Category results for "Video"

Get your ad message right so that new TV audiences tune in

August 26, 2020 Virginie Dremeaux, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, International – FreeWheel

In a world turned upside down, TV – in all its current forms – serves as a vital anchor. It is a trusted provider of news and information, as well as a continual source of entertainment and comfort. It unifies families and friends through shared viewing experiences – even when they are in different locations. And it facilitates new routines, which helps people through these testing times.

TV consumption has spiked, with a Thinkbox.tv weekly viewing report from May 2020 revealing UK viewing is up 21% year-on-year. Even as the country begins to return to a socially distanced version of normal, staying home will be the default position for many. And this will prolong consumers’ reliance on TV.

This trend is positive for advertisers. This is particularly true as 54% of consumers are paying as much or more attention to ads than they were before lockdown began, according to a recent FreeWheel survey. But to make the most of these larger audiences, advertisers need to understand the changing habits, preferences, and expectations of consumers. This will allow them to make informed decisions around messaging, tone, and delivery channel.

Match the messaging to the moment

Ad messaging needs to relate to what is happening during current times, to be contextually relevant and to resonate with consumers.

Our survey revealed that the vast majority of UK consumers want advertising to be relevant. Three quarters of respondents feel that brands should acknowledge the present situation in their ads. Ads can be used to reinforce preventative measures such as social distancing and hand washing. They can also show customers that brands are there to help them with lockdown related challenges.

From Nationwide to NatWest, financial services businesses are recognizing the current situation in their advertising. They are reinforcing their support for customers and outlining how they can still access services from home. Supermarkets have also brought the current context into their messaging, such as the Co-op’s campaign to support food redistribution charity FareShare.

Set the right tone for the vertical

Just because consumers want ads to relate to the current situation in some way, that doesn’t mean messaging needs to be sad or negative. In fact, humor should play a central role in advertising. True to form – the majority of Brits (58%) say they want to see ads that make them laugh. Many brands have taken a fun and light-hearted approach to messaging such as Maltesers with its “Look on the light side” campaign and Hotels.com with its humorous “Just stay home”’ messaging.

Setting the right tone often depends on the vertical in which a brand operates. Despite ongoing uncertainty, a quarter of consumers want to see TV ads relating to travel. They also want emotive ads that make them dream, providing beacons of positivity in challenging times. Just because viewers can’t go to their dream destination right now doesn’t mean travel brands shouldn’t maintain awareness and advertisements.

Online search data reveals that millions of travelers are in escapism mode, discovering and dreaming of life without restrictions. So, reaching out to these consumers now can make all the difference in the medium to long-term. Sandals Resorts is one travel brand continuing to spend on TV ads. They acknowledge the reality of the current situation, but remind viewers that their holiday havens are ready and waiting.

Choose the right delivery channels

The term “TV” now encompasses a wide range of delivery channels. These include traditional linear TV, broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD), and subscription streaming services. Much media attention is currently given to the rise of video streaming. However, FreeWheel’s survey found that linear TV is still the most watched type of platform, with 34% of consumers selecting this as their first choice compared with 26% for paid streaming services and 14% for catch-up TV.

In the current climate, audiences rely on broadcast TV for important updates, with over 27 million viewers watching the Prime Minister’s “road map to recovery” announcement on Sunday 10^th May 2020 and almost 13 million viewers watching the Queen’s VE day address. Primetime remains a significant moment for people to connect with others. In France, primetime audiences broke the all-time viewers record on Monday 13^th April 2020: 36.7 million watched French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech, on TV and online. That represents a 94.4% market share according to Mediamétrie.

Advertisers can make use of multiple channels to reach consumers when they are fully engaged in TV content. And they can use different platforms to reach different audiences or demographics. As TV content across all channels becomes more addressable, advertisers will be able to target audience segments defined by specific criteria, regardless of the platform they are using or the content they are watching.

Tune in

In these unprecedented times, consumers are turning to TV – in all its forms – for information, entertainment, and routine. And they want to hear from brands; only 8% say that it should be a priority for brands to stop advertising. Armed with important consumer insights, brands can make use of a boom in media consumption to reach and engage TV audiences with useful, appropriate and contextually relevant messaging. Media and brands have an important role to play, they have demonstrated that they can be agile, reinvent themselves and be creative. In future, companies that listen to viewers are more likely to better match viewers’ user journey, expectations, and needs.

With a new live LinkedIn show, HBR connects with readers on coping in the wake of Covid-19

April 30, 2020 Esther Kezia Thorpe – Independent Media Reporter

As the world adjusts to the “new normal” of remote working life, forward-thinking publishers have been coming up with new ways to connect with their audiences and help them through the crisis. In a matter of weeks, Harvard Business Review has spun up its own live video offering: HBR Quarantined.

HBR’s new weekly LinkedIn Live show focuses on how businesses are coping with the consequences of coronavirus. The show, co-hosted by Editor in Chief Adi Ignatius and Chief Product and Innovation Officer Joshua Macht, debuted on April 27 with Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Thomas Friedman as a special guest.

Ignatius, Macht and HBR’s Senior Multimedia Editor Scott LaPierre talked to DCN about what prompted the launch, how the first show went, and where they plan to take it in the future.

Evolving an idea

The initial concept for HBR Quarantined stemmed from Ignatius and Macht wanting to explore their dynamic in different formats. “Adi and I go way back together. We’ve grown accustomed to taking chances together and inventing things,” Macht said, explaining that a podcast was initially on the table. “Within weeks we went from, ‘Maybe we should launch a podcast,’ to ‘We’re going to do a live television show on a platform that’s pretty new.’ Then, all of a sudden, we had a show.”

Ignatius said that the genesis of the idea came from a desire to connect with the millions of their audience who are now working from home. “They, like us, are wondering, ‘When do we get to go back to work, and what will work look like when we do?’” he explained. “We’re always talking about these issues. So we figured we could do a service delivering insight on COVID-19 and how it affects businesses and the economy.”

But unlike other HBR products, the show is designed to have a very different tone. “Harvard Business Review tends to be a brand that speaks to a very high altitude. That’s our secret sauce: high-level pieces that are based on research,” Ignatius emphasized.

“This show is something different. It’s meant to be warmer, really connecting in the moment. We’re all in the same boat and trying to figure this out together. So, it’s certainly an experimentation with a different kind of voice for us.”

Viability in quarantine

Under normal circumstances, a product like this would be resource-intensive. But LaPierre highlighted that quarantine has actually lowered the bar for everyone in terms of production values and expectations.

“The way a lot of video producers are seeing the COVID-19 crisis, perversely, is as an opportunity to try new things,” he said. “HBR is not a TV station. We only have a small video team. So it would be hard for us to launch a true broadcast live video series. But now, everyone’s been equalized in terms of what they’re capable of doing. It’s a chance for us to make a viable series that doesn’t look that different from what others are doing.”

LinkedIn’s Live tool is just over a year old, and the platform was relatively late to the video space compared to its competitors. But for HBR, their vast social following on LinkedIn – 10.2 million followers – made it an obvious choice to debut this type of show.

