An attention deficit is sweeping the nation and we’re in danger of encouraging it. The living room has become a hotbed of connected devices used in conjunction with watching TV; with smartphone in hand, tablet on lap, smartwatch on wrist, we’re quickly running out of body parts that can accommodate the range of gadgets on the market. Consequently, second-screening has become a marketing phenomenon, enabling brands to enhance ad experiences across a number of platforms, from sponsoring companion apps such as Beamly (formerly Zeebox) to running promoted activity through social viewing services like Twitter.
We have sought to squeeze every last second of attention span out of our TV viewers and why shouldn’t we? With thousands of channels, and the proliferation of on-demand services, it’s tougher than ever for brands to stand out and reach their audiences effectively within tightening marketing budgets. However, recent eConsultancy research claims that 76% of simultaneous device usage is spent looking at completely unrelated content to what’s on TV. This raises the question of how effective is the second-screening opportunity for brands wanting to piggyback off their TV campaigns? Should we default to second-screen activations simply because we know that consumers have adopted this behaviour? Given the current backdrop, isn’t the real challenge getting viewers to watch our TV ads at all, let alone across multiple platforms?
Firstly, it’s incredibly frustrating when brands force the second-screen experience by being overly demanding of the TV viewer. Too often ads have requested that I locate my smartphone, visit the app store and download an app in order to interact further with the brand, all in the space of 30 seconds. Needless to say, I was even more shocked to see a QR code being used as the call to action on a 10-second spot. Apart from being logistical nightmares, these examples demonstrate the potential for brands to sabotage their own user experiences through attempts to introduce a second screen.
Even on Twitter, brands who don’t try to participate in existing conversations without a credible or relevant reason to do so also end up being ridiculed by users. With people becoming more cynical towards advertising, it has never been so important to give them tangible reasons and benefits to engage with brands. The X Factor app is an example of a second-screen experience that appeals to the captive Saturday night TV audience, where users are given the power to be the fifth judge by rating each performance in real-time during the show.
Domino’s Pizza has sponsored this app for two years, integrating their rewards and vouchers into the experience which has driven brand awareness, engagement and sales. The reason Domino’s has achieved a successful second-screen experience is down to their integration into an existing ITV app, which already has a strong following, and the fact that they were not forcing a new behaviour on the audience. This is why a good user experience should be the absolute priority before the platform is considered.
It’s also time to re-focus on maximising the impact of the first screen. Despite the increasing dwell time on digital platforms, live TV is still the most effective media channel for storytelling and creating emotional connections with audiences while driving high brand recall. After all, what do Christmas and the Superbowl have in common? People look forward to seeing the ads. They build stories that create moments of entertainment and nostalgia that are remembered for years after they have run. Retailers like John Lewis and M&S are particularly good at doing this and require nothing more than my undivided attention to communicate their message, which goes to show that if you nail the first screen experience, there’s no need to overcomplicate the second.
Second-screening certainly holds exciting potential for marketers but only if the user experience adds value and feels natural to the viewer. On the whole, marketers are still figuring out the extent to which the range of devices used by consumers, and the resulting attention-deficit, will impact on advertisers going forward. In the meantime, we need to go back to basics and make sure that we use simple call-to-actions on TV whether referring people to specific URLs or “Search for” terms. In the end, one notion still remains true: people will focus their attention on whatever is most compelling in the moment. Get the first screen right and they will find you anyway.
Sabrina Francis is digital strategist of Arena
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