Small Screens, Big Returns

In the ever-evolving landscape of video consumption, Snapchat has partnered with Dentsu and Kantar to uncover video trends across screen sizes and the implications for brands. We wanted to understand how screen preferences, need states for consuming video, and the impact of advertising on different screens are changing to uncover the opportunities that advertising across screen sizes presents. Kantar conducted a custom study amongst over 9,000 13-49 year old weekly Snapchatters in 8 markets (US, FR, UK, DE, NL, KSA, CA, AU) to unveil compelling insights.

Small is Beautiful

Although daily video consumption remains high across small screens (mobile) and big screens (TV), consumption on small screens is starting to dominate globally. Across the 8 markets tested, 67% of consumers watch video on their small screen daily, compared to 50% who watch on their big screen.

The need states and motivations for viewing also varies by screen type. When viewers want to be entertained or want to relax, they turn to either their small or big screen to watch videos. However, when viewers want to stay connected and find new or interesting topics to consume, they turn to watch videos on their small screen. This changing behavior highlights the need for a dual-screen approach when planning media due to the importance and preferences for both screens.

Globally, consumers - including Gen Z audiences - report that they give more of their full attention to content on small screens. With small screens, consumers are less likely to be distracted by other things/people, or have content on in the background, as they do whilst watching video on big screens. 69% of consumers say that when they play a video on their smartphone, they usually give it their full attention compared to only 50% who give TV viewing their full attention, further illustrating the importance of advertising on small screens to reach consumers, where they may be more receptive to media.

Video is Social

Small screens and social apps are key to reaching consumers globally. 65% say they watch video through social apps daily, versus 51% who consume through streaming services daily. This trend remains true among Gen Z, of which 68% consume video on social apps daily.

Although consumers turn to both social and streaming services to be entertained, they often prefer social apps to consume videos when it comes to staying connected and seeking new interests. This emphasizes how both platforms fulfill different motivations when it comes to video, demonstrating the importance to not only have multiple screens in the media mix, but multiple platforms too when planning campaigns.

Small Screens, Big Attention

Through in-person mock environments in the US in partnership with MediaScience, this research also analyzed biometric methods such as eye tracking and Neurometric Response Intensity¹ tracked through Galvanic Skin Response to gauge attention paid to small and big screens. The research found that the social ads on mobile (small screen) gave off greater arousal (attention) compared to the ads on a streaming service (big screen). This higher attention paid to small screens translates to higher attention paid to video ads on small screens as well. This occurs because consumers’ brains need to spend more cognitive resources (rationale part of the brain) on smaller screens, so they become more likely to "zone in" while looking at anything on a small, mobile screen.

The small screen ad was 6 seconds long, whilst the big screen ad was longer at 15 seconds. Despite being on-screen for less than half of the time on average, ads on small screens captured significantly stronger visual fixation activity, indicating viewers concentrate more on specific parts of the screen rather than glancing around. This highlights that shorter ad views on a small screen can be efficient, capturing strong visual attention with less time before the user scrolls on.

More Screens, More Impact

To dive deeper into the impact of creative on different platforms, all study participants were asked to go through a content viewing exercise using Kantar’s Context Lab methodology². The aim of this part of the research was to understand if advertising across both small and big screens, via social apps and streaming services, drove any incremental gains when compared to exclusive exposure to the ads on a big screen. The ads tested included a variety of CPG brands across different markets.

The research found that amongst global audiences, dual-screen exposure drove higher brand metric growth across full-funnel KPIs compared to exposure to big screen advertising only. This further demonstrates the importance of advertising across both small and big screens in order to achieve the greatest brand outcomes.

Similar growth was observed amongst Gen Z audiences too. Dual-exposure to both a big screen and Snapchat specifically proved to be highly memorable and impactful, and significantly increased both Brand Favorability and Intent by +3% amongst daily Snapchat users, illustrating the platform’s unique ability to sway opinions among its most active users.

Implications for Marketers

With the changing video landscape, marketers need to optimize their video budgets to drive the greatest reach and effectiveness amongst their target audience. This research found that it is essential to run ads across screen sizes and platforms to maximize impact.

1. Although daily video consumption remains high across big screens, mobile device usage is starting to dominate across global markets in both consumption and attention. This creates space to advertise on big and small screens.
   

2. Mobile amplifies the brand lift impact of big screen ads, so incorporating small screens into the media mix is key to success. Advertising across dual screen sizes drives stronger full-funnel growth when compared to ads served on big screens, and media exposure across screens is particularly memorable and impactful among Gen Z.
   

3. Lastly, adding Snapchat to the mix alongside ads on big screens drives optimal growth amongst active users. Big screen and Snapchat exposure proved particularly impactful in driving brand favorability and consideration intent growth among daily Snapchatters.

If you would like to see the full reports for each market then please reach out to your Snap Sales Rep or Marketing Science Lead.