Interactive marketing: what it is and how to get it right

At Qualifio, we truly believe in the power of interactive marketing and its ability to engage and guide consumers through the conversion funnel. 

From the beginning, we wanted to enable brands to build relationships that go beyond mere connections. We wanted every brand to find its community. 

And today, Qualifio does just that: we enable consumer brands to successfully boost engagement and drive revenue thanks to first- and zero-party data collection and interactive marketing.

Ready to become an expert in interactive marketing? Here’s everything you need to know. Let’s dive in!

What is interactive marketing, and how does it differ from traditional marketing?

Unlike traditional marketing, which is often static and one-directional, interactive marketing engages users directly and personally, making the experience more memorable and effective.

Qualifio has been helping leading B2C brands implement this marketing tactic. The platform enables marketers to easily build engaging interactive experiences that integrate seamlessly into their inbound strategies, just like blog posts, social media, or email campaigns.

And in today’s world, where consumers are bombarded with around 3,000 commercial messages per day but only remember about 4, grabbing attention has never been more difficult or more important. Interactive content helps brands rise above the noise by offering something different: participation, personalisation, and fun.

What are the common types of interactive marketing strategies?

It is one thing to understand the definition of interactive marketing, but how can your brand put it into practice? Below, we’ve listed several interactive marketing strategies you can start using.

1. Contests 

Who doesn’t like contests promoting attractive offers and giveaways? Contests are an excellent way to engage your audience and go viral. In addition, by launching contests from time to time, you give your audience an incentive to stay connected and engaged with your brand to have the chance to win other cool prizes.

2. Quizzes and tests

Quizzes are a simple and efficient way to get your audience to interact with your brand! Thousands of combinations are possible based on pictures, videos, audio or text. And quizzes enable you to collect a lot of valuable data about your audience, giving you a better insight into your customers’ needs.

3. Polls and surveys

No matter your business, polls and surveys are great ways to get to know your audience’s opinions and preferences and gather valuable customer data. Once you’ve got your customers’ feedback (“How are you?”, “How is it going?”, “What do you think?”), you can fully leverage it for your next marketing actions and improve your customer experience.

4. User-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) drives higher engagement than branded content. Photos, videos, reviews, and testimonials created by real users feel more authentic, resulting in more likes, shares, and comments.

UGC is defined as any content related to a brand that unpaid contributors have created. The main benefit of UGC is that it’s the fans who are promoting your business. When you know that 92% of consumers turn to people they know for referrals above any other source, UGC is something you should absolutely consider.

5. Interactive videos

Unlike a traditional video that allows the viewer to start, pause or rewind the content, an interactive video enables the viewer to interact with the video the same way they would interact with web content. For example, they can click areas within the video, drag the screen to see in all directions (360° views), scroll, hover and perform other digital actions. These options create a more fun and engaging experience for the viewer.

6. Personalised content

Personalised content makes people feel understood and increases engagement. It involves using a person’s name in emails, showing ads based on their preferences, or delivering content that matches their behaviour. To collect the necessary data, use simple tools like quizzes, tests, and polls. This data helps create more relevant messages and offers, resulting in improved engagement and higher response rates.

7. Games

Games are a powerful way to deliver messages and stand out from competitors. Interactive marketing formats like puzzles, memory games, and rebus games capture attention and increase engagement. Using games in your content strategy helps you differentiate your brand and cut through the noise.

8. Interactive storytelling

Interactive storytelling increases engagement by making content more dynamic and easy to consume. Try interactive formats such as infographics, images, GIFs, videos, and graphics. These elements make content more engaging, easier to understand, and more valuable to your audience.

Our advice for successful interactive marketing campaigns:

1️⃣ Vary your content types
2️⃣ Track what works with your audience
3️⃣ Then gear your interactive marketing campaign accordingly

Because not every format will see the same rate of response across every audience, which will also help you diversify your traffic.

What are the key benefits of implementing interactive marketing?

