Brands using interactive content are more likely to grab the attention of their target audiences. A survey finds that those who deliver engaging content perform better.

Over 1,000 respondents contributed to a study by interactive SaaS design platform Ceros finds that while 90% of marketing, design and PR professionals agree immersive content is more engaging and performs better, most are still relying on static content. Brands that show to have more immersive content features, like data visualisations, are deemed to be ‘very effective,' the ‘The Embrace of Immersive Content’ report reveals.

“Experiential content is definitely the way to go, it just makes people feel more engaged and gets them to pay more attention. People can get bogged down with static content so giving them the opportunity to interact with something goes a long way,” says Allison Vajda , global marketing communications manager at Italian bed linen brand Frett .

The top three barriers to immersive content creation highlighted by the report include difficulty in securing budget, lack of in-house skills and little to no leadership buy-in, all of which are united by one commonality: underestimating the value of design. More than half of the respondents claimed their companies produced ‘too many PDFs,’ while one in three people defined their company’s content as ‘boring.’

“Eighty-one percent said they wished their company published more interactive and engaging content – that number makes me cringe! It’s up to the leadership teams to empower marketers and designers with the resources and creative freedom they need to burn those barriers,” says Alex Kelly, director of digital marketing at Ceros , which led the survey.

As part of the survey, the participants were also asked to imagine a company that achieved an immersive content ideal, one that regularly publishes content that elicits an emotional response while creating a clear brand impression, and to then compare that ideal to their own companies. The results were clear: only 16% described their organisation as being ‘very close.’ Many agreed that playing it safe is the biggest risk their companies face.