Interactive ad formats aren’t new to Australia, but US adtech company BrightLine aims to replicate the scale it achieved at home in the local market.
In the US, interactive ads are now commonplace across streaming services, but Australia is still in the early adoption phase.
BrightLine president Rob Aksman said agency risk aversion remains the biggest barrier to US-level uptake.
“Unfortunately for us, it takes a couple of years before we get past that agency inertia,” Aksman told Mediaweek.
“We were live with all the major streamers in the US, and it took two plus years before that inflection point flipped from ‘This is kind of this new experimental thing’ to ‘This should be on every plan I go out the door with.’
“It just takes a while for agencies and advertisers to catch up to the power of what can be done.”
Turning viewers into participants
Interactive ads include on-screen elements such as galleries, product hotspots, store locators, quizzes, scrollable catalogues, and ‘learn more’ panels.
On connected TV (CTV), it’s most often delivered through enhanced overlays during or after the main video, allowing viewers to use their remote to tap or scroll without leaving the program.
BrightLine partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery on a trivia game ad for the Friends 30th anniversary which engaged more than 250,000 viewers.
“It’s a cool way of extending those big sponsorships that an advertiser does,” said Aksman.
“The interaction rates go up because viewers love engaging with their favourite programs, and then brands are even happier.”
Early results in Australia
In Australia, BrightLine has already been quietly powering campaigns for brands like Freedom, Discovery Parks, Toyota and the Red Cross across Nine and Seven.
Aksman said interaction rates are landing around 1%, which is similar to the early phase in the US market and far above the 0.001% typical for web banners.
“That is because there’s nothing competing with your attention,” he said.
“The only thing on your screen is a commercial that you’re watching on TV, whereas on the web there are multiple banners and an article.
“Viewers that are streaming TV are already adept at navigating these interfaces, so the idea of interacting with a spot isn’t just accepted – it’s expected.”
Why interaction matters
With engagement top of mind for Australian CMOs, publishers and advertisers are hunting for formats that feel premium, measurable and native to the CTV environment.
A recent study found that interactive ads can boost brand recall by 36%, generate engagement up to 150 times greater than QR codes, and influence nearly 80% of purchasing decisions.
BrightLine plans to deploy the same interactive campaigns across TV, web and mobile.
“What is clickable on TV is tappable on your phone,” said Aksman.
“The creative automatically scales to different screen sizes and even different orientations based on what you’re watching.”
Closing the loop
BrightLine is introducing click-to-buy in the US, with plans to roll out the feature in Australia.
Viewers can press ‘ok’ on their remote to receive an email with a shopping link, which they can use instantly or later.
“We’re at the point where we can start closing the loop,” said Aksman.
“But it does require streamers to have a little bit more information about their viewer, and getting to that point does take a little bit more time and legal work.”