Why choose interactive content over static content? Interactive content is 81% more effective at grabbing people’s attention than static content, so interactive marketing has several advantages, including:

1. Improving brand awareness

Creating fun and original interactive content gives your reputation a positive, unique and modern aura. As a result, customers and prospects are more likely to keep an eye on your brand and be more attentive to your future commercial solicitations. According to Ion Interactive, interactive content will increase the retention of your messaging by 79% compared to static content.

2. Boosting audience engagement

All the different types of interactive marketing listed above (quizzes, games, personalised content, interactive videos, etc.) give your audience a unique experience. If you offer your audience fun via interactive content, you give them a reason to return to your channels and interact with your brand.

3. Building audience loyalty

Interactive marketing enables you to build solid and long-lasting relationships with your audience. All the data collected will allow you to interact with your audience more personally and develop their loyalty. Use this data wisely to offer the most suitable offer for your customers’ needs and attract them according to their preferences.

4. Converting prospects into customers

According to Ion Interactive’s research, interactive content can increase your submission rate by up to 80%. By making it more engaging and rewarding for the user, interactive content is more likely to collect more data than any other type of content. It’s up to you then to analyse the data collected and turn your prospects into customers.

Over the past decade, interactive tools and levers have undergone significant evolution. From quizzes and contests to more engaging and interactive formats, interactive marketing is your ally to support your sales efforts at all stages of your customer’s journey, from data collection to audience engagement and customer retention.

Why use interactive marketing to collect first- and zero-party data?

For many brands, the transition to a cookieless world means rethinking their data collection strategy to rely more on first- and zero-party data. Consequently, the way they target and segment audiences for digital advertising will change. They will need to connect or reconnect with customers in new and innovative ways.

Source: Forrester

First-party data and zero-party data is the data that is intentionally and proactively shared directly by consumers. Therefore, the collection of such data gives consumers greater control over precisely what information is being collected. At the same time, it provides brands with valuable insights, enabling them to effectively target customers with personalised offers.

And guess what marketing tactic is seen by many as one of the most promising to collect first- and zero-party data? You’ve guessed it: interactive marketing!

Why? As explained previously in this article, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to engage consumers and, by doing so, have them share information about themselves in return. As a result, you need to offer consumers useful, valuable, entertaining, and relevant content if you want them to share more details about themselves. And interactive marketing presents numerous opportunities to make all this possible.

What are some real-world examples of successful interactive marketing campaigns?

Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate interactive marketing into your strategy with concrete examples from major brands. 

No matter what sector you’re working in (sports, entertainment, politics, automotive, etc.), interactive marketing will help you to differentiate your content, capture more attention, and get a higher return on your marketing efforts. 

1. Decathlon’s shopping guides

Decathlon, the global sports retailer, turned to Qualifio to build closer relationships with their customers and foster a real sense of community among passionate sports enthusiasts.

One of Decathlon’s first initiatives with Qualifio was the launch of interactive shopping guides, offering personalised product recommendations instead of traditional acquisition campaigns. Each guide focuses on a specific sport (football, hockey, basketball, dance, and more) and features essential, must-have items. Shoppers simply select the sports items they don’t yet own, and based on their responses, Decathlon directs them to tailored product pages on their e-commerce site.

The outcome: shopping guide pages achieved an average conversion rate of 2.7%, more than double the 1.22% seen on standard landing pages. These interactive guides are strategically used during key moments of the year and on targeted pages, consistently delivering higher engagement and conversion rates.

2. Algemeen Dagblad’s user generated content

Let’s discuss the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad which generated a lot of views thanks to user-generated content created with the Qualifio platform. The newspaper aimed to raise awareness and educate readers about the Dutch famine during World War II.

As a first step, AD asked the survivors to share their stories via letters and emails. Then, they published some of them in the print and online versions of the newspaper. 

In a second step, due to the high number of stories received, AD decided to transcribe all the letters into an interactive gallery integrated into an article available on their website’s premium and paid section. People could navigate the gallery and click on each testimony to see more details. 

