The Dimensional User Journey: A New View of the Funnel

We’re just going to say it: Video ads can be disruptive. You know it, we know it, and the consumers have made it VERY clear they know it. 

If the viewer already knows the brand, then the average ad is just a barrier to ignore on their way to the content they want, making the experience not worth their time. But KERV’s interactive, shoppable videos present consumers the choice to engage more through mid-funnel tactics. Is that enough to make them leap? 

We’ve got data that says it does.

The Dimensional User Journey shows a full-funnel experience

In our last blog, we talked about interactive, shoppable video’s explosive first few years on the scene, and how KERV’s 20+ proprietary metrics can build a two-way conversation between brands and consumers. 

You can check out that blog here. But for a quick recap, while overall impressions accumulated by KERV-powered video increased by over 1200% since 2021 the click rates rose as well, by over 56%, a clear sign that consumers are leaning into this new format. 

But after a more in-depth review, we’ve discovered a deeper impact interactive, shoppable videos have on consumer behavior. We’ve applied this data to our own funnel design and created a Dimensional User Journey. It maps 6 crucial metrics to the traditional marketing funnel. These metrics include:

• Scene Save (SSV): Clicks within the video player to initiate exploration
• Frame Select (FrmSel): Clicks within the save scenes, including left/right arrows.
• Object Highlight (OH): Amount of seconds spent hovered over an object to explore KERV’s pixel-edge glow display.
• Object Link (OL): Clicks on the objects. This click requires a series of interactions prior.
• Primary CTA Click (PCTA): Clicks on the primary CTA button
• Brand Logo Click (BLC): Clicks on the brand logo

Video ads have always provided upper-funnel success—and the ability to pause and interact with them only improves that—but what’s really exciting is the choice they present to the consumer: Get on with the content their waiting for or take a detour down the funnel to research and consider the product on their own accord. 

The choice seems obvious right? That precious content of theirs is waiting after all. Well, don’t be so sure…

Consumers WANT to know more about your product

If your favorite color is purple, then you probably love the journey chart above. This is the Object Highlight metric—the time a user spends hovering over an in-video product (like a necklace, face cream, or bag of dog food), for at least a half-second, to find out more about it (material, calorie count, or price). 

Consumers are not required to spend time within the video ad, and yet they’re choosing to. When given the opportunity to engage within a quality UX, the consumer will follow. Create an immersive experience, and they’ll create their own journey. The metrics over time show promising growth:

• Scene Saves have increased by over 200% since 2021 Q1
• Object Highlights and Object Links (lower funnel metrics) have increased nearly 3,000% since 2021 Q1 🤯

But the strategy doesn’t have to end there. Data points like Object Highlights can be categorized and used for sequential targeting that further push consumers down the funnel, in a strategic way, while driving real business results for your brand.

With these mid-funnel tactics supporting the PCTA and BLC, you set the scene for a rewarding lower funnel. Interactive, shoppable videos propose this consumer-first experience, and the Dimensional User Journey proves its payoff. 

When you give the consumer the opportunity to consider the product in real time, you put them on the right path, and mindset, to a purchase. Do we have your attention yet? Good! There’s still plenty more to explore with the Dimensional User Journey and consumer attention, so don’t move on with your journey just yet. Stay tuned.

Not long ago, the most engagement brands could expect from consumers on their videos was the SKIP AD button. (According to IPG Mediabrands’ Media Lab, 65% of users skip pre roll ads the first chance they get). They’d see a model in that gorgeous necklace along with some brand name and think very little of it on their way to content.

But interactive, shoppable videos bring a new layer to the experience that nudges consumers down the marketing funnel by presenting selling points for them to consider on screen, and the data shows they might be sticking around for it long after the 30 seconds are up. 

When reviewing the data, here’s what we’ve found:

• The top 3 categories utilizing interactive, shoppable videos are Style & Fashion, Health & Fitness, and Shopping. 
• Categories like Style & Fashion adopted interactive, shoppable videos early and are seeing strong click rates—and other verticals are joining in. 
• The engagement with interactive and shoppable objects in video is skyrocketing, demonstrating the power of OLV in the mid-funnel.

Savvy brands turn to video for the mid-funnel

Utilizing our patented machine-learning technology to display KERV’s pixel-edge glow over the video, brands provide consumers with deeper information on the product—shortening their path through the funnel. Whenever Busy Phillips comes on screen to gush over the new day cream from Olay, consumers can scroll over to the jar for an in-video image, text box with information and a link with a direct path to purchase. 

