When people are in front of the TV, they don’t just watch TV.
The pioneering Middletown Media Study conducted in the pre-iPhone and pre-iPad era of 2005 showed that, at the time, 28.5% of 240.9 daily TV viewing minutes were accompanied by exposure to at least one other medium. (Talking on the phone and texting were the most frequent sources of interruption). In addition, about half of all TV minutes were accompanied by non-media life activities, such as caring for others, eating and cleaning.
The competition for TV viewer’s attention has hardly subsided. Since the study, smartphone penetration in the US soared from 3.8% in 2006 to 44% by the end of 2011. Today, for many tablet and smartphone owners (45% and 41%, respectively) using their mobile device while watching TV is a daily activity.
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When brainstorming new ways to attract an audience online, one idea almost always comes to mind: running a social media contest. Immediately following, come the same questions: What kind of contest will it be? Where will it live? What’s the incentive for the user? How will users participate?
As marketers, we have been trained to think that lowering the barriers of entry will increase participation. Contests should remain simple, requiring only one step or one action by the user for entry … right? Not necessarily. Tumblr and Pinterest are two platforms changing the way we think about social media contests.
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There’s been a lot of buzz about whether Facebook Commerce (or F-Commerce) has already failed because brands – such as, JC Penney, Gamestop and Gap – recently shut down their Facebook storefronts.
I would argue that the issue isn’t F-Commerce. The problem is the way brands are trying to use it.
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Between an in-person audience of over 300 people, and 8,700 unique viewers on Ustream, yesterday’s second-annual #TVnext summit caused a stir in the social sphere- and our consumer insights team was busy tracking the conversations happening throughout the day.
Real-Time Social Listening: Top-line Results
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With less than two months before Social TV hits shelves (both physical and virtual), Stacey and I are amidst the final stages of the book’s production before it goes to print two weeks from tomorrow.
While you’ve already heard about Social TV from our perspective, here are 5 additional opinions about the book that will appear on Social TV’s back cover:
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Santa’s sleigh might just be filled with connected TV devices this holiday season. Over the course of the past week, three different people approached me with the same question: “I’m looking to buy either an Apple TV or Roku 2 for a gift, which should I get?”
In each case, my answer was a bit different based on the kind of content and existing technologies the gift recipient currently wants/has.
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