In the United States, there are about 290 million people watching traditional TV on a daily basis, according to Nielsen, and each American consumes on average 35 hours of TV media every week. In addition, there are approximately 150 other million people who watch TV, but do so online. How many in the former category do you think engage in simultaneous media use? Research consultancy group TNS has estimated that about 55% of the American population engages in other media activities while watching TV.
Source: Nielsen (http://goo.gl/Yv2Ar8)
Meanwhile, 41% of the global population is also multi-screening during its daily dose of TV entertainment. Bottom line is this: TV still leads the way as far as media consumption is concerned but there is a growing trend in multiscreening from which advertisers and brands could learn and benefit. While marketers worry about this distracted TV usage, the path to follow is not so much in the line of creating new ways to make people watch TV but more about optimizing content to provide people with the opportunity of accessing it across devices.
Source: TNS (http://goo.gl/3uhI47)
Content that is accessible and engaging beyond the first screen is a great strategy to build brand value. It also has a huge potential to generate more revenue and retain customer attention and interest.
Coca-Cola makes it big
Big corporations such as Coca-Cola have long started to develop new and exciting ways to enhance engagement with people who use different screens simultaneously, sometimes more than two. Contributor for the Coca Cola Company, Wendy Clark, has said it well: “no single medium is as strong as the combination of media.”
The 2013 youth campaign strategically named the “Ahh effect” incorporated many unique pieces of creative content, each with a different approach. One of the key strategies in the program was the integration of mediums that would carry the message across a variety of screens all at the same time. Some of the content created specifically for the campaign included:
Although mobile is rapidly catching up with TV in terms of media consumption, and some say it will eventually outgrow it, marketers have a better chance at encouraging people to interact with brands by optimizing content across screens.
