“Interactive video helps brands stand out from their competition while enabling a lean-in experience for consumers to receive all the information they need in one place.”
Imagine if your customers could shop for a product they just saw on their favorite Netflix character while streaming online. It’s a future that’s not too far. Statista projected that $11.44 billion U.S. dollars would be spent on product placement in the United States in 2019. Marika Roque, chief operating officer at Kerv Interactive talks about how brands can innovate their online advertising strategy in 2020 with interactive video.
In this edition of MarTalk Connect, Roque draws from the experience of the interactive video campaign run by Neiman Marcus and Vogue. She further throws light on how interactive video can boost content marketing efforts on both mobile and desktops.
Key takeaways from this Q&A on interactive video and the future of video marketing:
- Learn to revolutionize the way advertisers can communicate in 2020
- Top three advantages of using interactive video for marketers
- The latest in interactive video and the future of video marketing
Here are the edited excerpts of our conversation with Marika Roque of Kerv Interactive on interactive video marketing:
Marika, please tell us about your career path, what your role is at KERV Interactive, and how you bring about exceptional results in your role.
I began my career in Chicago at one of the largest agencies within the Publicis holding company. At the time, programmatic and DSP were not common phrases, but at Starcom Worldwide we were aiming to lead the industry by building an in-house infrastructure that would allow us to focus on buying audiences and eliminating waste. IT decision-makers as a target audience for my very large Microsoft B2B client was not an easy one (especially given the technical capabilities at the time). Solving this large problem and paving the way for programmatic infrastructures/trading desks, as they stand now, was foundational for my technical and operational career.
From there, I went on to work at DraftFCB (now FCB) to dip my toe into the consumer side. I serviced the strategy and activation for Newell Rubbermaid brands, including Paper Mate and Sharpie. After moving back to Texas, where I am from, I worked at GSD&M on brands such as Zales (leading to an acquisition), Sizmek (where I led a successful team post multiple acquisitions and rebrands), and Lin Digital.
At Lin Digital (the digital arm of Lin Media), I led the operations teams through several successful mergers, including a multi-billion-dollar acquisition by Nexstar. Through these experiences, I learned the importance of an agile, yet process-oriented organization, and creativity in resourcing to allow managing a successful P&L while building new and innovative, profitable products, tall orders.
Human capital is so important, even as technology continues to grow and assist us. Having the right people in place is one of the most important pillars to driving a successful organization. The importance of the teams I managed and empowering those teams and individuals to function with excellence to allow the runway for creation has never been so clear.
Here at KERV, I am the chief operating officer. I currently manage our go-to market strategy, sales and supporting teams, as well as client services, sales strategy and performance behind the product as it pertains to our customers. We are a technology company, so I pride myself on the ability to partner with all stakeholders to service what we are building, while also connecting that strategically with what we are hearing in the market, from our existing customers’ performance and balancing with future vision. Those who I work with know that they are here because we are building something together, exceptionally.
In what ways can interactive video revolutionize the way advertisers and consumers communicate in the digital media landscape?
Video real estate is a valuable commodity, and its pixels are the DNA. Pixels precisely and accurately define each product within videos. More importantly to the consumer, what you touch/click is what you get. KERV’s patented, pixel recognition artificial intelligence makes videos more powerful and much more valuable by connecting precisely defined products directly to consumers. With object-level recognition, there are no missed targets like all the other “bounding box” interactive technologies.
KERV connects unique products, defined by pixels, directly to consumers who have the power to interact immediately, providing value to all parties involved (brands, consumers, retailers, publishers, etc.). KERV allows brands and content creators alike to monetize all the pixels within their video content.
Custom messaging is provided directly to the consumer without leaving a video experience. Users that choose to interact with products within a video are presented with additional messaging as the brand desires, creating a multi-level storytelling opportunity. In addition to adding text to each object, unique URLs are assigned so objects can all be linked, creating a “shoppable” and informative experience. Allowing users to interact with a video rewards the customer with relevant information as they navigate the experience. KERV’s tech shortens the path to conversion as consumers don’t have to leave the ad to research additional information needed to commit to purchasing.
KERV provides the only technology that literally can’t miss in terms of connecting precise objects within a video to a consumer who is interested.
What are the top 3 advantages of using interactive video for marketers to design their advertising and brand strategy?
- Creates a two-way conversation with the consumer versus a flat one-way asset
- Increases performance, Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS), time spent, and/or click-through rate depending on KPI
- Increases consumer lifetime value while garnering object-level intention data on groups of users
Recently, Neiman Marcus and Vogue launched an interactive video experience. What are the 3 key learnings for marketers from this innovative marketing strategy?
- You don’t have to force users to interact, you just have to provide an intuitive stage for them to do so (over 40% of users interacted with the experience driving a positive ROAS)
- Allowing users to click through on specific objects cuts their path to conversion. It is also measured by ROAS and uses positive GA data to correlate value with more precisely driven clicks.
- Making branded content a more immersive experience led to not only sales but additional time and conversation with consumers on their terms.
What are your top tips for brands just starting out on a video content strategy? What should they prioritize? As consumers’ attention spans shorten, what are the implications for marketers?
Brands should prioritize the quality of the video content they are producing. Today, consumers are spammed with ads that is adding to the shortened attention span. Interactive video helps brands stand out from their competition while enabling a lean-in experience for consumers to receive all the information they need in one place. As consumer attention spans continue to decrease, it’s important for brands to captivate their audiences quickly. Interactive video is a way to bridge the gap and increase video engagement.
Although passive attention spans are decreasing, interactivity allows video to transform which leads to an increase of 591% in user activity. Consumer’s attention spans are shrinking for content that talks at them not for content they can immerse themselves in.
Can interactive video content boost marketing success on mobile and desktops? How does interactive video perform on each of these mediums?
We take a mobile-first approach to our user experience, given the time spent on mobile devices, but interactive video content can boost marketing success across both devices. We do believe that unique optimizations and communication styles/click paths should be utilized per device.
Performance cross device is dependent upon the campaign, but both our Desktop and Mobile averages significantly outperform industry standards for activity, interaction, and click-through rates.
Marika Roque, COO at KERV Interactive
Is interactive video more suited to a B2B or B2C audience? What are the best practices for both spaces?
Interactive video is customizable and suited for either type of audience. Our technology has been used across many industries including retail, automotive, travel, hospitality, and more, with goals of increasing brand awareness, increasing engagement, boosting conversions and sales, etc. Depending on the content owner’s desired outcome, the platform can be individually tailored to work for either B2B or B2C audiences.
What does 2020 have in store for the interactive video marketing landscape?
The landscape is continuing to grow as more large brands are leaning into the data-driven and interactive intelligence side of video. Interactive video will become more mainstream with advertisers who are looking to optimize their video strategies in a more effective and thoughtful way.
The process and dynamic capabilities will continue to get faster and faster as AI and technology get smarter and more integrated. The data game will continue to progress and intensify as videos gain more and more dimension and touchpoints.
Marika Roque, COO at KERV Interactive
Thank you, Marika, for sharing your insights on interactive video and the future of video marketing. We hope to talk to you again.
About Marika Roque: Marika Roque is the Chief Operating Officer of KERV Interactive, a multi-award-winning interactive video company revolutionizing the performance of digital advertising with its patented technology. Marika is a top expert in digital media, recognized by her peers for her knowledge and advancement of the advertising industry, where she has been a leader and innovator for over a decade.
About KERV Interactive: Based in Austin, Texas, KERV Interactive is an advanced interactive video technology company and is revolutionizing the future of video engagement through dimensional storytelling. KERV’s digital advertising platform was built on cutting-edge, patented technology and adds extraordinary value to brands, agencies, and creative and data-science teams by creating audience-to-brand connections within video like never before. Leveraging breakthrough machine learning techniques and AI with unmatched processing speed, the KERV technology recognizes depth, dimension, and objects within a video just as precisely as the natural eye. KERV enables every frame in every scene of any digital video to be an immersive, interactive experience for consumers.
MarTalk Connect is an interview series where marketing technology companies that are making a difference, connect with us and share their stories. Join us as we talk to them about their product journeys, insights on the categories they serve, and some bonus pro-tips.