Consumers are treated to additional value props—like the name, ingredients, and a link to purchase— and brands are treated to all the precise metrics of the experience down to the half-second. 

But if you’re only hearing about this now, then you might have some catching up to do. 

Performance for interactive, shoppable video grows year over year

Back in the first quarter 2021, Style & Fashion took up nearly half of interactive, shoppable video volume. This is fairly predictable due to the shoppable nature of the vertical. How many times have you seen a stunning dress on the red carpet and wished you could learn everything about it? 

Now, however, other categories are ramping up their use of interactive, shoppable video. 

• Only 10 categories were utilizing interactive, shoppable videos in 2021 Q1, but this number has increased 70% as of this past quarter. 
• Categories with less of a shoppable implication, like Family & Parenting, have been reaping the benefits of interactive, shoppable videos with click rates over 15% in Q1.

And the growth doesn’t stop there. In 2022, the overall impressions accumulated by KERV-powered video increased by over 1200% when compared to the same period of time a year prior. Despite this massive growth, our average click rate also rose over 56% from 0.57% to 0.89%—the opposite of what you’d expect with such a steep jump in volume. 

It’s clear that not only are brands leaning into this new format and the new opportunities it affords, but consumers are too. And they’re interested in exploring deeper with digital video ads when the opportunity is available to them. 

Interactive, shoppable video creates dimensional user journeys 

The upper-funnel is all about making a strong impression, and interactive, shoppable video clearly achieves this. But what’s more is that KERV’s 20+ proprietary metrics uncover object-level data that reflects attention and consumer behavior—information that brands can use to power more relevant, mid-funnel experiences and more directly correlate performance to ROI and business results. 

As consumers navigate through video, we can see how many users click on the scene and toggle through the frame, as well as deliver data on the Object Highlights—the times a user simply hovers over an object to explore for a qualified amount of time. We call this aggregation of data the Dimensional User Journey—our take on the traditional marketing funnel, but demonstrated through interactive and shoppable video.

Remember, these objects are where the audience is being presented the additional value props you can’t get from traditional video ads—the carat count of a necklace, the material of a dress, and the price and availability of the latest pair of shoes. Again, the data show consumers are leaning in. In Q1 of 2022, we saw an increase of over 3,000% in our Object Highlights across verticals, compared to Q1 2021. 

That’s millions and millions of instances of consumers hovering over those objects within videos to learn more about a brand’s offerings. Does this still sound upper-funnel to you?

Interactive, shoppable videos find the shortcut to the mid-funnel by giving the audience a chance to learn more about the brand while simultaneously introducing it. And the Dimensional User Journey tells us the audience is open to it when given the chance. By letting them decide how much they want to engage, we create a more optimized journey that bridges the gap between brand and consumer. 

But our own journey through the benefits of interactive, shoppable videos is only just beginning. We’ll be taking a deeper look at the Dimensional User Journey metrics as Mid-Funnel May continues. Stay tuned!

The decorations have been stowed away, the gift wrap has been thrown out, and the holiday ads have left the pod. So now it’s time for a little review. How did last year’s holiday ads shape up and how can we use these learnings to plan for the year ahead?

One of the key benefits of running interactive video is net-new insights about consumer engagement and active attention. So we’ve analyzed the data coming out of the holiday shopping season, and these are the biggest trends to report:

• A spike in the number of users exploring products in-video
• Steady growth in time consumers spend with interactive ads
• An overall increase in the level of engagement users have with retail video ads

Before we move on: When we say “level of engagement,” we’re talking about the opportunities KERV’s interactive overlay provides for consumers to hover and click on various objects in a video, and how much consumers are engaging with these different touchpoints in the video. 

Now let’s dive into the report!

Interactive ads garner strong attention and engagement

We’re all vying for consumers’ attention. The better we capture attention, the easier it is to move them down the funnel—a no-brainer.  

How we measure that attention and leverage the data is another story. We saw an increase in clickthrough rate (CTR) of over 30% year-over-year on retail holiday ads using KERV’s interactive technology this year for an average of 1.5%—an impressive number considering that 2021 saw CTRs over 1%. What exactly is driving this stark and continuous increase in engagement?

By leveraging interactive elements in video, advertisers can glean insights into what’s driving consumers’ active attention not only with products but with relevant, localized sales and deals as well—and the ability to use this kind of strategic targeting is especially crucial in the current market. And with consumers continuing to ask for more personalized and relevant content from brands, it’s a win-win. The results speak for themselves.

Consumers spent more time with interactive ads

When we look at the performance of KERV’s retail clients, we see that the object highlight (OH) rate is up from 1.75% to 3.5% year-over-year. 

