By Jaime Singson, Director of Product Marketing, Sizmek

Entertainment marketers have always been one step ahead when it comes to deploying successful video advertising content and strategies, and this is no surprise considering their content is ready-made for these ads. But video’s popularity has rightfully grown across industry verticals. According to eMarketer, digital video ad spending is expected to near $10 billion by the end of 2016, a nearly 30 percent increase in spend from the year prior. That upward trend is expected to continue as the medium, known for its ability to use sight, sound, and motion to deliver strong brand messages and emotional connections sees even broader adoption.

This popularity has lead to video ad innovation, particularly among the eCommerce set, where shoppable, direct response types of video ads will decrease the number of clicks required to complete a purchase, and in turn drive more conversions. Consumers can click on the products shown in a video ad, check out product details, and then seamlessly purchase them directly through the ad. However, where shoppable videos can be an effective marketing tool for CPG, beauty, and retail brands, entertainment marketers in turn have the opportunity to use this same click-responsive technology to achieve their goals.

Generating buzz and awareness is important for the media and entertainment industry, but with often as little as three weeks to prepare and launch a campaign, its all too common for entertainment marketers to repurpose video content for digital channels from other sources – such as TV – and call it a day. In doing so, entertainment marketers miss out on the interactive capabilities that differentiate digital video, and in turn the opportunity to create an experience that pulls audiences in and engages them more deeply to reach performance metrics.

Enter the next generation movie trailer, or the Trailer 2.0.

Everyone loves an exciting trailer, but it’s a passive experience. By incorporating click-responsive functionality, entertainment companies (and even video game publishers) can highlight characters from a trailer and delve more deeply into the characters, actors, settings, and storylines of a movie (or game). Imagine if the latest trailer for Fast and Furious enabled viewers to click on every vehicle in a scene to get their specifications. Any sponsoring auto brand would love the cross channel exposure and ability to dive in deeper with their product. What if the latest online commercial for Gotham enabled viewers to catch up in one click on the latest plotlines for each hero and villain, in case they needed a refresher for the last season? What if you could interact with the environment while watching the newest trailer for Game of Thrones, and become immersed in Meereen, King’s Landing, the Iron Islands, or Braavos? Audiences are innately curious, and the Trailer 2.0 allows them to explore deeper into the world you create.

By weaving contextually relevant interactivity into the fabric of the video itself, entertainment marketers can lead the user to a much richer media execution that accompanies the video. Not only can marketers engage with their audiences and have a greater impact, but they’ll be generating a trove of contextually relevant data that can be applied to performance metrics, and glean a greater understanding about what is driving consumer interest. This actionable stream of data exists because the consumer is doing more within the ad unit, like hovering over or clicking on characters and other components of interest, leaving a data contrail that enables the marketer to build a better a relationship.

To that end, the data can be used to inform future initiatives that can include the implementation of other advertising and marketing tactics, to produce an integrated campaign with multiple touch points across formats and screens. For example, if the viewer clicked for more information on a Dodge Charger in a Furious 7 trailer, Universal could dynamically insert a Dodge Charger into a banner ad to the same consumer when advertising the film’s eighth installation. This will serve to ensure interest from the consumer in the next movie, and could help sponsors’ bottom lines as well.

It’s important for a brand to contextually align its messages for each platform, because digital video is not television. It offers an opportunity to engage more deeply with the consumer and have them interact with content in a way that fosters interest via contextually relevant experiences. The Trailer 2.0 is not only a marketing tool that can be a leading indicator for what is most compelling in a media property, it’s a next-level experience that offers deeper value to consumers who want to be whisked away, entertained, and pulled into the world of content.

Sizmek’s wide range of technology and data is bolstered by integrations with more than 100 partners providing leading solutions for attribution, data management, audience measurement, search engine marketing, creative authoring, and more. 

The Cynsiders column is a platform for industry leaders to reach out to colleagues, followers, and the public at large. In their own words and in targeted Q&As, columnists address breaking news, issues of the day, and the larger changes going on in the ever-evolving world of television, video and digital. Cynsiders columns live on Cynopsis’ main page and are promoted across all daily newsletters. We welcome readers’ comments, queries, and column ideas at [email protected].