Ahead of the 2014 PromaxBDA Europe Conference in London at the end of March, we asked members of our Europe Awards Jury for their take on the biggest trends sweeping the continent’s marketing and promotion industry. Here’s what they had to say:

1. Viewers Want TV Everywhere and TV Anywhere

Everything. Everywhere. And whenever they please, thank you very much. That’s a refrain we heard over and over from our jury members.

“The trend to snack on TV on smartphones, tablets and connected TVs continues with successful TV Everywhere launches all over Europe,” said Leo Noordergraff, executive producer at Chellomedia.

One of the standouts is Portugal’s Meo Go app, which has been downloaded more than 600,000 times by iOS and Android users, and offers all Meo customers live TV streaming, premium channels, and gestural remote control. Virgin Media’s own TV Anywhere app is also popular, offering more than 90 live streaming channels and remote management of recordings.

Increasing consumer adoption of smartphones and tablets is only going to drive up demand for TV Everywhere offerings, and pay TV operators have quickly realized over the past year that audiences view the ability watch on any screen they want as part and parcel of their package, and not a privilege.

But the proliferation of new platforms and services is adding new challenges to Europe’s marketing and promotion professionals.

“An on-air promotion department isn’t restricted to one linear TV platform anymore,” said Ludo Luykx, head of On-Air at Belgium’s Telnet. “Getting all these platforms right and in sync becomes a real burden.”

2. Second Screen Offerings Seen as a Plus

Viewers are still primarily focused on the show they’re watching. But Second Screen engagement can help drive tune-in and viewer retention.

Luykx singled out the popularity of international format live shows and sports programming with (primarily Twitter) social media interaction on a Second Screen.

And apps that allow viewers to insert themselves into the program—rather than just comment on it—are the next front for Second Screen engagement

“‘The Voice of Holland’ paved the way with its successful play-along app that gives viewers the power to affect the results in real time,” said Chellomedia’s Noordergraff.

Zeebox has taken over as the U.K.‘s real-time water cooler and TV Guide, providing second-by-second contextual information as well as a forum for instant interaction with other viewers of the shows on your television.

3. TV Marketers Who Don’t Get Social Media are Being Left Behind

2013 saw a succession of outside-the-box social media campaigns that have raised the bar across the continent for TV marketers. And campaigns have moved beyond the traditional platforms of Facebook and Twitter.

Red Bee’s campaign for the 50th anniversary of “Doctor Who” heavily leveraged Tumblr and other photo-sharing sites, with the show becoming the most trended topic on Tumblr in the history of the platform.

Endemol was also repeatedly cited as a leader in the creative use of social media to market programming.

“Competitive reality is one of the genres that play best to social TV engagement, and ‘The Voice’ is leading the segment in terms of strategy,” Noordegraff said. “It is the exact same strategy in America/UK/Holland/France/Germany and has been incredibly successful for the brand.”

Social media has also exploded as a platform for extending conversations before, during and after a broadcast.

4. Simple Is In

“In design terms, the clear trend away from 3D logos and heavily bevelled type has gathered pace,” said Red Bee Media’s Executive Creative Director Charlie Mawer.

Carolina Godayol Disario of Historia, Bio, and Crimen & Investigacion agreed, adding that simplicity and emotion seemed to be the general standards.

“The economic recession and tough times faced by most of the people in this market has changed completely the communication tactics,” she said.

5. The Industry’s Headaches Don’t Bother Viewers

Not a conference goes by without another round of hand-wringing over how the TV industry will make money from time-shifting, or do battle with over-the-top services while trying to stave off cord-cutting.

But those are the industry’s problems. Viewers in Europe, frankly, don’t give a damn.

“The TV customer isn’t passive anymore. He wants to know when and where he can see his favorite show or movie,” said Luykx. “He doesn’t understand the problematics of movie or series rights and wants everything, anywhere, immediately. It’s not always easy to explain.”

And just like their peers Stateside, European marketing teams are finding it more difficult to maintain brand identity in the face of competing platforms and services.

“With the concurrence of TV and entertainment platforms, it becomes increasingly hard to claim content for your brand—a necessity for loyalty,” Luykx added. “People are interested in content. They don’t care where or how they get it.”

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