With this interactive marketing campaign, the newspaper gained new subscribers to its premium content and drove over 30,000 views in just a couple of days.

3. Nescafé’s personality test 

Nescafé, the coffee brand owned by Nestlé, leveraged the Qualifio platform to launch a personality test: “What is the right coffee for your organisation?” This creative and engaging approach was designed to attract new partners in a fun, original way.

Using Qualifio, the personality test was created in just a few minutes. Companies were invited to discover which coffee matched their organisational personality and had the chance to win a coffee tasting experience for all their employees. To see their results and confirm participation, users completed a form with their contact details and indicated whether they agreed to be contacted by a Nestlé professional.

This campaign became a perfect example of how to generate qualified leads while offering prospects an entertaining and memorable brand interaction.

4. betevé’s interactive quiz

To cover the entrance exam for the municipal police force of Barcelona, where 88% of candidates failed, the Spanish media betevé chose an interactive approach. Using the interactive marketing platform Qualifio, they quickly built an online quiz that gathered the 50 real exam questions. Within just one hour, the quiz was created and embedded directly into an article on their website.

The next day, the quiz went viral. People shared their results, challenged their friends, and engagement soared. Thanks to their rapid reaction and innovative use of Qualifio, betevé unexpectedly achieved a high participation rate: over 30,000 participants in just 48 hours. They also saw a huge boost in session duration, averaging 5 minutes per session, compared to their usual 1 minute 30 seconds, a 233% increase.

5. YSL’s candy crush game

L’Oréal’s brand, Yves Saint Laurent, wanted to create a custom game tailored to their marketing needs for the launch of their fragrance, “BLACK OPIUM”. Their goal was to promote their fragrance while interacting with their consumers and offering them free samples. To achieve this, they collaborated with the agency TAKEOFF to create a tailor-made game and with Qualifio to collect first- and zero-party data.

To play, participants had to swap an object to make a row or a column of at least three identical objects, similar to the game Candy Crush. A campaign that enabled YSL to entertain their prospects and turn them into consumers!

Discover now how L’Oréal EMEA implemented an efficient data collection strategy thanks to interactive marketing.

6. LolaLiza’s “where’s Wally?” game

In the ultra-competitive fashion sector, standing out means creating memorable customer experiences. LolaLiza chose Qualifio to power their monthly game campaigns and engage their audience in a fun, dynamic way.

One of their standout campaigns was based on the famous “Where’s Wally?” concept, with a trip to New York up for grabs. Participants were challenged to find the brand’s four fashionistas as quickly as possible on a playful map of New York. This game was part of LolaLiza’s broader goal to release a different game every month, with rewards tailored to their target audience, fostering stronger connections with both existing and younger customers.

The results: in just 3 weeks, 6,020 participants joined the campaign, including 4,288 new users. The brand also achieved an impressive 67% opt-in rate for its newsletter, showcasing the power of Qualifio in driving both engagement and lead generation.

As you can see from the above interactive marketing examples, regardless of your sector, you can effectively integrate interactive marketing into your strategy. However, to maximise the benefits of this type of marketing campaign, don’t forget to set measurable objectives beforehand so that you can continuously improve your actions.

Are you looking for more inspiration to incorporate interactive marketing into your strategy? We have listed here 40 interactive marketing campaign ideas that are easy to launch and that your audience will love.

How can brands enhance user engagement through interactive experiences?

Did you know that the entire year is filled with key dates and events around which you can use interactive marketing to launch targeted actions, engage with your audience, and achieve your goals? (We even have a calendar gathering more than 400 events! 😉)

We have listed some yearly events around which your brand can use interactive marketing.

1. Interactive marketing content around football events

Football competitions are perfect events to capitalise on, given the millions of people who watch them! Due to the global focus of this kind of sporting event, many brands and media groups will attempt to capture the attention of those following. Let’s see how you could use football competitions to create highly engaging interactive marketing content:

• Photo contest: the supporter of the week
• Quiz: how much do you know about the World Cup?
• Poll: who’s the man of the match?
• Prediction: what will be the final score of the game?
• Ranking: the best football coaches
• Survey: which country are you supporting?

