Expander and Widescreen: ShowHeroes unveils revolutionary interactive video ad formats

Berlin, November 2nd, 2022 – ShowHeroes, a leading global, independent provider of digital video solutions for advertisers and publishers, has launched two new engaging ad formats – ‘Widescreen’ and ‘Expander’ – which push the boundaries of creativity in video advertising, while improving the user experience.

Complementing ShowHeroes’ offer of interactive and creative formats, these non-intrusive and contextually relevant video ads require active engagement from the user. They begin with a 5-10 second video loop which attracts the users’ gaze, but will only trigger the complete marketing message on click:

• ‘Widescreen’ is a full-attention video ad with optional elements added as an overlay.  This format is ad consumption by choice and guarantees high brand recognition combined with a positive advertising experience.
• ‘Expander’ unfolds as a full-featured microsite when clicked. Multiple click-outs and sections of text, visuals and video are available. With more brand interaction, this format offers even higher dwell time – internal studies show 18 seconds interaction time on average.
• Through ShowHeroes Studios, the video specialist is also able to offer creative consulting and production as part of the package, supporting clients in rapid development and rollout of highly innovative campaigns that yield impressive engagement rates.

The launch of ShowHeroes’ new ad formats comes at a key time for the growing video ad ecosystem. This year, digital has reached a share of 55.5% of global ad spend and video is a key driver with a growth of 23.4% in 2022.

“In increasingly competitive markets, it is essential for brands to cut through the noise and reach their audience with outstanding campaigns and creatives – especially within the world of video.” says Bastian Döring, Global Director Sales ShowHeroes. “The pillars of digital advertising success are relevance and creativity – areas that ShowHeroes excels at. With our best-in-class semantic engine, we are able to find the most relevant places for the ad message across our premium publisher network, while captivating the user with interactive and highly-creative formats like Widescreen and Expander.”

Döring continues: “The secret sauce to our new engaging ad formats is the conceptual work we offer. Combining the entertaining factor of video with the interactive spectrum of digital in a very creative way unleashes the full potential to stand out as a brand.”

Outdoor footwear brand, Merrell, was an early adopter of ShowHeroes’ new video formats. Adam Svensson, Marketing Manager Nordics at Merrell, says: ”The Expander is a great media format to first get consumer attention and then seamlessly transfer the consumer from an initial ad to a microsite where we really can express our brand in a creative and effective way. The format is really easy to customize and has many possibilities. The process from start to end with ShowHeroes has been flawless.”

Widescreen and Expanded were originally developed in the Nordics and, following impressive results for ShowHeroes’ clients, are now being rolled out across European markets.

About ShowHeroes

ShowHeroes is a global leader in digital video content, tech, and advertising solutions. The company was founded by Ilhan Zengin, Mario Tiedemann, and Dennis Kirschner in 2016 with headquarters in Berlin and employs more than 400 people worldwide in 28 strategic hubs throughout Europe, the Nordics, LATAM, and the US. Since its inception, ShowHeroes Group has grown both organically and through mergers and acquisitions. According to Deloitte, it is one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Germany and was awarded the “Technology Fast 50” prize in 2021.