One out of five people watch videos on their smartphones while they watch television, according to the survey "Mobile Video Watchers Survey." Such a tendency also affects television viewing habits, with many TV viewers saying that they watch less television as they watch videos on smartphones. This trend also poses a new marketing problem for advertisers, who are worried about how to appeal to viewers while they focus on two different screens.

The survey was conducted in 24 countries by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), which operates in 42 countries across the world and aims for the development of digital advertising and the Internet. According to the survey, which examined the consumption of mobile videos globally, mobile screens are regularly used to watch long videos as opposed to popular belief. A total of 36 percent of the respondents said they watch videos that are at least five minutes-long on smartphones on a daily basis. The research disclosed that respondents even watch full-length movies or episodes of TV programs on smartphones. A large number of Internet users in all countries said their consumption of videos on smartphones is increasing year after year.

A solution for this situation may be to introduce customized mobile video advertisements. More than 80 percent of consumers say that such advertisements attract more attention than the ones with general content, indicating that advertisers should focus on tailor-made advertisements as they may miss some opportunities by adapting the same advertisements on mobile screens. Anna Bager, senior vice president and general manager of mobile and video at the IAB, said the fact that people use smartphones to watch long videos paves the way for brands to be a part of this striking mobile interaction.

Joe Laszlo, senior director of the mobile marketing center of excellence at IAB, said that such a phenomenon offers a great opportunity for advertisers who want to reach their target audience, considering that, eMarketer, a market research company in digital marketing, media and commerce, predicts that the number of tablet PC users will reach 1.5 billion around the world by 2019.