Quick pause: When we talk about the object highlight (OH) rate at KERV, we mean the amount of time a user hovers over an object in an interactive video. 

So why does it matter that this data is trending upwards? In the context of rising inflation, fluctuating product availability, and a longer-than-usual holiday buying season, consumers are still shopping, but they’re pickier than before and want to spend more time researching before they buy. In fact, predicted numbers fell short for 2022 holiday ecommerce sales by $27.56 billion. While there was still a 3.5% year-over-year growth in sales, the trend is clear—consumers won’t be spending as freely as in previous years.  

OH rates point to what’s capturing consumers’ attention, allowing advertisers to better optimize campaigns and ultimately value up the impression. Based on KERV’s campaign data, we found that the OH rate is up year-over-year from 1.75% during holidays 2021 to 3.5% during holidays 2022. On top of gaining insight into consumer attention, advertisers also get a more direct view into the consumer’s journey in-video, meaning a better understanding of the what and why behind a CTR.

A looming recession obviously poses a challenge for brands, but savvy advertisers will lean into innovative technologies to create meaningful experiences for their consumers that meet them where they are.

Overall increase in engagement with retail ads

Looking at our largest retail clients, we found that consumers engaged with interactive tiles in video at more than double year-over-year—from an average of 3.13% to nearly 7%. 

It’s good news for the coming year as it indicates that while consumers may have tighter purse strings, they’re more willing to have two-way conversations with brands as long as the content is relevant, personalized and engaging. 

And by using interactive technology, brands and agencies can leverage metrics that indicate active attention to optimize the most valuable customer touchpoints, enabling them to continue driving deeper personalization, better contextual relevance and ultimately more revenue. As the consumer experience continues to fragment, brands leveraging innovative technologies and first-party data will continue to stand out.

That’s a wrap on our 2022 holiday retail insights. Numbers are up across the board for interaction and engagement when it comes to interactive holiday retail videos and we predict this growth will continue throughout the year. 

We’ll have more insights to share about interactive video ads as we move further into 2023, so stick around. 

As a whole, the advertising industry is in flux. Changes in privacy regulations, changes in technologies, changes in how people consume media—everything is in transition. 

So how do we stay relevant in this everchanging state of the industry? That was the underlying topic of every conversation at the 2023 IAB Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM). Leading experts banded together to discuss the realities of today’s media landscape and how, together, we can rally to problem-solve and meet these new demands. 

KERV’s leadership team jetted off to sunny Florida to mingle with fellow industry leaders and listen to what the experts had to say about the current state of advertising. Here are the big takeaways they gleaned from this year’s IAB ALM.

• Data clean rooms and the trend towards cleaning up the digital ad supply chain is real
• Case studies say that context matters when it comes to serving ads
• Streaming will continue to change the way consumers engage with ads

Clean rooms are sweeping the industry

In the face of stricter privacy laws, the ability for advertisers and publishers to collect, store and analyze shared data has taken a severe hit. And the stronger the push for privacy becomes, the higher walled gardens become.

“Now, you could—and many have—synthesize all these separate data sets to find correlations, but it requires a significant amount of heavy lifting to do. In the long run, it’s not sustainable,” said Marika Roque, COO and Chief Innovation Officer of KERV. 

That’s where data clean rooms come in. And according to experts at IAB ALM, they’re poised to take off.

What’s a data clean room? 

Google was one of the first to offer a data clean room. Essentially, it’s where these walled gardens (Google, Facebook, etc.) share aggregated data with advertisers, instead of customer-level. Advertisers then take their own first-party data and see how the data sets match up.

From conversations at the conference, the consensus seems to be that there are three core use cases for data clean rooms:

• Audience insights and segmentation
• Audience modeling and activation
• Measurement and attribution

We’re still in the early stages of adoption with data clean rooms, and there’s a lot of work needed to standardize the practice. Those that optimize towards quality, transparency and simplicity will come out on top.

It’s all about the context

Contextual had its minute of fame back in the day. Then, like the 80s one-hit wonder “Come on Eileen,” it faded. And again, just like 80s one-hit wonder “Come on Eileen,” contextual is seeing a resurgence in popularity. 

In fact, prominent players in publishing shared case studies during IAB ALM 2023 that showed that fewer ads per page—that are contextually targeted—are outperforming ads using third-party audience targeting. 

“Consumers are ad-fatigued. To catch their attention we need to think deeper about the experiences we offer them. By leaning into contextual advertising, advertisers and publishers can provide more relevant and impactful content. It’s a win-win-win,” said Jay Wolff, CRO of KERV.