The team began by testing out a high-level broadcast tool. However, that was proving problematic as it wasn’t suited to their purposes. “We pivoted to something called StreamYard, which is a ‘prosumer’ grade software that allows you to stream live, but is a lot more lightweight,” explained LaPierre.

Live streaming can be risky in terms of technical hitches. But HBR’s first show went smoothly, attracting 35,000 live viewers and thousands of comments during the stream. Ignatius highlighted the long-tail benefits of the video as well, with total views doubling in just a few days.

The biggest surprise for the team was the lack of drop-offs. “Everyone was saying we would have these spikes in viewers. But actually, people showed up for the whole thing, and it just kept growing,” Macht explained.

HBR Quarantined post-quarantine

When it comes to the future of HBR Quarantined, the team is remaining flexible. They have a total of six episodes planned so far. However, they will be constantly reviewing what the response is to them and what their audience needs going forward.

“I was pleasantly surprised that it went off as well as it did. But it will be interesting to see where it goes,” commented Ignatius. “I think there is something of a service that we can provide for our readers. There’s knowledge and insight about what’s going on, and we want to see what that means post-quarantine.”

HBR is also scouting out potential sponsors. They believe the show offers a timely opportunity for advertisers to reach their audience with messaging related to the moment. “There is not a lot of sponsorship money out there these day. And part of our experiment was to find a new medium that was of the moment,” explained Ignatius.

But sponsorship aside, future episodes will be focused on trying to engage people with the brand, and with the wider goals of bringing people into HBR’s subscription funnel. “The show is good for getting people to engage with our brand, and we want to continue to grow the number of people visiting the site,” Macht concluded.

Complex Networks is making the most out of staying at home

April 2, 2020 Will Harris – Independent Journalist

These days, the new normal involves a whole lot of not going anywhere, and it’s a situation that’s wreaked havoc on businesses of all kinds. Yes, that includes streaming programming, too, particularly those of the scripted variety. While viewers abound, production shutdowns have placed the future of many programs on uncertain footing. Some shows have decided that they can –and will – go on, COVID-19 be damned. However, the inability to film within a standard studio environment has necessitated some serious outside-the-box thinking and a whole lot of making the most of what one has at hand.

For Complex Networks, this sort of thing is old hat. Some of their most successful series to date have emerged as a result of being scrappy in the face of budgetary and situational constraints.

Wings and chill

Take Hot Ones as one tasty example. It all started when Chris Schoenberger, GM of Complex Networks’ First We Feast, and host Sean Evans were setting up to interview a guest. After spying some hot sauce in the company kitchen, they came up with the idea of interviewing people while serving them hot wings.

“I think the wings have probably improved in quality since the first time around,” says Justin Killion, laughing. “And the sauce has certainly improved! But it came out of being as opportunistic as possible, given the limited resources that the company had at the time.”

If anyone would know, it’s Killion. He’s GM of Complex Networks and EVP of Operations and Content, and he knows everything there is to know about Complex programming. As such, when he suggests that a few semi-new series in Complex’s programming lineup have the potential to be an heir apparent to Hot Ones, you may want to add them to your “what to watch” list.

Fun and franchises

“If you’re talking about new franchises, Tacos Con Todo, which First We Feast just put out, that show is excellent, and we also did another one called Gochi Gang,” said Killion. “I think both of those are franchises that you’re going to see us double-down on and potentially do more of. But if you want to talk about a breakout show, Full Size Run is right on the cusp. It’s a little bit of an in-the-weeds sneaker show, for true sneakerheads. But it’s edited in a fashion not that dissimilar to what you see on Adult Swim. I’ve never really seen anything quite like it. I really don’t think there is anything quite like it!”

Killion knows all too well how much of a whirlwind the business of streaming entertainment has become in the face of the Coronavirus outbreak – and how much of a boost everyone’s numbers have gotten with people being stuck inside.

“Truth be told, we’re up 35 percent in engagement on our YouTube shows over the last two, two-and-a-half weeks,” said Killion. “That’s just incredible. Our dot.com is up over 20 percent. Our social is up significantly. We’ve seen a massive spike in Tik Tok. We’re doing about five times the daily views that we were doing prior to the quarantine.”

Thirst and lemonade

Looking at these numbers is one of the few ways to make lemonade out of the lemons everyone’s being handed lately. (And by “lemons,” of course, we mean “stay-at-home orders.”) But the public’s thirst for entertainment has also resulted in a certain degree of forgiveness from the viewership, which puts Complex in a position to try some things that they might never have risked doing before.

“The quality of the content still needs to be there. But we’re at a moment in time where no one’s getting dragged for putting out content that isn’t exactly up to their usual standards of polish,” said Killion. “That allows us to take chances that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to take. So, there’s been a lot of experimentation.”

Case and point: Life at Complex. In the pre-coronavirus world, the series involved host Tony Mui wandering around the Complex offices, interviewing staff members. Killion describes the show as “a look-how-cool-it-is-to-work-here kind of thing.” However, when everyone is suddenly working at home, you’re looking at some retooling.

Sole-ful solutions

“What Tony’s turned the show into is almost like an incubator each week for a different format that we’re gonna try,” explained Killion. “One episode is him checking in with all of [Complex’s] different deputy editors… Just kind of getting a sense of what their home life is like in general and getting to know them a little. Then, he did something called ‘Sneaker Battles,’ where he took Brendan Dunne, our host of Full Size Run, and paired him with someone from our editing team. They were comparing sneakers from their own personal closet, and had it judged by one of our directors of photography from Sneaker Shopping.”

Killion says that it’s a fun format that they were able to quickly pull together. However, he points out that, if they’d been producing the show prior to their current ad-hoc situation, “the level of polish on it would have to be significantly higher. We would’ve been shooting with a crew at four different locations to make that happen. Instead, it’s just turning on a computer monitor at four different locations!”

Audience expectations are critical in DCN’s 2020 vision

January 23, 2020 Jason Kint, CEO – DCN

We’ve just returned from our annual summit where a couple hundred senior executives gather in a closed-door meeting to discuss the most pressing issues and exciting opportunities that we, as an industry, have before us. It was my sixth year of having the honor of setting the table to open the executive summit, after more than a dozen years listening from the audience.

Everyone in the room is a premium publisher – with the exception of a handful of supporting sponsors, speakers, and invited guests. The attendees at the DCN Next: Summit are among the most knowledgeable people in the business of digital media anywhere. It is a daunting task to capture the proper sentiment for the direction of our industry at a gathering of such key leaders. That said, here are the main points from my kickoff remarks this year.

This new year also marks the start of a new decade, 2020.

2020. Yes, perfect vision. Optimal focus. As we begin this decade, I believe that DCN’s members are uniquely positioned. As a group focused on creating premium content experiences, we have never lost sight of the importance of our audiences. We’ve remained steadfast in their trust and our direct relationships.

I see three key facets to this 2020 vision:

First, we find ourselves rightly renewing our resolution to put the expectations of our audiences first. To meet, to exceed, their expectations. To be their trusted ally.

