What is Branded Content? Q&A with Ogilvy's Abby Marks

Abby Marks, Director of Strategy and Operations for Ogilvy Entertainment entered the creative world of advertising via management consulting. In this fascinating interview, Abby talks about the process of creating branded entertainment, a comparison between branded and native formats, global applications with clients, examples of success and predictions for the media landscape. She also offers great insight into Ogilvy’s recent BEAM whitepaper on branded entertainment, which can be accessed at this link: Ogilvy.com/beam.  

The five videos in this interview are as follows:

Subject                                                 Length (in minutes)

Background                                                      (4:51)

Branded and Native                                        (5:27)

Measurement                                                  (2:10)

Processes and Success                                  (4:17)

Predictions and BEAM                                   (6:41)

 

Charlene Weisler interviews Ogilvy Director Abby Marks about her background in this 4:51 minute video:

Ogilvy Director Abby Marks talks to Charlene Weisler about Branded and Native advertising in this 5:27 minute video:

What about measurement of Branded content? Abby Marks talks to Charlene Weisler about the various approaches in this 2:10 minute video: 

Charlene Weisler interviews Ogilvy Director Abby Marks about process and the successful branded content campaign in this 4:17 minute video:

In this final video Abby Marks offers some predictions about the media landscape and talks about her company's BEAM project to Charlene Weisler in this 6:41 minute video: 

The Abnormals - A New Sitcom From Joe Weisler

I am a proud aunt. My nephew Joseph Weisler has been writing scripts since he was 12 years old. And now, as a freshman at Florida Atlantic University, he has been able to realize his dream of bringing his scripts to life, producing his sitcom "The Abnormals" on OwlTV which is part of FAU's TV production department. It has been a wonderful effort by a cast of talented students and some professional actors.

A promo video and the first two episodes are currently live on OwlTV Youtube Channel. I have embedded the three videos here:

 

 

Episode 1:

 

 

Episdoe 2:

Now the question is, how does a college student get his work wider distribution, professional input and a possible internship? Please email me via my blog with any suggestions.
Thank you.

PSFK Looks At The Future of Everything

I think of PSFK's annual NYC conference as Next Gen TED in that it brings to the stage a series of wickedly smart designers, marketers, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, many of whom you have never heard of. PSFK, a design / research firm and think tank headed by visionary Pier Fawkes, offers cutting edge insights that span disciplines. Speakers range from climbing wall developers to wearable technology designers to food designers with titles like New Worlds Creator (for toy apps) and Revisionary (for clothing designer).

Take for example food designer Emile Baltz, a food designer whose work crafting designer cocktails (that you lick off of a plate) for the Museum of Sex takes one form and function and transcends it into another experience altogether.  Or Billie Whitehouse whose FUNDAWEAR through her company We:eX connects physical experiences to your clothing such as vibrating underwear for those who … ahem … want to remain intimate in a long distance relationship.  

"What does this have to do with media?" you might be thinking. Well, everything. Media is experiencing an unprecedented transformation, crossing platforms, expanding its engagement with viewers, searching for unfathomable amounts of new compelling content and generally stretching the boundaries of what it is and what we do. So a company like We:eX that enables us to enhance the sports fans viewing experience with tech infused clothing that signals us when the athlete is excited, nervous or elated, helps us more deeply engage with the content as if we are there right in the middle of the game. It is part of our mission in media – to expand the boundaries of the viewing experience, making it more intimate, immersive and creating more connections - literally and physically in this case!

Turn the Media Paradigm Backward and Upside Down

Whether you are a print publication transitioning to Tablets or a Content Creator seeking funding, PSFK believes that there are new approaches that make all challenges easier and more successful.

Bjorn Jeffery of Toca Boca tackled the print to digital challenge that many magazines are facing today. He reimagined the idea of a magazine by starting with the digital concept and making a magazine experience rather than vice versa; adapting a magazine to a digital platform. His Popular Science Magazine was one of the first to migrate to the tablet with a video component. Getting in early and turning the challenge backward led to a successful result.

His work with Sesame Street turned the concept of tablet ownership upside down. Coining the phrase the “pass back effect”, Jeffrey realized that parents were taking tablets and passing it back in the car to the children in the backseat. “It was a radical notion at the time where we increased childrens’ ownership of the device” and created content that spoke directly to the child rather than through the parent.

Rodrigo Niño of Prodigy Networks believes that “the crowd has the power to make change” and has put the power of the crowd into real estate, funding multi-million dollar skyscrapers in Colombia via crowd funding. So I am thinking, if millions of dollars can be raised for a real estate project, why can’t the crowd fund television series for those networks with the vision but maybe not the budget for ambitious programming projects?