Give consumers what they want

The way people consume has changed substantially. And we’re not just talking about media (did you know that streaming accounted for 36.9% of US time spent with TV as of September 2022?). A year or so in lockdown means that online shopping saw a jump in adoption—and while people are back in physical stores, the consumer journey will never be the same. 

With things like #tiktokmademebuyit taking off, brands and advertisers are keenly aware that any moment of exposure, even for just 10 seconds, can result in a purchase. 

Have you connected the dots yet? Do you see where we’re headed? We’ll give you a hint: Where else does this “just saw it, gotta have it” feeling emerge for consumers? 

Television. 

“You’ve had that moment. You’re watching your favorite show on your favorite streaming platform and you pause because you’ve seen a product you just have to buy. With the right technologies in place, the future of shopping is television,” said Gary Mittman, CEO of KERV.

That’s exactly what Jeremi Gorman, President of Netflix Advertising Worldwide pointed to during the conference, stating, “I was watching a Modern Family show and I saw a chandelier, I tried to find it. Wouldn’t it be great if it was a simple process to buy right off the show?”

Eventually, as the industry continues to innovate, consumers will be able to purchase from their television as easily as they do on social platforms, like TikTok. Luckily, there are some good AI/ML-driven image recognition technologies out there that can bridge those gaps. 

“And looking beyond the TV screen, the industry will need to continue to adapt as we prepare for Web 3. The same way we’re innovating now thanks to streaming, we’ll need to be mindful of innovation for the next generation of the internet,” said Mike Fleischman, CFO of KERV

There you go—the big hits from IAB ALM 2023! Do you feel like you were there? We hope so. 
We’re always eager to share the trends and insights we see going on in the industry. If you’d like to stay ahead of the KERV curve with us, contact us today to learn more.

Fast-moving trends, ever-shifting consumer expectations, and a crowded media landscape make it harder than ever for brands to stand out and win consumers’ attention, especially with video. Using the same old strategies won’t keep your audience interested, let alone engaged. 

That’s where innovative technology solutions come in. Interactive and shoppable video not only drives stronger engagement with consumers but also provides unique data points that empower marketers to create bolder, more audience-centered stories. If you’re not leaning into interactive, you’re not getting the most out of your content. 

So to give you some inspiration as we begin planning for the new year, here’s a look at some of the best interactive and shoppable video campaigns KERV saw in 2022. 

We’ve rounded up 4 campaigns that utilized our interactive technology in distinct ways to make the most out of their video strategies.  We’ll dive into how:

• Heineken leveraged shoppable video to create alternative creative messaging for various holidays from a single video.
• David’s Bridal took its social commerce strategy to the next level with the leaned KERV & TikTok integration.
• Sam Edelman turned a CTV ad into a shoppable experience for the summer collection. 
• Carat Pandora created a fully interactive and shoppable video campaign, from desktop to social to CTV, driving significant brand consideration with consumers. 

Heineken’s shoppable video campaign

Creatives are expensive. It takes time and careful planning and isn’t easy to get a creative across the finish line for each occasion that your brand wants to advertise for—which is why Heineken turned to shoppable technology. 

By adapting the copy on the shoppable tiles in-video, Heineken was able to take a single creative and deliver holiday-specific messaging for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Heineken maximized ad spend and provided curated experiences for its audience all from a single creative.

On top of getting more from ad spend, Heineken’s shoppable video campaigns also drove significant performance results. The overall clickthrough rate was 2.84%, and an interaction rate of 8.26%. The Add to Cart results from the video showed a purchase intent of 4.75%, exceeding the benchmark by 43%. 

By using interactive video technology, Heineken was able to get more out of its video creative and foster stronger awareness and consideration with consumers. 

David’s Bridal’s interactive TikTok campaign

Summer is a peak shopping season for the well-known bridal and special occasion brand, David’s Bridal. With a goal of capitalizing on the season, the brand delivered a shoppable video campaign on TikTok using KERV’s integration to tap into richer data, capturing consumers earlier in their shopper journey and streamlining their experience.  

Leveraging KERV’s TikTok integration, David’s Bridal collected net-new, product-level insights that helped take the TikTok campaign further. This drove a tremendous lift in reach, fostered positive engagement, and provided an in-depth look into consumer intent and engagement amongst the target audience.

With these net-new user insights in hand, David’s Bridal optimized the shoppable tiles in-video based specifically on how users engaged with the content. The campaign reached 16 million consumers (2x the industry benchmark), resulting in a click-through rate of 0.96%. 

