Let’s face it – with the insane amount of ads and content competing for our attention these days, it’s tough for brands to stand out. Consumers have become pro at tuning out anything that doesn’t immediately grab them.

So what’s an advertiser to do? Well, it’s simple. To cut through the noise, you need creative and engaging ads. Creativity gets people’s attention and imagination fired up. Engagement makes them stick around and take action. Use both, and you’ve got a winning formula.

In this post, we’ll look at 10 ingenious techniques to make your ads way more creative and engaging. Let’s jump in!

1. Interactive Content

Polls, quizzes, calculators, virtual try-ons – what do they all have in common? Interactivity! Brands today are getting clever with interactive content in their ads. Why’s it work? Because it pulls people in instead of just talking at them.

Asking questions makes us feel involved. We can’t resist finishing a quiz to get our result. The more we participate, the more engaged and invested we become. Brands like Buzzfeed have used interactive content brilliantly in their advertising. Give it a whirl.

2. Gamification

Gamification applies gaming elements to non-gaming contexts. This includes things like points, badges, levels, challenges, rewards, leaderboards, etc. Gamification is hugely popular in apps and online experiences. Clever brands can also use it effectively in advertising.  

The reason gamification works is because it taps into people’s innate desires for competition, achievement, status, self-expression, and community. Points and leaderboards foster competition. Challenges and badges drive achievement. Rewards confer status. Avatars allow self-expression. Forum-based campaigns build community.

Gamification makes the experience more addictive. People keep coming back to earn more points and rewards, rise to challenges, and connect. Brands like Duolingo have enjoyed great success by gamifying education. Others can reap similar benefits by gamifying their ads.

3. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is another creative interactive technique that brings static advertising to life. AR layers digital elements onto the real-world environment. With smartphones and apps, brands can activate AR experiences right in their ads. 

For example, a furniture brand can show you how a couch will look in your living room. A makeup brand can let you virtually try on different lipsticks. AR makes ads immersive and experiential instead of just flat 2D images.

The novelty of AR attracts attention and lets people interact with brands in a fresh way. It provides value by showing products in their actual context of use. AR ad campaigns generate strong results, with some reporting 25-30% increases in purchase intent.

4. Live Video

Live video represents a great way for brands to engage audiences in real-time. Platforms like Facebook Live and YouTube Live make streaming incredibly easy. Brands can broadcast video demonstrations, Q&As, behind-the-scenes footage, events, etc.

The ephemeral nature of live video creates a unique sense of urgency and anticipation. Viewers feel like they’re part of something happening in the moment. Brands also build community by interacting with audiences during live streams via comments.

Live video performs exceptionally well at driving engagement. According to Facebook, live videos get 6X more interactions than prerecorded ones. Brands enjoying success with streaming include Benefit cosmetics and General Electric. The key is using it to reveal something novel and interesting.

5. User-Generated Content   

User-generated content (UGC) is another highly engaging interactive tactic brands can leverage. This includes things like social posts, reviews, photos, videos, etc. created by customers themselves.

Featuring UGC in advertising makes it more authentic and relatable. It comes across as a genuine recommendation, not just a brand making more claims. People are more likely to engage with content straight from their peers.

Brands like Home Depot have run entire campaigns around UGC. They get customers to share photos/videos of completed projects using the hashtag #HomeDepotChallenge. Compelling UGC shows real people interacting with your brand.

6. Interactive Storytelling

Humans are naturally wired to respond to stories. Brands can leverage interactive storytelling formats to immerse audiences and drive engagement. Examples include choose-your-own-adventure stories, interactive timelines, animated shorts, and more.  

Rather than just telling a linear narrative, these make the audience an active participant in shaping the story. By making choices, clicking through sequences, and exploring narratives, people become invested.

For example, Bear Naked granola created an animated interactive film about sustainable farming practices. Users could dig deeper into different sequences to learn more. Storytelling gives people a reason to interact.

7. Personalization 

We all respond positively when something is tailored specifically to us. Brands can tap into this by personalizing ad experiences using data and algorithms. Dynamic content changes based on info like user demographics, location, past interactions, and more.

Personalized ads resonate more because they feel more relevant to each consumer. Personalization also makes it easy to deliver more customized experiences at scale. Big brands like Netflix and Spotify use it extensively.

Even simple personalization like using someone’s name cuts through the noise. 72% of customers say personalized ads make them more likely to engage with brands.

8. Social Contests

Contests and sweepstakes have long been a staple of marketing. Social media provides a great interactive platform for running contests to engage audiences. Brands can ask people to share photos, videos, captions, reviews, etc. for a chance to win prizes.

The incentive of winning a coveted reward motivates people to participate. Voting and submission mechanisms also get people more invested as they track contest progress. Hashtags drive greater visibility.

For example, Purina cat food runs an annual Cat Chow “Search For America’s Greatest Pets” contest on social media. People submit stories and votes for grand prize winners. Contests attract attention while driving mass engagement.

9. Experiential Events

Live, in-person brand experiences are a more creative interactive approach compared to traditional advertising. Pop-up shops, conferences, stunts, guerrilla marketing, and other experiences connect with audiences through discovery and word-of-mouth.

By creating interactive environments, brands come to life in the real world. People are more apt to engage, share on social media, and form meaningful impressions. The more immersive and Instagrammable, the better.

Red Bull leads the way when it comes to experiences, like hosting Flugtag flying contests and stratos diving from space. But many brands host pop-ups at industry conferences or music festivals. The key is driving participation, not just spectating. 

10. Interactive Audio

One often overlooked area rife for more creative interactivity is audio advertising. While not as flashy as AR or video, marketers can craft engaging audio experiences via branded podcasts, smart speaker skills, interactive radio ads, and more.

Rather than just static audio spots, brands like Geico and Doritos have created branded adventure stories on platforms like Audible. Alexa skills allow voice-based interactive content. Podcasts too can drive engagement through contests and callbacks.

Younger users are flocking to audio and smart speakers. Getting creative with interactive audio reaches them where they increasingly are tuned in. Audio innovation provides a fresh way to engage audiences more deeply.

Conclusion

Hopefully this gives a sense of the wide range of creative options brands have today to make advertising more engaging. Rising above the noise requires both imagination to capture consumer attention as well as interactivity to drive participation and investment in campaigns.

Creativity builds that initial attraction while engagement fuels deeper relationships with audiences and prompts actions. Combining creativity and engagement is the recipe for advertising that works in the modern fragmented media landscape.

Brands that root their campaigns in creativity and participation will be the ones that succeed. Their ads will break through and create lasting consumer connections rather than simply being ignored and forgotten.

What are some other creative interactive techniques you’ve seen used effectively in advertising? Share your thoughts in the comments below!