Second, we’ve defeated the myth content has to be free and finally defined what it means to be premium. It simply means to have real value worth paying for whether by distributors or consumers.

Third, given too many years of platform dominance – in which they have indiscriminately hidden the real costs to their services and vacuumed up as much consumer data as possible while, at times abusing trust – we find ourselves in the best position to align with new user expectations. To believe that data is the lifeblood of the Internet is to look past the trust and audience expectations which underpin it now, and in the future.

Audience first

Unlike some of those who seek to cravenly capitalize on consumer attention merely to collect data and target ads, we celebrate an unwavering focus on the wants, needs, and expectations of our audiences. The experience across platforms can be rich and elegant. But even more importantly, digital allows us to use multimedia to tell stories in ever more engaging ways, better informing the public – something that has never been more important.

In this case bringing it altogether, I’d like to point to the brilliant Wall Street Journal report on Google’s ad tech business. It informed a public conversation and made its way not just across the industry but into meetings of regulators investigating Google – this is true impact in journalism.

Storytelling at its best

As technology enables us to better tell our stories, it also becomes more deeply embedded and entwined with every aspect of our audiences’ lives. The New York Times 1619 Project was one amazing example featured at a DCN Storytelling Member Day. It not only brilliantly told the story; it reexamined the legacy of slavery and made its way into other media – not just audio and video but it also found its rightful place in classrooms and libraries as educational material – this is true impact in journalism.

Revenue revived

The past couple of years have been particularly promising around subscription-based and other Direct-to-consumer (DTC) models. While ad vendors chase “DTC”, the latest acronym in their alphabet soup, DCN’s members have always focused on direct, trusted relationships with their audiences.

While concerns have loomed around subscription fatigue, recent DCN research found the opposite. In fact, consumers aren’t even aware how much they are spending on subscription products. (DCN’s research shows an average of $54 per month across 4.3 products). So, it’s clear there’s room for more! And we now see that younger audiences who grew up in digital are willing to pay for satisfying experiences. The DCN research backs this up showing that they see value well beyond their cost.

As we build our subscription-based offerings, and optimize ad experiences across platforms, we must keep these audience experiences top of mind. We serve neither our audiences, nor advertising partners, if we do any less.

Video views

Our members – and the industry as a whole – are seeing a hearty appetite for audio and video content. We see robust revenue around licensing of our content and IP, which also allows us to impact ever widening audiences. This is backed up by a renewed effort to preserve copyright over their art, notably including last year in the EU.

We are also seeing true diversification in our busiess models.

Where desktop display eroded over the past years, mobile display has offset it. And other forms of advertising including native, sponsored content and leads have helped drive growth. Video advertising, where inventory can be created, continues to carry the highest price and growth in advertising. And arguably the most important growth of all, we’re seeing direct audience revenues grow more than 20% per year where content companies are being paid directly for their content recognizing its premium value.

UBS estimates that a combination of 16 media firms will spend $100 billion to produce content in 2020. In fact, it has been predicted that more than $35 billion will be spent on streaming video content alone. And with over 60 media companies among the DCN membership, we know that the total investment will be much higher. And rightly so. Hulu has been investing in premium content for its streaming video platform. So is CBS All Access. Disney+ launched in the last few months with an absolutely gorgeous experience. Peacock will launch in April and then HBO MAX a month later. And those are only a few examples.

Engaging experiences

While we continue to monitor the power of platforms, their own investment in content demonstrates that information and entertainment are the lifeblood of social experiences online. And now the platforms are starting to pay for it. No DCN member is surprised that film, television, news, sports and other topics engage audiences and ignite conversation, debate, and discussion across platforms.

Be it delivered on the big screen, small screens, smart speakers, or the myriad delivery channels in the digital content ecosystem, the work our members do forms a nexus of cultural impact. We have reached new heights of digital storytelling. And, undoubtedly our craft, the art of storytelling, will continue to surprise and delight as its evolution continues in the decade to come.

And, while we face challenges like broad-swath and blunt keyword blacklisting masquerading as “brand safety” and the ease of data-driven scale, we also see signs that marketers too are shifting their focus to quality contexts and making genuine customer connections.

Yes, it is “easier” to pull a series of data-driven levers and reach purportedly targeted audiences with generic messaging. However, as a growing number of consumers opt out of advertising and intro tracking prevention, savvy marketers too are reviving the art of storytelling. They have a renewed understanding of the power of delivering compelling messages in trusted, engaging, inspiring environments and an appreciation for the cost to their brand when it’s associated with experiences that abuse customers’ expectations. They see that being part of exceptional experiences creates the kind of cultural resonance and relevance that a click cannot compare to.

Data diligence

Don’t get me wrong. Certainly, data is a powerful tool for understanding audiences. It is also critical for storytelling and we see it leveraged in stunning executions to create vivid narratives built on numbers.

But user expectations around data collection and use are of critical concern. With increasing consumer awareness around data practices online and looming enforcement when they’re abused, we must continue to focus in on what’s best for our audiences and only then for our marketing partners. The ability to micro-target, to force an action with a digital ad is not the same as engaging audiences around trusted content. It is not the way to build long-term customer relationships.

Fans and friction

It up to us to keep our customer focus razor sharp as we embark on this 2020 vision. We need to minimize complexity and reduce friction while continuing to innovate and enhance experiences for our audiences. Certainly, challenges abound including news deserts impacting local communities, anti-press rhetoric from none other than our own President which sends dangerous signals globally, and continued platform competition and unequitable marketplace control now under investigation by Congress, FTC, DOJ, states, the EU among others.

I’m feeling good this year about where things are headed. I’m feeling really good. And I’m thrilled at the programming lineup we assembled for our annual summit to talk about it.

What I’ve seen in my time in digital, particularly the years I’ve been fortunate enough to spend on the team at DCN, has taught me is that we are at the forefront of something great here. We are on the frontlines of storytelling and communication. We have the power to shape minds, to touch hearts, to fill the world with laughter and tears. Here’s to 2020 bringing the roar of the crowd as we focus on what matters most: the audiences we serve.

Advertising | Innovation | Video

Publishers focus on the evolution of the business at the annual DCN: Next Summit

January 22, 2020 Carol Brzozowski – Independent Journalist

At the dawn of the new decade of 2020, DCN members gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Miami January 16 and 17 to network, discuss victories and challenges as media companies evolve, and explore industry predictions.

The new decade calls for a perfect ‘20/20’ vision, said Jason Kint, CEO, Digital Content Next as he kicked off the closed-door, off-the-record gathering. That encompasses continued focus on audience desires, pushback against the myth that all content has to be free, and the elevation of trust and transparency in an era marked by ‘fake news’.

The European Union’s recently enacted copyright law is a win for the industry, with similar discussions expected this year in the U.S, noted Kint. Federal and state investigations as well as emerging regulations are all good signals toward protecting consumer privacy, regulating data use and anti-trust concerns, notes Kint.

We can also expect a steady rise in content investments. UBS estimates that in 2020, a combined 16 media firms will spend $100 billion to produce content. More than $35 billion will allocated on streaming video content, as new players such as Disney Plus and NBC’s Peacock emerge.

“I’m feeling really good this year about where things are headed,” said Kint.

Platforms and policy

Jim Bankoff, CEO, Vox Media said he valued being at the DCN Summit. He described it as a place where premium publishers come together to “find ways to partner and to check our healthy, competitive impulses … and figure out ways to work together” in the wake of ceding ground to third party big tech platform and ad network “that have proven time and again not to have our best interests in mind.”

Investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who freelances for the Guardian and Observer, captivated the audience by recounting her experiences unearthing the activities of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her work, which sparked international investigations as well as inspiring the Netflix documentary, ‘The Great Hack’.

“This was my introduction to this world of creepy disinformation, but also complete reluctance from the platforms to even acknowledge the problem, let alone deal with it,” she noted. She was instead subjected to legal pushback from Google and Facebook as well as online bullying.

She also called for media companies to not compete against each other. Instead, she encouraged those in the room to join together to “compete against lies and falsehoods. We’ve seen it in Britain and you’re next,” said Cadwalladr.

Monopolies

Scott Galloway, professor, NYU Stern School of Business, said he believes that the big tech companies on the antitrust radar should be broken up. Monopolies kill economic growth and are a “key step to tyranny,” he contended, adding a co-opted government can’t serve as a dominating force for protection.

Galloway pointed out that efforts to regulate the behavior of big tech fines have been largely ineffectual. To date, the fines haven’t been punitive enough to dissuade the big tech companies to modify behavior, he said. He also criticized the federal government for being slow to act.

Money matters

Monetization and concerns about subscription fatigue were recurring themes at the summit. Yet DCN research shows that younger audiences in particular appreciate the value of a subscription and finds that there is still consumer appetite for subscription products.

Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO of Buzzfeed

Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO, Buzzfeed noted that over the course of a few short years, the company has begun to generate significant revenue from Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Netflix from licensing.

“I don’t think Facebook or Google wants to buy news companies,” said Peretti. Of the platforms movement toward paying for content, he said that “They get the benefit of sharing some of the costs of the production of that content. News is a great way to direct repeat visitors and to build trust in the platform to avoid some of the problems of misinformation.”

Media shifts

Kevin Turpin II, president, National Journal, noted his longstanding publication adapted to the changing media landscape by transforming itself from a media company to government research and consulting services company for which subscribers are willing to pay premium prices.

Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO, Axios; Executive Producer, AXIOS on HBO said, “you have to deliver content in a way that I would deliver in a conversation with you over a drink, like what is new.” However, to create value, “Tell me why it matters. Give me some context. Give me the power to go deeper.”

For Complex, the path to success hasn’t been simple. Rich Antoniello, CEO and founder, Complex Networks said, “we call ourselves a brand that happens to monetize through media.” He said his company shifted from an ad-dependent model in 2016, ahead of the curve.

One example is the wild success of its “Hot Ones” program. It features10 questions of its celebrity guests that get progressively more personal along with the consumption of hot sauce that gets progressively hotter. And the business model is based not on advertising, but on the sales of high-margin hot sauce.

Antoniello also outlined the success of ComplexCon, the company’s flagship event, which connects cultural icons with fans who spend $100 to $700 for VIP tickets, with hundreds of thousands sold. Fans also snap up merchandise from Complex and its app-based vendors such as Nike and Adidas.

The power of fandom arose again when Howard Mittman, CEO, Bleacher Report spoke of how his company’s app and successful franchises attract sports fans. He described how individual athletes hold more sway in their fandom habits than sports franchises.

Nearly 10 million fans have signed up for alerts and the app accounts for half of the company’s user engagement. Bleacher Report’s focus is not on breaking sports news, but creating engagement on its own platforms, according to Mittman.

Her story

Media continues to go through cultural shifts toward diversity both in company staffing and in targeting readership such as women. “Women are generally not seeing themselves in media and advertising to the extent that they should be,” said Catherine Levene, president, chief digital officer, Meredith National Media Group.

“We have been the first to support #SeeHer, a national organization committed to accurate representation of women in media and advertising,” she said. She added that’s not only good for supporting women, but also for the bottom line. Women who see themselves in media and advertising are 45% more likely to recommend a product to a friend and purchase it, said Levene.

Elise Loehnen, chief content officer, Goop

Despite the controversy it has attracted by those who question the veracity of its science, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand is growing, noted Elise Loehnen, chief content officer. The platform embraces several media forms and covers topics from relationships to health, including alternative therapies. She said that the controversy has been good for keeping the brand at the forefront of popular discussions.

“We’re tired of being talked down to,” said Loehnen. “We’re a strong female brand undisturbed by the chaos.”

Adapt or die

Rishad Tobaccowala, chief growth officer, Publicis Group,noted that the only way to get ahead as a legacy company is to “kill your core. You have to rethink your entire business.”

Levene from Meredith believes that the mobile world and 5G will create an even greater market for video. And, with 50% of searches conducted on the more than 200 million voice-enabled devices in U.S. homes, opportunities and challenges will arise.

Google’s action to purge third-party cookies against the backdrop of GDPR and CCPA will impact the entire digital ecosystem, Levene noted.

“Data is going to be the currency of the future. Those who have it at scale and the ability to drive a lot of insights from it are going to win,” she added.

Kindness matters

In a social media environment that is being blamed for everything from decreasing personal contact to radicalizing disaffected youth and intensifying suicide rates among girls, Tatyana Mamut, head of product, Nextdoor, made the case that her platform is creating connections on a micro-level in a neighborhood at a time when people hardly know their neighbors

“I believe that kindness is the next big thing in tech,” she added.

Palo Alto journalism educator Esther Wojcicki made the case that helicopter parenting has impacted the workforce and its ability to embrace risk and innovation. She calls for parenting – and management – to embrace trust, respect, independence, collaboration and kindness. She also promotes the idea that every student should take a journalism course to build media literacy skills.

The future will be fraught with change. And as Tobaccowala pointed out, “human beings know how difficult change is.” But to survive, media companies must continue to evolve.

“We have the power to shape minds and hearts, to fill the world with laughter and tears to inform the truth,” said Kint. “Here’s to 2020 bringing the roar of the crowd as we focus on what matters most: the audiences we serve.”

Advertising | Industry-Research | Video

Premium context and 30-second spots dominate video advertising right now

November 25, 2019 Melinda McLaughlin, CMO—Extreme Reach

It’s shaping up to be a defining year for the video advertising landscape. Notably, 2019 was marked by the primacy of connected TV, an embrace of the value of premium content adjacency, and a return of the good old 30-second ad for brand storytelling.

We will reserve full judgement for our year-in-review report after the close of 2019. However, our Q3 report — based on video ads served from our asset management platform, AdBridge— reveals relatively stable trends this year in how marketers are using digital video to build business. This absence of wild swings indicates that the industry is settling into its new, CTV-based reality.

Perhaps what’s old is new again? And by this we mean that maybe things we always believed to be true are still true but in new and better ways.

