WHAT IS MULTI-DEVICE TARGETING?
In order to truly engage today’s consumers, brands must focus on building meaningful relationships. But with more platforms and channels than ever before, marketers have an increasingly difficult time deciding where to allocate their budgets. As an article on Warc highlights, if marketing departments don’t want that money to be wasted, it’s essential to make sure that relevant customers are being targeted at the right time, and in the right way.
This is important not only in terms of which channel is being used to deliver messages – be it television, social media or e-mail marketing, for example – but also what type of device the consumer will be viewing them on.
According to the article, ‘device switching’ has become a part of modern life for more than 60% of the UK adults that are online – almost half (40%) begin an activity on one device then finish it on another; and at least two devices are used to access digital content per day.
Warc’s own research supports these figures, revealing that the average household owns 4.4 devices and teenagers own an average of 3.2 devices. Bearing in mind that millennials will make up 70% of the UK workforce within the next ten years – and will be choosing which brands to spend their wages on – it’s essential that marketers understand how to communicate with this generation.
One solution to this is for marketers to embrace multi-device targeting; but with 92% of millennials admitting to using their phones whilst watching TV (and 87% of other consumers), capturing their attention is not as easy as it perhaps sounds.
Helpfully, the article suggests some things for brands to bear in mind to ensure that their targeting efforts are as effective as possible.
1. Break with tradition
Television is becoming less relevant year-on-year, as the next generation prefers to consume media on their mobiles or tablets. This means that marketers need to think outside the box (literally) and consider other screens.
2. Get online
Millennials are the biggest viewers of online video content, often ‘bingeing’ for long periods of time and sharing videos with friends. This makes it the perfect platform for raising brand awareness.
3. Don’t ignore mobile
Smartphones are top when it comes to online content viewing for millennials, followed closely by tablets. Ensure that any video content has been optimised for mobile viewing, or you’ll miss engaging this crucial audience.
4. On the move
More than any other generation, millennials enjoy watching video content while on the move – 54% watch it at a friend’s house, and 32% do so whilst commuting.
5. Multi-screen
Millennials switch the most frequently between devices, changing from desktop to mobile to tablets throughout the course of the day. Ideally, marketers should aim to run campaigns across at least three different devices at once.
The many devices now being used by consumers (and not just millennials) provides an exciting and potentially lucrative opportunity for marketers. But multi-device marketing also needs to be approached with accuracy and careful consideration of the demands, habits and behaviours of your target audience – when this knowledge is used in relation to device use, brands can achieve impressive reach.
Do you feel that marketing departments are embracing multi-device targeting, or is there still some way to go?