ACHIEVING DELICIOUSNESS

Adapting to an increasingly content-hungry world.

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Give your content digital decadence.

Your customers demand an endless feast of content on their televisions, laptops, tablets, and phones. But with so many devices and only so many seconds in a day, your consumers have become more finicky on what deserves their attention. If the content isn't worthy of their time, it won't pass the share test. You must adapt to satisfy their newly found appetites. But how?

We asked 12,000 consumers in six countries around the world to answer how they spend their day with their devices, what kinds of information they find interesting, and what qualities they want in a company delivering content.

They told us that they want authentic stories, honest content, and personalized interactions. In other words, the solution to picky eaters is easy: Give them chocolate.

Below, we share our findings and offer some suggestions on how to make scrumptious content that will melt in your audience's hearts, not in their phones.

Sweet Emotion

  • Engage audiences on every device.

    If you've ever been to an expensive chocolate tasting, you know that how you eat the chocolate is just as important as the chocolate itself. If you don't rub the chocolate to release the aroma or let it sit on your tongue long enough, you're not getting the whole experience.

    Of course, the how is important with your content, too. If you're not taking into account how people consume content—yours or somebody else's—you're not in control of their experience. For example, consumers don't engage on a single device or screen. They might use a laptop and a phone at the same time, or a television and a tablet to create their own multiscreen pairings. In fact, 83 percent of global consumers report that they use two or more devices simultaneously.

    devices are often used at the same time .

  • Understand TV and video viewing behavior.

    This multiscreen experience is nowhere as apparent as it is with TV and online video. Watching our favorite shows is no longer a single screen activity - or even about a physical TV - and viewers often watch while browsing a different device or texting a friend who's watching the same program. On average, 63 percent try to get their work done on a laptop while watching TV programming or streaming content, but the integration between screens is more powerful than a simple parallel relationship. Over a third of all people start online shopping after seeing a commercial. And nearly as many have visited a media site for a show while they were watching it.

    While Watching TV

    1_laptop
    0%
    Worked on laptop
    2_website
    0%
    Browsed the Internet
    3_texted
    0%
    Texted someone
    watching same TV show
    4_scrolled_list
    0%
    Scrolled a social media feed
    5_ecommerce
    0%
    Search or shopped
    after watching a commercial
    6_social_media
    0%
    Posted to social media
    7_tv
    0%
    Visited social media
    about the current show
    8_award
    0%
    Followed social media
    during an awards show or sports event
    9_celebrity
    0%
    Posted to a TV celebrity
    through social media
     
  • One experience. Many screens.

    Again, how your audience consumes your content matters. And by all accounts, your audience is not only using multiple screens, they're loving it. In each case, when presented with a positive or negative reaction, the majority of respondents chose the positive. For example, 81 percent of the time people felt entertained. And 76 percent claimed to feel productive while working on multiple screens.

    %Entertained
    %Bored
    %Productive
    %Overwhelmed
    %Focused
    %Distracted

EXPERIENCE BY DESIGN

  • Meaningful design decisions.

    Packaging matters. The best chocolate in the world might be passed over if it's in a plain paper wrapping. The same is true with your content and experiences - the design matters more than ever. You're creating apps to attract millions, so even the smallest design flaw can sink ships. So in our digital world, where your app is your ad, it's critical that the design is so intuitive that people don't even realize you're marketing to them.

  • Satisfaction guaranteed.

    For your content to be successful, know what consumers want. According to our research, there are five crucial areas for creating content that satisfies consumers. Companies must make sure content displays well, holds attention, appeals to customers' design sensibilities, personalizes their interests, and works across multiple devices.

    Importance of Viewing Experience

    1_phone
    %
    Displays well on device I'm using.
    2_eye
    %
    Holds my attention.
    3_design
    %
    Appeals to my design sensibilities (layout and photography).
    4_personalized
    %
    Personalizes my interests.
    5_devices
    %
    Works across multiple devices.
     
  • Design that differentiates.

    Remember, people want you to be authentic, and design is a huge part of that. Of course, as attention spans shrink, you might be tempted to think that your audience pays less attention. Our findings say otherwise: When pressed for time, 59 percent of global consumers crave beautiful design over simplicity.

    With Only 15 Minutes to Consume Content

    % Something
    Beautifully Designed
    % Something
    Simple and Plain

Sugar Rush

Give your content a unique flavor.

Exceptional chocolate is often described as “fruity” or “nutty.” These flavors don't come from additives but from the soil in which the cocoa beans grow. In a world saturated with content, successful brands are able to capture their own unique “flavor profile.” While a lot of this has to do with your brand identity, it again comes down to understanding your audience and how well you know what they love about you.

Consumers are searching for content that has a unique point of view. For example, 67 percent of consumers prefer when companies focus on what makes them authentic. Humor can often be a way for companies to show authenticity, but it doesn't work for everyone. Consumers also said that only 14 percent of company-created content is entertaining. So stick to what you do best. Your consumers will appreciate your authenticity.

  • %

    of consumers prefer companies
    to be authentic.

    Consumers Prefer When Companies

    Focus on communication

    %
    Select a few channels to communicate well.

    Are funny

    %
    Use humor to be relatable.

    Polish their content

    %
    Provide more polished, curated content.
     
  • Make it personal.

    Your audience expects you to know them. Consider the results of a recent Accenture survey, which found that 60 percent of customers want to receive real-time offers in stores, and 59 percent would like offers delivered while they are considering products online.

    So one of your biggest opportunities is to embrace the 54 percent of global users who prefer that their online experiences are personal rather than generic.

    prefer a personalized experience
    .
       

    Make it personal.

    Your audience expects you to know them. Consider the results of a recent Accenture survey, which found that 60 percent of customers want to receive real-time offers in stores, and 59 percent would like offers delivered while they are considering products online.

    So one of your biggest opportunities is to embrace the 54 percent of global users who prefer that their online experiences are personal rather than generic.

 

The right content for the right audience.

We keep saying it: Know your audience. Millennials have embraced their phones as their primary screen for consuming content, but the laptop and desktop are the preferred flavors for anyone over the age of 37. So when you're planning the creation of content, keep in mind that what works for one on mobile might not work for others on a PC.

Device Ranking by Daily Use

  Millennials Gen Xers Baby Boomers All Groups
1 Smartphone Laptop/Desktop Laptop/Desktop Laptop/Desktop
2 Laptop/Desktop Smartphone Smartphone Smartphone
3 Tablet Tablet Tablet Tablet
  • How Believe They Will Use Technology in the Future

     
    3 Years % % % %
    10 Years % % % %

A short attention span.

Remember, success comes from giving your audience what they want, and the experience of consuming your content is a huge part of that. We found, for example, when content is too long or load times are slow, consumers look elsewhere, a result that held true in all six countries.

Length and Load Time

Content was too long.
%
%
%
It takes too long to load.
%
%
%

Device Display

Experience would be improved on a bigger device.
%
%
%
Not displaying well on current device.
%
%
%
  • Stop Viewing
  • Switch Device
  • No Change
  • of users would switch devices or stop viewing altogether when coming across content issues .

Create Delicious Experiences.

Chocolate is an experience. No matter what kind you like, no matter how you eat it, you know there's more to every piece than simple taste. Your enjoyment is drawn from an entire web of connections and sensations, the sum of which creates an experience.

Your content is the same way, an experience. And if you want people to remember that experience, you need to take control of your content.

If you’re interested in more content like this, let us know.