Here are some noteworthy video trends:

CTV Delivers the Big Screen TV-like Experience But with Consumer Choice & Control

In Q3 2019, it happened. CTV became the majority destination for impressions served, tallying in at 51%. Sure, this may fluctuate a bit quarter to quarter based on the supply of inventory. But it’s striking to see that figure relative to where we landed in 2018 at 38% of impressions being served to connected TV destinations. The steady march in CTV share from Q1 (49%) to Q2 (50%) to Q3 (51%) leads us to believe this is a true, predictable trend and not another shiny object phenomenon.

Premium Content Adjacency Clearly Works for Brands

All three quarters of 2019 showed a strong embrace of premium content destinations vs. media aggregators. In fact, the average mix in 2019 to-date is 81% premium/19% aggregators. This is certainly driven in part by the rush to leverage CTV but there is also a solid increase in impressions going to premium online content as well.

Spoiler alert: Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands really like premium content as evidenced by the vertical specific data in that category. In Q3, DTC brands delivered 93% of their impressions to premium inventory. But a preference for aggregators is one way in which auto advertisers show markedly different trends from the broader group. The 57% of impressions served to media aggregators in Q3 is a 10 percent increase from the prior quarter and nearly triple the overall rate.

Brands Need 30 Seconds to Grab Us by the Hearts and Minds

Brands need all shapes and sizes of ad formats to truly navigate the consumer media landscape today. And while that portfolio will surely include experimentation in the super short category (:06 ads for example), we saw a move back to more :30’s in 2018 and 2019 after a move to go shorter in years prior. For example, the share of :30’s served in 2015 was 41%.

That dipped to 38% in 2016 and hit an all-time low of 33% in 2017. In 2018, :30s jumped to 54% and in Q3 of this year, they accounted for 66% of ads served. Perhaps short stories can become too short to be effective and a mix is what’s needed to affect consumer behavior today. This seems to be especially true in the Auto and DTC verticals, which both showed an even larger investment in longer ads. For auto, 30-second spots accounted for 84% while in the DTC category they rose to a whopping 97% of impressions by length.

Our research, which has tracked video advertising trends quarterly for almost four years, finds that despite the innovative nature of the streaming wars, many video industry fundamentals still apply, or are back in style. Context matters, both in the sense that premium placements are popular and longer ad formats provide more in-depth messaging. The heating wars are heating up and its critical to keep a close eye on the emerging trends and opportunities in this market.

How People and Entertainment Weekly grow audiences with video

November 14, 2019 Caitlin Kelly, Independent Journalist

It’s a brand people have known and loved for four and a half decades – as a magazine. Now People is focused on video, determined to grow the brand and bring its content to new, and larger, audiences.

“The most important thing is that the brand has to have a voice to begin with,” said Will Lee, SVP of Digital for the Entertainment Group of Meredith Corp., a role he’s held for two years, which coincides with Meredith’s acquisition of Time, Inc. “People has a very strong brand voice that it’s cultivated over 45 years. We know what the consumer expects from us. We have a very well-developed playbook for how the brand should sound and look.”

People’s emotional DNA

That means sticking to the brand’s core emotional DNA when showing work on Snapchat, for example. “We don’t say snarky, mean things about celebrities. It’s not what we do.” So, even if Snap viewers prefer things a little salty, People stays true to its own style, regardless of medium. “We get a lot of data from Snapchat,” Lee said, “and that audience has evolved. It’s very different from what it was three years ago.”

People’s video content focuses on what Lee called “the three R’s, the content their readers just can’t get enough of: reality TV, the British Royal family, and the red carpet. “Streaming is a different level of engagement. The really passionate audience comes from reality TV.” So, Lee’s team of 60 to 80 staffers produce a reality-based video show four nights a week and a Royals show once a week. “Reality TV is a conversation starter,” said Lee, of the genre’s powerful appeal.

Reality check

The numbers back him up. “We’ve done 100 episodes of ‘Reality Check.’ And after four episodes, we already had the second most viewed show on people.com, with 2 to 3 million views of show clips in a week. That is a pretty good debut for us.”

Pivoting constantly is key and Lee knows how hard his team works to keep up. “All the parts of video work closely together because we’re constantly iterating product on a daily basis. It’s a very special kind of producer who can do three or four formats and keep it all together.”

“What’s interesting about our model is that we’re not tied to 26-week orders so we can adjust. We have a lot of flexibility which differentiates us from cable. We can iterate and improve the product.”

Brand building

But, when deciding which next steps to take, “we have to be very thoughtful, as a media brand with a history and the brand equity we’ve built,” Lee added. “Where is the growth? How do we amplify the brand and move into new markets?” Newer platforms like TikTok , he said, are “the solar power. That’s where the future lies. We have a great brand, but that is no guarantee of future growth.”

However, Lee feels confident that streaming is essential to their success. “That’s why we’ve made such a big bet on it. If we’re not in that space, we’re going to be left behind.”

Lee’s team also partners with Meredith Local Media Group , which has 17 TV stations across the country, which Meredith will leverage when it launches a new daily syndicated television show in September 2020. “That will be the centerpiece of our overall video product.” Lee acknowledged how ambitious this new product is: “Thirty minutes of daily broadcast level TV is a huge amount of work.” The magazine-style show, with “all new and original material really represents a pretty important next step for this iconic brand. It brings us more markets, and more audience. There aren’t a lot of media brands that will have this as part of their media ecosystem. In a company already producing print, digital and video, “this is going to be another evolution of how we all work together,” he said.

Entertaining audiences

When it comes to his other responsibility, Entertainment Weekly, Lee says a new launch is imminent as well. “We’re really trying to amplify the brand. We want to go to where the audience is, in local markets. It’s important for us to reach those audiences.”

EW has announced that it will be working with Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short form mobile video platform Quibi, slated to launch in April 2020. The morning show, which will recap late-night TV, will take a similar strategic approach to the Lee he employs with People. However, he emphasizes that the brands are quite distinct, and that EW is “known as a cultural curator.” That should play well on Quibi, which offers a new audience that Lee is excited to reach.

Innovation | Video

OTT distribution channels are changing. Be ready

October 22, 2019 Dana Ghavami, CEO—Spotible

OTT players and channels are changing faster than the seasons. The spring will bring a crop of new streaming entrants, joining an already crowded market. Still dominated by Netflix, a growing number of major players are drawing video viewers.

In the publishing industry, a remarkable level of transformation is happening by way of mergers that are driven, in part, by capacity to produce video. Recently, Vox Media and New York Media joined forces. This followed close on the heels of the recent tie ups of Group Nine Media and PopSugar along with Vice Media and Refinery29. An underlying theme is upping the production of quality video programming for seeking OTT platforms and rising streaming channels battling for subscribers. So, the question is: How will consumers be watching?

Get SmartTV

The answer is on a Smart TV—whether a Vizio with WatchFree powered by Pluto TV or an LG with LG Channels powered by Xumo—the CTV universe is made up of a growing number of streaming channels (or so-called FAST services). Now, major OTT platforms are following suit with Fire TV’s IMDb TV and Roku’s The Roku Channel.

