• by Paul Bremer , August 5, 2014

It’s surprising how long it has taken the industry to get to shoppable mobile video ads. Mobile, after all, has advanced to service the on-the-go consumer. Mobile marketers have strategized to take advantage of those decisive, targetable moments that take place in any given day, but they’ve lacked this technical capability to fulfill on the promise. Automotive, CPG, and consumer electronics brands — as well as any direct-response advertisers — would benefit from a mobile interface that supported easier shopping and instantaneous purchases. It has taken time, but we’re finally inching toward making this convenience a standard, especially in light of YouTube’s launch of shoppable ads for mobile.

As data continues to demonstrate that the path to purchase increasingly runs through smartphones and tablets, how do we optimize visuals, message and conversion mechanics within mobile video to make the environment ultra-shoppable?  The challenge is using compelling creative formats to enable the purchase-inclined consumer to take action with a seamless user interface.

Gone are the days when viewers were exposed to a product and then asked to patiently click through a bunch of pages to get to execute the purchase. Thanks to wider implementation of more direct paths to purchase, a consumer now can hover over an item and click or tap through to the purchase page. Ubiquitous options like PayPal help also.  As a result, video ads, always great for branding, now often lead directly to sales transactions. Practical thinking and technical innovation have successfully eliminated the cumbersome barriers between viewing and purchasing.

So, what are the best approaches for publishers and marketers to take to fully realize the potential?  There are a few practices that are yielding quantifiable results:

• A precise call-to-action prompts customer engagement. Enabling instant conversion from your interactive video ads can immediately demonstrate increased campaign ROI. Buzz words like “buy now,” “shop sale now,” even “call now,” leverage the very nature of the smartphone and are exponentially more powerful if they bring the consumer to a point-of-purchase.  Imagine watching a mouthwatering ad for Godiva chocolates and then being able to act on that spontaneous craving.
• Geo-location targeting allows for a personalized and relevant experience, drawing consumers to nearby locations to try the product in-store, thereby optimizing consumer pathways across channels.  Top auto marketers often indicate the proximity of a dealership after showing a really attractive auto commercial.

“Shoppable” formats don’t have to overrun the video viewing experience. Consumers can pause the video, transact, and immediately resume with a tap.

Marketers know that anything that enhances consumer experience is a good thing. This is especially true of improvements that play into new perceptions and habits; consumers know that multitasking on a mobile device is possible and easy, and they expect ads to behave accordingly.  A direct path to purchase within mobile video is not only a good user experience, but it strengthens the case for increased budget allocations, encouraging brands to view the medium as the ideal intersection of brand and direct-response vehicles.