Marketing can change the world - Sixteen by nine

Marketing can change the world Volume #40 Issue #09

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F I R S T P U B L I S H E D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9

THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE CONTENTS

03THEDRUM.COM

48 | CREATIVE WORKSWe consider how intense competition between SVOD providers has played out in the public eye, and look at the best TV ads for streaming platforms.

26 | TRIGGER HAPPYWhy have KFC, Lynx and Reese’s all been uploading strange, sense-tingling videos? We explore the weird world of branded ASMR.

09 | TRENDINGWe ask broadcasters, brand marketers and top agency figures for their take on the next big change to viewing habits.

14 | WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE Queer Eye, Black Mirror, The Handmaid’s Tale... it’s clear that TV still has a major role to play in influencing – and reflecting – society’s values.

22 | TRIAL BUY TV Could Channel 4, Vudu, YouTube and NBCUniversal’s forays into stoppable TV spell the end for traditional TV advertising?

30 | DESPERATE MEASURESAs TV continues to outgrow the TV set, can measurement evolve with it? And if it can, which measurement company will come out on top?

34 | CHOICE CUTSInteractive TV was explored to great effect with Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch episode, but is the format simply an exercise in big data gathering?

38 | GEE WHIZZVR has been billed as the ‘next big thing’ for decades. But will the introduction of 5G mobile technology finally make this vision a reality?

42 | ASIA SPECIFICThere are more than 30 OTT platforms in India’s burgeoning streaming market as audiences demand emphasis on local tastes and cultures.

44 | SHOWS OF STRENGTHWith the streaming wars heating up, we speak to competing platforms Disney, Hulu and Quibi as they prepare to do battle.

18 | STREET SMARTSWe visit the friendliest street in America to find out how Big Bird, Elmo and Cookie Monster have stayed relevant for the past 50 years.

CONTENTS

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE THE TEAM

Meet the teamContacts

Scottish Magazine Awards 2017• Digital Presence of the Year

PPA Digital Awards 2016• Business Media Brand of the Year

Global Conference Awards 2016• Best Event Linked to a Publication (Do It Day)

British Media Awards 2016• Event of the Year (Do It Day)

AOP Awards 2015• Editorial Team of the Year

PPA Independent Awards 2015• Business Media Brand of the Year

Accolades

FOUNDERS

Gordon Young, [email protected]

Diane Young, chief executive [email protected]

Nick Creed, digital [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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ADVERTISING & MEMBERSHIPS

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James Le Masurier (EMEA)[email protected]

Fergus Gregory, group commercial [email protected]

MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS

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AWARDS & EVENTS

Katy Thomson, event [email protected]

THE DRUM STUDIOS

Kevin Ayadassen, head of branded content [email protected]

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

Amanda Dewar, studio [email protected]

Stephen Flanagan, [email protected]

Printed by: Stephens & GeorgeType design: Monotype

EDITORIALStephen Lepitak, [email protected]

Cameron Clarke, deputy [email protected]

Thomas O’Neill, managing editor [email protected]

Sonoo Singh, associate editor [email protected]

Charlotte McEleny, APAC [email protected]

Jennifer Faull, brands editor [email protected]

Kyle O’Brien, Creative Works [email protected]

Katie Deighton, senior [email protected]

Rebecca Stewart, senior [email protected]

John McCarthy, senior [email protected]

Shawn Lim, reporter (Singapore)[email protected]

Andrew Blustein, reporter (US) [email protected]

Sam Bradley, assistant [email protected]

Imogen Watson, junior content writer [email protected]

Ellen Ormesher, editorial assistant [email protected]

THE TEAM

Stephen LepitakEditor Stephen oversees The Drum editorial direction globally, including thedrum.com which covers trends from the UK, US and Asia.

Gordon YoungEditor-in-chiefGordon helped found The Drum more than 25 years ago and has been at the helm ever since.

Cameron ClarkeDeputy editor Cameron has covered the marketing industry for a decade and is primarily responsible for our media and agencies coverage.

Charlotte McElenyAPAC publisherCharlotte leads the team in Asia Pacific, which covers the latest happenings from India to China to Australia.

Kyle O’BrienCreative Works editorKyle heads up The Drum’s Creative Works section, highlighting the best creative campaigns and stories from around the globe.

Sonoo SinghAssociate editorSonoo has two decades’ experience as a business journalist and plays an advisory role at The Drum. She is often found speaking at events.

Thomas O’NeillMagazine managing editorThomas edits the print edition of The Drum and is responsible for enriching the reader experience across all of our platforms.

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Go to thedrum.com/awards to download entry packs. To chat about what awards suit you, contact [email protected]

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So scrambled is the current picture of the TV industry, we are simultaneously being told that TV is dying at the hands of streaming services and that TV is successfully fighting streaming services off. Take how new viewing data from Ofcom, the dispassionate UK communications regulator, has been subjected to wildly different interpretations from media watchers. “More Bodyguards and Love Islands needed as UK viewers desert TV,” boomed the headline in The Guardian. “Traditional TV viewing holds off streaming,” countered the BBC.

The reality (that increasingly nebulous concept in modern media studies) lies somewhere in between. The number of households signed up to the most popular streaming platforms – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV and Disney Life – did indeed rise from 11.2m in 2018 to 13.3m. But their viewership still lags well behind traditional TV, which accounts for 69% of UK watch time, though that figure is declining. UK viewers today watch on average three hours and 12 minutes of TV a day, 11 minutes less than last year and 50 minutes less than in 2010. Among 16 to 24-year-olds, TV viewing has halved since 2010.

Bully for the streamers then? Well, not quite as even the darling of them all, Netflix, isn’t having everything its own way according to its latest set of results published in the US. They showed that it had added just 2.7 million new subscribers between April and June, well short of the 5 million it predicted. Little wonder, perhaps, given the vast number of competitors now battling in its space. In India alone there are more than 30 OTT platforms vying for viewers (page 42).

Traditional broadcasters have responded to the streaming trend with the launch of their own OTT propositions (like the BBC and ITV’s forthcoming joint venture, BritBox, and the sports platform ESPN+) leading television’s cheerleaders to ponder where streaming begins and TV ends. New players continue to enter the fray and Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has already secured $100m worth of advertising revenue before his film streaming service, Quibi, has even launched.

The debate over TV’s future will continue, but what is in little doubt is that this is an industry in flux. The fight for viewers is leading Netflix and co to pump huge investment into programming and trial new formats like Bandersnatch, the choose your own journey film created by the makers of Black Mirror (page 34). Viewers have never had so much great television – for want of a better word – at their fingertips.

Advertisers, too, are similarly spoiled for choice. But they can be forgiven for continuing to harbor doubts about investing in digital platforms since the traditional ratings and measurement systems designed to tell them if their money is being well spent or wasted have struggled to keep pace with TV’s rapid evolution (page 30). One universal ratings system is still needed to rule them all, but which of the major measurement companies will come out on top?

For as long as we have the likes of Netflix and Hulu, the BBC and ITV, to push one another for our entertainment, media critics and advertisers can be assured that plenty more Bodyguards and Love Islands are on the way. Where we watch them? Well, that remains to be seen.

Featuring

Cover by MediaMonks Illustration [instagram.com/mediamonksillustration]

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LEADER

Jill Offman, executive vice-president at Paramount, who considers how TV has become the new currency of culture (page 14)

Ben Lehmann, executive producer of Sesame Street, who tell us how the beloved show has stayed fresh and true to its purpose (page 18)

Sharon Dubois, an ASMR artist, who explains why brands are racing to capitalize on the craze for sense-stimulating YouTube videos (page 26)

Jenna Pirog, senior director at National Geographic, who tells how the publisher is using immersive media for new types of content (page 38)

THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE LEADER

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE WATCH THIS SPACE | TRENDING

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG

CHANGE IN THE WAY WE

WATCH?Broadcasters, brand marketers and agency figures give us their

take on the next big thing that will change the way we watch TV.

Leo Birch,content strategist,Engine

In 2015 I went to a social media conference where we were told by a cabal of ‘online video experts’ that the way we watch content would change the face of creativity. OTT and streaming platforms would upset the linear TV applecart to such an extent that we’d all be watching naught but an endless stream of five second videos and nothing more.

Dead was the collective TV viewing experience. We’d all need to find something else in our living room to point our furniture at. The serial drama was dead, natural history documentaries were just for old people, reality game shows were old hat, 30-minute sitcoms were too long to be funny and RIP live sport. You see where this is going, right? Killing Eve, Blue Planet II, Love Island, Fleabag, the Women’s World Cup etc etc.

The TV schedule may be borderline irrelevant nowadays and all the rules of traditional video creation have gone out the window, but the stuff that really drives conversation and moves the cultural dial is the same as it ever was. There are just infinitely more opportunities available to

consumers and creators alike.I guess my point is that ultimately, as creators,

we need to always be mindful that the way audiences watch content is only a small part of the equation. Technologies evolve, innovations grow into ubiquity and platforms die along the way, but the human appetite for great storytelling remains consistent, regardless of which shiny rectangle we watch it on.

Eun-Ky Park,chief digital officer entertainment,ProSiebenSat 1

It may sound stale, but content is, and will continue being, king. This is what changes the way we watch video content every single day. We know disruption in this industry is far from being over, but we also know that as long as we have content that inspires people based on their personal preferences and habits, we will succeed.

People spend more time consuming content through different media channels than ever before and there will be three main points to define who will be able to follow the trends created by viewers and powered by technology: the quality and

uniqueness of content, the content experience and content discovery and the use of data and how we combine editorial and advertising content to create a better viewing experience. In the end, the targeted advertising experience can define how good or bad the viewer experience is as a whole.

As we no longer distinguish between entertainment for linear and digital TV, we need to rely on partners like the European Broadcaster Exchange (EBX) that allow advertisers to reach the masses while enabling them to create tailored experiences at scale, helping the industry to adapt more quickly and including advertising into a holistic viewer experience that benefit all involved: broadcasters, brands and viewers.

Combining the strengths of linear television with the strengths of non-linear streaming offerings will be key to offer what each viewer wants to watch – when, how and where they want to consumer content. Our goal is not to become the next Netflix or play against them, our goal is to finally play to our strengths to the fullest through collaboration with technology partners to understand how we can best use data to create a good video experience for our viewers regardless of the device or platform they want to use.

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUETRENDING | WATCH THIS SPACE

10

Rami Saad, head of content partnerships, SnapWho said we’re going to just watch? There’s still tremendous untapped potential in the camera and augmented reality.

Yes, the smartphone changed everything and allowed us to explore and understand the world around us like never before. But the internet-connected camera is the unsung hero here. We have seen its purpose evolve rapidly. It’s no longer solely a method of capturing experiences – now it can unlock them too and overlay computing over the world.

Think about AR in the context of content and entertainment; it is a vast, creative and interactive canvas that we can use to tell

stories, and to enrich and evolve them too. Augmented reality can quite literally add another dimension to what we watch.

At Snap, we’ve been experimenting with this for a while, most recently in partnership with HBO for the final season of Game of Thrones. We had AR experiences unlocked by real life pins, maps and banners that encouraged users to delve deeper into the story. This culminated in an AR-built Viserion descending on the Flat Iron building in New York, bringing winter along with him, before taking flight across the world.

If you can immerse yourself in a scene of your favorite show today through AR, imagine the experiences that 5G connectivity will make possible soon. Storytellers have a new canvas: the world.

Alex Wallace, GM of news, entertainment and studios, Verizon Media

AR is everywhere right now, but it isn’t totally mainstream yet. It soon will be. AR capabilities are rapidly expanding across formats and platforms. With the mass adoption of 5G, we can expect AR to accelerate with the same velocity as texting or video streaming, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for premium content creation and creators.

More immersive content will change our habits in different and important ways.

First, in brand marketing, AR is changing how brands market and how consumers engage with content. It is especially suited to augmenting shoppable content. We’re already starting to see brands take advantage of the capability, as in Asos’ virtual catwalk where users can see how a piece of clothing moves and flows before purchasing. Or you may recall Verizon Media’s AR campaigns with The Home Depot and Pottery Barn. Within the AR ad, shoppers were able to select pieces of furniture and virtually place those items in their living space, all on their mobile device. Pottery Barn and The Home Depot both saw consumers engage for over two minutes (bear in mind that standard engagement time for mobile rich media is 13.14 seconds).

Expect brands to continue developing better ways to leverage AR to solve consumer pain points, develop integrated e-commerce opportunities and create more human connections. As consumers become more accustomed to purchasing through AR it will become a common consumer expectation, akin to free expedited shipping or instantaneously searching for an answer on our phones.

The second shift impacts editorial and news organizations, storytellers and creators. Augmented reality and lower-touch VR experiences can create deep empathy towards a news story or a cause. It can transport a user into a day in the life of a favorite celebrity or athlete. Viewers feel closer to the content and story they are viewing, as if they are a part of it and not apart from it. What they used to watch, they are now experiencing.

I can’t think of a more exciting time to be in this business.

Paola Colombo, GM of adtech and business development, Publitalia 80

We need to understand how television is changing today to predict what will change the way we will watch content tomorrow. Over the last few years, TV has been evolving digitally

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10

Rami Saad, head of content partnerships, SnapWho said we’re going to just watch? There’s still tremendous untapped potential in the camera and augmented reality.

Yes, the smartphone changed everything and allowed us to explore and understand the world around us like never before. But the internet-connected camera is the unsung hero here. We have seen its purpose evolve rapidly. It’s no longer solely a method of capturing experiences – now it can unlock them too and overlay computing over the world.

Think about AR in the context of content and entertainment; it is a vast, creative and interactive canvas that we can use to tell

stories, and to enrich and evolve them too. Augmented reality can quite literally add another dimension to what we watch.

At Snap, we’ve been experimenting with this for a while, most recently in partnership with HBO for the final season of Game of Thrones. We had AR experiences unlocked by real life pins, maps and banners that encouraged users to delve deeper into the story. This culminated in an AR-built Viserion descending on the Flat Iron building in New York, bringing winter along with him, before taking flight across the world.

If you can immerse yourself in a scene of your favorite show today through AR, imagine the experiences that 5G connectivity will make possible soon. Storytellers have a new canvas: the world.

Alex Wallace, GM of news, entertainment and studios, Verizon Media

AR is everywhere right now, but it isn’t totally mainstream yet. It soon will be. AR capabilities are rapidly expanding across formats and platforms. With the mass adoption of 5G, we can expect AR to accelerate with the same velocity as texting or video streaming, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for premium content creation and creators.

More immersive content will change our habits in different and important ways.

First, in brand marketing, AR is changing how brands market and how consumers engage with content. It is especially suited to augmenting shoppable content. We’re already starting to see brands take advantage of the capability, as in Asos’ virtual catwalk where users can see how a piece of clothing moves and flows before purchasing. Or you may recall Verizon Media’s AR campaigns with The Home Depot and Pottery Barn. Within the AR ad, shoppers were able to select pieces of furniture and virtually place those items in their living space, all on their mobile device. Pottery Barn and The Home Depot both saw consumers engage for over two minutes (bear in mind that standard engagement time for mobile rich media is 13.14 seconds).

Expect brands to continue developing better ways to leverage AR to solve consumer pain points, develop integrated e-commerce opportunities and create more human connections. As consumers become more accustomed to purchasing through AR it will become a common consumer expectation, akin to free expedited shipping or instantaneously searching for an answer on our phones.

The second shift impacts editorial and news organizations, storytellers and creators. Augmented reality and lower-touch VR experiences can create deep empathy towards a news story or a cause. It can transport a user into a day in the life of a favorite celebrity or athlete. Viewers feel closer to the content and story they are viewing, as if they are a part of it and not apart from it. What they used to watch, they are now experiencing.

I can’t think of a more exciting time to be in this business.

Paola Colombo, GM of adtech and business development, Publitalia 80

We need to understand how television is changing today to predict what will change the way we will watch content tomorrow. Over the last few years, TV has been evolving digitally

TrendingV2.indd 10 14/08/2019 14:14

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11

Kathryn Jacob,chief executive officer,Pearl & Dean We’re at an inflection point for content – there seems to be a new streaming platform launching each week.

While the jury’s still out on how many separate services people are willing to pay for, one thing is certain: the battle for attention among advertisers is bound to increase. Viewers today are watching across multiple devices and touchpoints, making the fight for exceptional content more crucial than ever. So-called third screening shows no sign of decline, with people tweeting along to Love Island on their phones, and reading the latest gossip column on their laptops.

However, I believe that people will always crave interaction, connection and shared experiences, and nothing comes close to the big screen for this. The shift to mobile has transformed so many areas of daily life, with people banking on the bus and shopping

on the sofa – but we shouldn’t forget how memorable and resonant live experiences still are.

In cinema, this is a big focus, and there continues to be growing demand for outdoor cinema experiences. ITV clearly sees this, working with The Luna Cinema to bring Love Island to life with a beach experience in Brighton. The experience economy will see a shift towards a desire for shared viewing and rounding out the experience with drinks, snacks and brand partnerships that make sense. Admissions in May this year peaked at a jaw-dropping 16.6m, an increase of 20.7% on 2018 and an uplift on every May within the last 50 years; last year saw the highest cinema admissions since the 1970s with a total of 177m. In a world of endless digital possibilities, I feel this shows we are at a tipping point, where people want to go back to the magic of the big screen as the lights dim – and an excuse to switch to airplane mode, if only for a couple of hours.

and technologically and made available across all platforms, with unquestionable benefits to viewers and advertisers. As more consumers include digital into their viewing experience, the way and when they watch video will change drastically, in turn, changing the content itself.

The next big thing that will change the way we watch is not a new thing, but rather a better, enhanced and tailored viewing experience, powered by the use of data, AI and machine learning for TV content across devices. Broadcasters have the opportunity to understand the viewing habits and content preferences of each and every single viewer and tap into these insights to deliver a unique user experience, without forgetting the power of linear TV to reach the masses.

Together with broadcasters, technology partners such as the EBX allow advertisers to reach audiences across Europe at scale in a highly premium environment, no matter where, how and when they watch video content, redefining the relationship between viewers and advertisers. In doing so, they improve the viewing experience, leveraging the quality of video content across mobile, desktop and TV.

From a marketing perspective, content fragmentation and multiple device consumption require a cross media strategy through an omnichannel marketing approach. As such, total audience measurement will become more essential than ever before. By better understanding who is watching what on which platform, broadcasters will be able to ensure a personalized experience – through editorial and advertising content – in a brand-safe environment, maintaining the highest standard of quality and innovation in video formats.

“If you can immerse yourself in a scene of your favorite show today through AR, imagine the experiences that 5G connectivity will make possible.”

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12

Karen Boswell,chief experience officer EMEA,VMLY&RImagine for a moment. You’re packing to go on holiday with your partner and streaming David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 3 in the background – yes, I’m hoping this happens, I’m a big fan.

