The document discusses how marketers can take advantage of the era of distracted viewers by developing messaging across devices, employing innovative advertising techniques, using analytics to measure results, and aligning campaigns to hit viewers while they are still watching TV. It notes that while TV remains important, millennials in particular are consuming content across laptops, tablets and smartphones. The author argues that rather than complaining about distraction, marketers should embrace it with cross-device campaigns informed by data.

1. June 2, 2016
Harnessing the Era of the Distracted Viewer
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/jessica-hawthorne-castro-guest-post-
distracted-viewer/640339
Jessica Hawthorne-Castro
Marketers like to complain about how the era of the “distracted viewer” is taking its
toll on their advertising returns. Call the teenager who peruses Snapchat or
Instagram while watching Modern Family or the mom who is simultaneously online
shopping, texting and watching her favorite programming “distracted,” if you will,
but the reality is that today’s marketers have more consumer touch points and
opportunities than ever at their fingertips–they just have to know how to take
advantage of them.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, television continues to provide
the best-quality picture and viewing experience.
As we know, the way content is being discovered and consumed is changing—and
especially for millennial viewers (born between 1981 and 2000, and currently aged
16 through 35) who are “cutting the cord” from their cable subscriptions. A recent
CEA survey, for example, found that just 55 percent of millennials use TVs as their

2. primary viewing platform, while streaming content via Netflix, Hulu and Amazon
Prime–laptops, tablets, and smartphones–are poised to dominate their viewing
preferences.
So while television remains the key medium for brand building, it is an evolving
space due to the proliferation of mobile phones, laptops, tablets and other devices
that come between the target audience and the television itself, or even the way the
content is delivered via over-the-top platforms.
By definition, OTT is a term used for the delivery of film and TV content via the
Internet, without requiring users to subscribe to a traditional cable or satellite pay
TV service like a Comcast or Time Warner Cable. These apps and services are
delivered over the internet, so users still need a broadband connection, which they
usually get from their cable providers. Netflix and HBO Go are two good examples of
OTT providers, with CBS, Showtime and Lifetime all recently announcing the
introduction of their own OTT video services.
Millennials are a particularly large target for today’s advertisers—and one that’s not
always easy to pinpoint, hit and engage. The CEA sees multiscreen viewing of TV
programming as a central factor in reaching younger target audiences.
While the TV set is still the most commonly used device for watching content, about
one-half of millennials watch programming on a laptop, another 28 percent watch it
on a tablet and 22 percent on a smartphone. And while nine in 10 viewers say they
watch TV programming on a television set, millennials are significantly less likely to
do so (85 percent). In terms of preference, only 55 percent of these younger viewers
select a TV set as the preferred screen for viewing television content.
Josh Dreller wrote in Search Engine Land:
There’s been no better time than now to take advantage of the era of the distracted
TV viewer, where 87 percent of people who watch TV are also second-screening on
their tablets, phones and laptops. In fact, you can pretty much count on the fact that
consumers are certainly “watching” search engines while they’re watching TV. And
every TV commercial moment could spark a thought in a viewer’s head to go to a
search engine.
So rather than complaining about the fact that viewers are jumping on the web
while TV shows and commercials are playing in the background, why not embrace
the distracted viewer with a solid, cross-device campaign? It’s clear that audiences
are being pulled in by the TV ads and then going to other “screens” to learn more,
read reviews and make purchases.

3. Here are four ways that marketers can reel in, engage and sell more to today’s
distracted viewers:
1. Develop creative messaging across all devices and platforms: Viewers
expect a cohesive and seamless experience whether they’re watching TV,
using a mobile web browser or watching a commercial on their tablets.
Through creative messaging—tailored to each device—marketers can meet
this demand while effectively harnessing viewers’ attention, and regardless
of which device they’ve using. Each piece of the consumer’s experience
should be consistent and complementary.
2. Employ more innovative advertising techniques: The distracted
millennial viewer is much different than his or her predecessors, who didn’t
have options like OTT. To reach this group, companies have to think beyond
traditional TV advertising and get creative. In a recent study, for example, in-
program native advertising developer Watchwith found that more than one-
half of 18- to 24-year-olds are more likely to watch more episodes of a show
if the show has in-program (i.e., non-interruptive) ads. “We also found that
in-program ads have higher levels of unaided recall compared to traditional
TV ads,” wrote Watchwith’s Zane Vella. “The point is to let the show
continue flowing, but still get the ad message across.”
3. Use solid analytics to measure results: Data, data, data–use it, analyze it.
Along with the era of the distracted viewer comes the era of the smart home,
analytics and metrics that allow advertisers to more effectively measure
results and hone future messaging and campaigns. Companies should take
advantage of these innovations and use robust analytics to take the learnings
and integrate them into all of their campaigns, regardless of screen or
medium.
4. Hit them while they’re still on the couch: According to Nielsen, 27 percent
of TV viewers look up product information online after watching a TV
advertisement. Marketers can give these viewers what they’re looking for by
aligning website and paid search campaigns to their TV ads. When TV-
inspired viewers find the information they are looking for quickly—and right
when the desire to purchase is peaked—sales conversion rates will improve
exponentially.
By developing creative messaging across all of these devices, leveraging OTT and
using solid metrics and analytics to measure results, marketers can fully leverage
the multiscreen phenomenon—and the distracted viewer that it has cultivated.
Achieving this goal will require a bigger net, but the end result will be well worth it
in an era where distraction is only going to proliferate. The speed of information,
data and content is here to stay. Let’s not be afraid of it.
Jessica Hawthorne-Castro is the CEO of Hawthorne, an award-winning technology-
based advertising agency specializing in analytics and accountable brand campaigns.