Connecting content and commerce is a must for brands that want to win. And David’s Bridal campaign shows that by creating immersive experiences, brands can better reach consumers where they are and successfully push them down the funnel from a single video. 

Sam Edelman’s shoppable CTV experience

How do brands get the most out of CTV ads? It’s a hard thing to measure, but it gets easier when you layer interactive capabilities on top of your ad. This is exactly what Sam Edelman did in its summer collection campaign. 

Leveraging KERV’s dynamic QR solution, Sam Edelman was able to generate awareness and interest among Women aged 25-54 on their favorite streaming services. When viewing the Sam Edelman CTV placement, consumers were actively encouraged to scan a unique QR code during playback, as well as during a custom end frame, which successfully amplified brand consideration.

Overall, the CTV campaign earned 434,101 additional minutes with the brand through the QR scans. So if you’re looking for a way to get more out of your CTV ads, consider using interactive technology to strategically place opportunities for consumers to engage directly with your brand.

Carat Pandora’s top-to-bottom interactive video campaign

Carat Pandora sought to re-ignite excitement for the Moments platform and charms, encourage repeat purchases, and engage the community by telling authentic stories of friendship. The brand saw the opportunity to elevate its campaign by using interactive technology across channels, from digital to social to CTV. 

By layering interactive capabilities on top of its creative assets, Carat Pandora saw a significant leap in campaign performance, driving an overall clickthrough rate of 1.68%, exceeding the benchmark by 180%. Additionally, consumers spent, on average, 38% more time with the interactive video campaign than they would have with a standard ad experience.

Through interactive technology, the campaign successfully differentiated the Pandora brand and fostered consideration between brand and consumer beyond what would have been possible with standard, static assets. 

The bottom line is that winning in a crowded landscape requires creative approaches and the right data to guide you to the goalpost. And if you’re not using interactive to elevate your video strategies, then you’re missing a huge opportunity to get more from your ad dollars. If you’re ready to talk about how your brand can win with interactive video campaigns, contact us today.

Cookies have been making a slow exit for a while now, which means more and more advertisers are shifting their targeting tactics to contextual.

But in order to make the most out of contextual targeting, advertisers need to lean into AI and machine learning driven solutions to ensure they’re connecting with the right audience and providing enhanced ad experiences. That’s why KERV has partnered with IRIS.TV — curating relevant content and allowing advertisers to contextually target at scale across CTV and online video.

A quick recap: What is contextual? 

But let’s back up a bit. What is contextual targeting? Contextual targeting matches ad placement to relevant content. 

So let’s say a user is reading an article about the latest winter fashion trends. With contextual targeting, a retailer would be able to serve an ad for jackets understanding the user is in that mindset rather than say a car insurance brand serving an ad for discounted policies that might be the last thing on the user’s mind. Advertisers are able to reach their audience when they’re in the right mindset and users receive more relevant experiences. 

And while contextual targeting isn’t new to online advertising, it’s evolving significantly. Now, instead of just relying on page relevance via keywords, advertisers can use image recognition within video to create contextual experiences on channels like CTV. 

The challenges facing CTV  

For CTV in particular, contextual has the potential to alleviate challenges facing the CTV advertising ecosystem. 

There’s a significant lack of inventory standardization for CTV and supply is being bought within some of the loosest targeting, verification and viewability practices currently in digital media. Paired with a lack of access to video data, there’s no way to connect the dots. 

So the ability to serve safe, quality ad experiences at scale, and measure the performance feels like a dream. And while there have been steps taken to try and course correct—IAB Tech Lab announced an update to their ad format guidelines to include CTV last spring—the industry still has a long way to go. 

That’s why having the right technology partner is crucial. 

The next step in contextual CTV

The KERV & IRIS.TV integration gives advertisers the power to organize content precisely and strategically so that they can contextually target ads to relevant inventory at scale.

How does it work? We combine our patented, pixel-precise video image recognition technology with IRIS.TV’s curated inventory pipeline to deliver a more refined, enhanced ad-viewing experience to your audience. 

The level of precision in our image recognition makes it possible for advertisers to contextually target based:

• Logos
• Facial Recognition
• Place (i.e. cafe, patio, office)
• Brand Safety
• IAB Taxonomy
• Specific objects and object categories 

And we’re continually adding new segments for deeper contextual targeting. Want to learn more? Get more information about the KERV x IRIS.TV integration here.

Or, if you’re ready to take the next step in contextual advertising now, you can contact us today.

The holidays are almost here and as those jingle bells start jangling their way to us, we want to take a quick moment to chat about what you’re doing with your holiday ads. 