An island you’re due to visit gets mentioned. You say: ’Hey Google, pause and invite Steve to view.’ Steve’s avatar appears on screen as he’s driving. He accepts an audio invite and joins the stream (Steve, by the way, is the first name that popped in my head #sorrynotsorry). Together you verbally bookmark the locations with ‘Hey Google, save location to ‘Holiday 2020’ file’ – a folder appears on both your TV and smartphones.

Packing done. You request a mini edit for Steve so he can watch the bookmarked footage later in glorious HD – a version with a reminder to pack renders out in seconds. Two days later, on the plane, you watch the final episode, you each instruct the content with your voice through your smartphone as you watch together on your shared iPad. As you’re exploring the oceans at one point, you even see a GPS marker pop up showing you’re flying right above where Attenborough was! OMG, you can’t wait to land now.

What’s the next big thing in TV and video you ask? Personalized voice-controlled content, wherever, whenever.

Think about it for a moment: pretty much every TV manufacturer is working with Amazon or Google or both – except Samsung, which is sticking to Bixby and ThinQ for LG. And they have fast-tracked beyond base commands like channel change and volume to ‘Turn the TV off after this show finishes’ and ‘Resume Narcos from last play’.

Content is not contained to TVs, just as the internet is not contained in your phone. An SSO (single sign-on) means that with most major content platforms, you can watch your content at home, on the go, streamed or downloaded. And it is getting easier and faster all the time.

Combine this with the interactive experience architecture behind the likes of Bandersnatch and You vs Wild on Netflix, and I doubt I’m alone in predicting that we will move pretty quickly to something with a consumer-centric voice user experience (VUX) working across these navigable experiences.

So, the equation is easy: SSO + VUX x (content + hardware) = personalized voice-controlled content, wherever, whenever.

‘Hey Google, teleport me to the Bahamas!’ Oh wait, that’s the next episode.

Andrew Mortimer,director of client strategy,Sky Media

The constant evolution of TV shows no signs of slowing. Technology puts consumers in control, allowing them to watch the content they want, whenever and wherever they choose, and the quality of TV just gets better and better.

Game of Thrones received a record 32 Emmy Award nominations. Chernobyl, a Sky Original, has become the highest rated TV show by IMDb ever. England’s win over New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup Final was arguably one the best sporting moments of all time, enjoyed by the whole nation after a unique collaboration between Sky and Channel 4.

TV moments like these spark endless talking points and continue to form a key cultural part of our everyday conversations and social media world. Global investment in drama is at an all time high and continues to grow, including at Sky where we will more than double our investment in original programming through Sky Studios.

One of the challenges with this proliferation of premium content and customer choice is curation. The platforms that will be the most successful will aggregate the best quality television into a simple interface and utilize new technologies like data-led customization and voice control to make it simple for viewers to find what they want to watch. The best platforms will also play their part in supporting local, original programming and the wider broadcasting ecosystem.

The multitude of ways in which today’s viewers watch TV presents both a challenge and an opportunity for advertisers to reach audiences. Until recently it has been impossible to measure the cross-platform impact of broadcast and on-demand viewing. With the launch of CFlight later this year, in partnership with NBCU, Sky will give brands the ability to see the combined reach and frequency of their cross-platform campaigns. As the content customers choose to watch becomes more personalized to their interests and passions, their connection with advertising in and around that content becomes stronger. This connection is further enhanced by the technology that enables addressable advertising to deliver more relevant commercials to specific viewers.

The reach of addressable advertising continues to grow rapidly and brings benefits for all: for broadcasters, it’s proven to reduce channel switching, consumers find the ads more relevant and advertisers see their campaigns cut through and deliver valuable business results.

“The evolution of TV shows no signs of slowing. The quality just gets better and better.”

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12

Karen Boswell,chief experience officer EMEA,VMLY&RImagine for a moment. You’re packing to go on holiday with your partner and streaming David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 3 in the background – yes, I’m hoping this happens, I’m a big fan.

An island you’re due to visit gets mentioned. You say: ’Hey Google, pause and invite Steve to view.’ Steve’s avatar appears on screen as he’s driving. He accepts an audio invite and joins the stream (Steve, by the way, is the first name that popped in my head #sorrynotsorry). Together you verbally bookmark the locations with ‘Hey Google, save location to ‘Holiday 2020’ file’ – a folder appears on both your TV and smartphones.

Packing done. You request a mini edit for Steve so he can watch the bookmarked footage later in glorious HD – a version with a reminder to pack renders out in seconds. Two days later, on the plane, you watch the final episode, you each instruct the content with your voice through your smartphone as you watch together on your shared iPad. As you’re exploring the oceans at one point, you even see a GPS marker pop up showing you’re flying right above where Attenborough was! OMG, you can’t wait to land now.

What’s the next big thing in TV and video you ask? Personalized voice-controlled content, wherever, whenever.

Think about it for a moment: pretty much every TV manufacturer is working with Amazon or Google or both – except Samsung, which is sticking to Bixby and ThinQ for LG. And they have fast-tracked beyond base commands like channel change and volume to ‘Turn the TV off after this show finishes’ and ‘Resume Narcos from last play’.

Content is not contained to TVs, just as the internet is not contained in your phone. An SSO (single sign-on) means that with most major content platforms, you can watch your content at home, on the go, streamed or downloaded. And it is getting easier and faster all the time.

Combine this with the interactive experience architecture behind the likes of Bandersnatch and You vs Wild on Netflix, and I doubt I’m alone in predicting that we will move pretty quickly to something with a consumer-centric voice user experience (VUX) working across these navigable experiences.

So, the equation is easy: SSO + VUX x (content + hardware) = personalized voice-controlled content, wherever, whenever.

‘Hey Google, teleport me to the Bahamas!’ Oh wait, that’s the next episode.

Andrew Mortimer,director of client strategy,Sky Media

The constant evolution of TV shows no signs of slowing. Technology puts consumers in control, allowing them to watch the content they want, whenever and wherever they choose, and the quality of TV just gets better and better.

Game of Thrones received a record 32 Emmy Award nominations. Chernobyl, a Sky Original, has become the highest rated TV show by IMDb ever. England’s win over New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup Final was arguably one the best sporting moments of all time, enjoyed by the whole nation after a unique collaboration between Sky and Channel 4.

TV moments like these spark endless talking points and continue to form a key cultural part of our everyday conversations and social media world. Global investment in drama is at an all time high and continues to grow, including at Sky where we will more than double our investment in original programming through Sky Studios.

One of the challenges with this proliferation of premium content and customer choice is curation. The platforms that will be the most successful will aggregate the best quality television into a simple interface and utilize new technologies like data-led customization and voice control to make it simple for viewers to find what they want to watch. The best platforms will also play their part in supporting local, original programming and the wider broadcasting ecosystem.

The multitude of ways in which today’s viewers watch TV presents both a challenge and an opportunity for advertisers to reach audiences. Until recently it has been impossible to measure the cross-platform impact of broadcast and on-demand viewing. With the launch of CFlight later this year, in partnership with NBCU, Sky will give brands the ability to see the combined reach and frequency of their cross-platform campaigns. As the content customers choose to watch becomes more personalized to their interests and passions, their connection with advertising in and around that content becomes stronger. This connection is further enhanced by the technology that enables addressable advertising to deliver more relevant commercials to specific viewers.

The reach of addressable advertising continues to grow rapidly and brings benefits for all: for broadcasters, it’s proven to reduce channel switching, consumers find the ads more relevant and advertisers see their campaigns cut through and deliver valuable business results.

“The evolution of TV shows no signs of slowing. The quality just gets better and better.”

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13

Scott Worthem, senior vice-president of strategic partnerships, Comscore

Over the next five to 10 years, the majority of premium video will converge between what is linear TV and digital (primarily OTT). The still-evolving consolidation and bundling of disparate streaming services will have a major impact on where consumers end up and where advertisers will need to prioritize their resources.

The announcement of the Disney+ launch,due later this year, is just the latest shockwave – particularly given its integration with Hulu and ESPN+ (along with its existing Spotify integration) at a comparable price point for a standard Netflix subscription. It will take some time before the cycle shakes out and streaming options stabilize for consumers. Through Comscore’s OTT Intelligence Product, we’ve seen average monthly viewing hours per household highest for live streaming OTT services versus a standalone library of video-on-demand (eg Netflix, Prime TV, etc). Thus, live TV’s appeal of a curated set of live network programming options at the switch of a button might win the long-term preference for a lean-back content discovery experience. In the future, premium video services may all have a live streaming component.

Another factor that will shape viewing habits: consumers expecting more flexibility in how they choose to view and pay for content. As shown in Comscore’s 2019 State of OTT report and other research, cord cutting is up across all age demographics, with progressively higher streaming

adoption rates among younger users. These cord-cutters have no use for traditional content delivery models. And certainly, improvements in bandwidth will mean that consumers will have better and broader access to OTT content from a range of services. For example, the availability of 5G wireless networks at scale will allow entire families to stream content at once. The industry is buzzing about how 5G may consolidate the wireless and pay TV space among the major players. Verizon and AT&T already

Tom Harrington,senior research analyst,Enders Analysis

In only about a decade, technology has fundamentally altered the attitude of many towards TV content. Largely gone is the overriding requirement to fix an appointment to watch a show, replaced by an expectation that everything that has ever been made should be available to watch on some channel or service, somewhere. This shift has driven great volumes of viewing away from linear television and towards catch-up and streaming services, placing debt-funded or loss-leading companies at the center of the industry, driving up prices for content (and expectations as to quality) while traditional broadcasters are held back by a sluggish TV ad market, fixed licence fee or cord-cutting.

But even with this disruption, what people are mainly watching is still just TV. Although viewers are getting used to full series being made available simultaneously, auto-play, credit-

skipping and helpful recommendation engines for discovery, the main product remains the same types of stories told in formats that have been honed and developed over decades of broadcast. And despite all these new platforms, and their availability across all sorts of devices, most viewing still takes place on the TV set (only 8% of the last series of Killing Eve wasn’t watched on that big rectangular thing we are told no-one watches anymore). Most of the innovations in the actual production of content, such as interactivity in sport or drama (à la Bandersnatch) are great PR but are ultimately gimmicky in that they dismiss a major attraction of great television; having a skilled director or producer who artfully chooses what is revealed for you. While the “freedom” that varied episode lengths on streaming services provides creators usually gives rise to bloat and indiscipline not possible in a world of regimented linear slots.

Nevertheless there will be implications of technological advancements on the content itself, especially as it becomes more important for suppliers to distinguish themselves in a crowded market. The rich and scary data outputs of the smart home makes the ability of nuanced tailoring of pieces of content to individuals not far off, while interactivity surely has a place in entertainment formats such as quiz shows and reality. However, with most of the growth in video viewing coming from YouTube, perhaps it will be in short-form, with the likes of Quibi investing masses in original content, where the resilience of the tried and tested television program formats face their greatest test.

Nick Wrightmanaging director,Jump, part of Havas Group Media5G will be a game changer in more ways than we can imagine. To put 5G’s impact into context we first need to recognize the effect 4G had: something we rarely consider.

If you’re like me (late 30s, two kids, working in a city), your life has probably been hugely affected by the shift from 3G. How we travel, how we consume entertainment, our Friday night food choices and even how we speak to our doctor have all been completely revolutionized. The likes of Uber, Netflix, Deliveroo and Babylon certainly wouldn’t be as prevalent, or even exist, without 4G.

They say the leap to 5G is going to be even greater. If this is true, then hold tight. From a content perspective, 5G will not only impact the speed of content consumption, but will also completely disrupt content creation. Effectively, the distance between production and impact will shrink massively, to the point where we truly realize ‘real-time’ and ‘live’. Couple this with data and AI and we can expect to see a shift to an automated world where dynamic content and personalization become the norm.

For me, the impact of 5G is not about the speed at which content can reach the consumer, it’s about the speed at which we can now connect to multiple sources and enable different types of tech to talk to each other with (near) zero latency, across assets, data, processing and platforms.

We’ll also see new life being breathed into old or existing tech. AI, AR, MR and 3D have all been around for some time, but while some have failed to take off as expected I believe they were always waiting for 5G. Google Glass 2 anyone?

The main players are primed and ready to go and we’ll see them roll out key updates as 5G starts to really take hold. 4K content will be standard. 3D may make a comeback with processing power being handled ‘off-device’ and more widely available. Broadcasters will further push their ‘beyond TV’ strategies and start to connect different platforms together more effectively: from AI companion apps and on-the-go content consumption to ‘real life’ experiences in sports.

Tokyo 2020 will also be a key moment, when the world’s broadcasters will be vying to demonstrate their capabilities in delivering a next-level viewing experience. Build the network and they will come – in real time.

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUETV ISN’T DEAD | THE SHOW MUST GO ON

From water cooler discussions about everything from women’s rights to obesity, not to mention the staggering range of brand partnerships shows can attract, it’s clear that TV still has a major role to play

in influencing – and reflecting – society’s values.

W H AT A T I M E T O B E

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From water cooler discussions about everything from women’s rights to obesity, not to mention the staggering range of brand partnerships shows can attract, it’s clear that TV still has a major role to play

in influencing – and reflecting – society’s values.

W H AT A T I M E T O B E


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THE SHOW MUST GO ON | TV ISN’T DEAD

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE

By Rebecca Stewart

Whether 2019 has seen you four-pages deep in a Reddit sub trying to find out just why a grimacing Daenerys Targaryen set Westeros alight, giving your wardrobe a long-overdue Marie Kondo-inspired clear-out or stifling a sob when Fleabag’s emotionally stunted Scottish dad revealed himself a romantic at heart (“I think you know how to love better than any of us, that’s why you find it all so painful”), one thing is certain – the golden era of television and its impact on the wider culture is still intact.

Shifts in TV habits, combined with an explosion in second screen consumption (in the US alone 45% of adults told Nielsen they ‘always’ use a digital device while viewing) and post-match analysis on social, have helped move shows like Game of Thrones out of the living room and into the realm of cultural phenomena. Fandoms, YouTube parodies, music videos, toys, jewelry, craft beverages and games are among just some of the things Thrones has inspired in its eight-year tenure, cutting down the idea that TV is dead in a way only George RR Martin could.

“Game of Thrones is constructed in the same way successful brands are,” explains DuBose Cole, VaynerMedia’s head of strategy. He says the show created a shared experience for viewers every Sunday night, helping HBO use TV in a traditional way to set a cultural agenda.

“It also followed this up with a short game across the likes of Reddit and via the actors’ Instagram accounts, proving it was relevant to viewers and their lives and allowing them to engage with the narrative on their terms and go deeper. Digital is letting showrunners reinforce shared cultural narratives with things that drive relevance in people’s lives.”

It’s not just about one show though. Amid the choice paralysis brought on by the dizzying speed at which new shows are now greenlit, premium dramas from traditional broadcasters as well as zeitgeisty originals from Netflix et al have also cut through the noise.


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What is TV’s cultural capital in 2019?A cursory glance at this year’s Emmy nominees reads like a roll call of the dramas – and indeed ‘dramadies’ – most likely to have induced such sought-after water cooler moments. Among them are BBC’s Killing Eve and Fleabag (in which showrunner Phoebe Waller-Bridge has rewritten the rulebook on violent women and sexy priests). Elsewhere, NBC’s Dan Fogelman created the show This is Us, which has been praised for sparking discussion around provocative subjects such as race, obesity and sexuality in modern America.

Jill Offman, who oversees the Paramount Network, MTV and Comedy Central UK as well as Viacom International Studios in the UK, says TV’s influence on culture is ever evolving. “In one sense, TV’s cultural capital is about shows that fuel discussion, those water cooler conversations. Increasingly for youth audiences, TV’s cultural capital is about holding a mirror up to society and reflecting the world around them,” she asserts.

She points to MTV’s reality gameshow True Love or True Lies as an example of how this strategy has paid off for Viacom. Unlike its rival Love Island, the show was lauded by the press for its diverse casting and was the second-most successful show launch for MTV UK last year, pulling in 149,000 16 to 34-year-olds an episode – 378% more than the slot average.

It’s in reflecting modern society too that VOD platforms such as Amazon Prime, Hulu and indeed Netflix have also emerged as winners in the race for

cultural clout alongside their traditional counterparts. Originals like The Handmaid’s Tale, Queer Eye, The Man in the High Castle and Black Mirror’s mind-bending interactive Bandersnatch experience have not only aired to rave reviews, but provided social commentary too – whether that’s shining a light on women’s rights, encouraging men to talk about toxic masculinity or forcing audiences to consider the impact of technology on their everyday lives.

Sundance award-winning director Alma Har’el is founder of Free the Bid, an initiative that encourages advertisers to provide more opportunities for women directors. She recently launched Free the Work, which encourages the world of TV, filmmaking and music to employ a more diverse talent base. She argues that TV’s new cultural currency lies in its ability to speak to a broader range of audiences than ever before.

“Cultural value is found in these incredible new voices and cinematic feasts. These aren’t just unforgettable performances, they’re changing the way we see each other and rewriting history,” she says.

Some shows she thinks are smashing it? Fleabag, Donald Glover’s Atlanta, The Handmaid’s Tale and Netflix’s Russian Doll.

For Peter Blacker, who heads up revenue strategy and innovation for NBCUniversal’s Telemundo, television is the “primary currency of culture”. “Shows take on a life of their own now, whether that’s in a social media environment or a physical one,” he says, explaining that Telemundo’s


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What is TV’s cultural capital in 2019?A cursory glance at this year’s Emmy nominees reads like a roll call of the dramas – and indeed ‘dramadies’ – most likely to have induced such sought-after water cooler moments. Among them are BBC’s Killing Eve and Fleabag (in which showrunner Phoebe Waller-Bridge has rewritten the rulebook on violent women and sexy priests). Elsewhere, NBC’s Dan Fogelman created the show This is Us, which has been praised for sparking discussion around provocative subjects such as race, obesity and sexuality in modern America.

Jill Offman, who oversees the Paramount Network, MTV and Comedy Central UK as well as Viacom International Studios in the UK, says TV’s influence on culture is ever evolving. “In one sense, TV’s cultural capital is about shows that fuel discussion, those water cooler conversations. Increasingly for youth audiences, TV’s cultural capital is about holding a mirror up to society and reflecting the world around them,” she asserts.

She points to MTV’s reality gameshow True Love or True Lies as an example of how this strategy has paid off for Viacom. Unlike its rival Love Island, the show was lauded by the press for its diverse casting and was the second-most successful show launch for MTV UK last year, pulling in 149,000 16 to 34-year-olds an episode – 378% more than the slot average.

