Brands can put audiences in control of their experiences with interactive ads

December 21, 2021 | By Matt Miller, Sr. Copywriter

Whether it’s smartphones, computers, tablets, TVs, smart speakers, and more—customers today are engaging with multiple devices throughout their days.

“These interactions create millions of opportunities for brands to connect with customers in a variety of different ways, places, and times,“ Kendra Tal, a Senior Partner Manager at Amazon Ads, said at unBoxed in October. ”And as a brand, you’re likely looking for, or at least open to, new and unique ways to engage customers wherever they’re spending their time.“

During her session at unBoxed, Tal explained how Amazon Ads is working to help brands engage with customers through interactive ad experiences across different devices. Brands may want to consider connecting with customers across multiple devices because ownership of these devices is on the rise. 76% of US homes have a connected TV device, according to eMarketer. Amazon’s Fire TV has more than 50 million active users worldwide.1 Meanwhile, the number of smart speaker owners in the US has grown from 47 million in 2018 to more than 90 million in 2021, according to a April Voicebot report.

“The growth in purchases of connected TVs and smart speakers means that consumers are spending more time interacting with these devices than ever before,” Tal said. “These devices not only allow you to reach relevant audiences with video and audio ads, but they literally put the control in the hands of the user with their TV-remote and with their voice. Amazon has the unique ability to bring together our ad products, our devices, and our voice assistant to bring interactive ad experiences to customers.”

Amazon Ads helps deliver these types of ad experiences to customers through IMDb TV and Amazon Music’s ad-supported tier using Alexa or a Fire TV remote. At unBoxed, Amazon Ads detailed more enhanced features for Interactive Video Ads and Interactive Audio Ads that make it easier for audiences to engage with brands while they are streaming content across devices.

“We have the unique capability of not only providing customers with new ways to engage, but creating a seamless shopping experience where customers don’t have to pick up their phone and search for where to buy a product… it’ll be added directly to their shopping list or cart, or they can purchase it right then and there, in the moment,” Tal said. “For brands that sell products on Amazon, this functionality will allow you to close the loop on shopability.“

Making shopping journeys more seamless with Interactive Audio Ads

At unBoxed, Tal explained how Amazon Ads is making it even more natural for audiences to engage with brands through Interactive Audio Ads. For example, after hearing an Interactive Audio Ad while listening to Amazon Music’s ad-supported tier on an Alexa-enabled device, customers can simply ask Alexa to “Remind me,” “Send me more information,” or “Add to cart.” Alexa will know which product is featured in the ad, and add that item to the cart, send an email with more information, or set the relevant reminder.

“Alexa CTAs (calls-to-action) simplify the customer experience and offer utility through voice-forward experiences,” Tal Said. “For example, when customers may not even remember the name of the product, they can simply say, ‘send me more information,’ and an email is sent to them with information on that product. This makes the customer experience more frictionless and adds time-saving convenience for listeners who would like to engage with the ad.“

Never interrupt the streaming experience with Interactive Video Ads

Amazon Ads’ Interactive Video Ads are also working to make it easier for customers to interact with brands.

Interactive Video Ads have 18% higher engagement and click-through rates than dynamic video and standard pre-roll.2



“Adding interactive capabilities to your video creative can create a lean-in experience for viewers, empowering them to take action as opposed to just watching the video,“ Tal said. “Audiences today are more likely to discover your brand in creative ways that don’t disrupt their streaming TV experience. Our Interactive Video Ads solution invites viewers to interact with your brand, using their voice or remote, turning a traditionally passive viewing experience into one that actively engages them.”

Advertisers can include voice calls-to-action —such as “Add to Cart,” “Add to List,” or “Buy Now,” —directly within Streaming TV ads in the IMDb TV app on Fire TV. Amazon Ads has also introduced an action, “Send Me More Info,” to the interactive video ad experience. This enables viewers to request product details via email or by scanning a QR code on screen to visit a brand’s landing page.

“You can see how it could become second nature for audiences to see or hear an ad and use Alexa to take a voice action based on what they’ve seen or heard,“ Tal said.

Learn more about how your brand can use Interactive Audio Ads and Interactive Video Ads to help engage customers in seamless ways.

Discover more about audio marketing and interactive marketing.

1-2 Amazon internal data, 2021