Feature Focus: TV Signals for Social

TV Signals for Social. Are there two media formats more intertwined than television and social media? Hashtags in commercials, live social voting for television talent shows, and live reactions to sports, news, & big moments on TV, etc. These two types of media are already deeply linked by consumers. Skai clients can now take advantage of this connection by pairing their social advertising with live TV moments to reinforce messaging across screens.

In today’s busy world, multi-tasking and second-screening are normal for today’s consumer. And one of the most popular times to second-screen is while watching television. By next year, 81% of US internet users will exhibit this behavior.

And this isn’t isolated to just Americans. Busy people around the world are squeezing in more screentime while watching TV.

Facebook second-screening study

A few years ago, Facebook commissioned a study to study the multi-screen phenomenon.

“Mobile and TV are an increasingly irresistible combination. An in-home eye-tracking study Facebook IQ commissioned in the US revealed that 94% of participants kept a smartphone on hand while watching TV, making mobile nearly as common a TV companion as a remote control. The results also showed that viewers focused on the TV screen just 53% of the time, and one of the top reasons they looked away was to use their smartphones.”

As you can see via the chart below, the research clearly shows—and it’s hardly a surprise—that television viewers are active on Facebook during television and this activity spikes during ad breaks (TV commercials).

Next, Facebook used an eye-tracking study where test subjects wore special glasses that recorded their focal-point to learn more about this behavior. The study tracked Facebook users in six countries (Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the United States)

“The study also revealed that younger participants were more likely than older participants to multi-screen during TV ads. Participants ages 18–24 looked at their smartphones 60% of the time during TV ads, and people ages 45 and over did so 41% of the time. This might be because many who have grown up with mobile check it more reflexively. During the viewing of non-ad TV programming, there was no statistically significant difference between generations.”

This video reveals the view through one participant’s glasses. The red dot shows where his attention was focused. On the right, we see his mobile screen.

And what did these study participants tend to do most when second-screening on mobile while watching TV? 43.1% of the time, it was to access social media.

So if we add up the facts…

• With today’s busy consumers, multi-tasking is the new normal
• A common multi-tasking behavior is second-screening on mobile while watching TV  
• The most popular activity on mobile while second-screening is engaging in social media

What if there was a way for marketers to take advantage of this new consumer behavior?

Skai TV Signals for Social

Powered by Skai’s Automated Actions, Skai Social clients can activate—and take various automated actions on—their social ads based on real-time television signals.

For example, a retail brand whose commercial airs in Baltimore can leverage TV Signals for Social to run the same creative on Facebook or Instagram in the Baltimore DMA. Consumers who happen to be watching the channel at the time of the airing of commercial might also be reached with a social ad. This activates the power of multi-channel messaging which has shown to increase advertising response rates.

How TV Signals for Social works

• Skai’s TV Signal for Social partner, TVTY, monitors 600+ channels around the world 24/7 (see the full list of monitored TV channels supported)
• Video fingerprinting technology identifies what’s airing in-real time and the brand is identified within half a second
• This information is sent as a trigger to Skai
• Skai’s Automated Actions can be triggered off of these TV moments

Skai’s Automated Actions include numerous common tasks—the most popular for pairing with TV signals is to change Ad Set bids in a specified DMA for a short period after a television commercial airs in that DMA. Clients can set automated actions paired with their own TV ads or trigger actions based on other brands, such as when competitor commercials air.

In addition to impacting bids, Skai Social clients automatically change budgets & status based on advanced rules including 3rd party & custom metrics. For example, a practitioner can automatically send an email notification and/or increase the daily budget of Ad Sets.

Skai’s Automated Action wizard is easy-to-use with TV Signals for Social

“A key priority of ours is providing signals that improve volume and efficiency coming from Facebook campaigns,” says John Dobrowolski, Skai’s General Manager, Social. “With half of consumers using social media while watching TV, it’s a terrific signal to augment Facebook ads campaigns”

According to a study conducted by Forrester Research, 97% of marketing decision-makers said they had experienced an increase in revenue due to their multichannel marketing efforts.

Ready to see TV Signals for Social in action?

Register for a free demo of Skai Social and TV Signals for Social today!

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