It’s in reflecting modern society too that VOD platforms such as Amazon Prime, Hulu and indeed Netflix have also emerged as winners in the race for

cultural clout alongside their traditional counterparts. Originals like The Handmaid’s Tale, Queer Eye, The Man in the High Castle and Black Mirror’s mind-bending interactive Bandersnatch experience have not only aired to rave reviews, but provided social commentary too – whether that’s shining a light on women’s rights, encouraging men to talk about toxic masculinity or forcing audiences to consider the impact of technology on their everyday lives.

Sundance award-winning director Alma Har’el is founder of Free the Bid, an initiative that encourages advertisers to provide more opportunities for women directors. She recently launched Free the Work, which encourages the world of TV, filmmaking and music to employ a more diverse talent base. She argues that TV’s new cultural currency lies in its ability to speak to a broader range of audiences than ever before.

“Cultural value is found in these incredible new voices and cinematic feasts. These aren’t just unforgettable performances, they’re changing the way we see each other and rewriting history,” she says.

Some shows she thinks are smashing it? Fleabag, Donald Glover’s Atlanta, The Handmaid’s Tale and Netflix’s Russian Doll.

For Peter Blacker, who heads up revenue strategy and innovation for NBCUniversal’s Telemundo, television is the “primary currency of culture”. “Shows take on a life of their own now, whether that’s in a social media environment or a physical one,” he says, explaining that Telemundo’s


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE THE SHOW MUST GO ON | TV ISN’T DEAD

investment in original series such as The Queen of the South and Ugly Betty remake Betty en NY has been yielding fruit for the broadcaster in terms of both new audiences and advertiser interest.

The network’s views in the US are up 58% year-on-year because it has chosen to “reflect multicultural America in a very modern way” in order to attract new viewers from beyond the Latin American market. Harking back to Har’el’s point that TV with the most cultural impact lies in making shows that reflect a diverse audience, Blacker says research has been core to making sure Telemundo’s output resonates with audiences who speak both English and Spanish and reflects what’s going on in the wider cultural and political sphere. Its programming execs, he says, have even spent time down at the Mexican border speaking to people so they can more accurately understand their experiences and reflect those in scripting decisions.

The medium is the message For the broadcasters and platforms working to stay ahead of the zeitgeist, it’s not just the decisions made around the scripting table that matter: marketing has a massive role to play too. Netflix has become king of cultivating partnerships and brand experiences around its shows, and Stranger

Things 3 recently launched with an eye-watering 75 promotional brand deals.

Hulu and HBO, meanwhile, are fans of shock tactics – with the latter marching in a red-cloaked army of handmaids at SXSW last year. The former has run countless Game of Thrones-based stunts, including adorning the French Alps with an epic, icy version of the House Stark insignia.

Earlier this year, BBC Creative senior strategic planner Jenny Double helped devise a campaign to promote Killing Eve. Her team was tasked with promoting the cat-and-mouse spy story, which focuses on the relationship between MI6 investigator Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and glamorous assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer).

The result was ‘#CrazyForEve’, a buzzy billboard push themed around ‘public displays of obsession’ featuring messages between Eve and Villanelle. Villanelle also bombarded BBC Radio 1 with song requests for Eve.

“You can’t turn a show into a cultural phenomenon,” says Double, “that’s in the hands of the audience to decide. But we do everything we can to reflect and enhance the conversations that we think an audience will have about our shows through our marketing and social media output, and to be the voice of that fandom within the BBC.”

“You can’t turn a show into a cultural phenomenon, that’s in the hands of the audience to decide.”

Awaiting Rebecca confirmation on whether this was a branded stunt or fan art.


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEHOPE AND SESAME | CLEVER COOKIES

After 50 years of making learning fun, cult

TV program Sesame Street shows no sign of

slowing down as it continues to implement its

ethos of giving kids a decent start in life.

by Katie Deighton

STREETSMARTS

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After 50 years of making learning fun, cult

TV program Sesame Street shows no sign of

slowing down as it continues to implement its

ethos of giving kids a decent start in life.

by Katie Deighton

STREETSMARTS


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE CLEVER COOKIES | HOPE AND SESAME


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“Sesame Street and, in other ways, [its sequel] The Electric Company are, with lapses, the most intelligent and important programs in television.”

So wrote film critic Renata Adler in The New Yorker back in 1972, three years after the program that pioneered TV as an educational medium was first broadcast in the US.

America was a different place when Adler was unpicking the guest appearance of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson as something that “may have been maddening” for many in a country still unnerved by the concept of integration, while her attempts to depict characters now built into the modern western psyche included descriptions of a “seven-foot, yellow-feathered bird who is subject to depressions” and a blue-furred “junkie” with an appetite for cookies. Elmo, one of Sesame Street’s most-loved characters, didn’t get a mention as he didn’t make his on-screen debut until later that year.

Yet the magazine’s academic assessment of a show for pre-schoolers does manage to capture its central raison d’être and why it is one of the longest-running programs in the world at 50 years old: it portrays an imagined place that is both a culturally integrated utopia and a gritty Manhattan neighborhood where people die, Muppets feel deep sadness and characters carry HIV diagnoses.

On top of these hard truths and life lessons, it teaches kids how to read, write and count.

“The company is designed to help kids be smarter, stronger and kinder – that’s our mission statement,” says Ben Lehmann, the show’s executive producer. He’s referring to Sesame Workshop, the non-profit brand that grew from Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett’s network TV show into a fully fledged media empire comprising theme parks, ebooks, merchandise and more.

“The grander purpose of Sesame Workshop is, of course, to help children get ready for their formal education. But it’s not just about getting them ready for their formal education – it’s also about getting them ready for life.”

Lehmann and his team are currently in the middle of a summer celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, which includes a 10-city roadshow and a special musical episode to kick off the new season. Earlier in the year, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio officially changed the name of the intersection between West 63rd Street and Broadway to Sesame Street, and the Kennedy Center bestowed one of its annual honors on the program in July. It was the first time a TV show had made the cut.

“To me, it’s not something to shy away from – 50 is a milestone and I think everybody around the company is extremely proud,” says Lehmann. “We wanted to honor our past and our rich history and to celebrate kids and the importance of giving them a strong start. But we also wanted to be forward looking and think about what the next 50 years of Sesame Street will look like.”

Since its inception in 1969, the show’s storylines haven’t deviated beyond the key mission of its founders. However, the workshopping process behind these plot points has evolved to be one


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“Sesame Street and, in other ways, [its sequel] The Electric Company are, with lapses, the most intelligent and important programs in television.”

So wrote film critic Renata Adler in The New Yorker back in 1972, three years after the program that pioneered TV as an educational medium was first broadcast in the US.

America was a different place when Adler was unpicking the guest appearance of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson as something that “may have been maddening” for many in a country still unnerved by the concept of integration, while her attempts to depict characters now built into the modern western psyche included descriptions of a “seven-foot, yellow-feathered bird who is subject to depressions” and a blue-furred “junkie” with an appetite for cookies. Elmo, one of Sesame Street’s most-loved characters, didn’t get a mention as he didn’t make his on-screen debut until later that year.

Yet the magazine’s academic assessment of a show for pre-schoolers does manage to capture its central raison d’être and why it is one of the longest-running programs in the world at 50 years old: it portrays an imagined place that is both a culturally integrated utopia and a gritty Manhattan neighborhood where people die, Muppets feel deep sadness and characters carry HIV diagnoses.

On top of these hard truths and life lessons, it teaches kids how to read, write and count.

“The company is designed to help kids be smarter, stronger and kinder – that’s our mission statement,” says Ben Lehmann, the show’s executive producer. He’s referring to Sesame Workshop, the non-profit brand that grew from Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett’s network TV show into a fully fledged media empire comprising theme parks, ebooks, merchandise and more.

“The grander purpose of Sesame Workshop is, of course, to help children get ready for their formal education. But it’s not just about getting them ready for their formal education – it’s also about getting them ready for life.”

Lehmann and his team are currently in the middle of a summer celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, which includes a 10-city roadshow and a special musical episode to kick off the new season. Earlier in the year, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio officially changed the name of the intersection between West 63rd Street and Broadway to Sesame Street, and the Kennedy Center bestowed one of its annual honors on the program in July. It was the first time a TV show had made the cut.

“To me, it’s not something to shy away from – 50 is a milestone and I think everybody around the company is extremely proud,” says Lehmann. “We wanted to honor our past and our rich history and to celebrate kids and the importance of giving them a strong start. But we also wanted to be forward looking and think about what the next 50 years of Sesame Street will look like.”

Since its inception in 1969, the show’s storylines haven’t deviated beyond the key mission of its founders. However, the workshopping process behind these plot points has evolved to be one


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE CLEVER COOKIES | HOPE AND SESAME

of the most complex forms of data-driven content creation in the industry. The advice of child psychologists, quant and qual testing, viewership data and post-screening analysis all inform the paths that the show and all of the Workshop products will take for each season, including the season’s central ‘curriculum’ – the overarching theme that guides its plotlines.

Season 50, which will air on Sesame Street’s dual homes of HBO and PBS, will explore themes of “oops and ahas”, for instance.

“It’s about kids in the US right now being very stressed,” explains Lehmann. “They’re over-scheduled frequently, they have a lot of pressure on them and there is kind of a fear of failure. We wanted to destigmatize that and put the fun back into learning.”

Developments in child psychology have also helped evolve the structure of Sesame Street. For the first 40 years or so of the program’s existence, prevailing academic wisdom taught show producers that kids were not capable of following an extended narrative, so episodes were written as a series of sketches, says Lehmann.

“But about 10 years back, developmental experts realized that no, kids actually love narrative storytelling and can follow a longer narrative of up to 10 to 12 minutes,” he explains. “So we’ve changed the show in response to those findings. We always start with an introduction that tells the viewer what is coming today and then we’ll go into a meaty narrative about it – a real story with a beginning, middle and an end – that kids can follow.”

It is interesting that Sesame Street’s shift to a style of storytelling reliant on viewers sitting down and investing 30 minutes of their time has come as media at large is fragmented into snackable portions, such as 15-second Instagram stories and 10-minute web series. Meanwhile, episodes of rival kids TV shows, such as the ubiquitous Peppa Pig, hardly ever run for more than 10 minutes at a time.

The playoff between long- and short-form content is a “balancing act” for Lehmann, who recognizes kids’ appetite for the latter. This is true now more than ever, as increasing numbers of kids consume Sesame Street’s content on mobile – especially in developing and war-torn nations. The brand recently partnered with the International Rescue Committee and the MacArthur Foundation to create Ahlan Simsim, a mobile-first show made specifically for displaced kids living in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The brand’s YouTube channel has proven critical in the company’s quest to find balance between short-

and long-form content. The show is often broken up by a direct-to-camera ‘letter and number break’, allowing for episodes to be sliced into portions and uploaded to its website and other hosting platforms.

YouTube also offers two more advantages: viewer data (“We can see which parts kids are watching, how long are they watching for and where they stop watching”) and a place for adult fans of Sesame Street to consume content, nostalgically or otherwise. The team recognizes that not all of its audience sits between the ages of two and six, so periodically throws in jokes for the amusement of its older viewers. These range from Sarah Jessica Parker explaining the concept of ‘big’ with Grover to the 1979 Beatles parody ‘Letter B’ (which, incidentally, resulted in a lawsuit from the Fab Four).

Lehmann is unafraid of looking 50 years into the future, largely due to the company’s proven investment in innovative storytelling techniques. “We also spent a lot of time thinking about what augmented reality looks like,” he says, referencing educational apps such as Big Bird’s Words.

“As producers, we must always remember how kids consume the show. Every season we meet with

our directors and say to them, for example, ‘They’re not really watching on a giant TV.’ Some are, but a lot are not. So we ask: ‘How can we tailor our content to fit all that and keep meeting the needs of kids as they evolve?’”

It’s hard to say if Adler’s assertion – that Sesame Street is the most intelligent and important show on television – still holds today. The medium now represents a hydra-like beast that superlatives can no longer attach themselves to: who’s to say if Sesame Street means more to culture than, for example, The Sopranos or The Simpsons?

What it has maintained, however, is an energy that is powered by the times it is produced in – one that is in constant reiteration and completely beholden to the needs of its audience. It has no issue with creating new characters to make sure society is fairly reflected on its screens and, conversely, no issue creating new storylines for 50-year-old puppets with very limited vocabularies. It embraces its nostalgic power and wields it as a force for good, always putting the interests of kids ahead of the politics its storylines sometimes reflect.

At a stretch, the show could be characterized in Lehmann’s favorite character, Cookie Monster. “There’s something so satisfying because, at the end of the bit, no matter what, he’s going to eat a cookie,” he says. “There’s a predictability there that I just love in this character. I just know exactly who he is.”

“It’s about kids in the US being stressed. They’re over-scheduled frequently, they have a lot of pressure on them and there is kind of a fear of failure. We wanted to destigmatize that and put the fun back into learning.”

Sesame Street’s executive producer Ben Lehmann (pictured center, in

the necktie) is honoring 50 years of the show while thinking about what

the next 50 will look like


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECHANNEL-SHOPPING | WATCH THE STORE

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE WATCH THE STORE | CHANNEL-SHOPPING

Shoppable TV no longer just means QVC, costume jewelry and cleaning products as major broadcasters Channel 4, Vudu, YouTube and NBCUniversal all attempt to get viewers shopping from within their favorite shows. Could this spell the end for traditional TV advertising?

by Imogen Watson

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The idea of shoppable TV isn’t exactly new. Shopping channels such as QVC first came to prominence in the 1980s as a way for viewers to buy things they never knew they needed, all from the comfort of their own living rooms – first via call centers and then, later, through websites and then apps. But rather than the hour-long soliloquies we see from such stations as they talk up slippers that double as dusters, broadcasters are now exploring new and innovative ways of allowing viewers to shop from within the environment of their favorite TV shows.

Still though, defining what exactly falls under the ‘shoppable TV’ umbrella can be difficult, says Anne Hunter, the executive vice-president of strategy and growth at Kantar’s insights division, who adds that the rapid rise of VOD and smart TV platforms in recent years has created massive opportunities.

Channel 4 has been running shoppable ads on its VOD platforms since 2015, across iOS and desktop. Earlier this year it secured a commercial deal with clothing brand Never Fully Dressed (NFD) to run during the broadcaster’s reality TV show Made in Chelsea.

The beauty of the deal was its ability to leverage the likability and availability of the show’s cast members, with Channel 4 dressing the Made in Chelsea cast in clothing from NFD’s range and then, during commercial breaks in the linear broadcasts, running contextual ads of cast members wearing the pieces.

It was on the broadcaster’s All 4 catch-up service, however, that things really got interesting. During breaks there the ads popped up again, but now with the possibility for viewers to click to buy from the range of outfits. “As it runs across multiple platforms, you have this great exposure to the product through various touchpoints,” says Jane Hector-Jones, Channel 4’s regional partnership and digital manager. “And our stats from the NFD campaign really prove that shoppable ads drove click-through in excess of usual rates.”

Google, meanwhile, has been testing out a new feature specifically for YouTube that will display product recommendations and pricing below videos, and which allow the user to check out within the search engine. Walmart-owned video service Vudu is introducing shoppable ads that will display a small banner on-screen, which people can click on via their connected-TV remote to add a product to their Walmart shopping cart.

NBCUniversal, however, is the first to break into linear TV with its shoppable TV feature, imaginatively called ShoppableTV. Launched during its coverage of the French Open earlier this year, and with Lacoste as its first advertiser, viewers could shop the Lacoste x Novak Djokovic Collection while watching the Wimbledon champion play in real-time.

It worked by sending an alert to the phones of NBC viewers as they watched the match, telling them to use the cameras on their phones to scan a QR code that had appeared on their TV screen. Once they had done this, viewers were sent to a landing page where they could purchase what the player was wearing.

Josh Feldman, NBCUniversal’s head of marketing, who leads its ShoppableTV offering, says it adds value to the experience. “We don’t want it to just be

SHOPPABLE.indd 24 14/08/2019 12:07

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The idea of shoppable TV isn’t exactly new. Shopping channels such as QVC first came to prominence in the 1980s as a way for viewers to buy things they never knew they needed, all from the comfort of their own living rooms – first via call centers and then, later, through websites and then apps. But rather than the hour-long soliloquies we see from such stations as they talk up slippers that double as dusters, broadcasters are now exploring new and innovative ways of allowing viewers to shop from within the environment of their favorite TV shows.

Still though, defining what exactly falls under the ‘shoppable TV’ umbrella can be difficult, says Anne Hunter, the executive vice-president of strategy and growth at Kantar’s insights division, who adds that the rapid rise of VOD and smart TV platforms in recent years has created massive opportunities.

Channel 4 has been running shoppable ads on its VOD platforms since 2015, across iOS and desktop. Earlier this year it secured a commercial deal with clothing brand Never Fully Dressed (NFD) to run during the broadcaster’s reality TV show Made in Chelsea.

The beauty of the deal was its ability to leverage the likability and availability of the show’s cast members, with Channel 4 dressing the Made in Chelsea cast in clothing from NFD’s range and then, during commercial breaks in the linear broadcasts, running contextual ads of cast members wearing the pieces.

It was on the broadcaster’s All 4 catch-up service, however, that things really got interesting. During breaks there the ads popped up again, but now with the possibility for viewers to click to buy from the range of outfits. “As it runs across multiple platforms, you have this great exposure to the product through various touchpoints,” says Jane Hector-Jones, Channel 4’s regional partnership and digital manager. “And our stats from the NFD campaign really prove that shoppable ads drove click-through in excess of usual rates.”

Google, meanwhile, has been testing out a new feature specifically for YouTube that will display product recommendations and pricing below videos, and which allow the user to check out within the search engine. Walmart-owned video service Vudu is introducing shoppable ads that will display a small banner on-screen, which people can click on via their connected-TV remote to add a product to their Walmart shopping cart.

NBCUniversal, however, is the first to break into linear TV with its shoppable TV feature, imaginatively called ShoppableTV. Launched during its coverage of the French Open earlier this year, and with Lacoste as its first advertiser, viewers could shop the Lacoste x Novak Djokovic Collection while watching the Wimbledon champion play in real-time.

It worked by sending an alert to the phones of NBC viewers as they watched the match, telling them to use the cameras on their phones to scan a QR code that had appeared on their TV screen. Once they had done this, viewers were sent to a landing page where they could purchase what the player was wearing.

Josh Feldman, NBCUniversal’s head of marketing, who leads its ShoppableTV offering, says it adds value to the experience. “We don’t want it to just be

SHOPPABLE.indd 24 14/08/2019 12:07

Will shoppable ads soon be popping up during real-time showings of our favorite TV shows? Are you likely to basket fake

tan as you catch up with the gorgeous singles of Love Island?

