TV and the Third Screen

2011 was predicted as the year that your old TV box in the corner would begin to catch up and join in with the social, interactive world of the modern internet. As we become more attached to our smartphones and tablets, some of us unable to put them down even as we watch our favourite shows, TV needs to figure out a way to use what is being referred to as "the third screen" to offer bespoke content that deepens the experience of television viewing.

Several high profile entertainment shows and advertisers have begun to use the third screen to offer such experiences. The technology they're using is sound recognition.

How the technology works:

An app is programmed to recognise certain sounds within a TV show or advertisement and deliver specific content based on that sound. For example, in an ad for H&M, the app could recognise a section of music from the ad that corresponds with a model wearing a summer dress. That dress would then appear on your smartphone or tablet and offer you the chance to buy it there and then, store it in a wishlist, browse your local stores to see where it is in stock, or share it with your friends. Mobile phone operators could sell phones directly, supermarkets could allow you to add items to your digital shopping list, software companies could offer instant game downloads... the possibilities are endless.

Some examples:

W+K London's brand new campaign for Honda "This Unpredictable Life" is a great example of this technology in use. By downloading an app to their iPhone, viewers can "capture" characters from ad.



ABC released an iPad app this week that synchs with Greys Anatomy. Although content wise it looks a little bit like the the extras on DVD's that no one watches, it is a sign that entertainment companies are willing to invest in creating these types of apps for very popular shows.



This is a very interesting and exciting area, and one we as marketers need to keep a very close eye on.

iPad app that Synchs with your TV

ABC has released an iPad app that syncs with their new TV show, My Generation. It provides additional information on the show by listening to the TV and recognising which episode the viewer is watching.

It's yet another example of how the iPad and iPhone can be used to deepen the experience of watching TV.

More info here on the excellent PSFK. My post was heavily paraphrased from the same article.

Download the app here.

The future of Tv and NEVER TAKE HOLIDAYS!!!

I've attempted to post several items this week, but I went on holidays. And now I'm back. And now I barely have time to eat / sleep / play Call of Duty. So, I'm never taking a holiday again. It's easier.

I'll keep this part short and sweet, because of the aforementioned busyness and it's better explained here. Notion, an Irish strategic industrial design studio from my homeland of Ireland, have developed MetaMirror a programme that integrates the iPad with live TV. In their words:

"Meta-Mirror is a concept application that delivers an enhanced television experience without disrupting the conventional expectations of home entertainment. It allows viewers to access content relevant to the program currently being viewed.
The product is a software platform which runs on a secondary device of the users choice, displaying this contextual content over a mirror of the television broadcast. By bringing together live television, real-time contextual information and an intuitive user interface, Meta Mirror is positioned to update television from uni-directional broadcast to two-way interaction. Three scenarios explain how this can happen:

I've seen several pieces of work that explore the use of the iPhone / iPad as a second screen. CP+B's work for Despicable Me and Best Buy for example:



Very interesting stuff.

Apologies for all of the spelling mistakes, bad grammer, and the most rushed post I've ever written.