Following the recent news that Opera Mediaworks would be rebranding as AdColony, ExchangeWire caught up with Ryan Griffin, SVP, Strategy, AdColony (formerly Opera Mediaworks), to discuss his perspective on mobile as the new primetime for today's generation.

ExchangeWire: Is mobile consumption to blame for the decline in TV viewership?

Ryan Griffin: It would be all too easy to pin the decline in TV viewership solely on mobile. The assumption behind the 'shift to mobile' is that people are shifting their attention from the TV screen to the mobile device. We think if consumers are absorbed in one channel, they must be ignoring the other.

But it’s just not that simple. It used to be that 'more eyeballs' on one medium necessarily meant fewer on another, since there are only so many eyeballs, right? But the truth is, just as media consumption has become more fragmented across channels, and time-shifted across a 24-hour period and a 7-day week, so has the way that people absorb information, entertainment and, yes, advertising messages.

We’ve become accustomed to quick movement: going from one mobile app experience to another; watching a mobile video ad and tapping on the end card; looking back up at a TV screen. We interrupt ourselves, and wilfully so, every single day. Think about how many times you are 'interrupted' at work, but not by someone else – by your own volition.

We will certainly see TV viewership continue to decline; but it’s driven by a change in overall behaviour. Very few people sit and watch primetime TV anymore. Consumers now expect to access information and entertainment whenever they want, wherever they want. Primetime is now 'my time'; and if a publisher is not providing that level of customised delivery, then sure, they will slide into obscurity in the near term, and vanish in the long term.

But every company has the chance to observe these trends, innovate and adapt to meet consumers’ needs, and I believe that traditional media companies have the same opportunity as anyone else to serve their customers – and, therefore, retain them.

How are changing mobile consumption trends impacting how we watch TV?

Ryan Griffin, SVP, Strategy, AdColony

This can be answered by just looking at the verb in the question. We 'watch' TV. But do we 'watch' our phone? Not really, at least not yet. We 'use' our phone.

Think about something else that you watch versus use. Say you go to a football game, or are watching one on TV. You’re watching it, right? But are you really fully into the game itself, paying attention to every detail? Unless it’s a nail-biter, probably not. You’re chatting with the people next to you, you’re getting up to go get snacks, and, of course, you’re periodically checking your phone. And you’re not alone: nearly 6-in-10 consumers (57%) are using their smartphone while watching TV, and, of course, if you narrow down to younger demographics, that percentage goes up.

Witnessing someone use their smartphone or tablet is like seeing real use in action. They have a purpose – or, more likely, several – in mind, and they are deeply immersed in the experience itself. Have you ever distracted someone from their phone and they look up, their eyes a little fuzzy as they try to quickly adjust from the digital world they were just in, into the real world?

That’s the effect of mobile: it’s purposeful and immersive, and that is why people are spending nearly two hours (1:39) a day consuming media on their phones – a 60% jump from the previous year, according to Nielsen (via Ad Age).

What should primetime look like in a world of mobile and increasingly more connected devices? Is primetime TV advertising still effective?

I think we need to first look at how primetime content has evolved. TV shows now are more than 30- or 60-minute serialised experiences that are 'brought to you by' Network X or Brand Y; they are their own brands, and they live beyond telecasts. The Walking Dead got more fan engagement on social and digital platforms when it was out of season than broadcast shows get on the night of their season premieres. And some Netflix originals like Stranger Things, that have never seen a live telecast, have managed to attract a cult following and whole digital water-cooler conversation that even American Idol could never achieve without active promotion from the network.

Media and entertainment have truly become a 24/7 experience; and it is not just limited to one screen and one block of time. But this is not something to be scared of – not at all. Rather, it’s the most exciting time to be in advertising, because just as content is breaking the barriers and going beyond those narrow limits, advertising can, too.

As consumers shift their attention to multiple connected devices, there is an explosion of touchpoints, many of which are well-suited for ad messaging. Publishers who are monetising outside of traditional TV viewing with methods like native advertising, mobile games, and integrated content experiences are not just opening up the doors for brands, but they are creating different doors to choose from. They are creating 'today’s primetime', that is, premium media environments with a large, attentive audience.

This opens up an enormous opportunity for advertisers of all kinds. For those who never found primetime TV ads to be accessible or effective, they now have a way of reaching that publisher’s audience. And for the brands that still buy primetime TV, now they have multiple ways of supplementing their TV buy and supporting their creative campaigns with a mobile buy in today’s primetime.

Is mobile ready for more advertising investment? And how should brands address their customers, as they move into this environment?

It is. And it’s not just because advertisers are clearly over-indexed to legacy media like print and TV. As Mary Meeker pointed out last year, mobile time spent accounts for 25% of time spent, but receives just 12% of ad spend; so there is a gap which represents a USD$22bn (£15bn) opportunity.

It’s because mobile advertising technology can provide marketers with a deeper understanding of the user and what environment they are in, which provides a stupendous level of targeting. Beyond that contextual advantage, mobile also offers a palette for true creativity that no other medium can match. Between the custom incorporation of hardware-level effects, such as haptics, gyroscope, and camera integration (e.g., selfie ad units) and the level of interactivity that mobile software offers is unparalleled. We’ve seen some truly stunning creative executions that have 'awakened' users and resulted in levels of engagement that exceeded everyone’s expectations – but I believe we’re still just at the beginning of what’s possible.

It used to be that mobile was an experiment, or a supplement, something that buyers would just throw in for good measure. Now, if you’re in the media world and you don’t have a dedicated strategy and significant budget for mobile, you’re simply not reaching or providing value to consumers so that they become customers.

TV is still fundamentally critical for so many brands. For certain categories, like retail, auto, CPG, and credit cards, telecom and big pharma, they continue to see great ROI on national brand campaigns, where TV is doing most of the heavy lifting.

But mobile, compared to TV – or any other medium, for that matter – is just so personal. It’s with us all day long. It’s our news hub, our games library, our source of entertainment, and our social portal. What we see on our mobile devices leaves a deeper impression on our psyche because it’s so intrinsically tied to our brains, and our hearts, too. Ever see someone lose their phone? They’re distraught because it’s their lifeline.

Brands using mobile to address potential customers have the chance to forge an emotional connection in a place that is already very full of them – a truly unique and differentiated opportunity, for a marketer.