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE WATCH THE STORE | CHANNEL-SHOPPING

shopping for the sake of shopping.”The campaign was a success, says Feldman, who

explains that it was possible to measure how many people went from TV screen to Lacoste’s website to check out, and he puts this success down to the rise of instantly gratifying mobile shopping. Combining e-commerce with the enjoyment of programming is highly effective as it blends two things that are really loved, he says.

“The basic premise of ShoppableTV is that it takes the power and scale of television and combines it with the simplicity and ease of e-commerce from a mobile perspective,” Feldman explains. He understandably then sees it as a big part of NBCUniversal’s offering going forward, saying it is “limitless in its possibilities”.

One limit however, according to Matt Hill, research and planning director of Thinkbox, is scalability and whether broadcasters can get it to a point where it’s in enough people’s hands to actually make an impact on bottom line.

But Kantar’s Hunter warns of a “shiny object challenge”, whereby marketers will get “overly excited by the prospect, move budgets into direct response and then realize they don’t have a brand base to continue to sell the product”.

Although the prospect of a locked-in audience sounds enticing for brands, a lot of consumers won’t want to be overtly sold products as they leisurely catch up on their favorite TV show.

To counter, Hill’s advice is this: “Provide them with an opportunity to buy something they might actually be interested in and be conscious of the content you slot the shoppable ads into.”

Feldman agrees, but argues that NBC got it right. “It’s about matching the right brands with the right shows. If you have Lacoste’s Djokovic collection in the French Open, everybody watching that on NBC knows that marketing is a part of the deal.”

But even if it’s done right, Hill isn’t convinced shoppable TV will replace traditional TV advertising any time soon. Such a total disruption of the TV experience, he thinks, would be dangerous. And although he expects we will see more of it, he doesn’t think it’s going to become “the bedrock of how TV is used”. “We’re not going to get to a place where you turn on the television and it’s full of product placement and advertising messages within the program.”

Feldman isn’t quite so sure. “I think the traditional model of advertising is going to change tremendously over the next five years,” he says. “When you look at the future of advertising, I think reduced commercial loads are going to play a huge part in it.”

He thinks shoppable TV will add value to traditional advertising, because it will draw people’s attention in different ways than just your standard commercial break.

Channel 4’s Hector-Jones hints that the British broadcaster won’t be throwing its entire weight behind shoppable in the near future, reasoning that it all comes down to what’s right for the brand, the advertiser and the campaign objective. “We’ll continue to look at everything on a campaign-by-campaign basis,” she says.

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEWHISPER CAMPAIGNS | A RELAXED APPROACH

Listening to someone tapping or watching a tiny pig eating cucumbers may sound like the very definition of niche activities, but YouTube is currently awash with sensory stimulation videos that garner huge viewing figures. And brands, quite naturally, want in on the action.

TRIGGER HAPPY

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Listening to someone tapping or watching a tiny pig eating cucumbers may sound like the very definition of niche activities, but YouTube is currently awash with sensory stimulation videos that garner huge viewing figures. And brands, quite naturally, want in on the action.

TRIGGER HAPPY

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by Jennifer Faull

The world of ASMR is a strange one. Type those four letters into YouTube – where the genre has found a home and a huge, devoted following – and you’ll find everything from a young girl in Tel Aviv role-playing as an optician (992,000 views) to a Canadian woman eating a block of honeycomb (37m views), a micro-pig nibbling on cucumbers (11m views) and an hour-long episode of The Joy of Painting featuring the dulcet tones of Bob Ross (9.2m views).

One of the most viewed is a three hour and 15 minute ‘show’ where ‘ASMRtist’ Rhianna performs over 50 ‘triggers’, including ear cleaning, peeling, tapping and lathering up soap in front of a 3D Audio microphone, which gives listeners a surround-sound effect. It’s been watched more than 74m times since being uploaded last June.

ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, was a term coined nearly a decade ago and describes the reaction some people have to these sounds or visual cues. For some, it’s “a drug-free mental massage”, “a braingasm”, it gives them “the tingles”. For others, it provokes a complete state of relaxation. “The reason why this has 70m views but only 400k likes is because everyone already fell asleep,” joked one commenter on Rhianna’s video.

There are now millions of ASMR-tagged videos and thousands of creators around the world, the more sophisticated of whom have begun using specially designed microphones that allow them to pick up the most minute sounds as they whisper, tap, chew, slurp and brush.

And as with any trend, brands have tried to get in on the action. It’s a difficult stream to insert your product into, however, especially as many creators disable the ad function, especially mid-roll, to avoid disrupting their relaxing videos. Some psychologists have even warned that people who are relaxed by ASMR videos enter a passive state and may be more susceptible to ads.

Tingle sells Sharon Dubois started her YouTube channel ASMRGlow in 2016. She now has nearly a million subscribers and her videos have garnered a collective 167m views. Her most popular, with 6m views to date, is titled Fixing You Whispered Roleplay (Gloves sounds, Face Brushing, Scratching sounds and +) and sees her don latex gloves and act out a futuristic doctor’s examination, with the viewer as the alien patient.

It’s been easy to make assumptions that a lot of ASMR content is designed to evoke some kind of sexual response, given many top creators are women. In fact, PayPal and YouTube have both targeted ASMR artists and attempted to block payments to them or demonetize their content by preventing ads from appearing next to it, under the guise that it’s not “brand safe”.

TRIGGER HAPPY

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In June 2018, China’s anti-pornography office banned all ASMR videos in a bid to “protect minors from harmful content”. But a 2015 study by Swansea University found people were 17 times more likely to use ASMR videos to help them fall asleep than for sexual stimulation.

Dubois says that, contrary to assumptions, brands are actively seeking out ways to get involved. “I select my sponsorships carefully because a lot of brands want to surf the ASMR wave and are ready to put out the silliest products just to get the community’s attention,” she says, adding that one came out with an ‘ASMR lipstick’.

“As an influencer you have a responsibility as to what you’ll present to your viewers, so I need to make sure the product is actually something that could be useful for some people, or I like it personally. I try to research the brands that are presented to me; I accept only around three a month.”

Aside from working directly with creators, some brands have made their own videos. Renault, Harley-Davidson, Glenmorangie whisky, Reese’s and Carphone Warehouse have all made ASMR videos and soundtracks.

One early adopter was Ikea. In 2017, the Swedish furniture maker created a series of 25-minute videos in which a softly spoken woman talked about the company’s most popular products for college students. In one, she discussed the qualities of its bedding as sheets are rustled, folded and smoothed. It’s been watched 2.6m times.

Or take KFC. Last September it launched an ASMR series in the UK called KFChill to promote its menu. Created by Mother, a dedicated website featured three separate tracks and served up sounds of frying chicken, sizzling bacon and simmering gravy.

Unilever brand Lynx, meanwhile, jumped on the bandwagon in February. It released three videos showing a whispering man who guided viewers through how to shave different parts of their body. “It was one of those back-pocket techniques that you kind of always know about and are just waiting for the right time to use it,” recalls Adam Koppel, a creative director at 72andSunny Amsterdam, the agency that created the series.

“We really did our homework to make sure we hit all the cues while still making it really funny and weird. We lucked out that the talent had done a load of ASMR videos on his own. Also, our director was a huge ASMR fan so we knew what kind of scenes we needed, how to enhance the sound and what kind of gear we’d need.”

The campaign received 75m media impressions and 6.5m video views on Snapchat. It had a 147% increase in engagement on Snapchat over the average Lynx campaign and, most importantly, had a 40% uplift in purchase intent over the average campaign for the brand.

“We got great attention online and the Lynx water cooler chat has been nothing but positive,” Koppel adds. “The creative approach also paved the way for future work and greater risk taking. This was

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In June 2018, China’s anti-pornography office banned all ASMR videos in a bid to “protect minors from harmful content”. But a 2015 study by Swansea University found people were 17 times more likely to use ASMR videos to help them fall asleep than for sexual stimulation.

Dubois says that, contrary to assumptions, brands are actively seeking out ways to get involved. “I select my sponsorships carefully because a lot of brands want to surf the ASMR wave and are ready to put out the silliest products just to get the community’s attention,” she says, adding that one came out with an ‘ASMR lipstick’.

“As an influencer you have a responsibility as to what you’ll present to your viewers, so I need to make sure the product is actually something that could be useful for some people, or I like it personally. I try to research the brands that are presented to me; I accept only around three a month.”

Aside from working directly with creators, some brands have made their own videos. Renault, Harley-Davidson, Glenmorangie whisky, Reese’s and Carphone Warehouse have all made ASMR videos and soundtracks.

One early adopter was Ikea. In 2017, the Swedish furniture maker created a series of 25-minute videos in which a softly spoken woman talked about the company’s most popular products for college students. In one, she discussed the qualities of its bedding as sheets are rustled, folded and smoothed. It’s been watched 2.6m times.

Or take KFC. Last September it launched an ASMR series in the UK called KFChill to promote its menu. Created by Mother, a dedicated website featured three separate tracks and served up sounds of frying chicken, sizzling bacon and simmering gravy.

Unilever brand Lynx, meanwhile, jumped on the bandwagon in February. It released three videos showing a whispering man who guided viewers through how to shave different parts of their body. “It was one of those back-pocket techniques that you kind of always know about and are just waiting for the right time to use it,” recalls Adam Koppel, a creative director at 72andSunny Amsterdam, the agency that created the series.

“We really did our homework to make sure we hit all the cues while still making it really funny and weird. We lucked out that the talent had done a load of ASMR videos on his own. Also, our director was a huge ASMR fan so we knew what kind of scenes we needed, how to enhance the sound and what kind of gear we’d need.”

The campaign received 75m media impressions and 6.5m video views on Snapchat. It had a 147% increase in engagement on Snapchat over the average Lynx campaign and, most importantly, had a 40% uplift in purchase intent over the average campaign for the brand.

“We got great attention online and the Lynx water cooler chat has been nothing but positive,” Koppel adds. “The creative approach also paved the way for future work and greater risk taking. This was

ASMR.indd 28 14/08/2019 10:37

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE A RELAXED APPROACH | WHISPER CAMPAIGNS

[Clockwise from top left] KFC’s ASMR campaign served up the sound of

frying chicken, Reese’s created a feature-length ASMR film, Michelob

took ASMR to the Super Bowl and Lynx created a whispered shave tutorial

also one of the first times in a while that the brand started experimenting with different techniques and content. Most of the work fell into the more traditional media lengths. This was different. We never had a length in mind. It was just about making something that was funny and worked.”

Can ASMR ads work away from YouTube?The challenge is how to scale this kind of content. It’s an intimate medium and taking it from the small screen, where people are watching with headphones, to any kind of mass broadcast environment is tough.

But it’s not impossible. Take AB InBev beer brand Michelob Ultra. Testament to ASMR’s move into the mainstream, the brand used its minute-long 2019 Super Bowl slot to air an ad featuring actor Zoë Kravitz atop a mountain, whispering while tapping a bottle of Michelob and pouring it into a glass.

“You always want to be disruptive,” Liz Taylor, chief creative officer at FCB Chicago, told Vulture magazine following its airing. “The Super Bowl is notoriously one of the loudest [events] – there are explosions, people screaming, there are puppies and monkeys and babies. We wanted to be disruptive and thought – could we turn our ads into experiences? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could give 110 million people the chills at the same time?”

But it’s unlikely we’ll see ASMR ads regularly hitting the big screen in any way other than a stunt. “It’s a technique that needs the intimate experience,” says 72andSunny’s Koppel, “but for me that’s fine. I don’t think we live in a time when viewing experiences should be the same.

“Every bit of content that is made now really needs to be considered and made for that viewing experience. At the end of the day, you want a holistic brand experience that makes the most out of different screens so, if anything, I can imagine more traditional work that establishes an idea on the big screen, but then drives to a more intimate experience on the smaller screen. Everyone watches TV with their phone in their hands; I’d love to see the two merge so you get a full sensorial experience.”

“It’s a technique that needs the intimate experience, but for me that’s fine. I don’t think we live in a time when viewing experiences should be the same.”

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUETV MEASUREMENT | THE LONG VIEW

For as long as broadcasters have relied on advertisers to fund their programming, there has been a need to measure the size and makeup of audiences. But as TV continues to outgrow the TV set, can measurement evolve with it? And if it can, which measurement company will come out on top?

by Andrew Blustein

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For as long as broadcasters have relied on advertisers to fund their programming, there has been a need to measure the size and makeup of audiences. But as TV continues to outgrow the TV set, can measurement evolve with it? And if it can, which measurement company will come out on top?

by Andrew Blustein


Nielsen began measuring television back in 1950, years before color TV was commonplace. It is, to this day, the undisputed leader. Comscore, meanwhile, latched itself on to the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s to measure the digital arena. It is regarded as the leader here. But the industry today is not satisfied with the offerings of either, as television becomes more data-enabled and advertisers demand more granular and accurate metrics.

The two leaders have been slow to catch up with what the industry wants. But while they seek to do so, they are hurtling toward each other with their attempts to develop the holy grail of cross-screen, full-funnel TV measurement. “The momentum in cross-platform measurement is something we can’t gloss over,” says Amanda Tarpey, Nielsen’s senior vice-president of product leadership.

Both companies are pivoting during tumultuous times. Nielsen chief executive officer David Kenny called 2018 a “challenging year” with fourth quarter revenues dropping 5.8%. Comscore hasn’t had it any easier, with chief executive Bryan Wiener and president Sarah Hofstetter both departing after less than a year in their roles following “irreconcilable” differences with the board. This has paved the way for new challengers to make strong plays to offer more future-looking versions of TV measurement.

One such player is LiveRamp, which calls itself an identity resolution provider and recently bought metrics and analytics company Data Plus Math for $150m. The plan is to link LiveRamp’s identity graph with its new toy’s cross-screen measurement tools to provide advertisers proof that their campaigns in TV are performing the way they do in digital. The deal focuses on helping advertisers move beyond trading off of age and gender to guarantee results based on lower-funnel outcomes.

Comscore’s chief revenue officer Chris Wilson downplays LiveRamp’s acquisition, saying it “may be competitive in the margins”, but agrees that the future of TV measurement will be results-based. He adds that Comscore’s new leadership team is “very focused” on the strategy of cross-platform measurement.

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Nielsen has been trying to connect the dots since 2012 when it launched Total Audience Ratings, a measurement that takes in a slew of video touchpoints from traditional linear TV to mobile devices.

In January this year, it made its latest update to the platform by including mobile and over-the-top (OTT) audiences, and brought YouTube viewership numbers into the reporting mix.

The company’s general manager of advanced advertising, Kelly Abcarian, says Nielsen has been focusing for the past year on “deploying and enhancing” solutions that allow clients to easily manage audience segments across the entire video ecosystem.

Comscore, meanwhile, has been including some level of YouTube viewership in its mobile video reporting since 2017. As a digital native, the company is looking at how it can make headway in TV and so bought Rentrak in 2015 to bolster its set-top box data. It has also been working with Dish TV and Sling TV to deliver addressable ads across TV, including OTT.

Scott Worthem, Comscore’s senior vice-president of strategic partnerships, says that, when an addressable ad is delivered, there is a portion of the audience that wasn’t targeted.

“We’ve been working on a means to measure that,” he says, “and on a product road map that helps build this into a unique solution that can help the sell-side represent not just its advertising measurement for addressable, but the other portion that might just get a traditional audience rating.”

This measurement quest is made slightly easier as more internet-enabled TVs enter the home. Abcarian says Nielsen’s panel data shows 47% of US households have at least one smart TV, but eMarketer puts that number at 37%, while Parks Associates has it at over 50% and Leichtman Research Group at 74%.

Differing methodologies may account for some of the discrepancy, but it also highlights the general skepticism associated with Nielsen’s panel of 40,000 households.

David Wiesenfeld, the chief strategist at OTT measurement and data management platform Tru Optik, says having an insufficient device graph can lead to misattribution, which is a major hurdle to the deep insights advertisers are currently demanding.

“Everything is running through that pane,” he says, “so the resolution you can get to from a measurement standpoint in a Nielsen environment is limited by the size of that panel, and it’s just not sufficient in a digital advanced targeting, one-to-one TV world.

“If you don’t have the scale of measurement or the completeness in your household or device graph, then you’re not in the game any more. You’re not relevant. That’s the issue we have with Nielsen.”

LiveRamp is such a formidable provider of data because of its sizable identity graph. Nielsen pools census data – or ‘big data’ – for its Digital Ad Ratings, but its panels are still foundational.

“From a product perspective, our approach to OTT measurement is centered around bringing together first-party big data sets and then calibrating them against our panels, which provide a privacy-by-design way to understand viewing down the individual level,” says Tarpey.

To build out these panels, Nielsen partners with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to use their set-top box data as a supplemental data set. A source at one cable company partnering with Nielsen says the integration should help limit the amount of zero sells that happen in local markets by bolstering Nielsen’s coverage of certain areas.

In September, Nielsen expanded its Total Audience Rating to cover all 210 local US markets. The source says that, in some local markets, Nielsen’s panel captures sample sizes in the single or low-double digits, which makes it hard to draw conclusions on what the audience sizes should be based on.

“When you look at overnight ratings, there are a lot of networks that will show up with no ratings, but we know that were a lot of people watching those programs and we just don’t get credit for it. Essentially a lot of MVPDs have to do make-goods for advertisers on those zero sells, so we’re trying to decrease that by providing Nielsen the data,” says the person involved in this partnership.

“That’s also why this industry is pushing to have measurement beyond just age and gender, and beyond just ratings – that way we can move away from the traditional measurement and build out new capabilities, so we’re not beholden to the old ways of transacting.”

Nielsen and Comscore are both competing to bring the granular targeting and attribution modeling of digital to TV, and are working to track audiences who watch TV wherever and whenever they can. As a result, advertisers need reliable metrics to reach an ever-fragmenting audience.

Group Nine, a digital-first video company with brands that include NowThis and Thrillist, is beginning to bring its content to MVPDs. Straddling the blurring line of digital and TV, the company’s vice-president of research and measurement, Bobby Lacivita, says that the traditional research companies have done well creating “a good understanding of different consumer populations and then mastering one platform at a time”.

The problem is that compiling disparate data can be an arduous task, says Lacivita, only to prove that “different data sources tend to corroborate one another more often than not”.


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Nielsen has been trying to connect the dots since 2012 when it launched Total Audience Ratings, a measurement that takes in a slew of video touchpoints from traditional linear TV to mobile devices.

In January this year, it made its latest update to the platform by including mobile and over-the-top (OTT) audiences, and brought YouTube viewership numbers into the reporting mix.

The company’s general manager of advanced advertising, Kelly Abcarian, says Nielsen has been focusing for the past year on “deploying and enhancing” solutions that allow clients to easily manage audience segments across the entire video ecosystem.

