AUSTIN, Texas – With mobile advertising projected to hit $18 billion this year, service providers are increasingly eyeing mobile devices as a potential source of “second screen” revenue. Nielsen reports that 85% of Americans watch television with a smartphone or tablet in hand, and 91% are viewing asynchronous content. “Your experience within your second screen application might actually take more of your attention than the actual show you’re watching,” said Jesse Redniss, chief strategy officer at Mass Relevance.
Redniss joined Greg Consiglio, president and COO at Viggle, in leading a SXSW Interactive panel entitled “How to Monetize the Second Screen Evolution.” The panelists began by highlighting recent consolidation in the second screen application space, noting that many early entrants failed to find workable business models. Viggle appears to be an exception; the app allows users to redeem loyalty points they earn by “checking in” on mobile devices while watching shows on television. Advertisers are interested, and mobile operators recognize the app as a way to get subscribers onto the network while they’re watching television.
Verizon Wireless was one of Viggle’s first customers, signing a deal last year that made the Viggle app available to all Verizon subscribers with Android devices. “Viggle’s rewards-based loyalty program provides a valuable interactive mobile experience for our customers, allowing them to look at television in a whole new way,” Verizon said at the time.
Advertisers are also starting to look at television differently, because the second screen is giving them much more granular information about viewers. “Now for the first time I can tell you that someone is watching your program and tell you who they are and where they live. And you can target them on the most personal device that they have,” said Consiglio.
Redniss added that existing pricing models for advertising will be challenged by the second screen. Connected devices enable advertisers to track a user all the way to the point of purchase. “Right now people are buying and selling based on CPM,” said Redniss. “But if your real goal is the purchase funnel, how do you attach a CPM to that? You have to be ready to play the game the way media agencies want to spend with you. You’ve got to have the metrics they are used to.”
TV networks and content providers are also realizing that the second screen is a way to drive more eyeballs to their programming. Redniss said that MTV saw a 22% spike in viewership after a video of Miley Cyrus smoking a joint onstage went viral. Samsung’s viral selfie from the Oscars was meant to encourage more people to tune in to the show while it was live.
But perhaps the most important use of second screen promotions is that which can drive a purchase, since viewers of these ads hold in their hands a tool they can use to make an immediate purchase in an online store. “That last mile into the store is holy grail kind of stuff,” said Consiglio.
