The Super Bowl hype is fully upon us, and with travel packages reaching upwards of $10,000 (and the Patriots out) let’s face it, most of us are going to catch the game on TV. And this year, more than ever, the game isn’t just about sitting around the TV with some snacks and good friends. Second – and third – screens will also join the party. So how do multiple screens play into the attention economy? It’s more than just messaging – it’s about use.
While most households will be kicking back to watch the game, a different kind of interaction will have many people leaning in – to check stats, talk trash on social media, etc. – on their smartphones, tablets and wearables. Enter, the multiscreen experience. It’s how we multitask, and not just during the Super Bowl.
Thinking about our shopping habits, we may begin a search on our phone or tablet, but switch to a desktop to compare prices and products, and make the actual purchase. And the TV is on in the background, right?
And some tech is actually falling through the cracks. For example, I rarely use my iPad while shopping since my Iphone6 is bigger and for deep product research, I go back to my laptop for speed and easy of use.
Technology wants to drive use across platforms but while it may be fun to flash my wearable to friends, it’s not necessarily practical beyond that. Besides reminding me to check something on my phone, I’m not going to start looking up a player’s stats on my watch. Wearables entered the market without a practical application (outside of notification), because our needs are already met by the technology we have today. So now we have recreational screens in the mix, too.
But despite our choices in technology and hardware, we’re all doing it. All of this behavior wraps up into our culture of multitasking, and with the multiscreen experience being the new norm, it’s also a channel manager’s best opportunity to add value to every engagement across devices. In a sea of catchy Super Bowl ads, managing our interactions in real time, across devices (and channels) sets your brand up for the win. And so the real competition begins. In a world where people have a shorter attention span than a goldfish, the attention economy is in full swing and all the screens are fighting for that slice of critical user attention.
