Second Screen Advertising

Second screen advertising drives customers to their second screens (smartphones, tablets) to access more content and, as a result, view more advertising. Over 80% of smartphone and tablet users use their devices while watching television, according to Nielsen. Second screen advertising depends on this growing habit of multi-tasking, which is often a blending of entertainment and shopping. The key to brands is to create mobile ads and ad experiences that are relevant to first-screen content in order to capture more of consumers' attention. 

With some many people watching television and viewing television advertising while also utilizing their second screen devices (tablets, smartphone, web-enabled book readers and computers) media companies have begun to recognize an opportunity and offer extra content or experiences available exclusively on mobile devices designed to complement the content on the TV. Such ads are designed to capitalized on the higher level of engagement displayed by second screen multi-taskers.

According to the market research company Millward Brown, the use of multiple devices has become the norm all over the world. In the U.S., the percentage of media consumers who use a second screen while watching TV is growing fast, and in Asia and Africa the percentage is similar or even higher. Some 70% of users stack content, meaning they look at unrelated content on their digital device and TV, or they mesh content, meaning the content on their mobile devices complements the content on their TVs.

Meshed content on second screens is an opportunity that advertisers and digital marketers would like to capitalize on. Interventions in this space can range from companion app ads, to sponsored tweets or Facebook posts and are displayed at specific times in specific regions to capture the audience that is watching a broadcast. Some second screen ad attempts seek to play off of some kind of pop culture reference. For example, a Clorox ad on social media featuring a canister of cleaning wipes carried the words "A Canister Always Pays Its Debts," a reference to the Lannister family from Game of Thrones.

Another popular examples include tweets about the program which are displayed at the bottom of the TV screen, as well as contests that are advertised on screen but entered on via SMS or SNS. Such ads may offer coupons or discounts to viewers who respond on social media, sending them to a website or to download apps that sync with television programming.