From Fragmented Media to Fragmented Devices: Toward a Connected Device Planning Strategy
16 November 2011When you’re on the couch, what device do you reach for when you want to find the answer to a question that the game show host has just posed to a contestant? Is it your Laptop, your Tablet or your Smart-Phone?
For all of you bedroom surfers, does your iPad rest on your blanketed drawn knees or does the incandescent screen light up the room from the nestled position of your palm?
When you’re tapping out a newsletter for that five-a-side team you coach or documenting a thank-you list for the wedding gifts you’ve received, do you reach for your Laptop?
The new Connected Device digital ecosystem
Many of us now live in a personal digital ecosystem supported by a widening variety of connected devices. The initial temptation is to assume that new devices will supplant earlier – that Tablets will replace all functions delivered by PC’s for example. But in the same way that the predictions of the death of Radio, TV & Press now seem naïve, we believe that Web devices will co-exist in harmony, providing explicit best-in-class function for particular need states.
Growth of cross-connected device ownership and usage is a given, and this is supported by Comscore who recently announced that across Europe – with the UK leading the charge – cross-platform digital media consumption is now 5 percent of total EU5 digital traffic.
Planning for a multiple Connected Device consumer
But the challenge for marketers is matching these need states to devices. This will be crucial to the efficiency, performance and overall success of cross-connected device campaigns.
When developing cross-connected initiatives we need to map the multiple need states of consumers against their device usage; what is the device preference for quick search? This will inform your mobile search strategy; what is the device split for video consumption? What is the average dwell time per device? Common sense would suggest that – due to the large screen real estate available – consumers will spend more time on Tablets watching video. But, for all of their home media consumption, consumers may spend more time with the smaller Smart-Phone simply because it feels more accessible.
It is smaller, lighter and quick-to-hand. Such human factor issues may have far reaching impact on your connected-device media strategy and it will pay to investigate them in detail, ideally with specialists such as Mobext - who understand mobile interface usability.
Measuring your customer’s use of Connected Devices
How might you go about the seemingly overwhelming task of measuring dwell time vs. device vs. need state vs. media vs. location? A custom panel will be required, working with a research partner such as MPG Media Contacts’ Intelligence division, who run panels for clients. The difficulty will be reaching a statistically significant sample of responses from panel members who consume media across the full-breadth of connected-devices. The effort, however, will deliver a much deeper understanding of true consumer behaviour across Web connected devices and your media spend will see far better performance because of it.
A Connected Device planning framework will be crucial to your future success
We believe that a connected-device planning philosophy will become increasingly important as brands strive to reach consumers across not just fragmented media, but fragmented devices too. The so called ‘Internet of Things’ - everyday objects such as kitchen appliances, home controls and even in-car web - will only place more demands on your connected-device planning strategy. Getting it right now will place you light years ahead of the competition before connected-device ownership scales from 4.6% to 46%.
Mobext is a full service mobile advertising agency operating within the Havas Digital family of agencies, alongside MPG Media Contacts. It is the largest mobile advertising agency in the world with offices in Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia and offers end-to end Mobile Marketing services including strategy, planning/buying, production and analytics. We aim to make your customers fall in love with your brand on mobile. We are supported by Web, Social and Rich Content specialists to ensure that your investment in mobile is fully integrated with your overarching online strategy
Mobext is currently developing bespoke global research to help its clients understand the impact of connected-device growth on their digital media strategy. We will be sharing the results of this study in January 2012.
If you want to know more about mobile and how we can work with you to provide an integrated and future thinking approach to your mobile campaigns, please get in touch.