YouTube’s Kevin Allocca upended some preconceived notions about what makes a video popular on his service. Providing social and authentic experiences helps drive viewership. But what constitutes an engaging experience differs across locales. Example: A 4 minute video of elks crossing a road garnered over 1,000,000 views … mostly in the western US. “Tech makes global possible but it is still local.” It is impossible to predict if a video will be popular or hit the cultural zeitgeist but, according to Allocca, one thing is certain; “knowing how video works is to understand how creativity works.”

We in the media are in the business of implementing creativity but we may be trapped at our desks doing routine tasks day after day. One day spent in the presence of creative iconoclasts can help us look at the whole world with fresh eyes.

CIMM Presents Cross Platform Measurement Solutions

There has never been a better time to explore solutions for cross platform measurement. New technological advancements have been embraced by content consumers and now in 2014, we mark the first year that we have cross platform unduplicated reach and frequency measurement solutions currently being tested. We are not at the currency stage yet but we are certainly taking the first steps.

Credit for these advancements includes measurement companies such as comScore and Nielsen, efforts from networks like ESPN, NBCU and Turner and the industry-wide effort of The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) which has focused on this issue since its inception in 2009.

CIMM’s Managing Director Jane Clarke noted, “The progress towards an open standard of cross-platform measurement made in 2014 is truly encouraging. It’s wonderful to see the industry testing, enhancing and ultimately embracing these initiatives and that CIMM’s mandate of cultivating projects that advance the discussion around these technologies has been fruitful thus far.  I expect the progress to continue and am eager to see a viable cross-platform measurement solution in the near future.” 

I moderated a panel at the recent CIMM Cross-Platform Media Measurement Summit that explored four differentiated cross platform measurement solutions:

Ø  CIMM and ESPN’s work with comScore’s Project Blueprint which brings five separate data sources together to measure simultaneous usage and de-duped reach for video, audio and text. Phase 1 was pioneered by partner ESPN and phase 2 in partnership with CIMM.  The next step is to expand Blueprint from custom study to a standard practice.

Ø  NBCU’s single source approach for measuring the recent Olympics at Sochi with a Day in the Life for three target segmentations – Millennials, Women and Alphaboomers.

Ø  CNN’s All Screen study uses custom data integration linking Nielsen cross platform data and internal digital data.

Ø  Nielsen’s roadmap for cross platform ratings that addresses the what, why, and how of extending their Ratings service to measure across platforms. 

These four solutions all approach cross platform measurement from different angles using different methodologies and data sources. And yet each approach offers a unique and illuminating way to combine data across platforms. A chart which compares all these solutions can be found on the CIMM website.

Some are poised for a fuller industry roll-out such as Project Blueprint. Blueprint sponsor Artie Bulgrin of ESPN says “We have a working measurement system that now needs to be vetted and tested by the industry, first by CIMM members as part of the phase two test.  Blueprint will evolve further and ultimately the MRC will review. Right now the first priority is establishing industry consensus.”

ComScore’s Manish Bhatia adds, “Blueprint’s cross-platform media consumption view combines single source, passive, persons' level measurement system with census level.  We are pleased with the support and guidance from the industry and look to provide fast, relevant insights on an ongoing, syndicated basis.” 

Other solutions like NBCU’s Day In the Life approach may not be easily scalable but it offers an ethnographic look at viewer behavior. Others, using Nielsen’s ratings, can help companies track back to industry standard metrics. Such is CNN All Screen where Turner’s Howard Shimmel anticipates that “Nielsen offers a syndicated service that combines TV in home and out of home data, so the data gets absorbed in agency buying and planning tools.” Nielsen has its own set of priorities according to Kelly Abcarian. "Right now our key areas of focus are on supporting all the clients implementing the Nielsen SDK with their video players to enable cross platform GRPs, and engaging the MRC on key accreditation efforts for these important expansions of our already accredited solutions."

What are the next steps that need to be taken for cross platform measurement, taking into account ingrained industry challenges? “My dream would be for all relevant parties to meet with CIMM to identify the best solution for the industry. No one provider can solve what the market needs, and it will only be through cooperation of various providers, “says Shimmel who adds, “The biggest challenge is companies who believe they can provide an integrated solution themselves.”

What the CIMM initiative proves is that when the industry shares knowledge and works collaboratively, it is possible to find several excellent solutions to challenging problems.