The Insider Game
What the Manningcast and Gimme Live tell us about the superfan experience
Watching the Manningcast on Monday night made me remember something that worked so well at Gimme Radio: We built a really great ‘second screen’ experience.
Allow me to explain. At Gimme, we produced tight two-hour radio shows hosted by some of the most important artists and curators in Metal and Alt Country, our two genres. We thought a lot about the audio product and our hosts obviously crafted great radio out of a lifetime of musical knowledge and experience. ?
But what made Gimme really come to life was how the audio mixed with the Gimme Live experience. The blending of the fans being able to communicate with the hosts while the show played in real time was where the magic happened. The conversation would go all over the place while orbiting around the meticulous work the curator had put into the show. It was that engagement of the fan that went beyond the listening that became so important that built a weekly habit for a lot of people. Many made friends that lasted long after our funding dried up.
I would argue that this ‘second screen’ experience was Gimme’s special sauce. If listening is the first ‘screen,’ then the chat and camaraderie that goes along with it is the second. It was designed for that fan that wants to go deeper than just to listen. [jm1]?They want stories from their favorite artists and to build a community around people who liked what they liked.
And that’s what the Manningcast has done so well. By marrying the Monday Night Football broadcast feed with video from Peyton and Eli Manning's man caves, a novel fan engagement platform is created. This second screen experience is not for the people who want to intensely watch the NFL game, where it’s all about the plays and the action. It’s for those who want an experience around the game. Sometimes the Mannings will wade into football game theory that goes so much deeper than what you’d get on the broadcast, but other moments, it’s the brothers trash talking, showing home movies, interviewing a celebrity guest, or just goofing around.?
Building An Attention Engine
The thing that ties both second screen experiences together is that they both treat the content we would consider the main course as an ingredient to a much more compelling experience for the fans that are hungry for more. Whether it’s an artist talking about what it was like to tour with Cannibal Corpse in Florida in the '90s or Peyton Manning defining how a QB thinks about checkdowns when facing a blitz, fans get the insider view of what it's like to be in those situations.
These examples tell me there’s a huge unmet demand from people that care most about your work. It goes beyond just listening or watching. They want to connect to you and other fans beyond just consuming the media. They crave to feel what it is to be an insider, understanding what it might have been like to make a record or what music you were influenced by when you wrote their favorite song. These fans want in!
I would contend that these second screens can be found everywhere. Consumers’ attention is diffused across devices, apps, places, and platforms. Once you figure out where your fans are hanging out, you can focus that distraction into a ?powerful second screen experience.
And if you need help: I have a process for identifying the fan actions and how you can build a better second screen yourself. Reach out and let’s talk!
?Go Deeper: Read more about the evolution of the Manningcast in the Athletic .