Viewers and users are very definitely "multiscreening," as one panelist on the Cross Platform Measurement session termed the act of watching television and a digital screen simultaneously, but marketers have yet to fully monetize the multitasking. Measuring the combined engagement continues to be a major challenge for the likes of Nielsen and comScore--and their clients.
"We're in a period of transition--it's a little bit of a challenge to merge the two," said Jon Spaet, senior director of advanced advertising at Viamedia. "The rules are being written as we sit here today."
Some 78% of respondents at least occasionally multiscreen, according to a study shared by Dave Kaplan, VP of research at Bravo Media. And they're highly engaged in both media. "There are real tangible benefits to the multiplatform approach," he said of an all-platforms approach to advertising.
Jon Lafayette, B&C business editor, moderated the panel, which was held during B&C/Multichannel's Advanced Advertising event in New York on Tuesday.
Mike Welch, president of AT&T AdWorks, said one benefit of advertising on TV, web and mobile is that the distributor can maximize the agency's return on investment based on which device is running hot. "Whichever platform gets the eyeballs, the attention, the response--we can shift on the fly to optimize in real time," he said.
Despite the promise of addressable advertising, client buy-in remains modest, agreed the panelists. Spaet said Viamedia was, like AT&T AdWorks, seeing single digit percentage inclusion in the initiative, though the high renewal rate indicates happy clients. "Old habits do die hard," he said, while adding that the next few years could see 40-50% client usage of addressable advertising.
