Connected TV combines the reach and storytelling power of television with new opportunities for viewers to engage. Scanning a QR code, exploring an offer with a remote, or joining a sponsored prediction game gives audiences a direct way to respond to what they see.
For broadcasters and streaming platforms, these experiences open up new advertising and sponsorship opportunities. For brands, they connect big-screen visibility with measurable participation—all within the viewing experience.
What Makes a CTV Ad Interactive?
An interactive CTV ad invites viewers to take an action: discover a product, scan a code, answer a question, reveal an offer, or play a short game. Each interaction gives audiences a choice about how they engage and provides advertisers with an additional signal of interest.
In-content formats such as overlays, L-bands, double-box units, and pause ads bring these opportunities into relevant viewing moments. An interaction can appear alongside programming or during a viewer-initiated pause, keeping the experience connected to the content.
The strongest creative starts with a simple question: what would make this moment useful, interesting, or enjoyable for the viewer?
QR Codes: The Bridge from Big Screen to Small Screen
QR codes give viewers a simple path from a CTV ad to product discovery, exclusive offers, and shopping on their phones. Each scan provides a measurable signal connecting the television placement with a mobile action.
Reported results include a 0.004% median scan rate across general CTV campaigns and a 0.03% scan rate in a Pause Ad case study. These figures come from separate datasets and aren't directly comparable, but they provide useful context for planning campaigns and setting expectations.
Pause Ads create a natural opportunity to explore. Viewers have chosen to pause, giving them time to notice the creative, understand the offer, and scan without missing content. A clear layout and a visible code help make that next step easy.
The benefits of the placement also extend beyond scans. Pause Ad research reported 24% higher brand recall compared with standard pre-roll and a 15-percentage-point increase in purchase intent. The same research found that 65% of exposed viewers interacted with dynamic creative elements, including QR codes. This figure covers all measured interactions and should not be interpreted as a QR scan rate.
Together, these findings encourage a broader view of campaign value: scans capture direct response, while brand recall and purchase intent help describe the wider impact of the ad experience.
For publishers and advertisers, the opportunity is to pair an easy-to-scan code with a compelling offer, thoughtful timing, and a smooth mobile journey. Discounts, exclusive content, and relevant product information give viewers a clear reason to take the next step.
Remote-Control Engagement: Simple Actions, Right on Screen
Remote-control interaction gives viewers another convenient way to participate. Using a familiar device, they can reveal an offer, explore product details, answer a poll, or choose what they want to see next.
These interactions can fit naturally into live and on-demand programming. During a match stoppage, a sponsored double-box unit could invite viewers to vote on a standout play. An overlay could let them browse a product gallery while the stream remains visible.
Clear prompts and intuitive navigation help make participation easy. Viewers should understand what pressing a button will do and how to return to their viewing experience.
Remote interaction and QR codes offer complementary paths: one supports exploration on the television, while the other lets viewers continue on their phones. Publishers can match the action to the content, device, and advertiser's objective.
Gamified Formats: Bringing Viewers into the Experience
Quizzes, polls, predictions, and mini-games add a playful dimension to CTV advertising. They give viewers an opportunity to participate in an activity connected to a brand and their interests.
Sports provides natural opportunities: predicting the next scorer, testing team knowledge, or voting on the play of the match. Entertainment programming can support themed trivia, sponsored challenges, and interactive reveals.
For broadcasters and streaming platforms, these formats create sponsorship opportunities built around audience participation. Brands become part of a relevant activity, with measurable signals such as responses, time spent, and game completions.
The creative works best when the activity is easy to understand, well timed, and suited to the content. A short, relevant interaction can add enjoyment while keeping the viewing experience central.
Beyond the Scan: Different Actions, Different Outcomes
Interactive CTV offers several ways to turn interest into action. QR codes connect viewers to mobile experiences; remote interactions support on-screen exploration; gamified formats invite deeper participation.
Industry research reported that remote-interactive CTV ads generated more than 150 times the engagement of QR codes alone. This finding highlights the potential of making participation available directly on the television. The actions serve different purposes, so engagement volume should be considered alongside the campaign's objective and the value of each response.
Some gamified formats achieved engagement rates of 4.6% or higher, while a single exposure to an interactive ad produced 36% higher unaided brand awareness than standard video in the cited research.
These results illustrate the opportunities across participation and brand building. They reflect specific research settings, rather than universal benchmarks; outcomes depend on the creative, audience, platform, placement, and action requested.
For advertisers, the benefit is a richer picture of audience response—from scans and remote clicks to product exploration and completed games. For publishers, these signals help demonstrate the value of interactive inventory and guide future campaign development.
These figures represent different datasets and measures. Together, they show the range of outcomes publishers and advertisers can evaluate, from direct response to brand impact.
How ITG Delivers Interactive Ads Across Devices
ITG helps broadcasters and streaming platforms bring interactive advertising into their viewing experiences across Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung, LG, Hisense, Android TV, mobile, and web.
Lightweight SDKs render interactive units on the viewer's device. ITG's signaling system connects placements to relevant moments through SCTE-35 markers, player events such as pause, and live production cues.
The ITG ad server and ITG Demand support ad decisioning and monetization workflows, including VAST compatibility. Interactive elements are composed client-side and can work alongside server-side infrastructure such as AWS Elemental MediaTailor.
These capabilities help publishers offer pause ads, overlays, L-bands, double-box units, shoppable experiences, and gamified formats within their supported device environments.
Getting Started
Start with a viewing moment and a clear campaign goal.
A Pause Ad with a QR code can help viewers discover a product or access an offer. A remote-controlled poll can encourage participation during a relevant content moment. A sponsored quiz or prediction can build engagement around live sports.
Make the action clear, give viewers a meaningful reason to participate, and measure the outcome that matters to the campaign. Use those insights to refine the creative and timing, then expand into additional formats.
This approach gives publishers a practical path to developing interactive inventory while helping advertisers find experiences that connect with their audiences.
Turn Viewing Moments into Engagement Opportunities
Interactive CTV gives broadcasters and streaming platforms more ways to connect audiences with brands through relevant, measurable experiences.
With QR codes, remote-control interactions, and gamified formats, publishers can expand their advertising offering, create new sponsorship opportunities, and help brands turn attention into action.
Contact ITG to explore interactive ad experiences for your streaming platform.