Comscore, meanwhile, has been including some level of YouTube viewership in its mobile video reporting since 2017. As a digital native, the company is looking at how it can make headway in TV and so bought Rentrak in 2015 to bolster its set-top box data. It has also been working with Dish TV and Sling TV to deliver addressable ads across TV, including OTT.

Scott Worthem, Comscore’s senior vice-president of strategic partnerships, says that, when an addressable ad is delivered, there is a portion of the audience that wasn’t targeted.

“We’ve been working on a means to measure that,” he says, “and on a product road map that helps build this into a unique solution that can help the sell-side represent not just its advertising measurement for addressable, but the other portion that might just get a traditional audience rating.”

This measurement quest is made slightly easier as more internet-enabled TVs enter the home. Abcarian says Nielsen’s panel data shows 47% of US households have at least one smart TV, but eMarketer puts that number at 37%, while Parks Associates has it at over 50% and Leichtman Research Group at 74%.

Differing methodologies may account for some of the discrepancy, but it also highlights the general skepticism associated with Nielsen’s panel of 40,000 households.

David Wiesenfeld, the chief strategist at OTT measurement and data management platform Tru Optik, says having an insufficient device graph can lead to misattribution, which is a major hurdle to the deep insights advertisers are currently demanding.

“Everything is running through that pane,” he says, “so the resolution you can get to from a measurement standpoint in a Nielsen environment is limited by the size of that panel, and it’s just not sufficient in a digital advanced targeting, one-to-one TV world.

“If you don’t have the scale of measurement or the completeness in your household or device graph, then you’re not in the game any more. You’re not relevant. That’s the issue we have with Nielsen.”

LiveRamp is such a formidable provider of data because of its sizable identity graph. Nielsen pools census data – or ‘big data’ – for its Digital Ad Ratings, but its panels are still foundational.

“From a product perspective, our approach to OTT measurement is centered around bringing together first-party big data sets and then calibrating them against our panels, which provide a privacy-by-design way to understand viewing down the individual level,” says Tarpey.

To build out these panels, Nielsen partners with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to use their set-top box data as a supplemental data set. A source at one cable company partnering with Nielsen says the integration should help limit the amount of zero sells that happen in local markets by bolstering Nielsen’s coverage of certain areas.

In September, Nielsen expanded its Total Audience Rating to cover all 210 local US markets. The source says that, in some local markets, Nielsen’s panel captures sample sizes in the single or low-double digits, which makes it hard to draw conclusions on what the audience sizes should be based on.

“When you look at overnight ratings, there are a lot of networks that will show up with no ratings, but we know that were a lot of people watching those programs and we just don’t get credit for it. Essentially a lot of MVPDs have to do make-goods for advertisers on those zero sells, so we’re trying to decrease that by providing Nielsen the data,” says the person involved in this partnership.

“That’s also why this industry is pushing to have measurement beyond just age and gender, and beyond just ratings – that way we can move away from the traditional measurement and build out new capabilities, so we’re not beholden to the old ways of transacting.”

Nielsen and Comscore are both competing to bring the granular targeting and attribution modeling of digital to TV, and are working to track audiences who watch TV wherever and whenever they can. As a result, advertisers need reliable metrics to reach an ever-fragmenting audience.

Group Nine, a digital-first video company with brands that include NowThis and Thrillist, is beginning to bring its content to MVPDs. Straddling the blurring line of digital and TV, the company’s vice-president of research and measurement, Bobby Lacivita, says that the traditional research companies have done well creating “a good understanding of different consumer populations and then mastering one platform at a time”.

The problem is that compiling disparate data can be an arduous task, says Lacivita, only to prove that “different data sources tend to corroborate one another more often than not”.


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE THE LONG VIEW | TV MEASUREMENT

“The industry is pushing for measurement beyond just age and gender, and beyond just ratings – that way we can move away from the traditional measurement and build out new capabilities, so we’re not beholden to the old ways of transacting.”


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECHOICE CUTS | THE TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT

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Black Mirror’s interactive episode Bandersnatch broke new ground when it put ‘users’ (for the first time not just ‘viewers’) in the driving seat of protagonist Stefan’s descent into insanity. But was this unsettling, free-will experiment a hint at a more engaging form of TV to come or just a niche attraction from Netflix?

170 pages of script, two-and-a-half hours of footage, 250 segments and nearly 1tn different storytelling combinations gelled to create the streaming giant’s thesis on choice – which owed more than a little to Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks such as The Cave of Time (which features Abraham Lincoln, a UFO, a T-Rex, the Ice Age and killer snakes). But was it all worth it? Boyd Hilton, who is the entertainment director of Heat magazine and deputy editor of Pilot TV, says that while the format helps creators and TV platforms add to shows, it could grow old – quickly.

“Bandersnatch was a great exploration of the idea, but it showed all the advantages and flaws of the format. It was brilliantly conceived and intriguing but, frankly, also a bit exhausting and repetitive. I wouldn’t choose to watch a TV show just because it’s in this format.”

More bluntly, Hilton calls it a “gimmick” that can add an entertaining new element to TV, and while he enjoyed the episode he “need never see a similar show ever again” – except, perhaps, as an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit.

While Charlie Brooker’s Bandersnatch had more users (although Netflix doesn’t share viewing figures), it wasn’t Netflix’s first foray into interactive TV, with kids shows Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile, Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout and Minecraft: Story Mode all testing the format first. Specials

of Black Mirror, Bear Grylls’ You vs Wild and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt merely bring it to an older audience.

Netflix has since been sued by Chooseco, the Choose Your Own Adventure publisher, for a breach of trademark that caused “irreparable harm and injury to its goodwill and reputation” with “dark and violent themes” that are “too mature” for Chooseco’s teenage audience. With all the murder, drug taking and suicide Bandersnatch offers up, the case had legs. Chooseco is also, coincidentally, working with Netflix rival Amazon to develop interactive narratives.

Hilton says streaming services, at “peak level of competition right now”, are looking at ways of making their content feel more attractive and exciting to subscribers. “The interactive space won’t be a major priority when they’re spending many billions on more traditional TV series. We might get a Choose Your Own Adventure-style show on Amazon and a few on Netflix, but the vast bulk of content is still non-interactive.

“I don’t know of any other interactive formats, apart from 4DX cinema, VR and AR. They’re all bubbling along, but none seems to be redefining how we watch TV and film. They’re a fun addendum.”

Expertly avoiding referencing the trademarked ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’, Digitas strategy partner James Whatley says “consumer-controlled interactive storytelling” wasn’t possible until the rise of connected TV, and that none of us would be talking about it if it merely stayed on kids TV.

“With a story, a writer in Charlie Brooker and a series all perfectly meeting at the nexus of what makes the mechanic interesting, it is back on the radars of content creators and might just be the next big thing.”

Interactive TV was explored to great effect with Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch episode, but does the format resonate with viewers or is it simply an exercise in big data gathering?

by John McCarthy


But while Bandersnatch’s Stefan was losing himself in conspiracy theories, some viewers were wondering whether Netflix was testing its next big data grab. It already tracks what people watch, how and when they do so, and the exact scenes or episodes that cause them to turn off – all of which powers its recommendation engine and future commissions. If there’s a secret content formula, Netflix will likely crack it first.

We now know Brits were less likely to spill a cup of tea in Bandersnatch, and that 60% of people picked Sugar Puffs over Frosties when presented with a breakfast choice, while researcher Michael Veale’s Netflix data request discovered that it could use Bandersnatch choices to “inform the personalized recommendations you see in future visits” and improve its interactive storytelling.

With Netflix already filling its airtime with brand partners and product placement, and with much of the public against it adopting ads, it could feasibly exploit the interactive format data. Few viewers noticed that the very same cereal they chose appeared on the TV later in the episode – a comment on insidious advertising perhaps, or just insidious advertising? The mechanics of Bandersnatch were as layered as the episode itself.

Can we therefore expect Netflix to cram brands into moments where users are engaged? Will we choose to shiv an inmate for a pack of Cheetos in Orange is the New Black, or defeat the demogorgon by feeding it New Coke in Stranger Things? Whatley hopes it won’t come to that. “The cereal scene got everyone excited, but that was the first time. By the 300th time, viewers could move back to TV again. The audience is Netflix’s most valuable asset, so it won’t poison the well quickly – if at all.”

Kaïs Ali Benali, the UK managing director and partner at digital creative agency Biborg, builds interactive experiences for brands. He believes Netflix wants a more active viewership. “There’s a difference in consuming content and actively making choices to unfold a story in a certain way.”

He says consumer behavior will drive uptake of interactive TV, and that the data will prove whether they are more or less engaged. As its subscriber growth plateaus around the world, Netflix could force interactivity and pioneer new TV – although interactivity isn’t always the right choice, says Benali.

“When Rockstar Games released a six-minute trailer for Red Dead Redemption on Facebook, it broke social media content guidelines. It was longer than 20 seconds and didn’t have a punchy intro, but everyone watched it because it was brilliant. Interactivity should only be there if it actually brings something more to the user experience.”

Earlier this year, Biborg ran an interactive video ad campaign on YouTube for Resident Evil 2 that spoke to gamers with a gamified trailer. “We brought the audience into the heart of the intrigue and let them choose the story by linking videos with end cards that were all proposing different choices to users.”

During YouTube viewing, the ad would allow for character selection and narrative choices (many of which resulted in a grisly death). “It was one of the first multiple-choice TrueView ads in the video game sector and was well received. We would do it completely differently if it was for another game though.”

This brings us to the notion that TV and video games are converging as TV becomes more interactive and niche, and video games get grander visuals and narratives – and, sometimes, shave away gameplay to serve the story. But

Benali rubbishes this notion. “Great games are not dependent on big budgets. That’s the beauty of this industry. You can find fantastic games that have very minimal graphics but keep you entertained for hours. The interactivity is your method, but the content your real addiction.”

Hilton echoes this, saying “gaming is gaming and TV is TV” and that he can’t imagine gamers giving up any of their precious gaming time to watch loads of TV dramas just because they’re a bit interactive. “Kids seems to be the main target consumers, but even they will surely prefer actual games.”

Whatley finishes by saying we need to ask whether or not the story being told is a compelling one. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s video, interactive video or a video game – if the story sucks, no one will watch, play or interact with it.”

Since Bandersnatch aired, Black Mirror has returned to screens in its usual linear format – something Brooker has said will never be supplanted. Instead, as he puts it, interactivity is just another tool in the writer’s box.

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“It was brilliantly conceived and intriguing but, frankly, also a bit exhausting and repetitive. I wouldn’t choose to watch a TV show just because it’s in this format.”


But while Bandersnatch’s Stefan was losing himself in conspiracy theories, some viewers were wondering whether Netflix was testing its next big data grab. It already tracks what people watch, how and when they do so, and the exact scenes or episodes that cause them to turn off – all of which powers its recommendation engine and future commissions. If there’s a secret content formula, Netflix will likely crack it first.

We now know Brits were less likely to spill a cup of tea in Bandersnatch, and that 60% of people picked Sugar Puffs over Frosties when presented with a breakfast choice, while researcher Michael Veale’s Netflix data request discovered that it could use Bandersnatch choices to “inform the personalized recommendations you see in future visits” and improve its interactive storytelling.

With Netflix already filling its airtime with brand partners and product placement, and with much of the public against it adopting ads, it could feasibly exploit the interactive format data. Few viewers noticed that the very same cereal they chose appeared on the TV later in the episode – a comment on insidious advertising perhaps, or just insidious advertising? The mechanics of Bandersnatch were as layered as the episode itself.

Can we therefore expect Netflix to cram brands into moments where users are engaged? Will we choose to shiv an inmate for a pack of Cheetos in Orange is the New Black, or defeat the demogorgon by feeding it New Coke in Stranger Things? Whatley hopes it won’t come to that. “The cereal scene got everyone excited, but that was the first time. By the 300th time, viewers could move back to TV again. The audience is Netflix’s most valuable asset, so it won’t poison the well quickly – if at all.”

Kaïs Ali Benali, the UK managing director and partner at digital creative agency Biborg, builds interactive experiences for brands. He believes Netflix wants a more active viewership. “There’s a difference in consuming content and actively making choices to unfold a story in a certain way.”

He says consumer behavior will drive uptake of interactive TV, and that the data will prove whether they are more or less engaged. As its subscriber growth plateaus around the world, Netflix could force interactivity and pioneer new TV – although interactivity isn’t always the right choice, says Benali.

“When Rockstar Games released a six-minute trailer for Red Dead Redemption on Facebook, it broke social media content guidelines. It was longer than 20 seconds and didn’t have a punchy intro, but everyone watched it because it was brilliant. Interactivity should only be there if it actually brings something more to the user experience.”

Earlier this year, Biborg ran an interactive video ad campaign on YouTube for Resident Evil 2 that spoke to gamers with a gamified trailer. “We brought the audience into the heart of the intrigue and let them choose the story by linking videos with end cards that were all proposing different choices to users.”

During YouTube viewing, the ad would allow for character selection and narrative choices (many of which resulted in a grisly death). “It was one of the first multiple-choice TrueView ads in the video game sector and was well received. We would do it completely differently if it was for another game though.”

This brings us to the notion that TV and video games are converging as TV becomes more interactive and niche, and video games get grander visuals and narratives – and, sometimes, shave away gameplay to serve the story. But

Benali rubbishes this notion. “Great games are not dependent on big budgets. That’s the beauty of this industry. You can find fantastic games that have very minimal graphics but keep you entertained for hours. The interactivity is your method, but the content your real addiction.”

Hilton echoes this, saying “gaming is gaming and TV is TV” and that he can’t imagine gamers giving up any of their precious gaming time to watch loads of TV dramas just because they’re a bit interactive. “Kids seems to be the main target consumers, but even they will surely prefer actual games.”

Whatley finishes by saying we need to ask whether or not the story being told is a compelling one. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s video, interactive video or a video game – if the story sucks, no one will watch, play or interact with it.”

Since Bandersnatch aired, Black Mirror has returned to screens in its usual linear format – something Brooker has said will never be supplanted. Instead, as he puts it, interactivity is just another tool in the writer’s box.

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“It was brilliantly conceived and intriguing but, frankly, also a bit exhausting and repetitive. I wouldn’t choose to watch a TV show just because it’s in this format.”


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VR has been billed as the ‘next big thing’ for decades. Will the next generation of mobile technology finally

make this vision a reality?

By Sam Bradley

WHIZZ

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For a technology that promises to revolutionize business and communications, 5G is pretty prosaic. Despite the snappy name, the fifth generation of cellular phone technology is really a landgrab for an untapped region of the electromagnetic spectrum. So, no bells or whistles – unless they’re being downloaded at high speed. However, the promise of 5G, which is set to arrive properly over the next year or so as mobile service operators install thousands of low-density phone masts atop streetlamps and skyscrapers, is virtually unlimited.

Box sets downloaded in the time it takes you to traverse the concourse at King’s Cross, online gaming freed from the shackles of the basement den, and seamless video calls between boardrooms and across borders: it means more data, on more devices, with more speed. Furthermore, it could enable the mass adoption of an entirely new form of reality – a virtual one.

Karl Woolley is the head of Framestore’s VR studio. In the years since the unit was established, he and his team have taken filmgoers into the world of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, sunseekers island-hopping on behalf of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and Game of Thrones fans to the summit of the Wall – for which it earned an Emmy nomination. Woolley says 5G could bring immersive media to a wider audience than ever before, for less money.

“For us, it’s potentially the holy grail. It will hopefully mean we have more visceral and mobile VR and AR experiences,” he says.

The main benefit of 5G, according to Woolley, is that it will provide capacity for headset devices to stream content, rather than directly rendering it. Currently, ‘wired’ headsets

rely upon a connection to a computer or console with the computational power to render immersive, encompassing experiences at a frame rate high enough that viewers don’t feel nauseous. Streaming could allow wireless headsets to offer the same in-depth experience as tethered devices, and Woolley suggests that this could ultimately enable the development of lightweight equipment that doesn’t compromise on quality metrics such as latency. “If you don’t need to have all that computational power in a computer or headset, you can slim down the technology to something comparable to a pair of Ray-Bans.

“It might be that 5G is the stepping stone that helps us go from 10m or 20m headsets to 1bn headsets,” he says.

National Geographic has a long-held reputation as a champion of photography in publishing, and it has been extending that pioneering spirit into virtual and augmented realms. Jenna Pirog, who is the company’s senior director of video and immersive experiences, tells The Drum that the medium offers “so much potential, especially for a company whose mission is to serve as a portal for our audience to explore the farthest reaches of the Earth”.

Recent examples of National Geographic’s immersive work include a four-part documentary about the Okavango Delta and a new VR experience for the Oculus Quest – National Geographic Explore VR – in which would-be explorers kayak through sea ice and camp out amid the sheer winds of an Antarctic storm en route to a colony of emperor penguins.

Pirog, who started her career as a coordinator on the photography division of National Geographic Magazine, notes that experimenting with VR fits into its experimental traditions. “We’ve always pushed the boundaries of visual

Nexus Studio’s app morphs a dollar bill into an animated

White House and [above] the National Geographic Society

synced up 450 VR headsets at the Grosvenor Auditorium in

Washington DC

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For a technology that promises to revolutionize business and communications, 5G is pretty prosaic. Despite the snappy name, the fifth generation of cellular phone technology is really a landgrab for an untapped region of the electromagnetic spectrum. So, no bells or whistles – unless they’re being downloaded at high speed. However, the promise of 5G, which is set to arrive properly over the next year or so as mobile service operators install thousands of low-density phone masts atop streetlamps and skyscrapers, is virtually unlimited.

Box sets downloaded in the time it takes you to traverse the concourse at King’s Cross, online gaming freed from the shackles of the basement den, and seamless video calls between boardrooms and across borders: it means more data, on more devices, with more speed. Furthermore, it could enable the mass adoption of an entirely new form of reality – a virtual one.

Karl Woolley is the head of Framestore’s VR studio. In the years since the unit was established, he and his team have taken filmgoers into the world of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, sunseekers island-hopping on behalf of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and Game of Thrones fans to the summit of the Wall – for which it earned an Emmy nomination. Woolley says 5G could bring immersive media to a wider audience than ever before, for less money.

“For us, it’s potentially the holy grail. It will hopefully mean we have more visceral and mobile VR and AR experiences,” he says.

The main benefit of 5G, according to Woolley, is that it will provide capacity for headset devices to stream content, rather than directly rendering it. Currently, ‘wired’ headsets

rely upon a connection to a computer or console with the computational power to render immersive, encompassing experiences at a frame rate high enough that viewers don’t feel nauseous. Streaming could allow wireless headsets to offer the same in-depth experience as tethered devices, and Woolley suggests that this could ultimately enable the development of lightweight equipment that doesn’t compromise on quality metrics such as latency. “If you don’t need to have all that computational power in a computer or headset, you can slim down the technology to something comparable to a pair of Ray-Bans.

