What’s small, mighty and in the pockets of millennials aged 18 to 34? The smartphone. Yup, it’s true. Don’t be fooled by the size of the mobile screen: it has the power and potential to drive a huge impact, especially for the millennial generation with a mobile device always at an arm’s length. The smartphone now reaches more millennials than any other device. The largest spending generation and the smartphone are now synonymous.
A Synergy Between Mobile and Video
It’s no secret we are all glued to our smartphones – and our laser focus on the mobile device presents endless opportunities for brands to market their products and services. More brand marketers are discovering a synergy between mobile and video: a combination with far greater results than the sum of its parts. Chances are your competitors are already using mobile and video to drive brand marketing. It’s a smart move for you to climb aboard, too.
Big Things Come in Small Packages
Back to the size issue, the smartphone screen has significantly shrunk advertising space to about the size of a playing card: an obvious obstacle for brand marketers. But with 81% of individuals aged 18 to 34 owning a smartphone and 40% of all minutes watched on YouTube taking place on a smartphone, there are real opportunities for brand marketers to drive impact despite the struggle to hold consumers’ attention.
In the face of smartphone screen size adversity, millennials still pay more attention to video on mobile than on any other screen, including TV.
Millennials – along with other generations – tend to engage in other activities while watching TV: eating, using a computer, chatting to a friend, etc. Alternatively, video watching tends to be the sole activity for consumers engaged in a mobile video session. This fundamental truth makes the smartphone the number one device to reach not only millennials but also any consumer with a preference for content engagement in the palm of their hands.
TV is Passive. Mobile is Active.
As a society, we tend to take a passive approach to watching TV. We surf the channels hoping to find a TV show or movie that captures our interest without any real destination in mind. On the contrary, watching videos on YouTube tends to be a more active process: we turn to it to look for information or explore a passion. The typical millennial is more likely to engage meaningfully with video content on the web.
Smartphones Blur the Lines
Unlike TV, we watch mobile videos on the go without any restrictions of being at home. The traditional approach to brand marketing aimed to capture consumers’ attention in their living rooms, sitting in front of a TV. With smartphones are now an integral part of our lives, the lines between reaching consumers at home and on the go are forever blurred.
Mobile content has the potential to reach not only more consumers than TV but also more engaged consumers. How can you leverage the smartphone and mobile video to reach a wider audience and drive impact? There are two surefire ways to use mobile video for brand marketing: responsive design and in-the-moment mobile experiences.
Responsive Design: More Than a Secondary Screen
We live in a multi-screen world: we are increasingly swapping desktop computers and laptops for iPads, Notebooks, tablets and especially, smartphones. As the former becomes more obsolete, the latter becomes more prevalent.
Brand marketers once approached mobile as a secondary screen. Today mobile is just as important as a main screen. Compared to TV or laptops, smartphones can play a much more significant role in your video campaigns. It’s time to embrace responsive design.
In-the-Moment Experiences: The Best Time is Now
TV can only capture consumers’ attention at home – and most of the time, that attention is limited. Mobile videos reach audiences anywhere at any time – and most likely, those audiences are less distracted and more engaged.
No longer must brand marketers calculate the opportune moment to strike. The best time to reach target audiences with a mobile video campaign is right now.
Linx is More…
Linx is more than an advertising agency; more than a marketing consultancy; and more than a design company. Our dedicated team can help you launch a successful mobile video campaign to boost your reach and drive outstanding results. Contact us today for a market-driven business strategy.
