2. There
are
a
huge
number
of
devices
and
all
sorts
of
connected
ac6vity
in
today’s
digital
home.
The
role
of
Essen6al
Research
is
to
understand
the
consumer
–
and
par6cularly
their
needs,
both
ra6onal
and
emo6onal,
their
a?tudes,
their
idiosyncrasies,
and
how
their
behaviour
is
affected
by
their
feelings
about
technology
and
the
circumstances
in
which
they
consume
it.
2
3. First
we
start
by
measuring
and
observing
what’s
happening
and
who’s
doing
what.
This
is
the
rela6vely
easy
bit,
but
it’s
important
because
so
much
received
wisdom
is
wrong,
so
many
strategies
are
based
on
an
inaccurate
assump6on
that
our
target
audience
will
do
the
same
sort
of
stuff
that
we
do
–
or
soon
will.
It’s
certainly
true
that
more
and
more
mainstream
audiences
are
embracing
digital
media
and
technology.
Our
own
tracking
data
give
us
a
snapshot
of
what
is
happening
in
an
average
week…
3
10. But
what
on
Earth
does
it
all
mean?
For
consumers?
For
you?
For
content
creators,
technology
manufacturers,
designers,
adver6sers?
10
11. There
are
a
thousand
themes
we
could
explore.
But
for
the
sake
of
brevity
I’m
going
to
focus
on
the
following
3
areas,
all
of
which
have
fascinated
me
and
many
of
my
colleagues
for
over
a
decade.
11
12. Let’s
start
with
counter-‐convergence.
What
do
we
mean
by
this?
12
13. First
we
have
to
rewind
15
years
to
1996.
(Chris
Evans
R1
show,
Gazza’s
goal
vs
Scotland
in
Euro
96,
The
OJ
Simpson
trial,
and
the
divorce
of
Charles
&
Diana.)
13
14. Back
then,
you
may
have
had
these
devices
at
home
–
but
each
had
a
very
dis6nct
role.
We
had
a
clear
idea
about
the
purpose
of
each
type
of
device.
14
15. The
popular
percep6on
is
that
convergence
then
happened,
and
all
our
devices
morphed
into
one.
But
what
we’ve
seen
over
the
past
decade
and
more
is
that
while
technology
may
have
converged,
the
circumstances
in
which
it
is
consumed,
and
the
values
that
consumers
a_ach
(either
consciously
or
sub-‐consciously)
to
different
screens
and
spaces
in
the
home,
mean
that
only
a
fool
would
try
to
deliver
exactly
the
same
experience
to
consumers
through
their
TV
screen,
their
PC
screen,
their
handheld
screen,
or
a
tablet
screen.
15
16. Rather,
successful
cross-‐plaborm
thinking
means
understanding,
and
being
sympathe6c
to,
the
unique
values
of
the
different
types
of
screen
(or
consump6on
mode);
understanding
why
one
type
of
experience
works
well
on
one
screen,
while
a
different
type
of
experience
works
on
another.
This
ma_ers
hugely
for
content
creators
(whether
broadcasters,
publishers
or
adver6sers)
and
it
ma_ers
for
those
who
create
the
devices,
gateways
and
interfaces
through
which
the
content
is
consumed.
Yet
all
too
ofen
we
see
hideously
misconceived
concepts,
or
execu6ons
of
a
concept,
that
fail
to
take
account
of
these
fundamentals.
16
18. We
could
talk
all
day
about
the
prac6cal
implica6ons
of
this.
But
for
now
I’ll
focus
on
two:
Behavioural
fragmenta6on
and
the
enduring
values
of
the
living
room
screen.
18
19. One
of
the
most
common
ques6ons
we
are
asked
is
‘where
shall
we
invest?’.
Should
we
start
building
mobile
apps
instead
of
websites?
Should
we
be
targe6ng
people
when
they’re
out
and
about,
rather
than
si?ng
at
home
on
a
PC?
Or:
if
social
media
is
shifing
to
mobile,
how
should
this
change
what
we
do
there?
To
answer
this,
you
have
to
go
back
again
to
the
core
values
of
the
different
screens.
19
20. It’s
clear
that
Facebook
already
gets
this.
The
PC
internet
version
of
Facebook
is
a
more
long-‐form
version.
It’s
a
hub
for
all
ac6vity,
and
it’s
certainly
the
place
where
users
expect
to
compose
longer
messages
and
to
manage
their
account.
By
comparison,
the
mobile
app
is
designed
to
facilitate
quicker,
more
frequent
bursts
of
ac6vity
and
has
evolved
to
make
the
most
of
loca6on-‐based
status
updates.
