Earlier this week I came across an interview with Sir Martin Sorrell, where he was talking about the future of advertising. In it he says that content is king. He’s right, but I think that its more than this. Advertising isn’t just about content (rich content though it may be), it is now essential to create a rich, interactive experience into which users can immerse themselves. In the really impressive examples, the participation of the users actually changes and enhances the experience, but let’s not go there just yet…
The best modern careers sites go beyond simply promoting jobs: they provide content that help a candidate gain a deep insight into the culture of the firm that they are looking for. They do this with a range of tricks and tools: 3d panoramics, games, blogs, microblogs, tests, challenges, videos. And the better ones, the ones that win awards, make the experience of accessing that content part of the brand journey.
As a result, I’ve been looking for examples of interactivity, where the user gets more out of a site experience the more they explore. These four examples show how interactive media can help create an immersive experience that crosses a range of differing senses: touch, sound and sight. Can’t do taste or smell yet, but I can’t believe that it’s too far off… maybe we could do that for Nandos?
Enjoy
False
A portfolio site for a Japanese developer, what a better way to showcase your wares that by encouraging a user to interact with it. Some of the pages can make you feel slightly nauseous, but what a fun site! (If you get stuck, select the MENU> icon on the LHS…)
Snowboarding – an interactive experience
We’ve talked before about the use of 3D panoramic in video and I love this example. Drag your mouse around inside the video and watch the video pan out from a range of perspectives. Genius!
Mashup Breakdown
One from our very own DJ Dix. It’s a fun visual way of representing music. You can select different tracks by clicking on the dropdown underneath the page title. Just turn the volume down a bit…
Life in a day: One World. 24 Hours. 6 Billion Perspectives.
A while back, the digerati were asked to help create a feature film that would act as an interactive time capsule that provided a portrait of the world on a particular day (July 24). Individuals were asked to create short videos of some aspect of what they were doing on July 24. User-generated content on a scale that has never before been attempted. In particular they were asked to answer 3 questions and show what they had in their pocket. The three questions were: what do you fear most in your life today? What do you love? What makes you laugh?
The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 2011. With Kevin MacDonald as director and Ridley Scott as producer, its going to be something unique and special. Have a look at some of the videos and see what you think…