2. Interactive marketing content around the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes is the film festival that receives the most media coverage worldwide. As with any significant media event, anybody can use it to generate engagement and collect customer data, not just in the film and entertainment industries! Here are a few interactive marketing content ideas to launch for the Cannes Film Festival: 

• Top/flop: outfits from the ceremony
• Prediction: win the official car of the Cannes Festival
• Chrono quiz: answer the recap quiz of the Festival
• Instant win: a Flexnit subscription!
• Personality test: what kind of festival-goer are you?
• Sudden death: history of the Festival
• Guess the word: find the film’s title
• Personality test: which cocktail best fits you?
• Memory game: stars then and now
• Vote: based on trailers, who will win the Palme d’Or?

3. Interactive marketing content around the elections

After sports and entertainment, let’s take a look at how you can create interactive marketing content around politics and, more precisely, around elections. We have gathered in this blog post creative examples of interactive campaigns to run before, during or after an election.

Before an election

• Memory game: match each political candidate with their party
• Team selector: compose your ideal government
• Poll: who do you plan on voting for?
• Personality test: find the party closest to your political views

During an election

• Guess the word: recognise the political candidate
• Quiz: who’s who?
• Sudden death quiz: Test your knowledge of our political system and institutions. 
• Quiz: who said what?
• Ranking: the best president of all times
• Battle: which candidates? 

After an election

• Checklist: the topics you think the new president should give priority to
• Writing contest: write an open letter to the newly elected political figure
• Video contest: record video messages to your favourite personality 
• Photo contest: turn yourself into a president

4. Interactive marketing content around motor shows

Whether you are a journalist looking for an original idea to boost your article or an automotive brand looking to attract more visitors to your stand, you can use one of the ideas below to create interactive content around motor shows: 

• Photo contest: the funniest moments in your car
• Unique code contest: thanks for trusting us
• Personality test: what car are you?
• Battle: make your car choice
• Quiz: test your motor shows knowledge

And we have more! Visit our blog to discover all the interactive marketing campaign ideas you can launch for other types of events like Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or even Mother’s Day.

What are the emerging trends in interactive marketing that brands should be aware of?

Before we wrap up, let’s take a look at some key interactive marketing trends to keep on your radar:

1. AI-powered personalisation

Whether you’re already using it or not, Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an essential part of marketing. Use it to make your content even more personalised through personalised quizzes, product recommendations and dynamic content that make your interactions feel more relevant and engaging.

2. Gamification is the way to go to drive engagement 

By incorporating game elements such as points, levels, leaderboards, badges, games, and rewards into your strategy, you can keep your audience engaged and motivated, increase the time spent with your brand, and boost conversions.

3. Immersive experiences (AR/VR) 

Rely on immersive experiences like AR and VR to offer your customers fun, hands-on ways to engage with your brand. Think virtual product demos, try-ons for clothes or makeup, 360° videos, and clickable infographics, these tools help customers explore your products before they buy.

4. Interactive content that capture data 

Increasingly, marketers are using interactive content formats, such as quizzes, tests, polls, and surveys, to make their content more dynamic. These formats not only drive engagement but also help you gather valuable first- and zero-party data directly from your audience.

Interactive marketing is about creating real, two-way engagement that builds trust and drives results. Start with one or two of these strategies, experiment, and see what works best for your audience!

That’s all, folks! We’ve shown you everything you need to know about interactive marketing. 

From this article and all the examples we have showcased, it is clear that producing compelling and original interactive content is key to keep people playing, clicking, sharing information and engaging with your brand. It is also an excellent way to create a strong brand and stay top of mind with consumers, so they remember you quickly when it counts. 

And guess what? You can achieve all of this with Qualifio.

Get ready to boost your audience engagement by using a tool that allows you to create interactive marketing campaigns (quizzes, tests, UGC, games, etc.) in minutes that are easy to publish and activate on all your digital marketing channels without the need for any IT skills.