In this dynamic, programming from media companies is produced in a seller’s market as FAST services look to differentiate with new and, if possible, exclusive content. The goal is to set themselves apart from aggregated CTV ad budgets. The result is that programming is starting to be distributed on 24/7 streaming channels (like the advent of cable news). The end game is to develop an audience that can be channeled to an owned and operated network/app.

Streaming channels that take form of the lean back TV world are also coming over-the-top via leading cable/MVPD companies. For example, Spectrum recently released a skinny bundle that allows viewers to choose what they actually want to watch. And that’s for approximately the same price as an SVOD service like Netflix. The skinny bundle is trending.

Netflix vs. niche

So, here we are. We find ourselves at an interesting intersection of an on-demand world (with active content discovery and viewing) and a programmed channel world with passive watching of round-the-clock streaming content. The king of OTT and SVOD, Netflix, is ad-free. It also set a high bar with premium content licensing and quality original shows as it outspends the competition.

However, we see an emerging universe fueled by advertising/AVOD and channels that run 24/7 content of essentially any genre of choice as an expanding orbit of media publishers become producers of OTT programming. On the sidelines, streaming sports and leagues are expanding their own OTT plus channels. This delivers their content straight to fans or through digital upstarts that make sports the core of their offerings, like Fubo and DAZN.

The best of the bunch

The pendulum is going to swing in a direction that improves the TV experience the most. At the heart of it all is content discovery and recommendation. The next show you’re going to watch is still the biggest unknown. According to the State of Viewing and Streaming study released by Horowitz Research last year, just over one-third (36%) of viewers consider personalized recommendation algorithms helpful in discovering shows. Whereas TV ads, word-of-mouth, and social media are attributed with 35%, 34% and 26%, respectively in frequency of new discovery. The better the content recommendation, the more that will be watched on-demand.

From there, the more “connected” your TV experience, the more it will look like a digital network versus a TV network. It will become a more social and shareable experience. The advertising that puts the A in AVOD will increase in value as it becomes more data driven complying with user privacy and better in targeting viewers. The better the social integration, the more that will be watched on constant programmed channels.

The lessons have been learned by media companies is that they must maintain their own brand and operated environments in the world of platforms. However, they must continue to experiment with publishing channels to direct audiences and own distribution (and monetization). In the grand experiment of OTT programming, content is being produced and distributed in 24/7 streams to start up on platforms that garner the greatest audience for the brand. The future of OTT is here, flipping your favorite channel.

Kids digital video is a perilous place and regulation may not be keeping pace

July 11, 2019 Bryson Masse – Independent Journalist

As children’s digital content consumption has come under the microscope and parents are realizing the extent to which popular online video services fall short of their expectations, federal regulators have voted to take away some of the guarantees protecting traditional sources of educational media. At the same time, others are calling on the Senate to leverage COPPA to reign in platforms’ approach to digital video and to enact new legislation to better keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital video marketplace. Clearly, the industry is at a crossroads and children are increasingly dodging traffic in the form of data collection, ad targeting, and unconscionable content—all of which would be unthinkable in the carefully moderated world of kids TV.

Unsurprisingly, YouTube is often found in the crosshairs when talking about objectionable digital experiences for kids. With issues stemming from lackluster privacy protections enabling extensive collection of childrens’ data to recommendations algorithms pitching inappropriate videos, the video social media network faces pressure from the Federal Trade Commission to turn around its platform. One idea from the company is to double down on its YouTube for Kids platform and effectively quarantine kids content from the rest of the site. However, to date, that approach has had some significant problems of its own.

Of course, it’s easy to see why parents like the service: It’s got tons of available content, it’s easy to find, and probably most appealing of all, the large majority of it is free.

Other services, from new market entries to the larger video services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video (as well as upcoming competitors like Disney+), to traditional media networks have implemented features to better safeguard children. Companies like SuperAwesome are developing video platforms that take the risk out of kids content online for parents and advertisers. And Superawesome demonstrates the level of interest in this space, having raised $13 million in funding earlier this year, led by Harbert European Growth Capital. It was also ranked one of the U.K.’s fastest growing companies.

What’s changed

While YouTube holds great appeal and attracts massive audiences, it has yet to unseat one medium that has been guided by rules to protect children’s content for almost 30 years. That would be broadcast television. “It’s certainly the most powerful way to reach the biggest audience. You know, the demise of linear TV has been greatly exaggerated,” says Harold Chizick CEO of Chizcomm and Beacon, the largest media buyer in the children’s programming sector.

While the digital offerings from content companies are more robust than ever, and kids end up watching on more screens, Chizick says that there is a key difference: cowatching. Parents and kids are more able to catch content together when it’s on a larger screen where broadcast TV is usually found.

Additionally, the advertising industry has taken advantage of the dearth of younger eyes. And, in practice, kids end up not being able to avoid targeting technology that leverages collected personal information. That’s challenging as there additional protections for kids and their data under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which advocates say the federal government is not doing enough to enforce.

Kid Vid

Although the online kids programming business doesn’t necessarily feel ready for prime time, the Federal Communication Commission voted this week to change the rules and regulations surrounding “Kid Vid” or the broadcast licensing requirements of children’s programming called. The changes were originally larger in scope when first proposed by Republican commissioner Mike O’Rielly last winter, in a vote of three to two among the commissioners, the FCC decided to enact an earlier start time for the programming (6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m.), removal of a mandatory 30 minute length for individual programs, and a reduction in reporting requirements for the broadcasters. Broadcasters will still need to air at least three hours a week of educational and informative content.

These changes make sense because broadcast stations need more flexibility to air other important content like local news and coverage of community events, as O’Rielly said in an op-ed at The Hill. As well, encroaching modernity has heralded the shift from linear TV to digital options meaning the burden of regulations falls only on part of the industry. “Notwithstanding this extensive competition in the video marketplace, local broadcasters are the only ones forced to operate under our Kid Vid rules,” he wrote.

In her dissenting opinion, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said that she was concerned about the reliance on algorithmic recommendations for kids who watch content online. “This [proposal] follows on the heels of reports that automatic recommendation systems can present disturbing videos on the screen, one after the other. As a mother, I am not at ease when my kids before the computer and rely on algorithms to deliver their next video,” said Rosenworcel during arguments before the vote.

Modern regulation

Early on, the changes to Kid Vid had children’s programming advocates—and more recently a group of Senate Democrats—concerned. “The FCC’s assumption that children’s television guidelines are no longer necessary because programming is available on other platforms is simply wrong,” as three children’s television groups said in a fall 2018 filing to the FCC. “To obtain access to non-broadcast programming, households must have access to cable or broadband service, and be able to afford subscription fees and equipment. Many families, especially low-income families and families in rural areas, cannot access or afford alternative program options.”

Christopher Terry, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication agrees. In a phone call, Terry levied criticism at the shifting motivation behind the changes. Originally proposed as a first amendment issue in 2018, he said that was unlikely to fly due to the fact that the FCC has full mandate to regulate the content found on broadcast channel as licensing conditions. The reframing of the changes as a competition problem in an era of changing viewing habits, only came later. Even then, Terry questions who is actually benefiting from more competition.

