When it comes to video, we marketers often focus the conversation on short-form video — no surprise, given this can be the most engaging format. Regardless of length, for me personally, some of the most impactful marketing content I’ve seen has been in interactive videos.
Even though the medium can be traced back to the decades-old “Choose Your Own Adventure” board game format — I LOVED those games growing up — it still feels relatively novel in the marketing world. I wonder if that’s why we don’t see much interactive video marketing? In any case, I’d like to see more of it out there.
If you’re curious, I’d love you to keep reading as I share what interactive video is, how to create one, and eight examples from brands that are really on the cutting edge of this format.
Table of Contents
What is interactive video?
Benefits of Interactive Videos
How to Make an Interactive Video
8 Interactive Video Examples
You can use interactive videos for several purposes. Many marketers use it to increase engagement, encourage two-way communication, and boost conversions.
There are multiple types of interactive videos:
Branched stories. This allows viewers to choose their own path when watching a video and decide what they will watch. They can also determine the storyline through their decisions.
Hotspots. These clickable areas within a video allow viewers to discover something new in the content.
Polls and quizzes. You can engage your audience with questions related to the content in your video.
360-degree view. This allows viewers to immerse themselves in the video and get an augmented reality experience.
Live videos and webinars with Q&A sections. This encourages a two-way dialogue between the host and the viewer where viewers can interact by asking questions and receiving answers in real-time.
Benefits of Interactive Videos
A 2024 Wyzowl report found that 91% of businesses use video within their marketing. Further, HubSpot surveyed over 500 global video marketers to learn more about 2024’s top strategies and opportunities in video marketing.
The result? Over 70% of survey respondents find video marketing effective in helping them reach their company’s broader business objectives.
Regarding interactive videos specifically, the biggest reason to use this format is the high return on investment — aka achieving a critical, but often illusive, business objective. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the data.
At 52%, HubSpot’s video marketing report revealed that interactive content offers the fourth-highest ROI. For context, this landed behind product-related, trendy, and funny videos at 66%, 55%, and 53%, respectively.
When it comes to lead generation, around 50% of video marketers place links to landing pages on video ads via social media. These links are typically added to interactive elements like buttons or swipe-ups. To top it off, marketers cite this as one of the most effective ways to generate leads via video content.
Interactive video is also one of the best performers on the engagement front. For example, live videos — where the audience is often invited to ask questions — are in the top three video types that get the most viewer engagement.
This video type can also leave a deeper impression on its viewers. With so many brands fighting for our attention, one way to keep them engaged longer is through interaction. Doing so can help your brand awareness and recognition, helping you stand out from the competition.
Lastly, you can gain more insight into your audience through interactive content. Say you include a quiz in your video. Not only do you get insights from the video itself (views, time watched, etc.), but you also learn more about your viewer’s preferences through quiz results.
So, through interactive video marketing, you get more data through a single piece of content.
How to Make an Interactive Video
According to Wyzowl, 89% of consumers want to see more videos from brands in 2024 and beyond.
Still, you know it, and I know it: As marketers, we must justify our creative efforts with results. One of the most significant results decision-makers want to see is a return on investment.
As I shared above, HubSpot data suggests interactive video content ranks highly for this metric. So, I wanted to share a few steps to help you make your own.
1. Brainstorm your concept.
Before you create your interactive video, you have to build a concept. What will the video be about? What’s the journey you want to take viewers on?
Your marketing objectives should drive your answers to these questions. Otherwise, creating a successful concept that gains buy-in from stakeholders outside of marketing will be challenging.
Once you have that sorted out, how will you engage the audience? Given the various types of interactive content you can have, you’ll need to determine which one will work best.
Pro tip: Not sure what marketing objectives to choose for your video content? No worries. I suggest taking inspiration from video marketing pros. HubSpot data indicates that video marketers prioritize the following three metrics:
Increasing brand awareness and reaching new audiences (52%).
Increasing online engagement (38%).
Increasing revenue and sales (36%).
2. Choose your video platform.
The platform you choose will depend on the type of content you’re creating and what you want to accomplish.
Popular interactive video platforms include:
If you’re running an interactive live video or webinar, consider platforms that support this format. For context, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn — all of which cater to live video — are the most widely used video marketing platforms. In fact, 90%, 86%, 79%, and 76% of video marketers trust these platforms, respectively (Wyzowl.)
Once you select the right platform, it’s all about putting the pieces together, creating a draft, reviewing it, and re-editing until you have a great final version.
Pro tip: Whether you’re a video pro or completely new to the medium, I highly recommend HubSpot’s Clip Creator. Clip Creator’s AI features allow you to transform text-based instructions into watermark-free professional videos in a few clicks.
3. Analyze results.
Once your video goes live, the hard work isn’t done. It’s now time to assess its performance.
During your concept phase, you ideally set some KPIs. If this is your first time creating an interactive video, use your other videos as a benchmark.
This way, you’ll know what numbers to expect and have a baseline to evaluate your results.
Pro tip: I recommend using A/B testing as part of your analysis. For context, around 30% of video marketers use A/B testing to compare video elements or structural changes.