It’s
pared
down
and
designed
to
help
you
catch
up
with
most
recent
ac6vity.
And
now
there’s
an
iPad
version
which
embraces
the
dis6nct
values
of
the
iPad
–
it’s
more
immersive,
it
provides
for
easier
sharing
of
mul6media
content,
it’s
visually
striking.
20
21. Retail
behaviour
is
evolving
along
similar
lines.
When
you
ask
audiences
directly,
they
typically
expect
to
do
more
of
the
same
stuff
on
a
new
screen
(it’s
the
old
Henry
Ford
‘faster
horses’
adage)
but
experience
with
smartphones
has
shown
that
as
a
device
assumes
its
own
clear
iden6ty
and
values,
exis6ng
behaviours
evolve
and
manifest
themselves
in
interes6ng
new
ways.
(From
PC
ac6vity:
price
comparison,
detail,
research)
to
smartphone
behaviour
(coupons,
POS,
loca6on-‐based
communica6on
and
offers).
Now,
by
understanding
what
makes
the
tablet
screen
unique,
savvy
retail
brands
are
developing
services
that
play
to
the
tablet’s
strengths.
Growth
in
use
of
tablets
will
surely
mean
the
emergence
of
a
whole
new
type
of
retail
behaviour.
But
what
of
educa6on,
or
health,
or
the
wri_en
word?
It
all
comes
back
to
understanding
the
core
values
of
the
screens
and
what
makes
each
of
them
dis6nct.
21
22. The
screen
with
arguably
the
most
enduring
values
is
the
living
room
screen.
It
doesn’t
really
ma_er
if
the
TV
screen
has
a
hard
drive,
a
return
path,
a
new
input
device.
What
ma_ers
is
that
it’s
a
screen
in
the
living
room,
consumed
while
people
are
si?ng
on
their
sofas
in
a
par6cular
mode
of
consump6on.
With
the
advent
of
IPTV
and
connected
TV
services,
it’s
temp6ng
to
talk
very
excitedly
to
consumers
using
terms
like
‘internet
enabled’
or
‘surfing’
or
to
tell
them
that
they
can
connect
to
their
Facebook
friends
and
Twi_er
followers
through
their
TV
screen.
Unfortunately
this
scares
the
shit
out
of
them.
Why?
As
our
ethnographic
work
in
livings
rooms
has
constantly
shown,
the
living
room
is
a
place
for
real
(rather
than
virtual)
social
networks,
it’s
a
safe
place
where
there
are
no
prying
fraudsters
or
paedophiles,
and
where
technology
does
not
crash
or
require
a
plugin
or
an
an6virus
update.
Any
marketers
who
challenge
this
sense
of
living
room
security
by
using
words
like
“internet”
do
so
at
their
peril.
But
one
thing
is
for
sure.
Mainstream
audiences
like
watching
their
telly
through
their
telly.
Of
course
PC
VOD
has
been
a
big
success.
And
consumers
feel
empowered
and
excited
by
the
simple
idea
that
they
can
watch
what
they
want,
when
they
want
it.
But
the
big
user
figures
hide
the
fact
that
most
consumers
don’t
watch
PC
VOD
that
ofen,
or
explore
it
beyond
seeking
out
the
programme
they
missed
last
night.
Our
research
has
always
suggested
that
the
biggest
barrier
to
wider
and
more
frequent
use
of
VOD
is
the
screen.
Put
it
on
TV,
and
VOD
takes
off
–
as
the
likes
of
Virgin
Media
have
demonstrated.
22
23. I’ll
leave
you
to
debate
who’s
going
to
‘own’
this,
but
here’s
what
we
know
about
mainstream
audiences.
(See
above)
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐
TV
interfaces
rarely
reflected
this
un6l
now.
They
categorised
content
along
distribu6on
lines:
broadcast,
hard
disk,
“video
on
demand”,
typically
all
in
different
places.
So
it’s
very
interes6ng
to
see
Virgin
Media’s
new
TiVo
box
and
the
eventual
YouView
product
offering
a
far
more
integrated
gateway
to
content.
Which
brings
us
to
our
next
sec6on….
23
25. Content
is
s6ll
king.
In
fact
consumers
have
access
to
a
greater
range
of
quality
video
and
audio
content
than
at
any
6me
before.
But
increased
choice
also
brings
problems,
and
we
regularly
encounter
consumers
experiencing
the
so-‐called
paradox
of
choice
(i.e.
the
more
stuff
that’s
available
to
me,
the
less
I
can
find
something
I
want
to
watch.)
So,
‘findability’
is
now
one
of
the
services
to
which
consumers
a_ach
the
greatest
value.
