A new study found that the pandemic has made television a bigger part of family life.

Research conducted for Yahoo and ad agency Publicis found that while people may have been isolated from friends and co-workers, they stuck together and gathered around glowing screens. 

The increased screen time at home created the opportunity for 64% of families to spend more time watching shows together and 49% are planning movie nights as a family.

Also: Future Today Study Highlights Family Co-Viewing on CTV

Families also spend more on TV buying hardware and content. The study found that 46% of family subscribed to new streaming services and 26% upgraded their internet services. Just 12% added new cable packages.

Kids got new gear to watch those services, with 47% getting tablets sooner than they would have had there been no pandemic, according to the survey, 36% getting new cell phones and 25% getting TV sets.

The screens in home also were used for kids to stay in touch with friends. Among the parents of children 12 to 17 years old, 44% said they encouraged kids to use devices to stay connected and 41% said they raised their kids’ screen time allowance. 

Parents reported behavior changes that marketers should be aware of, with 63% saying they’re doing more online shopping, 52% using apps to order takeout food and beverage, and 51% using store services such as pick up or home delivery. ■

Streaming is at an all-time high and viewers can’t get enough. Instead of just talking about the latest things we’re watching and how we wish we could travel or have what we see on TV, it’s now easier than ever to bring these coveted things from the screen to life in our real lives. Whether it’s wearing the white slip-on Vans from Squid Game, easily booking the honeymoon suite from White Lotus or snagging the latest baking gadgets from The Great British Bakeoff, the opportunities for content to commerce are endless for content creators, retailers and brands. Here are some key tips and tricks for content to commerce done right. 

Partner to Increase Customer Loyalty

With so many options for consumers to get things delivered to their doorstep, it’s now more important than ever for retailers to provide unique differentiators to keep customers loyal. Walmart’s new partnership with Netflix does just this. Shoppers don’t need to search the competition or niche sites to find branded goods; they can easily shop them in one transaction, while also handling their regular fill-in or stock-up needs. Where a marketplace like Amazon advances is by having all of the data related to what the shopper watches and what items they like to buy in one place, allowing them to truly target the shopper with personalized recommendations as they move throughout their journey within the Amazon ecosystem. Seek out partnerships that can create a more frictionless experience and fill gaps that your current offering cannot. 

Build Seamless Shopping Moments

The days of “regular” product placement and hoping it works are over. Now, content creators, retailers and brands must strategically develop monetization strategies that will motivate buyers. This isn’t new — Target was creating owned and partner shoppable content all the way back in 2014 for sitcom Cougar Town. It was great and a step in the right direction, but today’s tech enables a more seamless and targeted experience, where a purchase can be made in just a few clicks. Content creators aren’t limited to shows: As a brand, branded merchandise or access to special events are gold. With all of the consumer data available, loyal shoppers and superfans should be rewarded with first access. Work with a strategic partner to find content that fits with your established brand voice to create organic moments with ease. 

Recognize the Micro Moments 

Agility is key. While brands plan against key launches, holidays and macro moments, they also need to allow for flexibility to activate against micro moments — those unanticipated spikes in popularity that brands have not laid out in their marketing plans, like chess sets selling out in the wake of The Queen’s Gambit binge-watching. Brands must move quickly to capitalize on opportunities and ensure their supply chain is set up to deliver. Selling out on digital drop platforms that are meant to create a frenzy makes sense; selling out at a big retailer creates negative sentiment and customer frustration. Make sure your company has an agile “newsroom” approach to manage micro moments and potential booms in specific products or lines based on cultural trends.

Get Creative with Unlikely Pairings

Yes, pizza and Coca-Cola go together with Netflix, but what about Peloton and face masks? (Or heating pads for some of us!) What are the trends? What are people talking about or searching online? It can give you new ideas for partnerships that can open-up pathways to new consumers and channels (think store within a store, bundles, media placement in new places). One example is when Campbell’s partnered with Hallmark Channel to create “Joy Night In,” with activations spanning passive watching and active shopping moments, including a partnership with Walmart as well as a unique holiday programming guide, recipes, games and more.

Leverage CTV Commerce Solutions

There are a host of new inventory solutions that hold promise for marketers. In-program shopping allows products to contextually align with specific network programming and is directly integrated into streaming and linear content. Interactive/shoppable ads offer interactive or shoppable capabilities within standard ad pods. Native interactive ads are built into the connected device or CTV app experience and typically offer the ability to click into video or full-screen ads with further details. And of course live streaming commerce is on the rise and provides a live streaming channel or programming dedicated to product promotion — similar to HSN or QVC. These solutions are all readily available and can be accessed via networks, ad tech partners, streaming providers and electronics manufacturers, depending on the solution. Seek out the right partners to help build the right shopping experience for your audience.

Content-to-commerce activities will continue to grow and as technologies are fine-tuned, the experience will only become more seamless and targeted. Consumers are waiting to be intrigued. Capture them and delight them with the right item at the right moment. They love to feel special, so reward loyalty. Stay agile: seek opportunities and partnerships, but ensure you’re prepared. Find the right tech solutions and partners to take your commerce experiences to the next level. Tune in and watch your sales turn up! 

AOL and Publicis Groupe have inked an ad partnership for go90, Verizon’s new OTT mobile video offering.

The deal, they said, grants Publicis’ agencies and brand clients exclusive advertising inventory on go90 for three months beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, and extends non-exclusively to the third-quarter of 2016. Publicis will also have first access to data segmentation capabilities and new ad units “with full creative support from testing through launch,” and early access to Verizon and AOL data management platform targeting in the first quarter of 2016.

Publicis’ partners will also gain access to a new program from  AOL called Head Start that will provide insight on the look and feel of go90’s user experience as new features are rolled out.

They announced the agreement at AOL’s Future Front event in New York City, kicked off in tandem with Advertising Week 2015.

Go90 recently debuted as an invitation-only beta.Announced content partners include New Form Digital, UphoricTV, ESPN, Comedy Central, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTV, Spike, Food Network, TLC, Discovery Network, NFL Network, HGTV, BET, Investigation Discovery, AwesomenessTV, Collective Digital Studio, Defy, Vice, Maker Studios, Machinima, Fullscreen, StyleHaul, and Tastemade.

“Publicis has been an important advertising partner for AOL for many years, and we are excited to be working together once again to bring new branding opportunities to their customers, as well as relevant and valuable advertising experience to mobile users,” said AOL president Bob Lord, in a statement. “The coming together of premium, curated video in go90, richness in data and automation technology will enable their advertisers to drive conversations with millennial-centric audiences that are, more and more, tuning in through the machine in their pocket rather than in their living room.”

“There is a significant opportunity that sits at the intersection of mobile, video and Millennials, and go90 was developed specifically to connect marketers into this interchange that is quickly becoming the primary screen,” added John Nitti, chief investment officer for ZenithOptimedia, which helped Publicis Groupe lock up the deal. “The consumption shift is rapid and we are happy to be leveraging the lion’s share of this premium real estate on behalf of our clients to help drive their competitive edge.”

Verizon completed its acquisition of AOL in June.

Publicis Groupe offers a a range of services spanning digital (DigitasLBi, Razorfish, Rosetta, VivaKi, Nurun), advertising (BBH, Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi), public affairs, corporate communications and events (MSLGROUP),  and media strategy, planning and buying (Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia).