In today’s digital world, it is more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and impress your target market.
Why? If you aren’t doing everything possible to differentiate yourself, you’re bound to get ignored.
This is why interactive marketing is so useful.
Not only does it cut through the noise to catch the attention of your customers and leads, but it also allows your brand to show off your creative side.
In this post, we’ll cover what this type of digital marketing is and why it is so important.
Plus, we’ll add a few interactive marketing examples that our Rock Content team feels are some of the best we’ve seen yet.
What is Interactive Marketing?
Interactive marketing is simply any type of marketing that makes it possible for your audience to interact with written or visual content.
This can be something as simple as an online quiz or as immersive as an in-person multimedia experience.
The reason this type of marketing is gaining popularity is that it requires your buyer persona to take a step forward and engage with your brand.
That means instead of just reading a blog post or looking at a product description, they have the option to trade time and action in exchange for the value you’re offering with your interactive content.
➤ For example, maybe you want to attract a specific shopper to your eCommerce store.
To attract attention, you offer a 15% off coupon for those that take a five-question quiz about their product preferences.
While you’re actively gathering data about your ideal buyer, they’re getting the value of a discount for finishing the quiz. It’s a win-win for all!
But online quizzes aren’t the only way to attract customers.
There are plenty of other methods, such as infographics, slideshows, games, live streams, videos, audio, and so much more.
Bottom line: interactive marketing disrupts the status quo and invites your audience to take part in engaging with your brand in exchange for something of value.
What Makes Interactive Marketing Special?
The part that makes interactive marketing special is that there are no limits to what you can do.
With a creative team, you could make almost any traditional marketing campaign an experience that helps your brand stand out.
Customer engagement is a big deal and companies who take an interactive approach often see a remarkably higher level of it.
Why? You are guiding the customer through the actions you want them to take instead of hoping they’ll do it on their own.
Brands that are able to create these types of interactive campaigns also usually end up with a much more loyal customer following.
The reason behind this can vary, but the general consensus is that memorable marketing campaigns stick with consumers longer, which then makes it easier to recall the name of that company when looking for a particular product or service.
11 Best Interactive Marketing Examples
Now that we know the basics of what interactive marketing is and the benefits of using it, let’s dive further into a few examples of companies that are executing it correctly.
Here are 11 of our Rock Content team’s favorites.
1. Interactive Music Experience – Clash Up by Eko
Giving the audience a way to play around with music or multimedia is almost always a hit.
The reason is it gives individuals a way to spend time being creative, which in turn creates better brand recognition.
We love how Clash Up by Eko launched an interactive page that allowed users to create mixes of different artists from various genres into a single track.
Not only was it an excellent promotion for their various multimedia series, but it gave additional recognition to the artists they were featuring in the interactive experience.
2. Virtual Reality – Coca-Cola’s Santa Sleigh Ride
Who says experiences have to be limited to just web access?
Coca-Cola is already a household name, but they took to entertaining families during the 2015 holiday season by offering an interactive sleigh ride with the jolly man himself.
Audiences could access the content by using an Oculus device, a special headset that allows wearers to view mass amounts of VR content.
The whole thing was a hit — both for the soft drink brand and Oculus.
Best of all? It was memorable for those who took part and will likely pick up a red can the next time they need to quench their thirst.
3. QR Codes in Public Places – L’Oréal Mobile Taxi Shops
When it comes to interactive marketing, QR codes are one of the more simple and effective methods to take.
L’Oréal took a chance by creating an experiment called Mobile Taxi Shops. They specifically added QR codes to the inside of taxi cabs in larger cities.
When a consumer would scan the code with a smartphone device, they were taken to a download page for an eCommerce shopping app.
The brand saw tremendous results, which led to expanding a similar marketing campaign in other high-traffic areas.
4. Chatbot – Alexa
It’s hard to imagine Amazon’s Alexa as a chatbot, but that’s essentially what she is for the mega online retailer.
When a customer asks her a question about a particular product, she offers advice and options to purchase that item with voice commands.
This is a good example of how interactive marketing is becoming an immersive part of our everyday lives.
What started out as a way to boost sales for Amazon is now an integral part of how we run our homes, stay organized, and engage with artificial intelligence throughout everyday interactions.
