Tips to ramp up 2021 holiday brand awareness with interactive shoppable video

Despite the global pandemic, holiday sales rose by 8.3% in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association. This includes a 23.9% increase in online and non-store sales.

Thanks to rapid technological advancements and the global pandemic, holiday shoppers have already shifted their purchasing habits. As a result, online shopping is as popular as it has ever been.

In a world where information is at every shopper’s fingertips, video is a powerful tool to spread brand awareness.

Adding video to the holiday marketing strategy is a great way to engage holiday shoppers. Here are several reasons to keep in mind:

  • There are 74% of users who purchased a product or service right after watching an explainer video.
  • 92% of mobile video consumers watch videos with their network of friends on social media, a good indication to spread brand awareness in a short amount of time.
  • There are a lot of mobile consumers that love videos since 51% of all videos are played on mobile devices, and that number continues to grow.

In order to catch the attention of holiday shoppers, brands need to create a well-placed video that will hook them just in time for the holidays. Leveraging video content will create memorable interactions with brands and holiday shoppers. Video will also help brands hype their holiday promotions, making holiday shoppers more excited to launch their holiday products and sales.

‍

TIP 1: Reach holiday shoppers as they browse their feed by inspiring action with video.

Video content has evolved into more than just a tool for entertainment. It has become a tool that holiday shoppers seek to learn, seek, and inspire their gift purchases. While holiday shoppers watch videos on their social feed, make sure that the brand’s video content is compelling enough to convert passive browsing to active shopping. To encourage clicks and conversions, make the brand’s video ads a holiday window shopping tool when they see your product ads.


TIP 2: Engage customers as they research holiday gifts with interactive video ads.

Holiday shoppers tend to do research first before buying products online. They compare prices, look for sales, and check out the latest reviews. Today, video ads are more than just an awareness channel for holiday promotions. Brands can make interactive video ads  by adding direct response elements in their video ads.


TIP 3: Covert holiday shoppers looking to purchase with interactive shoppable videos for a frictionless shopping experience.

Customers value a frictionless online shopping experience for the holidays. They want to buy a product online as soon as they have decided to buy it. Reach holiday shoppers more effectively with shoppable videos. Brands can also try adding video personalisation to shoppable video ads. It will help holiday shoppers have a unique holiday shopping experience.


Digital video is no longer simply an awareness channel. During the holiday season, more brands will look to make static video ads interactive by adding direct response elements to videos. Advances in rich media and video hotspot technology are making it easier to create interactive video campaigns while platforms like YouTube continue to enhance shopability on videos. Brands are making similar moves as well: Swarovski harnessed Smartzer's video hotspot technology to create an immersive and dynamic shoppable video campaign for their "Collection II".


Shoppable Video Example


"Historically a lot of people have thought about video ads as a very top of the funnel approach to create awareness, but in 2018 a shoppable video ad can also be used as a direct response tactic"
"We need to widen our approach to video because in today's day and age, an interactive video campaign can literally lead to a purchase."

Adam Aslatei, Vice president of marketing at Jun Group.