Listen, the market is a little crazy right now. We need to be thinking beyond reaching consumers. Is buying on lower CPMs a win if what you’re buying is spray-and-pray tactics? 

Of course, it’s not. But you do need to make sure you’re reaching the consumer. You just want to make sure you’re using the right partners and technology to reach the right consumer, and that you’re doing so efficiently. 

What we’re saying is this: If you’re not working with KERV, you’re missing out on some pretty big opportunities to maximize your ad spend. 

Social is a direct path to purchase

Thinking about how big social commerce is right now? Us too. 

According to eMarketer, the number of social commerce buyers is set to reach 102.6 million by the end of 2022 (holy sh*t, right?). It also turns out that 40% of Gen Z prefer using TikTok (and Instagram) for search over Google. 

Usually, advertisers think of social as an upper funnel tactic. It’s a place of discovery, where consumers see and hear about products that might pique their interest. 

We’re saying it’s time to scrap that way of thinking. Sure, discovery is still a big part of the consumer experience on social. We’re not denying that. But with interactive and shoppable capabilities, the impact of social media just got a lot bigger (remember—102.6 million $$). 

Of course, only KERV’s technology allows advertisers to make a real impact on the purchasing funnel with social. Due to our patented technology, our TikTok integration is the only one that can correlate user interactions with products to optimize TikTok ads in real time, insights that can also be used beyond TikTok.

So if a consumer interacts with a sweater in a brand video, the advertiser can glean insights that not only improves their TikTok ad optimizations but can also be used to inform campaigns on any platform or site outside of TikTok. Why does that matter? Because a consumer choosing to interact with a specific item in a video shows a level of intent that you don’t get from simply using views to guide campaign strategies.   

CTV ads should be about more than reach 

This philosophy on consumer intent is the guiding force behind KERV’s products, including CTV. As we discussed, interactive and shoppable technology has changed consumer behavior on social—but don’t sleep on CTV. 

Audiences have always wanted to shop the items they see on screen. Fun fact—a Pottery Barn representative confirmed in a 2004 interview that sales go up for them every time the notorious Friends episode airs where Rachel buys every piece of furniture for her and Phoebe’s apartment from the famous furniture brand. 

Which is great confirmation for advertisers. (Woo! Product placement works!) But imagine how many more sales you could get if viewers had a frictionless shopping experience directly from the show they’re watching. 

The thing is, they can—as long as the industry leans into interactive and shoppable innovations. 

Right now, the industry focuses too much on attention. These reach-based measurements treat all views as though they’re equal, and we know they’re not. Interactive and shoppable capabilities have the power to unlock new insights because it captures authentic consumer actions, so let’s use that power wisely. 

With KERV TV, for example, advertisers are able to see what scenes and objects each viewer is engaging with and use these insights to inform stronger sequential messaging. Consumers get a seamless shopping experience at the exact moment they want to shop for an item. And publishers get more opportunities to monetize their content. Everyone wins. 

Do you understand the digital consumer? KERV does

At the heart of it all, advertisers need to create consumer-first experiences. It’s the why behind everything we do at KERV—from online video to social to CTV. We see interactive technology as the gateway to implementing campaigns that actually address consumer wants and needs. 

We look at the how and why behind consumer shopping habits and build our product features around them. 

For example, we know this holiday season is going to be different. Inflation is at an all-time high and we know that means changes in consumer spending. They’ll be scouring stores for the best prices they can find. So it was a no-brainer for us to introduce the Verified Lowest Price feature to KERV Shop. 

And inflation isn’t the only heavy hitter this season (of course not, it couldn’t be that easy!). Consumers and brands alike are also being hit by supply chain issues. Enter KERV’s Companion Cluster feature, which uses customer parameters (location, day-parting, weather triggers—you get the gist) to determine which product tiles to load for that consumer. So say the store near them is sold out of a specific product shown in the video. No big deal—we’ll just swap in a similar product that is available instead. 

The point is consumer expectations and experiences change as rapidly as the latest social media trends. And historically, advertisers have been slow to adapt. In fact, we’d say the industry is overdue for a change in approach. 

What’s the solution? Partnering with the kind of technology that stays ahead of the trends. Yes, we’re talking about KERV. Not to brag (okay, kind of to brag) but we’re creating solutions that empower consumers and brands. It’s a big deal. 

So if you’re ready to make a true impact with your holiday ads, give us a shout.

Paramount Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and KERV Interactive have announced a new partnership harnessing patented technology to deliver dynamic, interactive video ad functionality on Connected TVs.

