The Second Screen and Targeted Advertising

At CES 2013, Magic Ruby demonstrated a few of our next gen tools for the Second Screen – Live Watermarking, Second Screen Production Platform, Dynamic ad insertion, and Targeted Advertising. We had some good customer feedback on all of these, but one of the most common reactions we had to the Targeted Advertising element was, “Oh, so THAT’S targeted advertising…”

The execution could be as simple as the app knows I’m a male between the ages of 35-54, so the ads I see – whether for a car company or breakfast cereal will feature a “hero” of my same demographic. Don’t underestimate how powerful that can be – ads have to not only convince me the product is good, but that it’s good specifically for me. Every little bit helps.

Of course, targeting can be more involved, depending on the information available – in-app user behavior or preferences, psychographics, location, social graphs…each element adds a nuance to the messaging or call to action, all in an effort to make the ad more relevant.

There are tools to automate this targeting – and even more exciting, tools that will soon be able to automate the customization of the ad itself, making this type of targeting more affordable for brands and agencies.

All that needs to happen is for second screen audiences to reach a critical mass.