Differences between Rich Media interactive formats and traditional display

Rich media interactive formats are perfect for brands looking to create successful and creative actions to generate strong impact on their users. As its main feature, this kind of format requires the participation of users to execute an action.

They are advertising formats that are changing the dynamics of the sector. They aim at capturing their users and increase their visits and conversion rate through videos and images. In this post, we will go over the change on advertising contexts that is taking place in the sector.

Which are ads have rich media interactive formats?

According to Google, Rich Media “is a term used in digital advertising to describe ads with advanced features such as video, sound or other elements that attract viewers and make them to interact with the content.”

The way in which Rich Media interactive formats capture the attention of users is innovative. Text ads use words, display ads and photos, and Rich Media ads offer more formats:

• Expandable.
• Interstitial.
• Banner.
• Floating Banner.
• Expandable in several directions.
• Multi-floating interstitial.
• Pushdown.
• Peel-down.
• Video.
• VPAID.

In Google’s Rich Media Gallery, it is possible to see examples of all these types of ads. But here you also have examples of rich media banners. One of the benefits of rich media interactive formats is that it is possible to analyze the users’ behavior through the metrics the format registers.

Rich Media ads are used with HTML5 technology, which allows you to create ads with complex and special actions that users like a lot. Because of their innovative technology, rich media interactive formats can include several levels of content.

They use  creative content such as videos or quizzes, among other formats, with the aim of surprising the users with your ads. Rich media interactive formats are the perfect type of advertising for today’s marketing strategies.

Rich media vs. Traditional display

One of the most significant features of rich media formats is that you can click on more than one area of ​​the ads. Therefore, this type of ads allow for greater interaction with users.

Rich Media ads include images and video and, additionally, they can be spread out, which is not possible in traditional displays. Traditional displays are based on a flat advertisement with classic formats, such as .html, .gif or .jpg, among others. They are not expandable and they measure clicks that takes place in a single area.

A Rich Media format can be created using Flash or HTML5. However, it is advisable to use HTML5 because it allows the ad to appear on all types of devices, even those that do not support the flash format. Unlike HTM5, flash does not have as many design possibilities, so it might pose a limit to your creativity. Therefore, it is advisable to always create ads using HTML5.

How do rich media formats benefit you compared to traditional display?

Visits to a landing page increase remarkably if the ad is launched using rich media, when compared with traditional display. But also, if you use a video format, you will have even more possibilities of creating an impact.

This example of The Hobbit is perfect to understand why this type of ads creates more engagement than traditional ads. This landing includes a video format that makes it look as if the user was part of it, and a battle game that makes the user interact with the ad 100%.

Therefore, rich media interactive formats are one extra step for ads created so far. This change in format is a challenge for designers. However, interaction with users increases significantly. Why? Because these types of ads are more attractive to users.

Why use rich media interactive formats

Rich media interactive formats can have a number of benefits for your company’s online marketing campaigns. Here, you will find a list of some of the most relevant benefits:

1.- They offers you the possibility of being creative

Rich media interactive formats can be adapted to many formats and are very versatile. It is possible for you to show all your creativity. Rich media display ads offer marketers and designers the opportunity to be creative and take advantage of new formats in constant development.

For a long time, there was not many news on online advertising. However, now the context has changed due to rich media ads and the possibilities they offer. Take advantage of them for your online strategies!

2.- They improve engagement

Users interact more with ads with interactive rich media formats. The click rates increase whether it is out of curiosity or interest. An example is this Actimel ad in which the users can decide what kind of song they want to hear to have a nice day.

Your brand’s engagement will improve in this way. Interaction with users is a new phenomenon that has developed during the last few years. So marketers should analyze how they will measure the success of these new kinds of ads.

In current online strategies, as well as in the content marketing principles, it has been proven that if you impact users, your engagement will improve. In this case, if you manage to catch users with your ad, you will increase the engagement of your campaigns.

3.- It allows you to create incredible ads for mobile devices

HTML5 rich media ads have given us the possibility of creating new types of ads for mobile devices. All HTML5 ads, including rich media ads, can be viewed and interacted with on mobile devices. This increases the possibilities of creating creative ads for various communication channels, although each on needs to be adapted to the channel’s specific characteristics.

4.- Improved CTR and ad visibility

With this type of advertising the ads’ click rates and visibility in rich media banners are improved when compared to standard banners. It is a logical fact. If the interest they generate in users is greater, the click rate will also increase. And these kinds of banners are difficult to resist.

5.- You will reach your audience in different ways

It is evident that different segments of your audience interact better with different types of media. Some people interact better with video, others with text, etc. With rich media formats, users will be able to communicate more effectively with different segments of their audience in the formats the audience prefer, as rich media formats combine different possibilities in the same format. In this way, you can reach all your audience in all the available platforms.

6.- They will remind you easier

This change on advertising formats is due to the little success of banners. Banners went unnoticed by the users or, on the contrary, they became too intrusive. Rich media ads offer a new opportunity to eliminate the negative feeling generated by banners.

When the first advertising banner was developed, its click rate was very high. This was because it was something new at that time, which generated some curiosity. However, in recent years, users are used to static advertising and they go unnoticed.

With rich media interactive formats, ads are presented in an innovative way. For this reason, they are remembered more easily and offer greater possibilities of being clicked on. This Loreal banner  displayed on the cover of the photo, which contains mini videos with personal stories, is an example of this. Start creating rich media ads in HTML5!

7.- You will be able to obtain more data to perform a follow-up

It is possible to collect more data from rich media ads than from standard banners. You will be able to see:

• Generated impressions.
• The click rate.
• You will collect participation data.
• Data on video playback.
• And other interactions, based on the type of ad you have created.

Do you need to carry out campaigns with rich media interactive formats?

Use Antevenio Rich&Reach to create your rich media interactive formats. Rich media HTML5 banner ads mark a new chapter and focus within graphic advertising. Designers are working to become the number one in this field.

Today, it is more difficult for marketing professionals to capture the costumers’ attention. Therefore, using interactive rich media formats is a perfect option. You need to use the new technologies and trends to stand out among your competitors. You will need to allocate resources and time to create them, but there is no doubt it will be worth it.

Antevenio Rich&Reach is our premium media advertising network with 12 million unique users for online display and video campaigns. Antevenio Rich&Reach has exclusive advertising representation of hundreds of well-known online media.

Millions of people use the web and their mobile devices to browse the Internet. The advertising media Rich&Reach network brings together audience and segmentation. It allows you to reach massive audience while having an impact on specific profiles at the same time.