The companies have collaborated to launch a global-first ad product providing optimisation for brands and net-new pathways for audiences to connect, engage, and shop.

The video ad product enables multiple SKU QR codes to be dynamically inserted during ad playback allowing any number of products to be showcased based on customisable inputs as well as iteration based on performance.

Product-related elements can also be shifted dynamically depending on audience location, time, show, deals and even product availability mitigating potential supply-chain issues.

Shani Kugenthiran, director, digital advertising strategy & product, Paramount ANZ, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with KERV Interactive and be first to market in the world with a product that empowers brands to leverage and maximise all advertising variables and make their TVCs work smarter to deliver results.

“We’re enabling our advertisers to establish and maintain relevance by applying real-time circumstances and feedback to their ads that in turn give customers a targeted, unique and positive brand experience that will translate into sales.

“It’s exciting to work with a company where we have such a connection and affinity with shared values, culture and business ambition to be global leaders in CTV advertising.”

Marika Roque, chief operating officer of KERV Interactive, said: “Paramount ANZ is the ideal partner for us to pilot our new technology Down Under and together take the world by storm.

“Our fully-dynamic, patented technology is at the nexus of brand and user experience giving advertisers near real-time optimisation that combines the precision of Artificial Intelligence with the power of audience engagement, product and sales insights to maximise ROI.

“It’s been an incredible journey to partner in the development of this new product and we’re proud to stand with Paramount ANZ as the vanguard of CTV advertising technology.”

The new product is currently in market and Marika Roque will be visiting Australia in October to discuss the partnership and KERV Interactive’s technology.

Read the original release here.

Digital video has enormous sway over consumer decision-making. Consumers spend more time with video than any other type of content and many, in fact, say they want more video content from brands. This has made digital video a key tool for many brands. And as both video consumption and e-commerce grow, we’re set to see video commerce dollars grow.

What is Video Commerce?

So what is video commerce? Video commerce is the use of digital video content to promote and sell products online. Through video content, brands can provide consumers with a product experience outside of physical stores. 

As technology evolves, video commerce is growing. Brands can elevate the experiences they deliver through digital video and create a more seamless purchasing path. Today, many brands view video commerce as a key part of their e-commerce strategy, instead of just as a “nice to have.” 

Why Video Commerce is the Future

Today’s consumers are different even just from two years ago. Innovative technology continues to rapidly transform the digital landscape and, in turn, change consumer behavior. In particular, e-commerce has left consumers with a see-now-want-now mentality. After all, the internet made it possible for them to purchase from anywhere at any time and have a product delivered swiftly to their doorstep. 

Of course, online stores struggle to create the human experience of a physical store. The ability to see and touch a product is reduced to three or four still images. In fact, 49% of online shoppers say that not being able to physically see and touch a product is one of their least favorite parts of shopping online. 

With video, brands can close this gap. Video allows consumers to spend more time with the product, gain a deeper understanding of the features and benefits, and turn their interest into a sale.

How are Consumers Shopping in Video?

There are a variety of ways to leverage video commerce depending on your audience. You don’t need to create every kind of video or be on every channel. The key is knowing what type of video your audience is watching and where they’re viewing it.

Product explainers and demonstrations work well on a product’s page, letting them vicariously touch and see a product and help guide them to purchase. Short-form content— think Snapchat, Instagram Reels, and TikTok—keeps an audience engaged when you’re reaching them on a social platform and competing for attention. Influencer content also makes it easier to reach consumers in crowded spaces, as you’re tapping into a creator’s loyal audience. 

These are just a few examples of the types of video consumers are shopping from. Other types of video content include more traditional preroll ads, as well as live streams, consumer testimonials, and how-to videos. 

And technology, like shoppable video, is taking these experiences one step further. Through shoppable video, consumers can discover, consider and purchase a product all in one place.  In fact, we’ve found that consumers who see a shoppable video convert to actual purchases at a rate of 10% across CPG, Grocery, and Food & Beverage—a significantly higher rate than standard video ads. 

Growing Video Commerce Trends

Shoppable videos drive significantly more purchases, according to our recent report. This means brands are turning to shoppable technology to create immersive and personalized experiences in a number of ways to reach today’s consumers where they are spending their time. 

Social Commerce

Social commerce is perhaps the fastest growing trend. According to eMarketer, the number of social commerce buyers is set to reach 102.6 million by the end of 2022.

Livestream Commerce

Remember those shopping channels? You know, the ones you’d watch at an ungodly hour in the morning when you couldn’t sleep? 

