Rich media is quickly becoming the weapon of choice of most advertising firms. An advertisement is the same as all the others, you may think. However, don’t be too quick to dismiss rich media as just the latest trend in the advertising and marketing scenes. This type of content has the ability to separate the old players from the more youthful generation with its innovative approach to a tired platform.

What is rich media?

Advertisements and marketing collaterals that feature a unique fusion of creativity, craftiness, and technology are oftentimes filed under rich media. It refers to a broad range of digitally enhanced, interactive content that could be downloaded by users or embedded on Websites, mobile applications, or other social media plug-ins. It encompasses animations, videos, social media solutions, and mobile games and applications, among many others.

Rich media vs. conventional advertising

Conventional advertising relies on text, images, and basic user interactions. It is designed to entice users to act, utilizing call-to-action prompts such as Call us today! and What are you waiting for? Call now! in order to increase sales. On the other hand, rich media focuses on heavily engaging with the users. This could include getting free credits on a game by watching a video, or a simple animation meant to pique the user’s interest. By having compelling content, users are more likely to respond to the advertisement.

One of the most popular forms of rich media is the corporate video. Companies create these videos to encapsulate their products and services, and other corporate messages in a film that runs for under a minute. When done right, the compelling corporate video would easily attract viewers, motivate interactions, and entice people to reach out to the company.

Finally, rich media is an effective advertising tool as the majority of the world’s youth own mobile devices. By investing in efforts that target mobile platforms through applications, videos, mobile sites, and other products, companies would be able to easily reach the young adult population. For most businesses, the young adult demographic is a promising audience as they have strong purchasing powers.