Turn on, tune in and download

In a month when the BBC has partnered with Nintendo to launch its TV catch-up service iPlayer through the Wii console and when MySpace follows rival Bebo into commissioning original drama content, video is a hot topic.

With such deals being inked at an ever-increasing rate and user generated content site YouTube's being ranked as the number one social media site, it is tempting to think the world is full of "techno-geeks" forever watching videos on their iPhones or constantly downloading content to their PCs.

However, global research from Microsoft and brand and insight consultancy Sparkler - the Three Screens Study, to be published in full next month - reveals that techno-geeks are merely at the fringe. The behaviour of the consumer mainstream is far more advanced than marketers might think.

The project focused on the consumption of video content on PCs, laptops and mobile devices in order to better understand cross-screen video habits.

Extensive qualitative research was undertaken in late 2007 in the UK, France, Spain, Sweden and Brazil. The study analysed the behaviour of people who are actively involved in consuming content across different screens. These people were from a range of demographic groups, aged between 18 and 54. The study also divided respondents into two groups - those who are classified as "advanced" (the minority), and those it labels the "progressive mainstream".

The findings suggest that video content is following music into the realms of full portability and multiple formats. Internet video consumption has more than doubled in just over a year, from 31% having experienced video online in September 2006, to 82% in January 2008. Much of what is fresh in this newly exploded world is short-form and user-generated content (UGC). YouTube has been at the vanguard of this charge, with extraordinary numbers of people viewing clips there.

Increasingly, different types of content are cutting across all kinds of screens, with long-form professional work sitting alongside short-form UGC. It is no longer a case of proper television programmes on television and home-made skits on laptops. Among the most prevalent behaviours uncovered was the viewing of high-quality TV drama (think Sopranos, Heroes and their ilk) on PC screens by all ages. From May 2007 to March 2008, a 31% increase in video consumption online was seen for both the 15- to 34-year-old age bracket and the 35 and overs.

The research, which took in five very different markets, shows that rather than techno-literate types downloading from illegal sites, these people are just as likely to be middle-aged housewives, eager for their Coronation Street fix. In fact, it is within the family home, where there are often more screens than people (and competing screens at that) where the most interesting behaviours are emerging. The appearance of big brands such as BBC and ITV in the online video world has been fundamental in fuelling mainstream viewing across screens.

There are big opportunities for brands in this new online space. On TV, consumer behaviour is well established - people are used to having control and know exactly where to go for content and how to manage it. On other platforms, behaviour is less ingrained. The mainstream still needs clear signposts and mechanisms from trusted brands to help them navigate and feel comfortable.

Beyond helping people navigate, there are further opportunities for brands to form new relationships with consumers. As Marc Bresseel, Microsoft general manager of sales for EMEA, says: "As the consumption of content moves across and between screens, the opportunity to engage with audiences in new and more creative ways is ever greater."

The temptation is to suggest that we are moving towards a "Martini" world of any screen, any content and at any time. Yet that, at least for the moment, is not happening. For one thing, context matters. Whether you are at home, on the bus, at work, with people around or not, engaged in other activities - all this will impact what screen is chosen and what content is chosen, if at all.

More obviously, the research concludes that different content is seen to be more suitable for certain screens. While news, music, football goals and the like can cut across the screens, other content can struggle to make the leap. A big screen in the living room remains the most desirable option for watching films at home, for example.

Although it is possible to download movies onto mobile phones, the experience is hardly ideal. In fact, 43% of people claim to have watched a full-length TV show on a PC, whereas only 6% of people had watched one on a mobile device. However, some mobile devices like the PSP and iPod do have associations with long-form, professional content - due to higher quality screens and sound. In the future, needs for mobile video will likely emerge from the development of new narrative forms by the industry.

Finally, the project reveals that people are sending video because it is a reason to communicate; it can carry a message and generate a conversation. Witness the number of posts on Facebook pages that are snippets of video rather than written messages. In this sense, the medium is the message. For brands this represents the opportunity to become the bedrock of a conversation by creating or sponsoring content that can be easily and willingly passed around.

Nick davis, associate partner at Sparkler, contributed to this week's Trends Insight