Well, they’ve taken a new form in the digital stage. Now, platforms like Facebook are trying out livestream commerce. While consumers watch a livestream feed, they’re given ways to directly shop the products being shown during the stream. 

It’s been a successful trend in Asia, but in the US the trend is still slowly gaining traction. However, as shoppable video continues to grow in popularity, we’ll likely see a stronger adoption of this trend in the next few years. 

CTV 

As the number of people watching content through streaming services grows, advertisers are looking for ways to get their brands in front of viewers. The rise of Connected TV (CTV)—any device designed to support streaming content and connects to the internet—has resulted in (you guessed it) CTV advertising. 

Advertisers typically use either in-stream ads, those clusters of ads you see before you get to watch the content, to promote their products. They’ll also use home screen ads, so think of those display banners you’ll see on the home screen of your Roku or Fire TV Stick or whatever device you use. 

To further drive engagement with CTV ads, many brands are leveraging QR code technology to turn a static video advertisement into an interactive experience. 

Most consumers already have their phones on them while watching TV. By placing a QR code on an ad, brands give consumers a quick and easy way to find the products showcased in the ad. 

Video commerce is a prime opportunity for e-commerce and retail. From product page videos to social media to CTV, savvy brands are leveraging digital video to elevate their e-commerce strategies. If you want to learn more about how interactive and shoppable technology can transform your videos, contact us today.

Over 76% of the US population now watches digital video and those watching digital video spend around 2 hours and 41 minutes a day consuming content. The steady growth of video consumption coupled with the acceleration of ecommerce has given rise to a new way of buying—interactive and shoppable video. From social commerce to livestream shopping, it’s clear shoppable videos are here to stay.

At KERV, we strive to take these videos farther through our patented interactive technology. We’re continuously evolving our product suite to better serve brands and agencies and anticipate their needs, especially during economically uncertain times. In 2022, we’ve launched several new product updates, which empower brands to…

• Better optimize their ads.
• Drive deeper engagement.
• Enhance the consumer experience.

Here are the notable product updates we’ve released in 2022:

Product Menu

KERV Shop, our commerce-focused product, features a carousel of products that users can interact with during the video. For example, let’s say a makeup retailer has a video featuring lipstick, blush, eyeliner, and mascara. As each item appears in the video, a tile is populated on one side of the screen for that product, allowing users to interact with or shop any product right from the video as soon as they see it. 

We’ve seen huge success with our Shop product, with some brands exceeding their CTR benchmarks by as much as 500%+. Now, we’re taking KERV Shop one step further. The latest update to Shop features a Product Menu that aims to enhance the user experience and allow them to interact with every product in the video all at once.

The Product Menu can be added to the video in two different ways:

• When a viewer clicks on the background of a video, the content pauses and pulls up the Product Menu. 
• An additional 15-second end frame can be added to the video specifically for the Product Menu, garnering more time spent with content and an additional product-only focus opportunity. 

Dynamic Product Menu Features

The products featured within the Product Menu can also be dynamically associated with a live product feed. This enables the product tiles to automatically update based on availability, color changes, and more for unique creative optimizations. 

For example, if the video features a handbag that comes in multiple colors and the KERV data indicates that black is the most popular color choice, the ad can update the product tile so that the black version of the bag is shown.

KERV’s technology can even indicate unique product deals or specials for further dynamic callouts in the Product Menu.

• Brands can enable an Intro CTA which appears within 5 seconds of the video to indicate “exclusive” or “low price” deals.
• KERV’s technology can verify a sale or an exclusive item via the product feed. This prompts a special icon to appear on the item’s tile in the Product Menu to highlight unique promotions.

Banners 3.0

KERV’s interactive banners have always provided strong sequential targeting when utilized alongside any of KERV’s video products because the delivery of these banner ads is informed by the unique video user engagement data taken during the correlating video. 

First, a consumer is shown a KERV’d video. So let’s say the video served to the consumer is a furniture ad. The video features a bed, couch, dining table, and recliner and the user hovers over the dining table and interacts with the product’s tile. Later, they are served a banner featuring that same dining table they interacted with in the video. 

The interactive video allows for sequential messaging to be more effective and further pushes the consumer through the purchase funnel—adding more value to the brand’s video spend. Now, KERV is expanding the capabilities of our banners, thanks to new innovations.

Brands have the option of delivering a banner version of the scene they interacted with in a video or they can opt to have the banner show the most interacted object from the video. 

Additionally, banners can also be served based on geolocation and timing to:

• Highlight local deals or rewards based on the user’s location. 
• Deliver a version based on the specific time of day or unique dates. 

Want more information on KERV’s product suite? Contact us today.