Advanced Television

Second screen users ignore TV ads

May 28, 2015

By Nik Roseveare

Research has shown that the trend of using a smartphone or tablet whilst watching TV is distracting viewers and significantly damaging the impact of advertising campaigns.

A study at Ohio State University demonstrates that viewers are struggling to recall brands they see or hear about on TV if using other devices simultaneously.

The results of an experiment with viewers aged 20 and over revealed that those who focused just on the TV screen were able to recall 2.43 out of every three brands mentioned. Second screen users, however, only managed to recall 1.62 on average.

Jonathan Jensen, an author of the study published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing, commented: “Viewers don’t even remember that your brand was on TV because they were too busy posting on Facebook or Twitter or reading emails. This study should provide a measure of pause to brand marketers who spend a lot of money to get products integrated into live sporting events and other shows.”

A recent study by Accenture revealed that up to 87 per cent of users use a second screen whilst watching TV – enforcing the issue as  a genuine concern for advertisers.

Categories: Ads, Advertising, Articles, Companion devices, Consumer Behaviour, Mobile, Portable Media, Research