5. Virtual Event – NBA’s Restart During Lockdown
For a lot of companies, the global pandemic was a huge catalyst for engaging in virtual events.
However, the way professional basketball did it was an excellent example of how to give target customers an interactive experience while still keeping the brand alive.
Utilizing the Microsoft Teams platform, they were able to give fans a way to watch live NBA games as they were happening.
In exchange, live stream webcam images of the fans were broadcast in the stands to give the players the feeling of playing in front of a real crowd.
During a tough time that could have made it hard to interact with their favorite teams, fans were given a memorable interactive experience.
6. Interactive eBook – IBM’s Think City
Trying to read a report from a tech company can be difficult.
In fact, even those who really enjoy that stuff sometimes get a little bored.
This is why IBM’s Think City is such an amazing example of interactive content.
By using animations and a “choose your own adventure” path, the audience is able to select different industries by clicking on illustrated buildings.
Within those paths are tons of excellent information about how the company is helping make those niches a better place.
It is a really cool way of taking what could be a simple textual eBook and turning it into something more.
7. Educational Training – Canva’s Design School
There’s always something your target customer would love to try out using your product, but they just aren’t sure how to get there.
Canva has done an excellent job of combining interactive marketing with an educational approach through their Design School.
With dozens of different courses, the company offers free graphic design training for anyone willing to learn.
Furthermore, they make it known that the techniques aren’t just for use on their platform. Rather, they translate across the board.
However, they do provide incentives for someone who would rather use their tool for ease.
This is a great combination that is really memorable for most buyer personas.
8. Personalized Interactive Experience – MyHeritage’s Deep Nostalgia
We all have someone in our lives that we miss dearly — whether that’s a parent, grandparent, friend, or whomever means the most to us.
MyHeritage took this unifying concept and turned it into a fantastic interactive marketing experience.
Users are encouraged to create an account and upload photos of loved ones.
In exchange, the image becomes animated.
For those who might be decades removed from seeing a loved one in video form, this can be a very moving and memorable experience.
9. Interactive Concert – Pokemon Day with Post Malone
What happens when you combine one of the biggest animated brands on the globe with an international music superstar?
The team at Pokemon did just that when they created a special interactive concert to promote their twenty-fifth anniversary.
However, this wasn’t just a release of a video.
There was an entire live stream event with the singer as a cartoon character while other famous digital monsters from the brand graced the screen.
For kids and those ready to reminisce a big part of their childhood, this was a must-watch event.
10. Personalized Product Suggestions – Yummly’s Interactive Quiz
To help users find the right recipes based on personal taste, the food-themed website created an interactive quiz.
Those taking part have the option to select their favorite cuisine types, then go through a series of questions.
The end result? A list of the recipe platform’s best matches that are sure to tantalize taste buds.
Of course, the best aspect to all of this is that Yummly doesn’t just have a few options.
They really dive deep with suggestions that go far beyond traditional fare and culinary skill level to give users a match that they’re sure to love.
11. Interactive Infographics – Ion by Rock Content
Of course, we have to mention our very own Ion by Rock Content in this list.
We’re not saying we’re partial, but we particularly love how this portion of our team is able to create amazing infographics that include interactive elements for better engagement.
From basics like timelines to elements that include video, quizzes, and more, these infographic pages are far from boring.
And they’re a great way to ensure a brand’s most important information stands out clear and concise.
Wrap Up: Did These Interactive Marketing Examples Inspire You?
As you can tell, interactive content is an excellent option to ensure your marketing campaigns stand out from the crowd.
Whether you’re using it to test audiences, improve brand recognition, or just up the ante when it comes to outshining the competition, giving users something to engage in is a surefire way to see successful results.
Want extra help doing that? Elevate your interactive marketing game with ION, our cutting-edge interactive content platform. Effortlessly create engaging quizzes, polls, and interactive experiences to captivate your audience and make your brand stand out.
Ready to turn inspiration into impactful results? Try ION free for 14 days and see the difference interactive content can make in your marketing campaigns.
Start creating interactive content with Ion and increase your marketing results!
Start creating interactive content with Ion and increase your marketing results!