It’s
easy
to
imagine
that
Google
already
does
this
job
perfectly
well,
but
mainstream
audiences
are
generally
horrified
by
the
idea
that
the
future
EPG
could
resemble
a
big
search
box.
A
decade
afer
Amazon
launched
intelligent
recommenda6on,
this
service
is
s6ll
felt
by
by
consumers
to
have
no
real
equal
in
audio
and
video
programmes.
(A
couple
of
years
ago,
Neblix
went
as
far
as
to
award
a
million
dollar
prize
to
the
creator
of
a
recommenda6on
algorithm
that
could
increase
the
accuracy
of
their
recommenda6ons.)
If
ever
there
was
an
area
of
technology
where
consumers
feel
they
are
ahead
of
providers,
this
is
it.
And
there
are
s6ll
a
remarkable
number
of
barriers
to
mainstream
consumers
finding
the
right
stuff
to
watch
at
a
6me
that
suits
them.
RIGHTS:
Not
so
much
rights
per
se,
but
the
ostensibly
arbitrary
way
in
which
they
are
applied.
While
content
owners
fight
to
protect
their
tradi6onal
revenue
streams,
they
may
be
pushing
otherwise
law-‐
abiding
audiences
towards
illegal
providers.
25
26. We’ve
talked
a
lot
about
the
enduring
values
of
the
living
room
and
the
living
room
screen.
But
no-‐one
can
deny
that
there
has
been
a
major
shif
in
the
way
that
some
consumers
watch
TV.
With
the
gradual
creep
of
mobiles,
laptops
and
now
tablets
into
the
living
room,
more
and
more
viewers
are
connected
to
others
while
watching
TV,
or
interac6ng
with
the
originators
or
stars
of
the
programmes
they
watch.
26
27. A
lot
of
dual
screen
ac6vity
is
taking
place
in
the
living
room.
(See
examples
above)
27
28. And
increasingly
viewers
are
engaging
with
the
shows
they
watch,
either
directly
or
indirectly.
(Stats
above.)
28
29.
Tablets,
as
they
become
a
more
familiar
site
in
living
rooms,
are
likely
to
fuel
a
further
increase
in
dual
screen
behaviour,
as
they
are
more
socially
acceptable
than
laptops
in
a
shared
viewing
environment;
easier
to
spontaneously
pick
up;
more
comfortable
to
sit
with;
easier
to
share.
And
connected
TV
experiences,
whether
delivered
through
Xbox
Live,
YouView,
or
internet-‐enabled
TVs,
will
enhance
broadcast
content,
and
enable
audience
interac6ons
in
ways
that
the
red
bu_on
has
barely
explored.
But
interac6ng
with
the
TV
is
not
new.
From
the
first
phone-‐ins
in
the
1960s,
to
email
interac6on
in
the
90s,
to
red
bu_on
interac6vity
before
the
turn
of
the
millennium,
the
same
rule
applies
now
as
it
has
for
many
years:
The
best
and
most
successful
services
will
be
those
that
fulfil
exis6ng
viewer
needs
be_er
–
whether
it’s
shou6ng
at
contestants
on
the
Appren6ce,
guessing
the
answers
in
game
shows,
or
scrabbling
to
find
a
pen
and
paper
to
write
down
a
recipe,
there’s
nothing
new
about
interac6on
with
the
TV.
But
in
the
next
few
years
we’ll
see
it
evolve
in
fascina6ng
new
ways.
29
30. We’ve
talked
about
the
core
values
that
determine
the
success
of
failure
of
services
on
different
screens.
We’ve
looked
at
the
opportuni6es
to
add
real
consumer
value
by
helping
people
to
find
more
of
the
stuff
they
like.
And
we’ve
looked
at
the
poten6al
for
interac6on
with
the
TV
screen.
But
all
of
this
is
underpinned
by
two
recurrent
golden
rules….
30
31. Thousands
of
column
inches
have
been
wri_en
in
the
past
fortnight
about
the
things
we
can
learn
from
Steve
Jobs,
and
I
certainly
won’t
be
the
only
person
to
reference
him
today.
And
it’s
slightly
ironic
for
me
to
be
referencing
a
man
who
was
vehemently
opposed
to
consumer
research.
But
Steve
Jobs
has
taught
everyone
that
the
connected
services
that
gain
real
mainstream
support
are
those
that
deliver
a
really
simple
and
intui6ve
user
experience.
And
then
you
need
to
tell
people
all
about
the
benefits
they
will
derive
from
using
it.
It’s
so
simple,
but
so
ofen
overlooked.
31
