Giving users options in their digital advertisements

140Fire (http://140fire.com/) a start-up founded in early 2010, is looking to improve video ads by asking a series of simple questions to users. Their platform aims to make video ads more effective by adding a layer of interactivity on top of a video ad. Typically these are questions or polls which engage the user, somewhat similar to when Hulu introduced the idea of having users choose which ad to watch. They claim that when their service is part of a video ad, advertisers see click-through rates that are as high as 2x the industry average and that 7-10% of consumers interact with the advertisement.

The underlying concept is that by engaging users with simple choices and interactivity, a, viewers of video ads are more likely to pay attention, b, they are more likely to be receptive to the ad content, and c, I would presume that 140Fire and similar services are looking to take the data gleaned from these questions and refine and better target these users in the future.

For more information on the service, view the Mashable post here: http://mashable.com/2011/11/15/140fire/.

Overall, the concept of engaging users with digital advertising content, particularly in video format, is right in line with goal of maximizing the potential of digital marketing over traditional media. Ultimately, I would imagine the end goal of services like 140Fire would be to create a highly refined cache of individual user information and preferences to present the most highly targeted advertisements possible, raising click thru and engagement rates and maximizing revenue per ad dollars spent for advertisers.