“There is absolutely no upside for the people who use this programming in this proposal,” says Terry. “The only people who benefit from this is the FCC—they’ve got less paperwork to deal with—and the companies that are going to have more opportunities to figure out ways to get around this.”

With the FCC’s new rules moving forward nonetheless, the need for mature, responsible online platforms for kids content delivery is more critical than ever. Regulators want people to embrace the new online platforms, so there should be a destination which protects the interests of kids and their parents equally as any bottom line.

Innovation | Video

The OTT superhighway: What to expect as everyone goes OTT

July 8, 2019 Dana Ghavami, CEO—Spotible

Digital video in 2019 looks like digital content at the dawn of the information superhighway when it started to be commercialized in formative ways. With booming audiences for streaming video, new OTT video services are gearing up to ‘party like it’s 1999’. While the industry has been overshadowed by Netflix for quite some time, a slew of new “Princes” is making their presence known, including Disney, WarnerMedia, and NBCUniversal.

The OTT service establishment today—spearheaded by Netflix along with Amazon, Hulu, and Apple—spend a staggering $20 Billion plus dollars annually on original content. At the same time, up and comers like Pluto TV are trying to replicate the success of traditional TV over the Internet. And, under the ownership of Viacom, they’ve started to stream premium original content in a channel lineup that now includes BET, Comedy Central, MTV, and Nick.

On the other hand, YouTube is attempting to crossover from being a user-generated network to a general entertainment content destination. And numerous video services have emerged that cater to more niche audiences or content segments. These range from Vimeo’s traction with small business organizations like yoga studios to offerings like Lifetime Movie Club for original drama fans and Britbox for domestic fans of British programming.

The point of saturation will inevitably arrive and the number and mix of AVOD and SVOD will eventually play out. If this concerns you, remember that cable boasts thousands of channels. The digital tuner on a TiVo can access over 1,300 of them. Nationwide, without duplication, there are tens of thousands of channels and over 500 premium scripted shows.

History is a reliable predictor of the future. Looking back, linear TV grew five-fold in channels and shows during the golden age between the 90s and early 2010s. Even so, total viewing time increased by just 15% as monitored by TV measurement companies like Nielsen. Ultimately, free time and content consumption are on an X-and-Y axis.

The heaviest TV viewership comes from a core of the total TV viewing population, which is comprised of those over 55 years old in age. However, the median age of a viewers for newer and more tech savvy OTT platforms is just over 30 years old. Clearly, the preferences and expectations of younger audiences are going to shape plans for premium content offerings in the future.

Keep in mind that the proprietary premium content offerings of services like this will be a clear differentiator. Consider the much hyped Disney+ OTT service. In addition to boasting its deep well of animated and family programing, Disney is also the owner of the Star Wars franchise, which provides an intergalactic bridge to the post-millennial generation. And let’s not forget that WarnerMedia will soon distribute the Star Wars of our time: Game of Thrones. That franchise alone could provide the foundation for a significant OTT presence.

So, what will happen next in OTT as established and upcoming services prepare to battle? Most likely, the future will not belong to a handful of OTT services alone. Rather, we’ll see the proliferation of OTT brands that cater to niches of interest and genres, as well as those providing general TV style content offerings. These services will range widely in terms of content and tactics and the growing OTT audience will allow them to propagate on the Internet like TV channels did on cable.

It is less about who is going to take over OTT and more about who is going to take their audience for a great ride on the TV superhighway.

Innovation | Revenue | Video

How Hotstar, India’s hottest OTT service, turns viewers into subscribers

June 11, 2019 Peggy Anne Salz, Founder and Lead Analyst – Mobile Groove

The advance of high-speed networks and affordable data plans hasn’t only whet audience appetites for unlimited anytime, anywhere access to the content they desire. It has created ideal conditions for data-hungry streaming apps to proliferate, displacing traditional broadcast TV, and driving the meteoric growth of on-demand video. The phenomenon is global in scale, but nowhere is the impact as profound as in India, the fastest-growing video streaming market in the world. In India, on-demand entertainment services are forecast to account for more than 74% of mobile data traffic by 2020, up from 47% in 2014.

Streaming viewership is soaring, but it’s Hotstar—part of the Walt Disney entertainment empire and India’s largest premium streaming platform —that is seeing numbers climb into the stratosphere. In June Hotstar set a new global benchmark for live events. It reported a record 18.6 million users simultaneously tuned into the company’s mobile website and app to watch the deciding game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket games. This sort of high-octane content has allowed Hotstar to grow the number of monthly users across app and web to 300 million, up from 150 million the previous year.

Hotstar balances a mix of blockbuster entertainment (including rights to popular movies and shows from ABC, HBO, and Showtime) with a bouquet of content aligned with India’s obsession with Bollywood and demand for local language translations. (Note that India hosts hundreds of dialects and over 20 official languages). As a result of this winning combination, Hotstar dominates India’s on-demand video streaming services market. The latest research from Jana pegs Hotstar’s total market share at 69.7%, compared to Amazon (5%) and Netflix (1.4%).

Using data to differentiate the customer experience

At first glance, it’s remarkable that large global players with deep pockets continue to struggle in the Indian market—despite significant investments to ramp up local content. But look under the hood, and you may be surprised. Hotstar’s success may start with broadcast rights for live premium sports paired with high-quality vernacular content that attracts record numbers of viewers. However, it’s driven by a strategy that harnesses personalization, recommendations, and psychographic segmentation to keep them coming back.

Finding the right balance between acquisition and retention is crucial for a company like Hotstar, which thrives on live events. It pays to spend millions of dollars to acquire audiences at scale—but only if users don’t leave in droves when the event is over. Hotstar turned a potential problem into a massive opportunity by mapping individual user journeys to move audiences across the funnel from freemium viewers to paid subscribers.

How Hotstar moves viewers from fremium to subscription

In an exclusive interview, Mihir Shah, VP of Product & Marketing Growth at Hotstar, distills the company’s data-driven approach into the four fundamentals companies must get right to turn casual users into committed fans.

1. Personalize the entire user experience

It’s important to look beyond demographics to gain a deeper understanding of who your user is, what job your product solves in their lives, and how they use your product, Shah explains. In this scenario, actions are just as important as inactions to develop relevant engagement and re-engagement strategies. How many times has the user opened the app or viewed the content? How long has it been since the last interaction? How quickly or slowly is the user moving through the funnel, and what “nudges” might convince and—ultimately—convert them? Shah says these are critical questions marketers can only answer if they get a firm grasp of behavioral segmentation models aimed at understanding and predicting user attitudes and outcomes. “Once you establish a degree of predictability around how your users behave, the way is clear to progress users through the funnel with the help of content that is packaged and promoted based on a deep understanding of user personas and psychographics,” he says

2. Recommend your content along the customer lifecycle

User acquisition burns money if audiences don’t stick around to explore and consume the breadth of content available on the platform. This can be a major marketing challenge, and why a big part of Shah’s job revolves around “converting the sports fans who come to our platform—about 70 to 80 million daily for live events like IPL—to start watching more of the entertainment we offer. And, ultimately, get them to commit to a subscription.”

