How interactive ads can help brands achieve full-funnel campaign impact

Question 1

Audiences today want control over how and when they choose to engage with advertising. Technologies like tablets, smartphones, connected TVs, smart speakers, and streaming services now make it possible for advertising to be an immersive experience, not just a passive transaction between brands and consumers. In particular, the rise of interactive ads allows brands to engage more effectively with their audiences across an increasingly fragmented shopping journey. With interactive ads, brands can move beyond traditional advertising to better connect with their customers through technology, in a way that streaming audiences often find dynamic and engaging. In fact, 80% of respondents to a survey said they would take an action if exposed to an interactive ad.¹

Question 2

What are interactive ads?

Answer

Interactive video and audio ads give audiences more varied, exciting ways to engage with your brand. Using a TV remote, mobile device, or their voice, customers can click, scan, or say a command to add an item to their shopping cart or learn more about their favorite brands, without ever leaving their streaming experience. These ads transform streaming into a participatory exchange that gives customers the choice to engage with an ad in the moment or on their own schedule. They also come come in a range of formats, allowing customers to learn, play, and shop while watching or listening to their favorite streaming content. And by allowing deeper engagement beyond the first impression, brands are not only able to supercharge ad performance, but also gain access to lower-funnel insights based on customer engagement—helping further fuel campaign strategy.

Question 3

Interactive ads on streaming TV

Interactivity is a powerful feature that you gain access to using Amazon’s Streaming TV ads. These ads run on popular video supply across Prime Video, Twitch, and Fire TV channels (including TV shows, movies, and live sports broadcasts), as well as third-party streaming TV apps like A&E, Lifetime, and Crackle. Interactivity is now enabled as the default across streaming TV inventory, meaning it’s easier than ever for brands to activate an interactive campaign.

For example, a new feature available via Amazon’s Streaming TV ads is the interactive pause ad, which enables customers to further engage with brands while pausing the content they’re streaming. When viewers press pause on their living-room remote, they will see a high-impact unit featuring brand messaging and imagery, along with a remote interactive creative overlay. These ads extend the engagement opportunity beyond a traditional ad break, as the overlay is available to customers for as long as the content is paused.

Question 4

Interactive audio ads

Amazon’s interactive audio ads allow customers to easily connect with your brand through quick, voice-based responses using an Alexa call-to-action (Alexa CTA). For example, they can take actions like adding items to their cart, requesting more information, or setting a reminder, without disrupting their streaming audio content. These ads run across the audio supply on our Alexa-enabled devices, including Amazon Music, Alexa news, and third-party suppliers.

Question 5

How to make interactive ads work for your brand

Answer

Amazon Ads provides brands the opportunity to leverage interactivity during different stages of the customer journey, from initial discovery to conversion. Our solutions pair the reach, scale, and engagement of some of the most well-known Amazon streaming TV and audio supply with seamless remote-click or voice interactivity features. As a result, brands have been able to better connect upper- and lower-funnel impact in their campaigns, seeing significant positive lifts in awareness, consideration, and conversion.

Question 6

Shop: Connect to shopping from streaming TV and audio ad experiences

Tapping into the power of easy, one-click/prompt shopping on Amazon, interactive ads can help your brand drive purchases. With the “add to cart” overlay or command, your brand can create shoppable experiences that allow viewers to use their remote, phone, or voice to instantly add the featured product to their Amazon shopping cart.

Here's an example of an interactive video ad with an add to cart creative overlay. With a click of their TV remote, the customer takes action to add the featured product to their Amazon shopping cart.

In this example of an interactive audio ad, a customer uses the 'add to cart' voice command to seamlessly add the featured product to their Amazon cart.

In this interactive pause ad, a customer pauses the content they're watching, adds the item featured in the pause ad that appears to their Amazon cart, and then resumes the content - all with just a few clicks of their TV remote.

Question 7

Learn: Enable customers to learn more about your brand

If you do not sell on Amazon, leveraging calls-to-action (CTAs) like ‘learn more’ and ‘want more info’ help audiences further explore or engage with your brand. Interactive video ads are also rolling out additional lead generation CTAs to encourage viewers to take specific action from the creatives they see. These include ‘book an appointment,’ ‘get this offer,’ ‘sign up now,’ and ‘get a quote.’

Here is an example of an interactive video ad with want more info creative overlay. With a click of their TV remote, the customer takes action and sends themselves an email with more info about the featured product or brand.

This is an example of an interactive video ad with book an appointment creative overlay, tailored for an automotive brand. An interested customer uses their TV remote to send themselves an email with a link to book an appointment for a test drive at their local Hyundai dealership.

In this interactive audio ad example, the 'send me more info' voice command is used to send an email with additional details about the brand.

In this interactive audio ad example, a customer uses the 'remind me' voice command to have their Alexa device set a reminder to tune in to watch the new season of a show.

Question 8

Play: Gamified experiences that spark excitement with your brand

The magic of interactivity isn’t limited to driving commerce and lead generation. Interactive ads can also show up as gamified experiences meant to surprise and delight, building recall, favorability, and engagement. Here’s an example of how this works with Branded Experiences with Alexa, which are unique, immersive experiences that help ad-supported audiences discover brands through voice, screen-tap, or remote in a deeper and more tailored way.

Through Branded Experiences with Alexa, consumers can learn more about brands, interact with exclusive brand content, shop for products, and much more.