Kiwi tech helps marque

Peugeot Australia is using Kiwi software that displays car adverts on smartphones and tablets at the same time its commercials are broadcast on TV. Auckland company Snakk Media has developed the advert-synching service after research showed a growing number of television viewers are surfing the web at the same time. Chief executive Mark Ryan says the Peugeot ads were initially being synched in New South Wales, but expects it will only be a matter of time before the same tactic is tried in this country. More than half of New Zealanders look at a mobile, tablet or computer at the same time as watching television in the evening, according to a survey released by TNS New Zealand in July. David Thomas, director of TNS, says advertisers will have to adapt. “The context in which we watch TV is rapidly changing. It isn’t just on the sofa at home with no other digital distractions around us. Brands will need to adopt a more integrated online approach to engage consumers. “There has been talk about syncing mobile ads with television commercials for some time and, as far as we are aware, the Peugeot campaign is the first example of multi-screening synchronisation technology in use in Australia or New Zealand.”