Tweeting During Prime-Time Rises; Brands Try to Tap Into Social TV Audiences

TV and tweeting goes hand in hand. Nearly half of smartphone or tablet owners 18 to 24 are frequently discussing TV shows on social networks while watching TV, according to Futurescape.

That's why agencies like Digitas are devoting more resources to exploring how brands can participate in the new field of social TV and connected TV, said Ashley Swartz, SVP/Leader iTV Practice at Digitas, during a recent interview with Beet.TV.

About 40% of tweets during prime-time hours are about television, underscoring the tremendous opportunities for brands and TV shows to connect with those engaged viewers, she said. "The biggest challenge for brands is to create a value exchange with the consumer that makes the experience richer but also provides...scale and reach," she said.

The plethora of devices and platforms from Boxee to Samsung and LG connected TVs can make it challenging for advertisers to determine how to begin a connected TV social-centric campaign. But most of those applications do tap into the social graph and are thus primed to take advantage of the connection between social media and TV.

Research firm Informa has said that connected TV sales were slated to surpass 52 million units in 2011.

This segment was taped at a two-hour session at the Manhattan offices of Livestream.

Daisy Whitney