In a reflection of how savvy marketers are catering mobile ads to take advantage of the devices? unique characteristics, Nissan recently leveraged a new tablet ad unit that enables viewers to interact with the brand?s video in-stream via tappable hot spots.

The 60-second video ad promoting the 2014 Nissan Rogue ran across Juice Mobile?s network and tallied up a 78 percent completion rate and a 93 percent engagement. Nissan was the first to test drive Juice Mobile?s new ad unit, which enabled viewers to gain insight into the features of the Rogue and enhance the experience by tapping on five different hot spots.

?We saw the first generation of mobile ads be passive,? said Sonya Furdyk, associate marketing manager at Juice Mobile, Toronto. ?Much like our voice-activated unit that we released in the third-quarter of 2013, we are in favor of creating units that utilize a device?s capabilities in order to engage consumers in exciting and creative ways.

?This new unit is more of a two-way communication with the consumer where you can get more information, not just a one-line message,? she said.

?The success of this ad can be attributed to offering a different experience of an existing video ? something that is unique to the device?s function and ability that can offer another layer of interactivity to the user/viewer.?

Evil snowmen
Nissan was looking to build on a TV ad for the Rogue called Winter Warrior that shows the car battling evil snowmen in a campaign designed to break through in the competitive compact SUV category while underscoring the need for a powerful vehicle to tackle Canada?s cold winters.

Nissan partnered with Juice Mobile and OMD on the campaign, which ran in Canada.

The mobile ad reuses the TV spot and makes it interactive via hot spots, enabling the brand to create a different experience for tablets users and expand the reach of the campaign.

The tablet ad features five hot spots, with content highlighting statistics on winter weather and snow safety.

A prompt telling the user that the ad is interactive is shown first.

Enhancing video assets
When viewers click on a hot spot, they see content further bringing home the message of the ad. In one example, when users tap on a hot spot, a message appears over the video explaining that the lowest temperature ever officially recorded in Canada and in North America is -63 degrees Centigrade on February 3, 1947 at Snag, Yukon.

Viewers have the choice to view as little or as much information as they want.

?Mobile is always pull ? never push,? Ms. Furdyk said. ?A unit that draws a user in to activate extra content in an engaging way is a big win ? this is one of those opportunities.

?This unit enhances a brand?s established video content to something interactive,? she said. ?Extending commercials and other video content across different devices is valuable for marketers, but it is not worth anything if you offer the exact same experience."

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York