Mobile Distractions: Second Screen Use Reduces Sponsor Brand Recall

What is it about?

This study investigated the impact of "second screen" use (simultaneous mobile device usage) during televised sport consumption on sponsor brand awareness, applying Dual Coding Theory (DCT). DCT suggests that processing both visual and audio cues simultaneously (audiovisual) increases memory stability. Study 1 supported DCT, finding brand recall and recognition highest in audiovisual conditions. Study 2, which introduced second screen activity, demonstrated that while use of a second screen did not significantly affect brand recognition for audiovisual stimuli, it did significantly reduce brand recall. Brand recognition requires less cognitive effort than recall. This difficulty in retrieving stored brands suggests that the cognitively effortful second screen activity interferes with elaborative rehearsal—the process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory. Therefore, while viewers are not entirely distracted, second screen use reduces the ability to process and remember sponsor messaging integrated into the broadcast,.

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Photo by Valerion 4K Projector on Unsplash

Photo by Valerion 4K Projector on Unsplash