‘Choose-your-own-adventure’ stories have been a staple part of our culture since the 80s. If you are aged anywhere between 25-40, there’s an excellent chance you spent time as a child flipping back and forth between pages to try and win the day for your adventurer.
Now, as the lines blur between television, the internet and gaming, a lot of big B2C brands are starting to play with the concept of letting consumers control their virtual world.
With the premiere of Bandersnatch in 2018, Netflix launched one of its most exciting forays into interactive storytelling. Its writer, Charlie Brooker, said that he wasn’t sure whether to classify it as a film or an experience.
And last year, Tinder announced its own venture with the shooting of Tinder X. While we are still waiting to see the final product, Variety reported that the show will be a six-part user-controlled story, accessible via the Tinder app.
Other B2C brands going down the interactive route include Fitbit’s Adventures and Porsche’s launch of its electric race car via Twitch. It’s not difficult to see the appeal.
The format changes a brand’s relationship with prospects completely, from talking to an audience to playing with participants. And in today’s advertising landscape of diminishing returns, it generates the kind of engagement that most marketers would be willing to donate an organ to achieve.
But what about B2B?
According to Demand Gen, 86% of B2B buyers prefer interactive content they can access on-demand, with four out of five spending up to 20 minutes watching video content. However, less than a third of B2B companies are incorporating video messaging into their nurture programmes.
The more you think about that second statistic, the less it makes sense. B2B purchases typically require much higher involvement than B2C. More education, more engagement, more consideration. This aversion to video may come from an assumption that B2B brands can’t tell the same kind of engaging stories as B2C, but this is a mistake.
According to the B2B Institute, the best B2B marketing campaigns rely on emotion just as much as rational argument, requiring a relatively even split between brand campaigns and demand generation. The allure of interactive video is that it presents an opportunity to make both the rational and emotional argument in a single format.
When nearly nine out of ten buyers are telling you how they want to engage, we really should start listening. So we decided to listen.
Introducing LinkedIn Ad Vantage: A Day in the Life of a Modern Marketer. This is our own digital video experience, our way of (hopefully) showing that B2B brands can deliver entertaining, engaging stories that your audience will value.
Join us on a B2B interactive adventure
In our story, you take control of a modern-day marketer as they grapple with the day-to-day decisions that arise as they launch their product offering. It’s your job to guide your character, using your own expertise to decide on the outcome.
From choosing between objectives to your preferred targeting tactics, your choices dictate how the story ends. Do you focus on brand awareness or lead generation? What type of content will generate the best results?
You are presented with two options at each stage, with the choice of going back at the end to replay and see how different selections affect the outcome.
Why did we go down this route? Well, we’ve already pointed out the importance of balancing B2B brand campaigns with demand generation activity.
The most successful B2B businesses are twice as likely to focus on long-term marketing goals, but in many cases the focus on short-term lead generation can be overwhelming.
We decided that our own interactive adventure should help you experience both the brand and demand aspects, highlighting how each approach can contribute to modern marketing campaign.
Is B2B interactive marketing right for your business?
Well, that’s not the question you should be asking. Last year, nearly half of all B2B buyers considered interactive content to be the most valuable during their purchase decision.
As more B2B businesses catch onto the format, the demand for interactive marketing is only going to go one way. So really, you need to be asking how you can make interactive work, not if.
A good way to dip your toes into the format is through our new Conversation Ads, which allow you to ask qualifying questions and set up multiple call-to-action buttons to keep your prospects engaged.
In the meantime, feel free to explore the potential of B2B interactive content with LinkedIn Ad Vantage and think about the stories you can tell with your own brand. Don't forget to let us know what you think #linkedinadvantage
Related articles