Second Screen Interactivity: How it Can Engage, Analyse and Promote to Your Audience

Whether you refer to it by the old hat names of interactive TV and enhanced TV or prefer the modern and more informed moniker of second-screen interactivity, there is no escaping its importance in contemporary broadcasting.

It was acceptable 30 years ago to assume that your viewers would be paying full attention to the television. There was not the full range of distractions there is now, thanks to the highly advanced capabilities of smartphones, tablets, and computers.

We live in a world where if you were to look into the average household, you would see people watching the main television screen intently and looking at their second screen—the reason why many broadcasters have opened up to providing content for both screens.

Suppose you have yet to utilise the full potential of a second screen interactivity solution. You may wonder how it can help you engage with, analyse and promote to your audience. That’s what we are going to discuss in the following post.

What is Second Screen Interactivity?

Second screen interactivity involves using the fact that most television or first screen viewing takes place alongside viewing a secondary screen to your advantage.

It means rather than those viewers looking at something unrelated to the first screen on their mobile device.

They are looking at something that keeps them engaged with the content on the first screen.

Meaning viewers can find out more information about what they are currently watching with a companion app, whether it’s a documentary series, chat show, live sports events, or even a film.

How Does a Second Screen Help Engage Your Audience?

Consider that data from Nielsen showed 88% of viewers in the US used a second “screen” or device while watching TV in 2018.

The same data shows that around 71% of people in the US used their second screen to find more information about the products they saw during the broadcast, while 41% messaged their friends or relatives about something they were watching.

Generally, without using second screen interactivity, the opportunities for engaging with the audiences were either through advertisements before, after or during a scheduled broadcast.

Without a second screen, things like sponsorships, product placements and in-show special features became a more intrusive approach to marketing.,.

These marketing methods were less effective because they were passive, interpersonal and offered little to no audience engagement.

Second Screen Interactivity flips this on its head and makes the experience of being marketed to more enjoyable and engaging for the viewer.

Find out more about our Hyperchannel platform and how the Intrasonics team can help you engage your audience with second screen interactivity, contact us today for a demo

Use Cases of Second Screen Interactivity

Okay, so we have looked at why utilising second screen interactivity can be an opportunity.

To help you see the full potential, let’s now look at the how, with some of the primary use cases and functionalities of Hyperchannel, our very own second-screen engagement platform here at Intrasonics.

There are three distinct fields of use for Hyperchannel that allows you to connect on a more personal level with your viewers. These are:

• Interactivity

• Promotion

• Analytics

Let’s look at each of these individually to showcase what Hyperchannel offers for each.

Interactivity – Quizzes, Shows and Loyalty Bonuses

There is a lot that Hyperchannel can offer to help you engage more fully with your viewers, such as:

Sponsored Quizzes

Sponsored quizzes can be triggered just before or after commercial breaks to keep your viewers watching and increasing viewership ratings.

As Hyperchannel is entirely customisable, these quizzes can be designed to show ad-related or trivia related questions.

Shows

Transform shows that are typically very passive into completely captivating and fascinating interactive experiences.

When the app detects a particular show, it completely transforms into a show companion app. Offering an opportunity for live shows to become thrillingly competitive in real-time with its audiences across households.

This allows you, as the broadcaster, to add second screen interactivity that is relevant to that show, whether it’s by offering interactive game shows or making the audience at home an integral part of the show.

The creative opportunities are truly limitless.

Loyalty Bonuses

Loyalty Bonuses allow you to give out rewards to your audience through sponsored giveaways that not only benefit you and your advertisers but the viewers themselves.

Thanks to Intrasonics expertise in audio watermarking, you can measure what individual viewers are watching and how long they are spending watching them.

This allows you to completely personalise offers and rewards to specific sections of your audiences.

Promotion – Shop Links

Taking things a step further, Hyperchannel allows you to offer advertisers and brands the chance to shorten their customer’s journeys.

Using the shop links module, they can present well-timed prompts to purchase that allows them to capitalise fully on consumers who are at peak interest in a product and ready to make purchases on impulse.

Analytics – Measure Audience Engagement

Intrasonics has a sterling reputation in the field of panel-based audience research for both TV and radio.

When you utilise second screen activity through Hyperchannel for analytical purposes, you get research expertise that provides you with:

• Analytics related to viewers and listeners

• Measurements of advertising reach

• Comprehensive analytics data and reports

You can benefit from tracking and measuring your viewers’ engagement with content for the entire time, as our audio watermarking offers end-to-end attribution.

The four key stages – Exposure, Discovery, Engagement and Conversion – are all accurately and unambiguously tracked.

How Does Audio Watermarking Trigger a Second Screen?

When you team up with Intrasonics and use the Hyperchannel Publisher, you can add audio triggers that will notify a second screen at the most crucial moments.

The second screen content you choose and design is directly distributed to app users and will even work offline.

Summary

As a broadcaster, you are operating in an incredibly competitive field.

When utilised most effectively and efficiently, second screen interactivity could make all the difference between engaging with your viewers more fully, understanding them, and being able to promote related brands and advertisers to them and failing to do so.

For more information about the Hyperchannel platform and how the Intrasonics team can help you, contact us today for a demo. You won’t regret it