Dive Brief:
- Facebook has begun testing new, “immersive experience” ads offering video, product information, and other branded content seamlessly inside the Facebook environment.
- Menswear e-commerce retailer Mr. Porter, Michael Kors, and French big-box chain Carrefour are a few of the brands testing the feature.
- Marketers can't use immersive experience ads to sell directly so far, but can include links to outside product pages.
Dive Insight:
Facebook is testing a new advertising format that offers native-app functionalities such as reduced load times and interactive menus. “Immersive experiences” will allow retailers and other brand advertisers to offer full-sized video, product information, and additional content within the Facebook platform.
Mobile immersive ads for Gatorade, for example, feature full-frame, time-lapse videos of murals being painted to celebrate Serena Williams’ record-breaking 21 Grand Slam championships. Mr. Porter’s ads display action footage of swimmers, cyclists, runners, and other athletes before switching to carousels showing off gear for each sport.
“We look forward to seeing how marketers use this surface to create compelling experiences for people and drive key objectives, including brand affinity and direct response,” Kelly Graziadei, director of ads product marketing for Facebook, said in a statement.
While the format is still too new to offer performance metrics, Facebook is helping advertisers test different combinations of video, text, and image content to deliver better experiences for customers.