Need help figuring out what to test? Around 26% experiment with the positioning or wording of CTAs. A further 21% compare the performance of different videos against one another.
8 Interactive Video Examples
If you need inspiration, I’ve gathered eight examples of interactive videos to get your creative juices flowing.
1. Mile 22
To promote the 2018 action movie “Mile 22,” the marketing team behind the film created an immersive, interactive video that allowed users to choose their path and get snippets from the movie based on their selection.
This video is interesting because it doesn‘t rely on just the trailer to build excitement. It takes the viewer on the characters’ journey and gives them a peek into how things play out in the film.
What I like: I really like that this interactive video positions the viewer as the lead character. I found that the “point and click” style progression naturally engaged me throughout. I wanted to keep clicking to find out what happened next, and before I knew it, I had worked my way through what was essentially an entire movie trailer.
2. Sweet Digs
Usually, if you want to catch the latest episode of Sweet Digs, you head to YouTube. However, with the help of Eko, Refinery29 decided to switch things up with an interactive video instead.
Sweet Digs x eko: Interactive Home Tours
In this interactive video, viewers get a tour of someone’s home, as usual, but this time, they get to make guesses as they watch about costs, designs, and more.
What I like: I think this video format is a great way to bring some freshness into an established series and keep viewers engaged. The show uses interactive elements cleverly, even allowing watchers to input design suggestions along the way. Then, at the end of the episode, viewers get to see if their design suggestions were used.
If interior design is an interest of yours, I can imagine this format would keep you entertained from start to finish.
3. Boursin
Ever wonder what a fridge full of Boursin products looks like? With this interactive video, you can. This brand reimagines what a food commercial looks like by offering viewers a 360 virtual experience through a fridge.
What I like: I love how the gold carpet guides viewers through the fridge. As a result, the viewer sees various Boursin products naturally placed throughout. I also love how the viewer can move the mouse to see other items in the fridge. I think this is a really fun way to advertise a product.
4. Mindstamp
The following interactive video created by Mindstamp is an example of a practical way to use this video format for appointment booking.
Viewers can interact with clickable in-video CTAs that link to external pages and explore branching storylines based on their responses throughout the video, resulting in a truly personalized user journey.
The interactive elements create an engaging and immersive experience. I don’t know about you, but “engaging” and “immersive” are not two words that I’d usually use in conjunction with booking a meeting or appointment!
What I like: Like all new technology, interactive video might have started as a sort of fringe technology that seemed slightly intimidating and inaccessible. Now, that’s changing. I love to see this format used in a business setting like this, making it easier than ever for leads to book appointments based on specific calendar preferences.
5. Honda
Honda’s interactive video, “The Other Side,” uses interactive branching to create a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style of advertisement. Each video clip gives the viewer a different choice or “path,” and each choice determines what happens next.
What I like: I like how this video invites viewers to participate in the narrative and have ownership over the plotline rather than passively consuming content.
6. The Jungle Book Interactive Video
Ahead of its 2016 release, Disney partnered with Wirewax to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the live-action version of The Jungle Book was created. The video allows viewers to use a slider to compare the filming stage to the end scene.
What I like: Aside from an interactive slider, the video also uses hotspots. I love how Wirewax has incorporated this interactive feature. In this case, the hotspots allow viewers to open bonus content, including a profile and description of each character.
7. That Moment When
Eko makes the list again with its That Moment When interactive video series. The series follows a woman named Jill, who faces awkward moments at the start of each episode. Your job as the viewer is to help her survive each one.
In the example pictured above, you need to help Jill navigate that time when she vaguely remembered someone who seemed to know her really well. The hilarious tagline is “Help Jill remember how she knows this guy and what his f***ing name is.”
What I like: I love how this show once again puts Eko at the forefront of interactive video. In Eko’s signature style, it’s relatable, hilarious, and incredibly engaging.
8. Dead Lonely
Dead Lonely is an interactive zombie romance created by Aardman Animations in partnership with Rapt Media. Anyone who enjoys the four-time Oscar-winning production studio Aardman Animations’ work will not be disappointed.
Like Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep, Dead Lonely is charming, quirky, and fun.
As for the premise, throughout the interactive film, the viewer is tasked with helping Fred (a zombie) reunite with his lost love, Barbara.
What I like: I love how creative this interactive video is. Even though the storyline seems innocent enough, plenty of morbid but fun moments keep viewers entertained. Overall, I think this is an example of something outside of marketing that could inspire creative content inside of marketing.
Stand out From the Crowd With Interactive Video Marketing
Our data reveals that interactive content is a leading video format for ROI, but as I mentioned in my introduction, many marketers remain tentative about producing interactive video content. That could be because certain types require more technical expertise and a bigger production budget.
Here’s the thing, though: Yes, you can get creative with this format, which typically demands more finance and tech-wise. But you can also do something as simple as adding an interactive poll or CTA to your video.
Let’s also not forget that live video streams can be interactive, providing you allow space for elements like audience questions and polls. Plus, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram readily support live streams, and you can start one on any of those platforms for free.
Either way, I think interactive video marketing is something to test out for yourself, especially with so few others doing so.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.