TVOT, one of
the most forward thinking conferences in our industry, focused on the concept
of time for this year’s NYC event. In past years, TVOT has explored how
technologies such as VR would change how we use TV, how the rollout of apps and
TVE would impact how we access content and how big and small data would impact
how we measure everything.
Time is a
precious commodity, made even more precious by the continued fragmentation of
consumer attention, platforms, content forms and data sources. The scarcity of
time has impacted the strategies of traditional media companies and advertisers.
What ad
formats work best by platform? How can you develop successful content by
platform? To content creators like Lung Huang, Head of Strategic Partnerships
at 84.51”, "This is the golden age of TV." but there is still a lot
of uncertainty. "Marketers must make decision what works best. But we are
not there yet," he added.
The TV of
tomorrow, according to Tracy Swedlow, Editor-in-Chief, itvt, is “coming up with
new content formats, inventing it on the fly and to some extent launching it on
the same day. They are competing with traditional media offerings as well as
the social media world and individuals who are creating their own channels. There
is so much competition now to come up with incredibly new content that the TV
of tomorrow is happening today and every day in every moment.”
Here are some takeaways from the conference.
The Harnessing and Consolidation of Rapid Change
Perhaps because of the swiftness of
change and transformation, many media companies are working towards a
consolidation of efforts, a look towards standardization of measurements and a
nod to traditional media forms as foundational keystones. Panels on eSports,
for example, acknowledged how they owe a lot to traditional sports coverage and
sales. As Nathan Lindberg, Director of Global eSports at Twitch, stated,
"eSports is the newest thing you've always heard of."
Starting with what we know about traditional
sports, Seth Ladetsky, SVP Sales at Turner Sports, said he, “started
realizing that young males were consuming a lot of eSports. So, Turner invested
in it with ELEAGUE, a professional eSports league the company debuted in May
2016 in partnership with WME/IMG.” As eSports “scaled and had multiple
touchpoints,” according to Stuart Lipson, Executive Director, eSports Ad
Bureau, “We established the eSports Ad Bureau rules to execute against this
complex environment.”
Designing Across Platforms
Maintaining coherent
branding across platforms is much more complex than one might think. Take CNN,
for example, which traditionally attracts an older audience. Dewey Reid, VP/Executive
Creative Director CNN, is charged with creating “a CNN news habit across all
age groups” and grapples with “design challenges to hold the brand together
across platforms.” This is because “every platform has a different content
management system.”
Samantha Barry, Head of Social Media at
CNN, explained how it might be possible to young-down news using an example
from the recent election. “Election night is our Super Bowl at CNN,” she noted,
“and we wanted to have defined success across each platform. Our work with Kick
targeted 13-17 year olds. We launched stickers – they love stickers – and gifts
and emoticons. We learned that we have to speak their language.” The strategy
went further. “We wanted to have a design brand across all platforms – designs that
could be used across TV, desktops and social platforms. We did instagram
portraits for all candidates and used them across platforms,” she added.
Be Flexible
Understanding
the differences in platform usage and behavior is key to maximizing marketing
efforts. Barry noted that, “Good news is shared more on Facebook and on social
platforms. Triumphing over adversity. Climate change does well on Snapchat.” So
CNN tries to tailor the news by degree of user interest.
Agencies are also become more
adaptable. Jonathan Steuer, CRO, Omnicom Media Group, sees a holistic,
synergistic approach as the road to success. “We are in later stages of
consolidating our media investment teams so we aren't siloed,” he noted. “We want
to find the balanced diet for our clients and think of it as a holistic process.”
The secret to navigating these
quickly changing times is to be inquisitive, open and not afraid to take a risk.
Andrew Feigenson, Managing Director Digital, Nielsen, summed it up by saying, ”This
is a changing world. No one has figured it out. This is a time of
experimentation.”
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