If “traditional” advertising is one extreme and involving experiences is the other end of the spectrum, then inviting consumers to interact fits neatly somewhere in the middle.

A few weeks ago I covered the concept of involving experiences and a few months before that I spoke about pull-based marketing. Both best practices suggest the times they are a changing and we would do well to use online as a beacon against which to map out where marketing is heading.

Online advertisers have been inviting consumers to interact or act since the first banner called out "Click Here", explains Denise Zimmerman, president of NetPlus Marketing, Inc. “This ability to prompt response or action and the measurability of that response led many to view online advertising and marketing solely as a direct-response channel. The difference today with industry advances in targeting capabilities, bandwidth, and technology is that we can deliver a richer, more relevant "brand experience" that has the capacity to not only drive response but impact brand metrics as well.”

The concept of extending an invitation alludes to an open and consenting communication exchange between two parties sharing a common set of beliefs and interests (at least that’s the premise behind the theory).

Inviting a consumer to participate in a piece of creative therefore extends the opportunity to be rewarded for their participation, often in the form of more/specific information that matches their needs or some degree of entertainment.

If “traditional” advertising (think of push-based communications) is one extreme and involving experiences (I’ve often referenced the ABSOLUT work as the epitome of this best practice) is the other end of the spectrum, then inviting consumers to interact fits neatly somewhere between these two end nodes.

The real question is whether this is necessary at all. Is it a nice-to-have or indeed, is it a prerequisite; especially when factoring into account the very nature of the medium, its core strengths and the desire to maximize “performance” of any and all advertising efforts?

“Our experience with inviting consumers to interact, from prompting a consumer to download a whitepaper to something more complex such as the Rhinocort ad have demonstrated clear value and return when the interactive experience is strategically sound, targeted effectively and campaign objectives are clearly defined,” says Zimmerman. “The current Rhinocort Aqua ad for example, invites consumers to use an electronic magnifying glass to search a scene for allergy triggers. The "fun" aspect invites the consumer to interact and follows through with an educational brand experience that supports learning around brand attributes and benefits.”

I recall a campaign I worked on, announcing the return of K-mart’s Blue Light Special. The agency created a series of highly branded units, and although click through was merely a directional indicator of self-declared interest, we noticed significantly higher click through on the units that invited consumers to interact.

Now segue to a campaign you almost certainly have seen again and again and again and again and again. If it’s frequency you’re after, then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. But what about those ads you love to hate: the Orbitz pop-unders. I’ve been pretty vocal about my thoughts on plucking chickens, but the latest series of Orbitz thematic creative seem to be evolving (albeit slowly).

I thought it would be fair to give the creators of this creative a voice, because let’s face it, you’ve probably played along and lit the fireworks, hit a hole in one or spiked the ball.

You may not be a fan of things that go pop in the night; however this week’s practice is not about that, it’s about the ability to use interactivity to invite participation. Read on.

“Because we know that consumers who visit Orbitz convert (purchase) at relatively similar rates regardless of the offer/proposition, the more consumers we bring to the site the higher the transaction volume,” states Mark Rattin, creative director at Otherwise, Inc. “Also because of the extreme distaste in consumers for anything that pops up, over, or under, we also had to figure out how to not damage the brand because of the extreme volume of this kind of pop-under advertising. We found that creating an unexpected diversion (a moment of play or humor) as well as coupling game-like interaction and even skill with strong visual designs work to engage consumers on a level that has allowed us to DRAMATICALLY exceed client expectations by such a degree that we have set a whole new measurement standard within Orbitz. We also have found that these ads are more powerful in terms of brand recall, then any of the television campaigns that Orbitz has run.”

In terms of establishing a balance or degree of interactivity, Rattin cites a certain degree of randomness or chance built into the creative as a key driver of interaction rates. Interactions too simplistic or overly complex didn’t engage consumers at the same level. Interestingly enough he found that value-based messages such as a fare sale, a special offer or a promotion did not engage the consumer compared to the game-like “sticky” drivers.

In keeping with the spirit of the Best Practices initiative, it is important to also focus on the how-to component for those of you who want to get a better handle on how to implement this kind of interactivity.

“Understanding the full consumer impact of the interactive ad experience is still a challenge,” says Zimmerman. “Currently, we can look at plays, replays, time interacted and forwards to help gauge the degree of interaction. We can measure how interactive ads have impacted brand metrics and, of course, we track direct-response stats.”

“For the Fourth of July, a simple message coupled with the simple act of being able to light some fireworks engaged consumers for an average of 68 seconds and over 70% of the consumers interacting with it clicked the ad five times or more,” claims Rattin.

He continues: “Our belly flop banner takes a summer vacation activity and makes it into a game incorporating a character from the television commercials that votes on your technique. Clicks went through the roof on this one with interaction rates that had over 90% of the consumers that interacted with the banner clicking five times or more and spending an average of 90 seconds with the ad.”

The contextual relevancy doesn’t exactly hurt either.

“For baseball’s All-Star game we created a replica of the back wall at US Cellular Field and you get to play in your own home run derby. We are running this on sports sites where a lot of All-Star Game traffic is going,” says Rattin.

In light of recent strides in the convergent domain where television meets the Web, the debate will rage on whether a 30-second spot can simply be transplanted online, or whether a degree of interactivity, whether entertainment, information or utility based is needed.

This week’s best practice presents one side of the story, or as Zimmerman says, “Oh yes, and one last point. This is not television. But you knew that, right?”