feel towards brands these days, marketers are focusing on honest advertising. In a world where ad viewability is a big issue, Immersive Smart Ads are critical in ensuring a brand gets what they paid for. With data generated from within the ad unit, Immersive Smart Ads can detect if an ad was in view or not. Meaning the days in which a brand buys 10 million impressions in which only a fraction of those were in view are over. Additionally, with Immersive Smart Ads there are no worries of false impressions from bot activity and fraud. That’s because immersive ad units contain data-points unseen to the visible eye that signal bot activity when clicked on. And when marketers get honest results they can advertise more effectively and accurately to their audience.

4. Immersive Ads Have Instantaneous Optimization

Being able to track device motion isn’t the only thing that makes Immersive Ads ‘smart’. By collecting information from over 70 data touch points from within the ad unit, smart ads are analyzing and optimizing in real time on what messages, imagery, spokespeople, and coupons work best in moving the consumer through the buying process.

With A.I in play, Immersive Smart Ads are constantly updating and improving without the hassles of bureaucratic back-and-forth emails and calls or the need to distribute new ad tags. Optimization reports provide clients with actionable insights on how they can better target consumers to improve performance today and in the future. This saves clients time & money while helping effectively maximize impressions.

In order for brands and marketers to increase user interaction, brand recall, trust, audience targeting, and more they should focus on the future of advertising. And that means leveraging AI Powered Immersive Smart Ads today!