How To Make Mobile Video To Complement The TV Experience

by Daisy Whitney, Jun 27, 2012, 1:19 PM

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Mobile is both its own beast and an increasingly important venue for video. You’ve seen all the reports on mobile video viewing increasing. Much of that increase comes from a growth in complementary TV viewing  -- either in looking up videos related to TV content, or tuning into TV shows or clips. But the mobile viewing experience isn’t always pleasant for consumers.

In fact, a recent Interactive Advertising Bureau study found that about 61% of consumers say media-related mobile apps aren’t worth downloading, and 54% say media Web sites don’t work very well on phones. But consumers still use mobile devices to access those sites, so what can brands and media sites do to improve the experience for consumers?

The key points that advertisers should remember in creating small-screen experiences should include making them fun and useful, and then learning how to cross-promote between venues, the IAB said.

To do that, looks for ways to bring viewers more information. The IAB said that talent resource site IMDB sees traffic rise during commercial breaks, so follow its lead and create the type of content viewers will want to look up during a show. “When trying to encourage multiscreen behavior, let viewers know that there’s something waiting for them, right now, that they can’t get elsewhere -- a separate ending, interviews with the cast, clues to an upcoming episode,” the IAB said.

Interaction is also a vital behavior to keep in mind, so look for ways to tie in a call to action. “That action might be commercial (a registration or even purchase), but it might also be simply brand-related. Take a virtual test drive of the hero’s car or enter to win a sponsored trip to the set.”

Viewers want to get involved, so brands may want to look for voting options, user-generated story lines and mechanisms to submit and share content.

It’s also smart to find ways to weave product discovery into a second-screen experience. Mobile phones are becoming powerful shopping tools, so try to link shopping to your show content.

The IAB also suggests looking for how-to, educational or self-improvement content to augment what’s on TV. Viewers often discover new things they want to learn or do from TV and then look to mobile phones to carry out those solutions.

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