Are mobiles a distraction away from TV advertising? Not according to new research out this week which claims the habit of ‘second screening’ means viewers are much more likely to follow up on a TV ad.
The study, produced by media agency MediaCom and tech company ViewersLogic, shows that the act of watching TV while using a mobile or tablet actually improves the viewer’s chances of following up on an advert by 75%.
The results, taken from 1,877 people in the UK, were consistent across all age groups, genders and TV channels sampled and complements a previous study from Thinkbox which show multi-screeners are 8% points more likely to stay through an ad break rather than leave the room.
This week’s study also shows that women were more receptive to actively responding to an ad while second screening, with 59% of all their active responses happening while they were second screening, compared to 51% of men.
The 40-54 age group was the most responsive with 57% of all active responses happening while second screening. 55+ was the least responsive with 50%.[advert position=”left”]
People who saw adverts while second screening were also observed as being more “brand aware” than those who weren’t second screening.
“In the past few years, the way people watch TV has changed quite drastically; on average, people spend around 30% of their TV time simultaneously looking at their phone or tablet,” said Pauline Robson, head of insight at MediaCom.
“Historically, brands have shuddered at the thought of attention wandering to the second screen. However, our research has flipped that misconception on its head and shown that advertisers should actively look for shows where the audience is most likely to be second screening.
“Media plans should actively take into account the second screening effect in order to improve efficiency; the opportunities for brands are huge.”
The research also found that the average number of channel changes a user does per hour – the ‘zipping rate’ – is 10% lower while viewers are engaged with their mobile phones than without them.
This was found to be the case with all age ranges except 18-24, who actually changed channels more frequently while second screening.
Thinkbox’s research and planning director, Matt Hill, told Mediatel that having a device in our pocket has “super charged” the ability of TV to drive ad response.
“Devices have made us less likely to avoid ads and have provided a huge commercial advantage to TV advertising,” he said.