“It might be that 5G is the stepping stone that helps us go from 10m or 20m headsets to 1bn headsets,” he says.

National Geographic has a long-held reputation as a champion of photography in publishing, and it has been extending that pioneering spirit into virtual and augmented realms. Jenna Pirog, who is the company’s senior director of video and immersive experiences, tells The Drum that the medium offers “so much potential, especially for a company whose mission is to serve as a portal for our audience to explore the farthest reaches of the Earth”.

Recent examples of National Geographic’s immersive work include a four-part documentary about the Okavango Delta and a new VR experience for the Oculus Quest – National Geographic Explore VR – in which would-be explorers kayak through sea ice and camp out amid the sheer winds of an Antarctic storm en route to a colony of emperor penguins.

Pirog, who started her career as a coordinator on the photography division of National Geographic Magazine, notes that experimenting with VR fits into its experimental traditions. “We’ve always pushed the boundaries of visual

Nexus Studio’s app morphs a dollar bill into an animated

White House and [above] the National Geographic Society

synced up 450 VR headsets at the Grosvenor Auditorium in

Washington DC

5G-VR edit.indd 40 14/08/2019 10:34

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE LET’S BE REALISTIC | HI 5!

storytelling, from the first time we published a real photograph in 1890 to our first underwater color photograph in 1927, to experiments with camera traps, drones and rovers.

“We approach our experiments with immersive technology with the same commitment to quality as photo, text and video.”

Pirog says 5G could broaden the appeal of immersive content: “I think 5G will make immersive experiences more accessible to the general public, especially for AR, and the quality of the experiences will increase when there aren’t as many latency issues. Of course, hardware and content will also need to continue to develop at the same rate for any of that to matter, but I am optimistic.”

In the UK, the rollout of 5G has stalled over legal wrangles between telcos and local councils, leading some experts to fear that the UK government’s pledge to connect 15m businesses to 5G by 2025 will go unfulfilled. In the US meanwhile, 5G is still only available on select devices in Chicago and Minneapolis.

Colin Davis, interactive arts executive producer at Nexus Studios, tells The Drum that 5G “has the potential to make a massive impact”, but that access will be patchy. “In the UK and Europe they’re hitting major metropolitan areas first, but in the United States, where you have so much physical geography to cover, I think it will be several years before people in those areas are able to take advantage of 5G.”

In the meantime, Woolley, Pirog and Davis are betting on immersive ‘destination experiences’ to

push VR and AR into the mainstream. These include state-of-the-art rides that Woolley’s Framestore team has designed for a theme park in China and touring theater productions such as Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, which was created by immersive production company Dotdotdot.

While Framestore has been producing immersive work for almost a decade, Woolley says the team has expanded rapidly – from a team of four in 2014 to a 45-strong global unit. Davis says his team has

experienced a similarly rapid growth, and that the studio’s vaunted animators have been crossing over to work on its immersive projects. “We’ve been shifting a lot of our work over to real-time engines to take advantage of the animators and directors here in these new formats,” he says.

Nexus has been working with AEG, the live entertainment firm that operates venues such as the Hammersmith Apollo and Los Angeles’ historic El Rey Theatre, to create ‘digital twins’ of its physical venues and incorporate immersive elements into productions. Davis says: “You can create incredibly

immersive illusions, and in an AR or VR setting it adds another level of realism.”

Pirog points to National Geographic’s own use of VR at live events: “Last year, the National Geographic Society outfitted the Grosvenor Auditorium here at HQ in Washington DC with a special system to sync up 450 VR headsets. It’s amazing to watch that many people have an immersive experience together.”

She says events can introduce new audiences to

immersive media without them needing expensive kit. “If you make the technology accessible, people will be interested. If you expect them to purchase a headset for the home, you are talking to a more niche, gaming-focused audience.”

Woolley says that, even if 5G connectivity spurs the development of immersive devices, content producers still have a long way to travel. “It’s such a new medium. Think how many years it took to develop a language of film – things like camera angles or tropes. We haven’t got our heads around that yet in VR.”

“5G will make immersive experiences more accessible to the general public and the quality of the experiences will increase when there aren’t as many latency issues.”

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEINDIA STREAMS AHEAD | REGIONS TO BE CHEERFUL

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE REGIONS TO BE CHEERFUL | INDIA STREAMS AHEAD

23.5 million people recently livestreamed a cricket match in India – a burgeoning market that is demanding an emphasis on local tastes and cultures, and which might reflect a new way of

doing things that diverges from the US model.

by Charlotte McEleny

There are more than 30 OTT platforms competing for eyeballs in India, the planet’s most vibrant market and a country that regularly breaks world records for the most people watching video content at one time. And, with 23.5 million people recently tuning into streaming platform Hotstar’s live coverage of India’s semi-final against New Zealand at the ICC Cricket World Cup, there really is no better place to feast your eyes if you want to understand video streaming’s true potential.

It’s not just cricket or marquee live events that pull in numbers. According to Hotstar, 60% of cricket viewers also consume entertainment content on the platform, while the past 12 months has seen entertainment consumption double and watch time for this content is one and a half times what’s spent on sports.

As a case study for OTT trends, India ultimately shows that there are nuances and opportunities for niches as well as for content ‘big hitters’. This is driven largely by India’s own fragmentation of cultures, geography and tastes.

Viral Jani, the senior vice-president of investment operations at Times Bridge, explains: “What created room for 30+ OTT players is that each of the 29 states of India has its own culture and media consumption habits, and that is reflected in traditional media like television.

“OTTs are piggybacking on a similar trend by trying to appeal to a slightly different set of audiences, and if you add to this the fact more than half of Indian OTT consumers use two or more platforms to satiate their appetite for content and entertainment, you can see why there is this mushrooming of OTT players in the market.”

Jani says Indian broadcasters such as Star, Zee and Sony bucked the global trend early on, and that many global players are now following suit. In order for global players do this, however, the industry needs to rethink its ‘America-first’ impression of what streaming can and should be.

Take Netflix. Probably the most famous streaming brand in the world, it’s been the subject of constant gossip over whether it will ever launched an ad-funded model.

And as Gavin Buxton, managing director of SpotX in Asia, explains, the consumer base in India and Asia will accept an ad-funded model – in fact, they may even expect it.

“Netflix was born in the US, in an environment different from anywhere else where 80% of the population subscribes to cable and is used to

paying $100 a month. It has ads within that still – about a 15 minutes an hour ad-load – which is a lot of ads when you are paying $100 a month. So when Netflix came in as a differentiator, no ads was a big ‘halo statement’ along with its original content and the fact it’s accessible across platforms.”

Hulu in the US does have an advertising product, or an ad-light service, which for a cheaper price serves you some ads – although still a lot less than you’d see on TV. Buxton believes this model will be the future as people look to affordably subscribe to more than one platform.

“No ads isn’t a reality because a key trend is that people want to be subscribing to multiple platforms for killer shows. Done right, people aren’t against ads. But they want a reduction from 15 minutes of ads an hour on TV. They want an ad-light model and they want the content they want.

“When you come to Asia, and particularly outside Singapore, free-to-air has been dominant and the highest subscriber penetration is no more than 15% for paid TV. There are ads in those environments, free and paid, so consumers are used to it.”

Buxton cites research by Spotx and Brightcove that looked to understand how people choose platforms and how it revealed that Asian consumers are leading the trend in having more than one OTT platform subscription. It is a situation that has led to even Netflix experimenting with payment models, introducing a mobile-only cheaper model in India and Malaysia.

“My prediction would be that even Netflix will have an ad-light model in Asia, but in the US it will be a unique selling point it can’t step away from,” adds Buxton.

If India is a model for a future in which people are willing to pay smaller amounts for ad-funded streaming, all in the name of variety, the real competitive space becomes content. This is because consumers will curate their small selection of services based on their tastes. In India, this can mean big global blockbusters, but also local content featuring local stars.

Radhikarani Sengupta, the national director of digital at MediaCom India, says content is driving growth and that there’s space for new entrants, despite the fierce competition.

“Most users want to watch a combination of mainstream, tentpole content and niche interest content, which is why there are two to three top OTT platforms and the rest are significantly smaller in user bases, yet are able to grow because of interest in their originals and focus on local topics

and languages. “The OTT space will continue to grow as newer

content producers enter the fray, and also because marquee actors are willing to experiment with content for a handheld device, eg Breathe with Madhavan, Sacred Games with Saif Ali Khan, Kafir with Dia Mirza. Newer platforms provide not just new content for consumers but also newer avenues for creative folks to experiment with content.”

Sengupta continues: “That Indians prefer local language and local topic content is clearly evident from the data we see on TV content consumption – local languages outstrip English. While urban areas may mix English content with multiple languages being consumed, most of India will want to see topics they care about playing out in content and, unlike on TV, this becomes even more feasible on OTT. Which is why we see the emergence of platforms like HoiChoi and SunNxt.”

Times Bridge’s Jani agrees, praising local streaming players for balancing local language content with affordable price points that help attract urban and rural audiences to the platforms. But he also adds that technology could become a key competitive draw in the future, and that India is already becoming a testbed for streaming technology.

“Innovations that eliminate the pain-points of current non-users and elevate the consumer experience are going to dominate the way forward. A few examples include the integration of speech-recognition tech into the search engines of OTT platforms (since the majority of new internet-users strongly prefer voice over typing), the advent of interactive formats like Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch and novel ways of sourcing content, such as the Wattpad Studios model, where the best user-generated stories from its platform are chosen on the basis of machine learning and real-time community feedback and then converted into scripts. Such models complement human creativity in a great way and are more likely to be successful.”

Video streaming has undoubtedly become a core media habit for many, but as the trend travels the world, diverse trends, tastes and cultures have helped to create an exciting – if fragmented – new industry. Its development in India serves as a lesson in how important localization of services can be. More importantly, it suggests that the future of global streaming may be far closer to models developed in India than to ones from the US.

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There is a battle for attention in the new world of television, and it’s about to get bloody. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Apple, YouTube, Disney+… the list of streaming channels and apps seems endless. And that’s because it almost is.

Netflix has just reported its most recent figures, once again promising not to adopt an advertising-supported model despite falling well short of its own forecast for new subscribers, having added 2.7 million between April and June rather than the 5 million it predicted. It also revealed that it lost 130,000 members in the US, its biggest market, while YouTube pulled back on its own subscription plans in May when it decided to make its originally pay-to-access content available for free, but supported by advertising.

Waiting in the wings, meanwhile, is Quibi, a mobile-focused streaming app that’s aimed at 25 to 35-year-olds and headed up by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg. Already attracting a lot of attention, it has sold $100m in advertising to the likes of P&G, PepsiCo, AB InBev and Google, despite still being almost a year from launch.

Disney’s Michael Shields considers the level of new investment from his own employer, as well as Comcast and AT&T and the potential Quibi may offer, and says: “It’ll be interesting to see just how many players there will be, how many hours you will be giving them a day, and whether they will have to differentiate some aspect of their service.”

The senior vice-president of sales strategy and business development goes on: “It will

also be interesting to see how Quibi works in that whitespace in the marketplace. There’s not a whole lot left in the daily viewing habits of consumers, so how can it really differentiate its services and maintain subscribers without churn?”

Hulu’s Jeremy Helfand, meanwhile, explains that its platform aims to provide audiences with the opportunity to watch their favorite content at their convenience, anywhere. The vice-president and head of advertising platforms says: “The idea of having appointment television is quickly diminishing, and that convenience allows viewers to watch more content than they ever have.

“What we’ve seen over the past couple of years is a continued increase in the number of services a viewer will subscribe to, up from 2.8 to 3.8 according to our brand-tracking survey. There is a propensity to subscribe to multiple services; viewers want content aggregated for them up to some level, so they will subscribe to multiple services, but maybe tap out at four or five. Perhaps they’ll find a passionate fan base that leads them to tune in to individual subscription services as well, but that propensity to have multiple services is certainly there.”

Carat’s senior vice-president and head of innovation, Sarah Stringer, believes the war between streaming services will be fought through a mixture of flexibility and bundling, such as AT&T’s recent DirecTV Now bundle or the partnership between Hulu and Spotify that offers a premium subscription to the audio service along with an advertising-lite version of Hulu for $10.

The number of combatants in the battle to gain TV eyeballs seems to increase by the month, but what should the various platforms be doing to entice users with their content, without risking overkill?

SHOWS OF STRENGTH

by Stephen Lepitak


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“We are starting to see new ways of monetizing platforms based on attention,” says Stringer. “And you have new entrants such as Brave Browser, where you are rewarded with tokens for the amount of time you spend on sites via the browser, which you can then use to pay content producers of your choice. It’ll be interesting to see whether we ever get an agnostic platform that allows us to pay for different subscriptions based on attention, putting the power back to consumers and allowing them to monetize the attention they are giving to these platforms.”

Quibi’s head of partnerships, Nicole McCormack, believes further partnerships will be formed between platforms in order to entice users to subscribe to new services.

“We are going to grow the pie though,” she adds when asked if there is likely to be an element of subscription fatigue as more offers come on to the market. “Of course we’ll have ways to differentiate, but we will grow the overall media consumption pie, and I am already seeing it. For example, today we are seeing about an hour a day mobile video consumption, while in 2012 that was six minutes. And it’s up 30% year-over-year, which means there is 20 more minutes this year for us to work with. I see it less as a war because there is so much great content being developed, plus access points, so, overall, we will grow the pie.”

But with further growth comes even more complexity around users seeking out their favorite shows – who owns the rights to host the program and how do consumers access it in the first place?

“It’s all about the choice of the individual, whether they want to go to ad-free or ad-supported,” says Hulu’s Helfand. “The idea is to make it convenient to get that content to them so that Hulu can be the number one choice of the viewer using OTT and over the phone. We focus a lot on choice and control – whether that’s in the content itself or the overall experience of the advertising. We think, ultimately, that is what will enable the viewer to want to spend more time with a particular service. It’s always view-first with us, and for any service in the market today having that type of flexibility is key to building viewer loyalty.”

Stringer says people are loyal to programs they love, not to platforms themselves: “The increased pressure on making sure you have the best original content – content that can be found only on your platform – is going to skyrocket. And it is that investment, and that offsetting of how you bring your money in, that will essentially decide who is going to stay alive and who is going to fold, because obviously it’s not cheap to make the most popular content. Original dramas are not cheap to

write or produce, and get the right talent. “We will see a lot of pressure on a lot of people

to make sure the content mix is right, because if you can’t quantify why you are spending that much on a subscription then you are going to lose people,” she adds.

“You can take that a step further because, while content is important, increasingly in this market consumers are going to be loyal to experience,” picks up Helfand. “So whichever platforms provide the best experiences are the ones people will tune in to, to find new content. If they are coming to Hulu for The Handmaid’s Tale, they could then very easily leave Hulu and go somewhere else after watching the latest season – unless we give them the very best experience or the opportunity to discover the next great piece of content.”

Shields says the changing of the content acquisition model is what he finds most interesting in the current media climate: “We are not yet at a point where we really know what the scale of a show’s profitability looks like. We have Netflix famously paying a lot for shows and access to creators, and networks such as FX that win almost as many Emmys each year as Netflix but pay significantly less to get their shows. Now it is part of Disney, what is it going to do with its content acquisition model? So the threat of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, the new services that require

content, as well as what show profitability looks like across scripted and non-scripted – we’re not even close to what the future model is going to look like.”

Following the recent example of Stranger Things 3’s numerous brand integrations – not least its New Coke advert – the opportunity for branded content is clear.

“It’s part of the mix,” confirms Helfand. “There is a tremendous opportunity, with technology and content, for content creators who understand monetization to develop content that can have branded entertainment programmatically inserted or used in development. We see that increasingly at Hulu and we’re seeing our creators take an increased interest in understanding the brands we are associated with. Technology is certainly a part of that equation, but a combination of branded entertainment as well as less disruptive formats will be what survives.”

The death of television was never on the cards, because the range of new and old content being surfaced to engage hungry audiences the world over means that media companies have a whole new distribution problem to figure out, in order to sate the appetites of viewers and advertisers.

Let battle commence.

“The pressure on making sure you have the best original content – content that can be found only on your platform – is going to skyrocket.”


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“We are starting to see new ways of monetizing platforms based on attention,” says Stringer. “And you have new entrants such as Brave Browser, where you are rewarded with tokens for the amount of time you spend on sites via the browser, which you can then use to pay content producers of your choice. It’ll be interesting to see whether we ever get an agnostic platform that allows us to pay for different subscriptions based on attention, putting the power back to consumers and allowing them to monetize the attention they are giving to these platforms.”

Quibi’s head of partnerships, Nicole McCormack, believes further partnerships will be formed between platforms in order to entice users to subscribe to new services.

“We are going to grow the pie though,” she adds when asked if there is likely to be an element of subscription fatigue as more offers come on to the market. “Of course we’ll have ways to differentiate, but we will grow the overall media consumption pie, and I am already seeing it. For example, today we are seeing about an hour a day mobile video consumption, while in 2012 that was six minutes. And it’s up 30% year-over-year, which means there is 20 more minutes this year for us to work with. I see it less as a war because there is so much great content being developed, plus access points, so, overall, we will grow the pie.”

But with further growth comes even more complexity around users seeking out their favorite shows – who owns the rights to host the program and how do consumers access it in the first place?

“It’s all about the choice of the individual, whether they want to go to ad-free or ad-supported,” says Hulu’s Helfand. “The idea is to make it convenient to get that content to them so that Hulu can be the number one choice of the viewer using OTT and over the phone. We focus a lot on choice and control – whether that’s in the content itself or the overall experience of the advertising. We think, ultimately, that is what will enable the viewer to want to spend more time with a particular service. It’s always view-first with us, and for any service in the market today having that type of flexibility is key to building viewer loyalty.”

Stringer says people are loyal to programs they love, not to platforms themselves: “The increased pressure on making sure you have the best original content – content that can be found only on your platform – is going to skyrocket. And it is that investment, and that offsetting of how you bring your money in, that will essentially decide who is going to stay alive and who is going to fold, because obviously it’s not cheap to make the most popular content. Original dramas are not cheap to

write or produce, and get the right talent. “We will see a lot of pressure on a lot of people

to make sure the content mix is right, because if you can’t quantify why you are spending that much on a subscription then you are going to lose people,” she adds.

“You can take that a step further because, while content is important, increasingly in this market consumers are going to be loyal to experience,” picks up Helfand. “So whichever platforms provide the best experiences are the ones people will tune in to, to find new content. If they are coming to Hulu for The Handmaid’s Tale, they could then very easily leave Hulu and go somewhere else after watching the latest season – unless we give them the very best experience or the opportunity to discover the next great piece of content.”

