TV continues to play a major role in consumers’ lives but nowadays most people tend to watch TV programmes with a mobile device within easy reach.

NB This is a viewpoint by Tom Smith, head of biddable media at mporium.

This multi-screening habit presents a great ecommerce opportunity for advertisers if they can successfully synchronise their search and PPC with relevant TV content.

Viewers will increasingly reach for their smartphone to satisfy their curiosity at precise moments and sometimes for quite surprising items. For instance, Channel 4’s Gogglebox stimulates viewers to search for TV dinner lap-trays!

However more often, the correlation is clearer. And travel shows can prompt people to search for holiday information.

The challenge for advertisers is that when people are searching during a travel programme they tend to browse for generic terms such as “holidays to Spain” or “cheap flights” rather than a specific brand name.

This means that if marketers are to maximise ROI from digital advertising they need to know where and when to optimise search terms to reach consumers with context and relevance.

After all, an ‘always on PPC campaign’ targeting generic and highly competitive search terms such as the above is not always financially viable for brand marketers and their agencies.

Ideally, they want to be able to identify TV-related causes for spikes in certain search terms and manage a campaign ‘second by second’ rather than ‘day by day’ to generate the largest impact on their revenue.

TV programmes with a travel element, such as A Place in the Sun, can encourage people to search online with the intention of making a purchase. At mporium, we have noticed from our trends and data that  those engaged in TV travel content are more likely to search for flights and hotels and ultimately make a purchase.

Travel brands can optimise their marketing by analysing historical data and establishing exactly when specific holiday and travel-related TV content would generate the highest levels of consumer engagement. This allows companies to react in real-time to which locations were being featured on TV and when.

Increasing bids on mobile devices when relevant programmes are being broadcast can allow brands to target consumers at the most appropriate time.

By understanding this correlation between television content and increased search activity it is possible to significantly increase the ROI from ad spend.

We have seen this monetisation of real-time mobile search in other sectors too. In consumer finance, for example, people are reminded by TV money-saving experts or news reports to shop around for better deals on everything from credit cards to utilities.

We also see it in fashion where people are influenced by what they see celebrities wear and discuss on TV.

If brands understand the association between television content and search patterns – and can identify those perfect micro-moments to target consumers – then they can get a significant boost from telly addicts.

NB1: This is a viewpoint by Tom Smith, head of biddable media at mporium.
NB2: Image by BigStock