A growing fear among television advertisers is that distracted viewers – those multitaskers using smartphones, laptops and tablets while watching TV – are becoming less susceptible to advertisers’ messages.

Or are they? Can a compelling television commercial lead corner-of-the-eye viewers to make online purchases?

Results of a new study – by researchers at Cornell, Harvard and the University of California, San Diego – should reassure the advertising industry. And findings could provide guidance for how to effectively reach multitasking viewers.

“We found a significant number of multitaskers being prompted by TV ads – then searching or going directly to the product’s website, frequently before the TV show resumed,” reports Jura Liaukonyte, the Dake Family Assistant Professor in Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

Read the full article on Cornell University’s website.