Temptation reins! From Yahoo to Shazam to Viggle, it was another great week for second screen applications, those programs you use on a mobile device or tablet while watching TV.
This latest alliance between Yahoo and ABC is trying to reap the benefits of the growing trend of multi-screen use, or people who spend time on their phones or iPads while the TV is on. An IntoNow app allows users to “tag” content by pointing a mobile device at the screen, which kick-starts a version of interactive TV.
Emily VanCamp is shown in a scene from the May 9, 2012, episode of the ABC series, “Revenge.” (Credit: AP/ABC)
Using Yahoo’s IntoNow system, ABC viewers who tag either show (on May 16th or 23rd) from the app on their smartphone or tablet can enter a sweepstakes to win a week-long getaway to a mansion in the Hampton around the July 4 holiday.
For this season’s final two ‘Revenge’ episodes, viewers can win a week-long vacation in the Hamptons ‘and live the life of a Grayson for a week’,–where the show is set–in a promotion backed by Lexus.
“We know the finale is going to be huge,” said Victoria Chew, vice president of strategic marketing partnerships at ABC. “We know the story lines are going to matters that the fans are going to buzz about and talk about when it is over. We wanted to encourage fans to watch it live.”
While they are there, those users can also use IntoNow’s other features–see Revenge trivia, engage in conversations with friends and share what they are watching to their social media sites Facebook and Twitter feeds and accessing videos and other information related to the show.
“The world changed considerably with all the smartphones and tablets,” said Adam Cahan, vice president of ‘IntoNow’. “People are multitasking while they are watching TV. We came up with a way of connecting that community.”
Well, there is a caveat with IntoNow, you have to been watching to participate–no faking it–due to IntoNow’s audio recognition technology. You may recall last year when IntoNow presented free Pepsi Max drinks to viewers who tagged MLB games, and today’s sweepstakes is a natural next step to reward viewers for watching linear TV.
Apart from features, IntoNow’s functionality can also be engaged to allow viewers to point a device at the screen to identify programming, including particular episodes. The company’s database is compiling an index from over 160 channels.
By the way, it is safe to say we can expect more collaboration between IntoNow and ABC. Pepsi was the first advertiser to take advantage of IntoNow.