Putting the ‘spott’-light on interactive content marketing Today’s consumers are more demanding and have shorter attention spans. As a result, advertisers are looking for innovative new ‘pull’ marketing solutions. One such solution is a new interactive content software that allows marketers to create engaging internet advertisements. Digital Economy Society © Creativa Images, Shutterstock The golden rule of advertising is to be where your customer is. In the past, this typically meant ‘pushing’ your message to consumers. “Consumers were often reduced to being nothing more than a set of eyeballs, with marketers fighting for the attention of these eyeballs,” says Jonas De Cooman, founder and CEO of Spott, a company specialising in interactive content software. But things have changed a lot since the days of push marketing. “On the one hand, new technologies have given consumers more power to control what they see while, on the other hand, our attention spans have decreased,” explains De Cooman. “This shift in consumer behaviour has been mirrored by a shift away from ‘push’ marketing in favour of ‘pull’ marketing.” In this new era, marketers are using content to engage with their audiences. According to De Cooman, for these content experiences to work, a customer must be able to seamlessly go from inspiration to action – which is exactly where SPOTT (Pioneering ICT-platform setting the new standard on advertising and how consumers shop) comes into play. “SPOTT is an interactive content software that allows marketers to add an interactive layer to their content,” notes De Cooman. “This interactive content increases engagement, improves conversions and strengthens search engine rankings.” Now, with the support of EU funding, SPOTT is one step closer to achieving its goal of becoming the reference for interactive content. From concept to software as a service solution SPOTT has evolved from a concept into a true software as a service solution. “In other words, our product is now mature enough for prospective customers to give SPOTT a try and, based on their experience and results, decide to adopt it,” adds De Cooman. This approach seems to be working, as the solution is currently being used in 125 countries and by such major global brands as Mango, Elle, Adidas, Zalando, Nespresso, Ikea, Estee Lauder and Marie Claire, to name only a few. It has also helped produce nearly 70 000 minutes of interactive video and over 4 million interactive pictures. It has earned a slew of awards and recognitions, including a listing in the Global Disrupt 100 and a 4.8 (out of 5) rating on Capterra and Trustpilot. The company was named a Rising Star in Deloitte’s Fast 50, Belgian Scale-Up of the Year 2019, and Young Belgian Marketing Company of the Year in 2020. Making the internet an interactive experience By making content interactive, SPOTT has succeeded at adding extra value to content and commercials, namely the ability for an audience to interact with them. “This interaction allows advertisers, retailers and publishers to gradually pivot from the traditional advertising solutions that no longer work towards such proven solutions as interactive ads, product placement and branded content.” Despite its success, Spott has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. To continue its growth trajectory, the company is currently building an affiliate programme and adding to its reference cases. “Just because the internet is becoming increasingly visual doesn’t mean it has to be any less interactive,” concludes De Cooman. “Our aim is to help marketers build an internet where not only can users interact with text, but also images and videos are interactive experiences.” Keywords SPOTT, content marketing, advertisers, marketing, advertising, software, search engine, software as a service
