Australia is one of the most sceptical markets in the world towards advertising and those that can crack mobile advertising here could be well on the way to nailing it globally. That's one of the inferences from a global study by WPP-owned research outfit Millward Brown.
The firm surveyed some 12,000 people globally. While the Australian sample was small (269 people), it suggested that TV advertising remained the most powerful medium, despite people spending marginally more screen time per day on smartphones.
Extrapolating the sample, the average multiscreen user in Australia consumes six and a half hours of screen media each day, of which 113 minutes is simultaneous consumption of another screen, resulting in a typical daily screen time of just under five hours (or 285 minutes), according to the survey.
Smartphones account for 33 percent or 132 minutes of the daily screen time, which is less than the global average of 147 minutes. TV accounts for 32 percent or 125 minutes which is more than global average of 113 minutes. Laptops account for 26 percent or 102 minutes, less than global average of 108 minutes; and tablets for 9 percent of daily screen time or 37 minutes, compared to the global average of 50 minutes.
Significantly for Australian marketers, just 11 percent of consumers simultaneous screen time use is 'meshed' (the use of a TV and a second screen for related content). By comparison 28 percent of consumers 'stack' their viewing - the use of a TV and second screen for unrelated content. This is well above the global average of 22 per cent. Most people are shifting their viewing from one screen to another throughout the day.
Receptivity to TV ads is 45% in Australia, the survey suggested, with laptop/PC receptivity at 27%, smartphone 22% and tablet 22%. All of those are double digit percentage points lower than the survey suggested is the case globally, making Australia one of the toughest markets in the world for advertisers in terms of cut-through.
TV is seen as the startpoint for consumption locally. Specific to multiscreen marketing, the AdReaction survey found that consumers are most receptive to micro-video; TV ads with interactivity; and TV ads promoting mobile apps, Facebook pages and websites.
Marketing that delivers more entertainment and rewards are generally preferred over multiscreen campaigns which simply offer more information.
Mark Henning, head of media and digital, AMAP for Millward Brown said that keeping customers entertained was a key pillar for advertisers.
"Receptivity in Australia to advertising in general is lower than most markets in the world. We are a cynical bunch, no surprises there," he said, but it underlined the importance of content and context. The content on handheld devices needed to be " shareable content that entertains first and informs second, giving people something they want to engage with".
While he said TV adverts remained the "main source as a driver from a task-based point of view, a trigger point from where multiscreens are used to complete tasks," brands that are active within mobile are seen as "trend setters".
He said that while some brands were trying to crack the app model, it wasn't always necessary to create their own. "That's not always the best way. Domino's sponsored the X-Factor TV app and 'owned' an app that wasn't its own, continuing its sponsorship through to other areas. It is always hard to FMCG companies to create an app that people want to go to. But there are [piggyback] opportunities in other areas for them."
Given the "cynical" local attitude towards advertising, he agreed that those brands and agencies that delivered multi-screen cut-through in Australia were "well on the way to cracking it elsewhere... the whole world is [trying to get this right]."
Click on the multiscreen infographic below to download.
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