Promoting Scottish Tourism with interactive video
Louie Gray
Project Manager at Shaw
Why it has to be video, and why it has to be interactive.
Interactive video.
Whether it arouses feelings of intrigue, dread, confusion or eyelid-drooping boredom, we want to let you know the benefits of it, refocus it to the tourism sector and find out if it could work for you.
Let’s wait a minute, though.
If you are in the Scottish tourism sector, we figure you will have a product, service or experience aimed at tourists. In order to get visitors flocking to buy/experience what you have to offer, you must help attract the visitors to your location in the first place. With nearly two thirds of first time visitors citing Scotland’s scenery and landscape as a reason for visiting, successful campaigns will frame these features.
When coming up with a medium, it may be useful to bear in mind that video will constitute 80% of internet activity by 2020. Applied to the tourism sector, this trend makes sense. The modern customer wants to see both the product and the destination in action, and video is the preferred medium.
In the last few years, however, a new medium has emerged. It has cast a long shadow over the humble digital video ad, and is the stuff of digital marketers’ dreams. This is video at the next level: interactive video.
What even is it?
Interactive video is video content that isn’t limited to the play, pause, restart, rewind and fast forward functions we’re currently used to. It invites us to impose ourselves on the medium and become active participants in the outcome of a video, rather than watching it with the passive, glazed-over expression that has characterised our faces until now.
CASE STUDY: Capturing California
Aimed at raising awareness of the broad variety of tastes that can be catered for in Humboldt County, California, an interactive video was created to guide viewers through the varied landscapes of California’s northern coast whilst demonstrating that they could be a backdrop for a wide range of different holiday makers. Following an initial choice between whether you fancy an adventure, family, romantic or relaxing holiday, you are shown a series of beautifully shot video clips of an array of the county’s landscapes and cityscapes. At each new stage, the viewer can simply click once on the screen to add the particular location to their itinerary. By acknowledging that each viewer is unique, allowing them to customise their journey and actively engaging them, the creators of this video have achieved what a linear video never could.
Will it get you results?
Yes. As well as making your product/service/experience more interesting and a tailored interactive experience for your viewer, interactive video claims to deliver:
- A 66% increase in engagement
- A 44% increase in viewing time
- A conversion rate 11 times greater than banner ads*
Won’t it be difficult, technical and highly expensive?
We think not. The ROI and benefits of interactive video are so great, it is well worth the investment. And as for the techy elements and the timeframes, you can leave that bit to us!
How we can help
At Shaw, we have over 30 years’ experience in marketing and digital communications, and have evolved the digital technologies we believe will help our clients improve their customer engagement. Regardless of which cog you represent within the powerhouse that is the Scottish tourism industry, we believe we have the expertise and know-how to deliver you an interactive video that will work hard to engage potential visitors in a more dynamic and powerful way.
*Data from a study of 500+ marketers on their use of interactive video, conducted by Brightcove and DemandMetric