Achieving this objective requires the ability to identify and segment users based on digital details, including their browsing and viewing history, content consumption patterns and other preferences. “Based on a collaborative filtering method, we recommend entertainment titles that other sports viewers watch,” Shah says. “If the user is a free user on our platform, we move them through the funnel by recommending content from our Premium library that they are most likely to appreciate—content suggestions based on freemium viewership patterns. The relevant recommendations are then delivered to users off-platform as part of an omnichannel campaign strategy that spans push notifications, social and programmatic.

3. Messaging must be personal and perfectly timed

Keep up the momentum with campaigns that seek to influence user behaviors, not just move metrics. Shah illustrates using the example of users who have streamed live cricket matches. “We know that sending them push notifications based on the actual game event will encourage them to relaunch the app and view the game in progress.” In practice, he says, this means “delivering over 100 million push notifications tailored to the moment and timed perfectly within a very small window of just a few minutes.”

It’s a critical timeline that Shah says Hotstar reaches with the help of CleverTap, a customer lifecycle management and engagement platform that is capable of delivering more than 25 million push notifications a minute/ Shah says it was essential to reach Hotstar’s app install base of over 250 million. Significantly, “event-centric” campaigns appear to resonate most with audiences, boosting engagement and the average watch time per session by 12% and more.

“As we cross-sell entertainment content, let’s say a movie, to our sports viewers, our marketing creatives bring out a connection between the sport and the entertainment content, thus making the content more appealing to a sports fan.” But making the connection is just part of the strategy. Shah stresses it’s also a good idea to pinpoint the days and times of the week that different user segments are the most active and receptive to push notifications. Hotstar used these insights to optimize send times, increasing click-through rates by 3x in the process.

4. Engaging with users in real-time is a game-changer

RFM (Recency, Frequency Monetary) analysis is a behavioral segmentation model that examines user activity to identify how recently and frequently they performed a key action. To make sure the effort marketers invest in this model also drives returns, RFM also looks at the monetary value of the action (such as purchasing an item or, in the case of Hotstar, subscribing to programming). Shah is a huge proponent of RFM, a framework his company has harnessed to bring context to user engagement campaigns and, more importantly, predict churn. In both cases, Hotstar segments users in real-time based on certain actions or inactions they undertake within the app.

Imagine a scenario where users who were watching a particular episode of a series simply leave the app for some reason. “We see that as a trigger and send them a customized push notification encouraging them to come back to finish viewing that particular episode at precisely that moment.” Similarly, users who have seen previous episodes of a series but not the latest one, are sent a contextual push notification as soon as the latest episode is released. The outcome, he adds, is “more conversions and increased content consumption.”

The future is interactive

As Hotstar continues on its impressive growth trajectory, Shah says, the company is ready to take on one more bet: that “the future of all sports streaming will be social.” As he sees it, there’s no reason to limit the flow of content to push or pull. “Why should content consumption be one way?,” he asks. “Why can’t it be immersive and interactive?”

To enable two-way exchange, Hotstar is laying a new layer on top of its platform. Last year it introduced Watch`N`Play, a game that challenges users to guess cricket gameplay and outcomes, as well as social features and streaming using virtual reality (VR) to make the match more immersive. This year Hotstar is going one better, adding “another layer of chat” to the platform, allowing fans to invite their friends from their Facebook account or phone book contacts to the platform.

Effective user acquisition ends in advocacy, and that means meeting and anticipating needs that consumers themselves might not be able to identify. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that customers are hungry for more, even though they don’t know what they are looking for,” Shah explains. It’s up to companies like Hotstar to pave the road for this future, building a platform and adding what he calls “unique, inevitable and incremental experiences” that go beyond just entertaining content.

Taking a bite out of Apple News+

March 28, 2019 Chris Pedigo, SVP Government Affairs – DCN

This week, Apple announced a new suite of services including Apple News+ and Apple TV+, subscription services for news and video content respectively. It’s an interesting move for Apple, which excels at creating premium experiences, enjoys strong customer loyalty, and has the ability to potentially deliver audience scale. There are, however, serious questions about the revenue split, consumer relationship, app-market dominance, access to content, and Apple’s long-term commitment to publishers.

While few details are available at this point (particularly about Apple TV+), it appears Apple News+ will cost $9.99 per month with Apple taking a hefty 50% cut and distributing the remainder to all of the participating publishers. Tim Cook did not announce a price point for Apple TV+ but it seems likely to have similar characteristics as Apple News+, including a similar revenue split and distribution structure.

A Lopsided Relationship

With these news services, Apple will control not only the relationship with the consumer, but will also control the data about the consumer. It’s hard enough to build a subscription business without having another company serve as the middleman between the content creator and their audience. Moreover, as New York Times’ CEO Mark Thompson put it, “Bundles always dilute the brand.”

More troubling is the fact that Apple runs the app marketplace itself via the App Store while simultaneously offering a media consumption app that competes with publishers’ branded apps as well as those of other aggregators such as Flipboard. An example of the inherent conflict of interest is that Apple places its own apps front and center, pre-installed on more than a billion phones worldwide. Beyond a glaring competitive advantage, controlling the marketplace and delivery mechanism of its competitors’ apps gives Apple unprecedented insights into the transactions of those companies (think Amazon selling its own brands while seeing everyone of its competitors’ transactions).

Market Monopoly

Apple forcing the reported levels of revenue splits and data terms underscores larger concerns about the dominance of platforms. As Senator Blumenthal, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee has stated, “[t]here is much stronger agreement among me and my colleagues that there needs to be more aggressive enforcement action on tech companies.” Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently called for the break-up of Apple and the other platforms. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has long voiced concerns about potential bias of big tech firms. Members of Congress are concerned that big tech platforms have too much influence and are harmful to society. Although Apple has avoided a lot of the privacy gaffes of other tech giants, the fact that Apple can boldly propose such lopsided terms shows how the landscape is perilously tilted in favor of the big platform companies.

Bringing further voice to the concerns raised by policymakers, Spotify filed suit against Apple claiming that Apple “purposely limited choice and stifled innovation.” Spotify claims that Apple uses its platform to disadvantage competitors in the music streaming business, including by taking a 30% cut of subscription revenue. While Apple is not proposing to get into the news business, the Apple TV+ product sounds like Apple will be both distributor and competitor.

And, considering the fact that Apple has expressed concerns in how digital advertising works, it seems an ironic choice for the company to favor advertising-based business models over subscriptions for publishers.

Quick Fix or Long-term Success?

Publishers are also rightly concerned about whether Apple will maintain a long-term commitment to this initiative. Facebook famously changes their terms, goals and algorithms about every six months, which makes it extremely difficult for publishers to build a sustainable business. Other social platforms have rolled out paid incentives to content producers only to withdraw them as soon as the programs are off the ground. Publishers have rightly grown wary of purported platform support.

At the end of the day, Apple needs to make a serious commitment to making distribution work for high-quality news and entertainment. As we have seen in Google and Facebook’s own (hardly altruistic) need to invest in the production of content that their business models undermined, building a model that sustains quality content creation is the bedrock of long-term success.