How brands are using interactive video to sell travel seamlessly

A video on the Visit Greater Palm Springs website takes viewers on a soaring journey through the California destination. But what makes it particularly interesting isn’t only the beauty of the moving picture itself, despite its dream-like quality.

The clip is interactive, which means viewers can click on the video at any point to get links with more information about the resorts, restaurants and activities on screen, including La Quinta Resorts, Omni Rancho Las Palmas and Acme House Company.

The interactive element takes the video from simply inspirational to invitational.

“We’re bridging the gap between content and storytelling, and ultimately action with that interactive layer that we’ve created,” said Chris Roebuck, CEO of Clicktivated, which produced the video.

Technology brands like Clicktivated, Idomoo and Kerv are taking video capability further – making booking more seamless for travelers – and marketing more effective for brands, such as American Airlines, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Japan Airlines.

“Integrating interactive video technology into our marketing strategy for Visit Palm Springs has truly been a game changer,” said Katelyn Greene, director of marketing for the JNS Next Creative & Media Hub and account lead for Visit Greater Palm Springs’ marketing work and video campaigns.

For Visit Greater Palm Springs, the immersive storytelling format has fostered a stronger connection with its audience and has proven inspirational for future travel planning, with interaction rates up by 123%, Greene said.

“Clicktivated has empowered us to engage with travelers in an entirely new way,” she said.

What is interactive video?

In its simplest form, interactive video is meant to engage with users in a meaningful way beyond simply watching, according to Idomoo, which has worked with American Airlines, Kensington and Celebrity Cruises. The company, which also offers personalized video at scale, dubs its interactive video as “Idomoo Interactivity+”. Its offerings go beyond clickable links or shoppable videos, allowing for interactions that can alter the video in real time to bolster conversions and engagement.

Clicktivated looks at a range of possibilities and outcomes when producing interactive video.

“In terms of applications [interactive video applies to] everything from just high level awareness and education on what it is that you’re seeing all the way through potential booking,” said Roebuck. “So whatever our partners are looking to ultimately drive, we can help them achieve that directly through that piece of content.”

Artificial intelligence-powered Kerv creates interactive videos using its recognition technology to provide opportunities for viewers to click out to book.

“Because we’re identifying different objects and products in that video, that’ll allow … for different click outs per object and product,” said Jake Williams, regional vice president at Kerv Interactive.

He dove into an example: If a cruise line were using Kerv’s video products, there might be different scenes – a swimming pool, a state room, a restaurant – Kerv’s technology understands and recognizes those as individual objects.

“It spits out this video that allows you to click on the pool and learn more about the different pool options on the cruise,” said Williams. “Or you can click out, you can click on the room or the bed and they’ll tell you all the different room options. Or if you’re interested in a restaurant, a user can click on that scene of the restaurant and it can drive them to a landing page to learn more about the different dining options on the cruise. We can also set this up where the … primary [call to action] is a ‘book now.’”

How travel companies use interactive video

There are a number of use-cases for interactive video.

Baseline, travel companies use interactive video to add value to their content and to give their audience a smoother, action-oriented path.

“Tourism has gotten really good at creating amazing storytelling,” said Clicktivated’s Roebuck. “They’re showcasing all these amazing things to do on their destination, but the problem is, as an outsider, you see a cool bar, you see a cool hotel, you see this attraction … but … you don’t know where to start.”

The customer journey can become fragmented when travelers have to independently search through websites – which can be a deterrent to booking.

“We’re breaking down all of [that] information by allowing our partners to leverage their most valuable piece of content,” said Roebuck. “We’re an education layer that allows you to connect – to drive traffic [and] drive results – and ultimately [we] help our partners get way more valuable data and just create more value to their content.”

Interactive videos can also be used to build loyalty, to create destination guides or to create a kind of “wish you were here” messaging that enables viewers to incorporate their own media and actionable AI video ads, according to Yotam Ben Ami, chief marketing officer of Idomoo.

Ben Ami pointed to a number of interactivity types that can be implemented: 

• In-video interactivity can be chapter markers or menus to help viewers jump around to portions of the video that interest them. 
• External triggers – elements such as call-to-action buttons or hotspots – can take viewers to another website, to make a call or to print a document. 
• Advanced interactivity can include surveys and user customization to allow viewers to interact by adding text, uploading content or answering questions.

Other travel giants are diving into similar tech, too, in hopes of reducing any bumps in the booking process, alongside other marketing goals. Expedia last year launched a shoppable streaming platform, for example. And plenty of other brands are playing with enhanced video forms, too – including personalized video, which can be created and distributed at scale.

Is interactive video worth it?

Interactive video is meant to remove friction, thereby improving conversions, to provide a more personalized experience to a degree and to enable first-party data collection, Ben Ami said.

In-video calls to action have received four times more conversions than landing page calls, Ben Ami said. On average, 23% of viewers click on an in-video call to action, though Ben Ami added the numbers vary wildly between use cases.

While some travel brands have already begun employing interactive video to bolster their marketing strategies, Ben Ami said there is room for others to adopt the technology across the industry.

“For reasons not entirely clear to me, I would say that the uptake of interactive video in the travel space is lower than in other industries we work with,” said Ben Ami.

That may be a missed opportunity, especially with younger travelers.

Consumers are twice as likely to buy from a brand implementing advanced video technology such as interactivity, according to Idomoo’s 2024 market study, which also found 91% of Gen Z and millennial participants were interested in receiving interactive videos from brands.

The early adopters in travel say interactive video is working for them.

For example, Princess Cruises uses interactive video created by Kerv to give viewers a “deeper understanding” of features such as excursions, wellness experiences and more, according to Sheira Mahadeo, senior media director at PHD Media who works on the Princess Cruises account.

Traditional video marketing can create awareness, but interactive video increases engagement “across every stage of the funnel,” according to Mahadeo. While she couldn’t share specific statistics, she said the results of using interactive video have been positive.

“Princess Cruises has seen a high level of quality site traffic, low bounce rate, high new customer-to-site rates, more time spent on site and strong engagement rates, all key metrics for their business,” Mahadeo said.