Do you play around with your iPhone or browse the web on your laptop while watching TV? If you do, you’re not alone. According to Yahoo! research of US TV viewing habits:
- 88 per cent of people multitask on their mobile while watching TV
- 94 per cent send emails, texts or chat on social networking sites in front of the box
- 38 per cent search for content related to what they’re watching, and say it enhances their viewing experience
With these figures in mind, BSkyB has snapped up a 10 per cent share of Zeebox – a free ‘dual screen’ app that connects the dots between social networking, web browsing and advertising. Users can see what their friends are watching, chat on IM, get extra info on what they’re watching and, intriguingly, buy books, music and other products linked to a TV show.
BSkyB’s reasons for jumping on board are obvious. Firstly, Zeebox makes watching TV live a more engaging experience, and means people are less likely to skip the ads. Secondly, with the BBC iPlayer’s technical chief at the helm, Zeebox has pedigree. Thirdly (and perhaps most importantly) it opens the door to social TV shopping – a prospect that’s getting brand managers rubbing their hands together with anticipation.
TV shopping around the clock, on every programme
Just imagine it – viewers of ‘Come Dine with Me’ or ‘The Gadget Show’ can be sent links to buy the bottles of wine and remote control robots on their screens. The very moment when their interest is piqued and they’re buying impulse trigger is whirring, you can hit them with advertising. It takes product placement to a whole new level.
Another factor to throw in the mix is the social aspect. People will be chatting on Facebook and reading live Tweets while deciding whether to buy what’s on TV. Seeing their friends shelling out on a designer jacket they just saw on Eastenders could give people the extra nudge that pushes that decision in the brand manager’s favour.
It’s still early days, but Zeebox looks like it could spearhead a major shift in product placement, TV advertising and social shopping. And TV is just one area where marketers are innovating.
2012 is expected to be the year in which smartphones, tablets and apps hit the critical mass. People’s habits in how, when and why they consume content are changing. And as Zeebox shows, marketers that innovate how they deliver messages in response have an exciting time ahead of them.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. Award winners BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region