Shields says the changing of the content acquisition model is what he finds most interesting in the current media climate: “We are not yet at a point where we really know what the scale of a show’s profitability looks like. We have Netflix famously paying a lot for shows and access to creators, and networks such as FX that win almost as many Emmys each year as Netflix but pay significantly less to get their shows. Now it is part of Disney, what is it going to do with its content acquisition model? So the threat of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, the new services that require

content, as well as what show profitability looks like across scripted and non-scripted – we’re not even close to what the future model is going to look like.”

Following the recent example of Stranger Things 3’s numerous brand integrations – not least its New Coke advert – the opportunity for branded content is clear.

“It’s part of the mix,” confirms Helfand. “There is a tremendous opportunity, with technology and content, for content creators who understand monetization to develop content that can have branded entertainment programmatically inserted or used in development. We see that increasingly at Hulu and we’re seeing our creators take an increased interest in understanding the brands we are associated with. Technology is certainly a part of that equation, but a combination of branded entertainment as well as less disruptive formats will be what survives.”

The death of television was never on the cards, because the range of new and old content being surfaced to engage hungry audiences the world over means that media companies have a whole new distribution problem to figure out, in order to sate the appetites of viewers and advertisers.

Let battle commence.

“The pressure on making sure you have the best original content – content that can be found only on your platform – is going to skyrocket.”


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE THE FORTUNES OF WAR | REVENUE STREAMS


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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECREATIVE WORKS | THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED

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SUPPORTED BY

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creat iveW O R K S

This issue, Creative Works editor Kyle O’Brien considers the creative output of streaming services. But he doesn’t look at

any old ads. Instead, he focuses on those made to run on TV – the very medium the services are supposedly replacing. For the

chance to see your work in a future issue of The Drum, go to thedrum.com/submit-project. And you can follow us

on Twitter @thedrumcreative.

The Drum’s creative hub, Creative Works, features the latest, greatest campaigns from around the globe and allows users to see what work is hitting the mark with readers in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. Go to thedrum.com/creative-works to find out more.

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If it is true that more and more people are cutting the cable and getting their entertainment through streaming services, why are those very same services advertising on television?

Well, the truth is, TV still gets huge numbers of eyeballs. And if you’re a streaming or on-demand service, why wouldn’t you want to reach viewers where they still spend time and let them see what they are missing?

A Nielsen study earlier this year found that Americans watched, on average, an hour and 51 minutes of traditional TV. While that is down from the previous year, older generations are still watching much more, with the 50 to 64 age group watching five and a half hours a day. It makes sense then that Hulu, Netflix and Amazon would try to entice them, and that streaming services from Disney, CBS and NBC Universal would look to extend their viewing and keep viewers interested in programming beyond the time grid.

Here’s how Hulu, Amazon and Netflix are getting their messages out there.

CW.indd 50 14/08/2019 12:13

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If it is true that more and more people are cutting the cable and getting their entertainment through streaming services, why are those very same services advertising on television?

Well, the truth is, TV still gets huge numbers of eyeballs. And if you’re a streaming or on-demand service, why wouldn’t you want to reach viewers where they still spend time and let them see what they are missing?

A Nielsen study earlier this year found that Americans watched, on average, an hour and 51 minutes of traditional TV. While that is down from the previous year, older generations are still watching much more, with the 50 to 64 age group watching five and a half hours a day. It makes sense then that Hulu, Netflix and Amazon would try to entice them, and that streaming services from Disney, CBS and NBC Universal would look to extend their viewing and keep viewers interested in programming beyond the time grid.

Here’s how Hulu, Amazon and Netflix are getting their messages out there.

CW.indd 50 14/08/2019 12:13

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE SUPPORTED BY

‘A Great Day in Hollywood’by Netflix

Not only did Netflix advertise on traditional TV, it did so boldly as it stamped its commitment to hiring and casting black talent with 60-second spot ‘A Great Day in Hollywood’.

Debuting during the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in 2018, the Lacey Duke-directed ad features 47 black writers, showrunners, actors and producers, including Spike Lee, Laverne Cox, Ava DuVernay, Alfre Woodard, Lena Waithe and Justin Simien.

It is an expression of the company’s ‘Strong Black Lead’ initiative that looks to develop black voices in its leading shows. Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin, who narrates the video, says: “This is a new day, built from the ground broken by legends – a day for our generation to see untold experiences of our blackness.

“We’re not a genre because there’s no one way to be black. We’re writing while black. Nuanced and complex; resilient and strong. This is not a moment. This is a movement. We are strong black leads. Today is a great day in Hollywood.”

The words are spoken as the camera pulls back to a view that appears to be a reimagining of Art Kane’s classic 1958 jazz photo A Great Day in Harlem.

The ad was one of five nominees for a commercial Emmy award in 2019.

CW.indd 51 14/08/2019 13:09

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Stranger Things x Coca-Cola ‘First Love (Hawkins, Indiana)’by Netflix

New Coke was the talk of 1985, the year the third season of the smash Netflix hit Stranger Things is set. So it’s only natural that a teaser promo for the new season would feature the doomed drink while looking like a really cheesy ad for it.

In the teaser, we see the characters from fictional Hawkins, Indiana having fun at the mall and going to the movies to drink New Coke before the lights flicker and shut off and the Coca-Cola word mark turns upside down and morphs into the Stranger Things 3 logo.

While the ad ran mostly in theaters, its utilization of traditional media fits with the ethos of the show and its love for retro television and movies. It also shows that branded moments are crucial to advertisers as content goes online.

CW.indd 52 14/08/2019 13:10

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Stranger Things x Coca-Cola ‘First Love (Hawkins, Indiana)’by Netflix

New Coke was the talk of 1985, the year the third season of the smash Netflix hit Stranger Things is set. So it’s only natural that a teaser promo for the new season would feature the doomed drink while looking like a really cheesy ad for it.

In the teaser, we see the characters from fictional Hawkins, Indiana having fun at the mall and going to the movies to drink New Coke before the lights flicker and shut off and the Coca-Cola word mark turns upside down and morphs into the Stranger Things 3 logo.

While the ad ran mostly in theaters, its utilization of traditional media fits with the ethos of the show and its love for retro television and movies. It also shows that branded moments are crucial to advertisers as content goes online.

CW.indd 52 14/08/2019 13:10

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Amazon Prime ‘Bears v Packers’, ‘Eagles v Panthers’ and ‘Steelers v Texans’by Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Twitter wasn’t working out as a streaming partner for the NFL, so after just one season Amazon Prime took over and, to promo its Thursday Night Football matchups, the streaming platform enlisted the help of advertising veteran Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

Working with music video and commercial director Andreas Nilsson, the promos went for documentary-style comedy. The first featured a David Attenborough-like naturalist viewing something that had never been seen before in the Amazon – a group of bears and fish packers tossing fish back and forth. The tag was that the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers were playing on Amazon for the first game to stream on the service.

Similar ads were created for the Philadelphia Eagles v Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers v Houston Texans to appeal to fans who might choose to stream rather than watch on television, but used traditional television humor to draw them to the streaming service.

CW.indd 53 14/08/2019 13:10

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Hulu ‘Better Ruins Everything’by Big Family Table

Hulu pulled the old reverse psychology by going on TV and having a bunch of stars tell people that they shouldn’t get Hulu.

The warning by these stars sounds at first like a public service announcement, one that has dire consequences – if you watch shows on Hulu, or fly first class or add bacon to your favorite burger, it will ruin the old way of doing things.

The talent featured in the launch spot represented Hulu’s offering of TV series and films, Hulu Originals and live sports including real-life couple Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) and Joe Manganiello (Justice League), sports superstars James Harden (Houston Rockets) and Jared Goff (LA Rams), Emmy Award winner Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sarah Silverman (I Love You, America), Ramy Youssef (Ramy) and Miles Brown (Black-ish).

The campaign supported Hulu’s full suite of live and on-demand streaming TV plans, and the 60-second launch spot debuted during the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

CW.indd 54 14/08/2019 13:10

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Hulu ‘Better Ruins Everything’by Big Family Table

Hulu pulled the old reverse psychology by going on TV and having a bunch of stars tell people that they shouldn’t get Hulu.

The warning by these stars sounds at first like a public service announcement, one that has dire consequences – if you watch shows on Hulu, or fly first class or add bacon to your favorite burger, it will ruin the old way of doing things.

The talent featured in the launch spot represented Hulu’s offering of TV series and films, Hulu Originals and live sports including real-life couple Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) and Joe Manganiello (Justice League), sports superstars James Harden (Houston Rockets) and Jared Goff (LA Rams), Emmy Award winner Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sarah Silverman (I Love You, America), Ramy Youssef (Ramy) and Miles Brown (Black-ish).

The campaign supported Hulu’s full suite of live and on-demand streaming TV plans, and the 60-second launch spot debuted during the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

CW.indd 54 14/08/2019 13:10

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Hulu ‘Sellouts’by Big Family Table

Hulu made no secret of featuring live sports on its stream, so much so that it had star athletes get in front of the camera to tell people they were getting paid handsomely to announce that live sports were now on Hulu.

A couple of the NBA’s biggest stars flaunted their sponsor money in the ‘Hulu Sellouts’ national TV ads created in partnership with new IPG agency Big Family Table.

In Damian Lillard’s spot, we see the already copiously inked Portland Trailblazers basketball star sitting in a tattoo parlor preparing to get a tattoo stating ‘Hulu has live sports’. The artist asks if he can change the font or style or have the words coming out of a dragon’s mouth. He’s nixed each time by lawyers before asking how much Lillard is getting paid for this. Cut to Lillard on a Hulu set with Hulu jersey and ball and money raining down on him, telling the camera that “Hulu has live sports.”

In Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid’s spot he is seen autographing a basketball for a child, with his signature reading ‘Joel ‘Hulu has live sports’ Embiid.’ The man formerly known as ‘The Process’ says it’s his new nickname and tells another fan that’s legally how he has to refer to himself now.

A small boy with a cast on his arm chases the player and asks why he changed his nickname. The seven-foot player leans way down to the kid’s level and says “Money.” He is then seen on the Hulu set saying “Hulu has live sports,” counting down the times he is legally obligated to say the phrase.

CW.indd 55 14/08/2019 13:11

by Olivia Atkins

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECHINESE MEDIA | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

NAVIGATING CHINA’SMEDIA

MARKETPLACE

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by Olivia Atkins

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECHINESE MEDIA | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


MARKETPLACE


China, as we know, is transforming from an export-driven economy to a consumer-driven one. But sometimes it can still be a daunting place for western marketers to crack, especially given its complex media ecosystem. The Drum spoke to iPinYou, a marketing technology and big data platform, and one of the first companies to bring audience-targeted programmatic buying to brands in Asia, to talk about the Chinese market and reveal the habits of its consumers.

The technology provider recently expanded into Europe with the launch of its London office in October last year, spearheaded by European general manager David Nottingham. He’s responsible for connecting European marketers to iPinYou’s solutions and helping them to capitalize on the opportunities currently available in China.

The appeal of the Chinese market Many European luxury brands have expressed interest in targeting Chinese travelers, knowing that a boom is on the cards. As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, it’s an attractive market for advertisers. However, it can be a tricky market for European marketers to understand because there are over 450 different creative formats in China – which sits in stark contrast to the six or so formats they’re accustomed to working with.

iPinYou aims to create a synergy between European marketers and the Chinese market, which involves working out the key cultural differences and educating marketers on what they need to do to meet Chinese programmatic standards. Products like unified platform Alphadata, which allows marketers to activate specific parts of Chinese media and handle ad scheduling, campaign management and analytics, are custom-built to extract data across different platforms and provide marketers with enough insight to target individual users. The team can also operate online and offline programmatic capabilities with digital out-of-home, connected TV and mobile targeting and attribution in a single campaign – proving their ability to tailor their services according to what the client needs.

“These technologies allow marketers to make better decisions,” says Grace Huang, iPinYou co-founder and chief executive officer. “Our investment in our data engineering teams and our algorithms allow brands and marketers to make more informed decisions.”

How to navigate the Chinese media marketUnderstanding how Chinese customers consume media is undoubtedly important. Especially because Chinese consumers are at the forefront of digital technologies.

Huang cites the color-changing tram in Shenzhen as one example. The streetcar transforms its livery – and ads – according to the weather. “This is how brands engage with users in China. All data points and variables can be utilized to target users in every life situation,” said Huang. “At iPinYou, we’re just ensuring that our technology can give advertisers access to all of the latest innovations in China from data management to media activation.”

Figuring out how the country operates – the fact that WePay and AliPay are more widely used than credit cards, people don’t use email or have any access to Google, Facebook and Instagram – will help marketers get a handle on how to tackle the Chinese market.

Rather than apply a one-size-fits-all approach, they need to be open to adaptation as there isn’t a standard format for marketers to embrace.

Data integrationExcelling in this market really requires local expertise from those with boots on the ground, particularly because in China, many publishers – Alibaba and Tencent included – don’t accept third-party JavaScript.

This means that it can be a difficult place for technology vendors as there isn’t a unified language across all media and channels – and prove challenging for programmatic demand side platforms (DSPs). In the long term, this could help to future-proof businesses as publishers will remain in control and be able to create the ecosystems they want to operate. In the short term however, it can prove testing for marketers to access the information and insights they need because data changes across platforms.

“We’re lucky. One of our major points of difference is that we have more integrations with every app and individual publisher in China than any other programmatic platform,” says Huang.

“That means that we work to create tech teams to focus on integrating the data from each source. Our technology has more data integrations, more media integration and more innovative integration than any other provider,” she concludes.

For western companies, China’s diverse media environment is an intimidating landscape to traverse. We find out how marketers can find their way through.

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE SPONSORED BY


MARKETPLACE


Connected TV is pegged as a big strategic move for 2019 – how is Telaria responding?We’ve been early movers in connected TV as we recognized its great growth opportunities. It’s why we built our video management platform to address the specific needs of connected TV advertising. We actually help power the growth of connected TV and publishers choose us to innovate with them because of our focus on innovation and viewer experience.

In APAC we work with all of Australia’s leading broadcasters to manage and monetize their broadcast video on demand (BVOD) inventory, as well as Astro, True Digital and FPT Television in South East Asia.

Connected TV currently represents 38% of Telaria’s revenue and we’ve seen requests in South East Asia increase 657% year-over-year in the first half of 2019. We’re continuing to make huge strides in the industry by constantly developing new products and features that solve for connected TV’s complexities.

What consumer trends are driving this?With the price of connected TVs becoming more affordable, and the sheer volume of new programs that streaming media companies are producing, consumers are very rapidly shifting away from traditional TV packages in favor of connected TV. We’ve found that a majority of consumers simply don’t distinguish between watching via connected TV or

on linear. A study we conducted in the US found that 84% of generation Z, millennials and generation X TV watchers consider streaming content through their internet-connected TV to be ‘watching TV’. Increasingly, consumers want to watch what they want, where they want, and connected TV enables that behavior.

What should broadcasters and publishers be doing to get ready?Consumers watching connected TV content expect a lean-back experience, with the brand quality control and advertising rules they have grown accustomed to on linear TV. The technology to deliver a premium ad experience within connected TV is much more complex than for other digital mediums. Publishers need specific tech solutions to create a great user experience across ‘big screen’ formats such as ad podding, which eliminates ad redundancy and conflict, and audio normalization, which ensures that content and ads are delivered at the same volume level.

How does the increase in live content impact connected TV trends?Live connected TV inventory is an exciting development and there’s a lot of interest from advertisers. As more becomes available, it will help shift ad dollars from traditional TV to connected TV. And as advertising on it becomes more common, the industry

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECONNECTED TV | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

OTT IN APACWhile global OTT players invest in South East Asia, home-grown Asian brands are providing fierce competition in a sector predicted to grow by $5bn in 2019. We catch up with Kevin Smyth, general manager for South East Asia at Telaria – the US software company that moved into the space earlier this year – to talk connected TV trends across Asia Pacific and find out what publishers and advertisers need to be doing to get ready for an increase of live content.

by Danielle Gibson

BC - TELARIA.indd 58 14/08/2019 10:38

Connected TV is pegged as a big strategic move for 2019 – how is Telaria responding?We’ve been early movers in connected TV as we recognized its great growth opportunities. It’s why we built our video management platform to address the specific needs of connected TV advertising. We actually help power the growth of connected TV and publishers choose us to innovate with them because of our focus on innovation and viewer experience.

In APAC we work with all of Australia’s leading broadcasters to manage and monetize their broadcast video on demand (BVOD) inventory, as well as Astro, True Digital and FPT Television in South East Asia.

Connected TV currently represents 38% of Telaria’s revenue and we’ve seen requests in South East Asia increase 657% year-over-year in the first half of 2019. We’re continuing to make huge strides in the industry by constantly developing new products and features that solve for connected TV’s complexities.

What consumer trends are driving this?With the price of connected TVs becoming more affordable, and the sheer volume of new programs that streaming media companies are producing, consumers are very rapidly shifting away from traditional TV packages in favor of connected TV. We’ve found that a majority of consumers simply don’t distinguish between watching via connected TV or

on linear. A study we conducted in the US found that 84% of generation Z, millennials and generation X TV watchers consider streaming content through their internet-connected TV to be ‘watching TV’. Increasingly, consumers want to watch what they want, where they want, and connected TV enables that behavior.

What should broadcasters and publishers be doing to get ready?Consumers watching connected TV content expect a lean-back experience, with the brand quality control and advertising rules they have grown accustomed to on linear TV. The technology to deliver a premium ad experience within connected TV is much more complex than for other digital mediums. Publishers need specific tech solutions to create a great user experience across ‘big screen’ formats such as ad podding, which eliminates ad redundancy and conflict, and audio normalization, which ensures that content and ads are delivered at the same volume level.

How does the increase in live content impact connected TV trends?Live connected TV inventory is an exciting development and there’s a lot of interest from advertisers. As more becomes available, it will help shift ad dollars from traditional TV to connected TV. And as advertising on it becomes more common, the industry

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUECONNECTED TV | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

OTT IN APACWhile global OTT players invest in South East Asia, home-grown Asian brands are providing fierce competition in a sector predicted to grow by $5bn in 2019. We catch up with Kevin Smyth, general manager for South East Asia at Telaria – the US software company that moved into the space earlier this year – to talk connected TV trends across Asia Pacific and find out what publishers and advertisers need to be doing to get ready for an increase of live content.

by Danielle Gibson

BC - TELARIA.indd 58 14/08/2019 10:38

“We’ve been early movers in connected TV as we recognized its great growth opportunities. We help to power the growth of the market.”

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE SPONSORED BY

will coalesce around best practices to ensure a good viewer experience. Publishers can’t risk lagging ads or unvetted ads within a live program.

