Mobile marketing and the opportunities it presents are big and just keep getting bigger.  With the Olympics coming up, many smart marketers are thinking about the opportunities for mobile marketing, 24/7 during the games and with the emergence of multi-screen connected viewers, the opportunities are huge.

Pew Research recently released a study that shows growth of mobile in another place, in front of the television. They are calling it the “connected viewer” and state that 52% of adult cell phone owners use their phones while watching television. The study asked questions based on actions taken in a 30 day period prior to the April 2012 survey.

This is changing what was once a solitary one way entertainment source into a multi-screen interactive opportunity. It can be viewed as an opportunity by those who can take advantage of it or a serious problem for those marketers who are unable to adapt. The people interviewed said that they use their phone for engagement, diversion or interaction with other people when watching television.

• 38% like to keep themselves occupied during commercials. If I am producing or paying for those commercials, this is a big problem. The commercials need to be better than whatever is on the phone, or people will not be paying attention.
• 22% of phone users like to check facts or look up information regarding something they saw on a television show. This presents some great opportunities for show producers to include social and site specific information that could help propel the show and raise the level of interaction of the audience with them instead of wherever they would be looking otherwise.
• 6% of cell owners like to vote for reality show contestants. This is an opportunity that could be used not just for games, but also to determine what an audience wants in the show. Think about an audience feedback loop that almost guarantees the success of a show.

Some additional findings of the study show that 35% of cell users who are watching tv visit a website mentioned on the show (which is 20% of all cell owners). Also, 20% like to see what others are saying about a show while they are watching and 19% like to post their own comments. See where this is going? Mobile multi-screen interactivity can drive the success of television shows and websites. Additionally, 29% of cell owners have exchanged a text message with someone else who was watching the same program in a different location.

Young adults are leading the way as many would expect with 81% of mobile owners ages 18-24 taking part in multi-screen use. So mobile marketers take note, your audience is in front of the television communicating, researching and surfing while commercials are on. Are you appealing to them in a way that makes sense?

Check out some additional detail on who and how is surfing mobile while watching TV below.