With only four weeks to go until the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, RadiumOne has published a report revealing that two-thirds of TV viewers in the UK (64%) will use an internet-connected device while watching the competitions unfold.  

Having surveyed 1000 users, the advertising platform has found that the most popular trends among those second-screening during the Olympics will be online activity unrelated to the games (53%), chatting and using instant messengers (31%) and browsing for related information, or using mobile to chat about what’s happening during the events (both 30%).

Seizing the right moments

The research has also highlighted the expected shift in viewers’ behaviours as compared to the way they watched the current Euro 2016 tournament. While the European football games were more of a social event and 39% of fans watched them at a pub, nearly all (97%) of the Olympics could be watched at home.

With viewers’ attention focused on the TV, as well as the expected high rates of second-screening, online advertisers will look to capitalise on “moment marketing” to the captive audience with high-relevance messaging.

The practice has been on the rise as the need for timely, relevant messages to be delivered to a specific audience segment grows.

RadiumOne’s UK managing director Craig Tuck believes advertisers will be able to reach the “viewers with a similar profile to the TV audience online during broadcasts” – impossible to do on TV as the events are streamed on the ad-free BBC.

Some moments will be more valuable to advertisers than others; Tuck pointed out the most popular broadcasts such as the opening and closing ceremonies, watched by 71% and 60% of Olympics viewers respectively, will matter most for merging online and TV activities.

“In addition to these ‘moments’, individual events are also a great opportunity to tie online ads to the athletes taking part. For example, Santander and Vitality Insurance can coordinate online ads with broadcasts of Jessica Ennis-Hill’s heptathlon events, who they sponsor, as could Puma and Virgin Media during Usain Bolt’s events,” he said.

The findings open up a number of opportunities for UK advertisers, and with an efficient second-screen strategy in place they will be able to make the most of the Olympics.