Last week I posted an article by Mitch Joel, “Welcome to the
One-Screen World” (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/05/welcome_to_the_one-screen_worl.html)
in which he makes the case that for marketers and media, the most important
screen we can adjust our messages to is the one in front of the customer at any
given time. And of course, this makes sense – where ever your attention is, Mr.
Customer, is where I want to be selling.
But as he discussed screens integrating – which is clearly the path we’re
on, where all types of ‘screens’ can basically perform the same functions:
email, web surfing, music playing, video downloads, etc. But where I diverge from him is where he says we only have one pair of
eyes – and therefore the only screen that matters is the one in front of you.
I will not argue that multiple-ocularity (yes, I believe I
made that up…) is the wave of the future.
I rather like the human race with its two eyes in the front of its head
and am not suggesting any evolutionary adaptions. Or surgical ones, for that matter. But I believe most people will continue to
interact with multiple screens in any given moment, despite the multi-functional
abilities of the devices. Why?
Because I can sit with my laptop and create a presentation,
but will still catch up on Game of
Thrones on my television at the same time.
Thank goodness for On-Demand. That’s two screens. Meanwhile, my phone is next to me because I
may be texting my Dirty Girl partner-in-crime.
I can text her via my laptop and Facebook, sure, but sometimes she’s running
an errand or hanging out with her dog, so she texts me via cell phone. That’s screen three. If I tried to watch my movie, text a Dirty
Girl and work on my presentation from all one screen, I would have multiple-ocularity
issues indeed…
Multiple screens don’t go away until multi-tasking
does. Technology will continue to
cross-platform pollinate, as it should since we consumers demand that
convenience. But as marketers, we still
need to be cognizant of the context in which each device may be used, and
therefore develop the right content to drive our messages. Context and location awareness are not a fad,
but are more critical than ever to your marketing strategy when you have
competing screens.
A one-screen world sounds neat and convenient, but we human
beings are messy. We just don’t operate
that way.
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