There’s still a high degree of communication between the advertiser and publisher when it comes to buying live connected TV programmatic. As more industry standardization happens, and buyers and publishers pass standardized tags, programmatic can improve the buying process.

How much of an issue is ad fraud in connected TV?It is still rare, but with the medium’s growth and the resultant ad dollars moving to connected TV, it’s an unfortunate reality that bad actors will actively try to cash in. It’s up to tech providers to be active in flushing them out and keeping the ecosystem clean. Publishers and advertisers have to hold their tech partners to high quality standards to ensure their ad revenue and ad spend isn’t doesn’t go on fraudulent inventory.

We’ve attained the Tag (Trustworthy Accountability Group) Certified Against Fraud seal due to our efforts in combating fraudulent and invalid traffic. Our partnerships with Pixalate and White Ops help prevent invalid and fraudulent traffic from entering the bid process for any DSP transacting on our platform. Taken together, this means we eliminate almost all instances of fraud even reaching the buyer.

How is connected TV in APAC different than the rest of the world?In other parts of the world, connected TV content has been produced in large part by newcomers that specifically focus on streaming. In APAC the growth has been fueled by the emergence of BVOD. This supply of premium broadcaster video inventory has introduced a new opportunity for APAC advertisers who want to consolidate their video strategy across multiple screens while having the ability to manage frequency capping based on device IDs and IP addresses. In South East Asia in particular, the region’s fragmented nature in terms of providers, languages, and devices means connected TV adoption is not yet running in parallel with Australia and New Zealand. However, we’re seeing a growing trend of connected TV supply opening up across emerging markets.

Telaria is a sponsor of The Drum Digital Advertising Awards APAC 2019 and the inaugural Programmatic Punch APAC. The deadline for entering has now passed, but you can apply for an extension by emailing [email protected]. Find out more at digitaladvertisingawards.asia

BC - TELARIA.indd 59 14/08/2019 10:38

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEMARKETING MECHANICS | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Pauline Lemairedirector of large accounts, SEACriteo

Tel: +65 6818 8900Email: [email protected]: www.criteo.comLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/criteo/

We should change the way we think about creativeOnly a few years ago, you could clearly distinguish between banners for brand awareness and those for sales conversion. Due to different key performance indicators (KPIs), performance marketing and brand departments co-existed with minimal interaction. Today however, marketers need to ensure consistency across all channels, and performance ads often do not meet those standards.

It is no wonder that brand marketers are dissatisfied with their performance-focused colleagues when performance banners are so unaligned with brand guidelines. This puts performance marketers in a tough spot. How can they ensure they are meeting ambitious KPIs while remaining aligned with the company’s brand goals?

This transition to a holistic perspective is an important evolution that comes with new risks and a greater focus on creative design and implementation. As the industry’s perspective on advertising creative changes, we need to approach it in a whole new way.

Creative not made for creativity’s sakeToday, we are hearing the same ongoing discussion around creative and advertising. What constitutes a ‘nice’ looking ad? What kind of creative elements can be added to make ads even more attractive? Which vendor offers the best-looking ads?

A modern approach to advertising creative should always consider how each creative element can help marketers achieve their objectives. You should not be asking your adtech provider about how many assets they can fit into an ad or how prominent they can promote your brand within it, but rather which elements will help achieve set marketing objectives like clickthrough rate (CTR) or cost per conversion (CPC). Any adtech company can make an ad that meets your brand guidelines, but few can come up with the creative that addresses all your goals holistically.

Small changes, huge impactBefore starting any creative discussion, the right balance between branding and performance objectives needs to be found. The smallest change in an advertising banner can move the needle towards one objective over another, or it can disrupt everything.

We have run tests to analyze how simple changes to the size of a company logo within a desktop ad impacts its performance. Reducing the preset reference size has shown an increase of CTR by 1%, while increasing the size decreased CTR by 4.5%. An even bigger banner presence decreased the CTR by 10%. The logo is just one of dozens of elements that can be optimized. This example is for a standard Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) desktop ad that was tested for a conversion campaign. Marketers

should be thinking about all ad formats and what the objective is – whether it is awareness, consideration or conversion – while also keeping a consistent brand experience.

Creative business is a consulting businessIt is time to rethink the process that started years ago and begin to create a consistent, appealing ad experience that reflects brand guidelines and meets performance targets. Finding the best creatives for each channel and each marketing objective is a long and complex task, but adtech companies are establishing creative consulting roles to assist advertisers on this journey. These experts are flexible enough to optimize banner ads as marketing objectives change, while keeping within brand guidelines.

Today’s creative discussions should begin with a new approach in mind. Instead of asking your adtech provider if they can add a certain element to the ad, start asking them what they recommend based on your specific marketing objectives and why.

It is the only way that you can reach consumers moving seamlessly between devices and channels, because regardless of which channel or a campaign a business uses, the goal at the end of the day is to achieve the maximum return on advertising spend.

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THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEMARKETING MECHANICS | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Pauline Lemairedirector of large accounts, SEACriteo

Tel: +65 6818 8900Email: [email protected]: www.criteo.comLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/criteo/

We should change the way we think about creativeOnly a few years ago, you could clearly distinguish between banners for brand awareness and those for sales conversion. Due to different key performance indicators (KPIs), performance marketing and brand departments co-existed with minimal interaction. Today however, marketers need to ensure consistency across all channels, and performance ads often do not meet those standards.

It is no wonder that brand marketers are dissatisfied with their performance-focused colleagues when performance banners are so unaligned with brand guidelines. This puts performance marketers in a tough spot. How can they ensure they are meeting ambitious KPIs while remaining aligned with the company’s brand goals?

This transition to a holistic perspective is an important evolution that comes with new risks and a greater focus on creative design and implementation. As the industry’s perspective on advertising creative changes, we need to approach it in a whole new way.

Creative not made for creativity’s sakeToday, we are hearing the same ongoing discussion around creative and advertising. What constitutes a ‘nice’ looking ad? What kind of creative elements can be added to make ads even more attractive? Which vendor offers the best-looking ads?

A modern approach to advertising creative should always consider how each creative element can help marketers achieve their objectives. You should not be asking your adtech provider about how many assets they can fit into an ad or how prominent they can promote your brand within it, but rather which elements will help achieve set marketing objectives like clickthrough rate (CTR) or cost per conversion (CPC). Any adtech company can make an ad that meets your brand guidelines, but few can come up with the creative that addresses all your goals holistically.

Small changes, huge impactBefore starting any creative discussion, the right balance between branding and performance objectives needs to be found. The smallest change in an advertising banner can move the needle towards one objective over another, or it can disrupt everything.

We have run tests to analyze how simple changes to the size of a company logo within a desktop ad impacts its performance. Reducing the preset reference size has shown an increase of CTR by 1%, while increasing the size decreased CTR by 4.5%. An even bigger banner presence decreased the CTR by 10%. The logo is just one of dozens of elements that can be optimized. This example is for a standard Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) desktop ad that was tested for a conversion campaign. Marketers

should be thinking about all ad formats and what the objective is – whether it is awareness, consideration or conversion – while also keeping a consistent brand experience.

Creative business is a consulting businessIt is time to rethink the process that started years ago and begin to create a consistent, appealing ad experience that reflects brand guidelines and meets performance targets. Finding the best creatives for each channel and each marketing objective is a long and complex task, but adtech companies are establishing creative consulting roles to assist advertisers on this journey. These experts are flexible enough to optimize banner ads as marketing objectives change, while keeping within brand guidelines.

Today’s creative discussions should begin with a new approach in mind. Instead of asking your adtech provider if they can add a certain element to the ad, start asking them what they recommend based on your specific marketing objectives and why.

It is the only way that you can reach consumers moving seamlessly between devices and channels, because regardless of which channel or a campaign a business uses, the goal at the end of the day is to achieve the maximum return on advertising spend.


61THEDRUM.COM

THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUE ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE | MARKETING MECHANICS

Ekaterina Rabevice-president programmaticPubNative GmbH

Tel: +49 (0) 176 621 59011Email: [email protected]: www.pubnative.netTwitter: @PubNative

Closing the circle: connecting the world of programmatic advertising

“Connected TV is one of the most-discussed topics

in adtech at the moment, and for good reason.”

80-90% of people in the most advanced markets own a smartphone today – and this number keeps growing, allowing mobile advertising to dominate digital ad spend since 2015. With this, other trends are continuing to soar, such as Connected TV and digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, opening up an omnichannel world for advertisers aiming to create a unified user experience across multiple devices.

But is this idealistic approach achievable given that user behavior is so fragmented across media channels? What if all media channels were interconnected to deliver ads that are tailored to individual users no matter what platform?

Beyond mobile and desktop: enhancing the entire customer journeyMobile and desktop already make up the ideal programmatic pair, with advertisers successfully executing effective cross-media campaigns between these devices for years. As the industry evolves, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with the constantly changing consumer behavior across newly emerging platforms. One thing has not changed, however, and that’s users’ need for meaningful and personalized ads.

Historically, advertising channels functioned in silos, completely separate from one another. The glue that brings digital advertising together as a cross-platform offering, which will enable the closing of the circle of a customer’s journey, is data and programmatic trading. For the first time, one trading platform that is already enabling most traditional digital advertising buying and selling on desktop and mobile channels is also powering advertising on emerging digital channels including CTV and DOOH.

Connected TV: a separate ecosystem?Connected TV is one of the most discussed topics in adtech and for good reason, too. The massive shift from traditional linear TV to over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms is delighting publishers and advertisers alike, as the new medium provides an exciting and profitable avenue for targeting highly engaged users programmatically. There remains a disconnect between advertising platforms and devices, however, as, despite CTV’s promising capabilities, the market is highly fragmented in terms of measurement, inventory, and new industry players. What works on one platform is not guaranteed to work on another, and this is certainly the case for CTV.

There needs to be a universal standardized solution, as the technologies are already in place for

a successful cross-platform advertising set-up. It must be defined how to accurately measure and track which users are watching when there may be multiple people in one household. Just as mobile and desktop are already so well connected, mobile data can also assist to enrich buys on CTV. Individual user profiles can be created based on a multitude of data points, from mobile device IDs to wifi and even IP addresses. By combining this data, advertisers will be well equipped to deliver the best possible ad experience to users no matter the device. Every ad experience should succeed in adding value, from the moment someone searches a product on their mobile to watching a movie on their connected TV. Ideally, and perhaps not so far in the future, there will be a holistic product that would allow individuals to be accurately targeted on CTV.

The possibilities of digital out-of-home On a larger scale, DOOH is making leaps forward in the programmatic marketplace, with mobile location data, in particular, accelerating its growth. In an ideal world, advertisers could create a single campaign to be run on multiple platforms, from desktop to digital signage. In reality, the messaging, ad placement, and user experience differ from such varying channels.

Hyper-personalization is indeed possible for DOOH viewers, although it is more likely and viable

for successful audience-based targeting as opposed to individuals. Relevant ads can be displayed to consumers based on geotargeting, facial detection, time-of-day data, mobile device ID, and more, whereby audiences can be segmented and targeted accurately based on the collected data within a matter of milliseconds when traded programmatically. As DOOH is a one-to-many advertising approach, the goal would be to reach a percentage of these consumers and offer ads for products people are interested in, providing better discoverability and pricing. In time, advertisers will be able to improve the quality and relevancy of delivered ads based on collected data points to achieve the ultimate cross-platform user experience.

Can mobile be the one device to connect them all? It remains to be seen.

But what is certain is that the same programmatic exchanges which power mobile advertising will be driving digital advertising across other channels. With data privacy policies becoming more prevalent in today’s digital advertising universe, access to user data will be limited, but if the consumer perspective shifts and starts welcoming more relevant ads, we’re bound to see a unified user experience across connected devices.

https://www.zenithmedia.com/smartphone-penetration-reach-66-2018/


THEDRUM.COM62

THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEINKEDIN | POSTS IN PRINT

A fantastic demonstration of the power of animation. A scheme to build a innovative ‘rolling’ bridge, which will bring a disused London dock back to life, has just secured a £40k grant from the Mayor of London after it won the support of many East London residents.

And I think a major part of this was a great animation by my friend Tim Allen, who is campaigning to bring the site – known as Cody Dock – back into use.

The film really reinforced the genius of the design. The bridge is an architectural first and serves as a reminder that there can be joy in great engineering. I really hope this will now be built.

Signs of the times

This image captures a moment I will never forget – the end of our world record attempt for the longest guitar lesson.

As we counted down to our target of 24 hours and six minutes, Thomas Binns, the man who aimed to set the record, invited some of his visually impaired students, including 97-year-old Mary Barsh, to lead the final

class. It was a privilege to be part of this. Thanks to the likes of Ian Felton, Hayleigh O’Farrell, Norm Johnston, James Peterson, Jon McTernan, Andrew McLean, Fiona Pannell, Lisa Lambert and Douglas Male, to name but a few. And of course, to Anna Orford, the Guinness World Records adjudicator who had to decide whether we got the record or not.

Striking a chord with record

We were ready to rumble at McCann, as some of the most combatant creatives you could hope to meet discussed whether creativity is in crisis. It was great to see McCann’s Sanjiv Mistry and Karen Crum getting into character with their ‘second’ Sheryl Marjoram (with specially commissioned cloaks that

read ‘creativity is the only way to survive’). However, Nicholas Hulley and AMV BBDO’s Nadja Lossgott did not look too intimidated for what turned out to be a great discussion.

Big thanks to Adobe’s Alex Hayward for sponsoring and sharing insights of his own, as well as Sonoo Singh for refereeing.

A true clash of the titans

Sometimes it’s hard to be a creative. Why is it that bureaucrats always seem to get in the way of great work? Take this brilliant campaign from DDB Mexico, produced by David Castellanos and his amazing team. It cuts through by using the most powerful tool in the creative armory – a sense of humor.

However, if the legal sounding communication The Drum’s editorial team received is anything to go by, Lacoste is not amused. It has requested we remove the ad from our website on the grounds it breaches its IP. Let’s hope Lacoste backs off and lets this work run. If there is one thing this world needs it is for everyone to stop taking themselves so seriously.

A stain on creative work

I really liked this campaign by Sarah Knapton and the team at the The Daily Telegraph. They argue consumers are increasingly baffled by the array of different recycling symbols that appear on packaging today – they count as many as 58 competing symbols.

Frankly, I for one had no idea there were so many, nor do I know what most mean. This chart makes the LumaScape look simple.

The paper is demanding that the government moves to simplify this system, and I agree. I know a few great designers – including Alan Dye and the NB team or Stuart Radford At Superunion – who would relish this challenge.

Building bridges

Great to see Reuben Webb doing such a great job converting the US to the Chip Show Awards cause with his attempt at preaching the good word in Times Square. But he is not the only one evangelizing about the need to #SaveCreativeSoul.

Fellow judges for the event, which recognizes the sort of work other award schemes ban, include Sandi Harari, Danielle Hawley, Douglas Brundage, Anthony Reeves, Josh Horowitz, Amy Carvajal, Jason Marks, Valerie Carlson, Lizzie Wilson, EJ McNulty, Chris Duffey, Pete Johnson, Roberto Danino and Mark Fallows. The entry deadline is 30 August.

Saving souls on the street

TD_40_09_SEP-INKEDIN.indd 62 14/08/2019 12:17

THEDRUM.COM62

THE FUTURE OF TV ISSUEINKEDIN | POSTS IN PRINT

A fantastic demonstration of the power of animation. A scheme to build a innovative ‘rolling’ bridge, which will bring a disused London dock back to life, has just secured a £40k grant from the Mayor of London after it won the support of many East London residents.

And I think a major part of this was a great animation by my friend Tim Allen, who is campaigning to bring the site – known as Cody Dock – back into use.

The film really reinforced the genius of the design. The bridge is an architectural first and serves as a reminder that there can be joy in great engineering. I really hope this will now be built.

Signs of the times

This image captures a moment I will never forget – the end of our world record attempt for the longest guitar lesson.

As we counted down to our target of 24 hours and six minutes, Thomas Binns, the man who aimed to set the record, invited some of his visually impaired students, including 97-year-old Mary Barsh, to lead the final

class. It was a privilege to be part of this. Thanks to the likes of Ian Felton, Hayleigh O’Farrell, Norm Johnston, James Peterson, Jon McTernan, Andrew McLean, Fiona Pannell, Lisa Lambert and Douglas Male, to name but a few. And of course, to Anna Orford, the Guinness World Records adjudicator who had to decide whether we got the record or not.

Striking a chord with record

We were ready to rumble at McCann, as some of the most combatant creatives you could hope to meet discussed whether creativity is in crisis. It was great to see McCann’s Sanjiv Mistry and Karen Crum getting into character with their ‘second’ Sheryl Marjoram (with specially commissioned cloaks that

read ‘creativity is the only way to survive’). However, Nicholas Hulley and AMV BBDO’s Nadja Lossgott did not look too intimidated for what turned out to be a great discussion.

Big thanks to Adobe’s Alex Hayward for sponsoring and sharing insights of his own, as well as Sonoo Singh for refereeing.

A true clash of the titans

Sometimes it’s hard to be a creative. Why is it that bureaucrats always seem to get in the way of great work? Take this brilliant campaign from DDB Mexico, produced by David Castellanos and his amazing team. It cuts through by using the most powerful tool in the creative armory – a sense of humor.

However, if the legal sounding communication The Drum’s editorial team received is anything to go by, Lacoste is not amused. It has requested we remove the ad from our website on the grounds it breaches its IP. Let’s hope Lacoste backs off and lets this work run. If there is one thing this world needs it is for everyone to stop taking themselves so seriously.

A stain on creative work

I really liked this campaign by Sarah Knapton and the team at the The Daily Telegraph. They argue consumers are increasingly baffled by the array of different recycling symbols that appear on packaging today – they count as many as 58 competing symbols.

Frankly, I for one had no idea there were so many, nor do I know what most mean. This chart makes the LumaScape look simple.

The paper is demanding that the government moves to simplify this system, and I agree. I know a few great designers – including Alan Dye and the NB team or Stuart Radford At Superunion – who would relish this challenge.

Building bridges

Great to see Reuben Webb doing such a great job converting the US to the Chip Show Awards cause with his attempt at preaching the good word in Times Square. But he is not the only one evangelizing about the need to #SaveCreativeSoul.

Fellow judges for the event, which recognizes the sort of work other award schemes ban, include Sandi Harari, Danielle Hawley, Douglas Brundage, Anthony Reeves, Josh Horowitz, Amy Carvajal, Jason Marks, Valerie Carlson, Lizzie Wilson, EJ McNulty, Chris Duffey, Pete Johnson, Roberto Danino and Mark Fallows. The entry deadline is 30 August.

Saving souls on the street

TD_40_09_SEP-INKEDIN.indd 62 14/08/2019 12:17

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Marketing can change the world - Sixteen by nine

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