How Marketers Are Reaching Audiences On Second Screens

Stirista
September 1, 2023

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Reaching Multiscreen Audiences in a Fragmented Media Landscape

Consumers Are Multitasking More Than Ever Across Multiple Screens

With consumers’ attention increasingly divided by numerous and often equally important devices, marketers are pursuing solutions to reach audiences on multiple screens.

According to recent research on second screens, 84% of U.S. adults multitask and browse the internet on one device while watching TV on an in-home screen at least “sometimes.” More than half use second screens “often” or “always.” The devices used as their second screen vary across smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.

Meanwhile, watching television now includes more than linear TV. Pixilate states that 94% of U.S. households are directly reachable by programmatic connected TV ads. Highly targeted, unskippable and trackable, these ads are delivered via IP-enabled devices, such as desktops, mobile devices, gaming consoles, streaming devices and smart TVs. This abundance of channels and devices presents challenges and opportunities for marketers seeking to engage with multitasking audiences.

“Before, it seemed like you had to be in one specific place to share a message,” said Ruby Resendez, digital marketing director at Stirista. “Now, with so many devices, we’ve really honed it down to two things: what is the messaging, and what is the audience?”

Brands and agencies are using CTV alongside other omnichannel tactics, including geo-targeting and email marketing, to reach consumers across multiple screens. The outcomes include increased traffic, higher engagement and solutions for unifying a fragmented TV landscape.

How Geo-Targeted CTV Ads Drove Website Traffic

CTV has proven an effective way to target audiences precisely and cut through the ad clutter consumers experience across screens.

A CTV Campaign Targeting Millennial Mothers

One agency worked with Stirista to create a CTV ad targeting millennial mothers living near select brick-and-mortar locations to promote a client’s sweepstakes, coupons and recipes.

“You think CTV, you think large screen, sound on, non-skippable — those mediums are very hard to find nowadays,” said Resendez. “Even if a commercial is playing in the background, the end user can still hear it.

“With the messaging, you can convey in a longer, 15-, 30-, 60- or 90-second video; it’s a longer window of opportunity to get in front of your audience and super effective at capturing consumer attention,” she explained.

Enhanced Data and Geo-Targeting

During the campaign, Stirista provided creative and handled data hygiene to produce complete and accurate audience segments. According to Resendez, geotargeting is a crucial advantage for CTV over linear, allowing advertisers to address specific audiences that match the brand’s desired demographics.

With second-screen habits and performance in mind, Stirista also placed a Visitor ID Graph (VIG) pixel on the campaign’s landing page to track site traffic for accurate performance reporting.

“If the CTV ad resonates, viewers will go find the website,” Resendez said. “We see a lot of success in showing CTV ads and driving website traffic, either through QR codes or, more importantly, finding the right audience for the product and marrying those two together has always shown success for us.”

Campaign Performance

In one month, the CTV campaign had a 97% viewer completion rate and was viewed 1.88 million times. The campaign drove all site traffic at a cost of $8.58 per website visitor.

Complementing CTV With Email Marketing Across the Funnel

In another example of how brands leverage multiple screens, a health insurance company needed support generating leads during open enrollment periods for senior and Affordable Care Act products.

Data Foundation and Identity Matching

Stirista delivered a multichannel campaign including data enhancement, acquisition, enrichment, CRM enhancement, segmentation and extraction.

Because CTV is rooted in data, Stirista began by importing and cleaning the company’s existing data. Each record was then matched to Stirista’s OMNA Identity Graph, its proprietary identity graph that connects a wide range of omnichannel identifiers.

Stirista used its Audience Profile Tool to create detailed personas and build a custom segment targeting strategy for the omnichannel initiative — essential because email and social media are common second-screen behaviors.

“Email is an excellent channel for conveying information. It also has other benefits, with calls-to-action and the longevity in your inbox,” said Resendez. “You can make people feel comfortable by showing them a CTV ad and then showing them an email before they purchase any products.”

Multichannel Execution and Results

The Stirista campaign spanned several channels, including:

Email to drive conversions
CTV for brand awareness
Display ads
Paid social for mid-funnel prospects

A VIG website tag identified which channels and creatives influenced different stages of customer behavior. Nearly 27% of website visitors conducting deep plan research were driven by the campaign.

Email accounted for 56.6% of visitors
CTV accounted for 23.7%

The company exceeded enrollment goals for the period.

CTV’s Role in a Fragmented Media Environment

The rise of second-screen behavior gives marketers richer insight into consumers’ digital habits. Teams are using these insights to refine retargeting tactics and optimize campaigns to resonate more deeply with audiences, said Resendez.

This becomes increasingly important as media fragmentation accelerates and CTV continues evolving.

“We can start building our strategies based on multi-screen use,” Resendez said. “As we balance our clients’ investments, considering what we’re trying to sell and how we’re trying to sell helps us build out the media mix.”