The new reality of tv - my five C's of change!

One of the fantastic advantages of being a lecturer for ADMA (Association for Data-Driven Marketing & Advertising) is that I get invited to their key annual event the Global Forum. This is a gathering of Australia’s brands and marketers to reflect on the best in the industry and gaze into the crystal ball of what may come next in the world of consumer experience and persuading people to engage in products or services.

This time there were a number of media and entertainment companies sharing how they are transforming to cope with the consumer disruption everyone is facing. Listening to some of the speakers it did make me think that 2018 is turning out to be a landmark year for the creative industries. It may be a very personal perspective, however I can see a number of signs that there is a shift from fear of disruption and change, to an acceptance that the world has changed and a rapid rise in championing for transformation of media and entertainment businesses.

In that context let me share my personal five ‘C’s of change:

Creativity is thriving

• Arron Child who is Head of Neuromarketing at Finder, spoke at the conference on the role our emotional triggers have on making purchasing decisions. His credits include the Airtasker campaign ‘Like a Boss’. His premise is that up to 95% of buying choices are driven by our subconscious.
• In the media and entertainment world, we know creating emotional impact and storytelling is the core of what we all do. The interesting debate at the conference was how leaders need to be both creative and technology fluent. As the CMO at Foxtel said, we are in a golden age of video, where watching in TV is still the choice for so many.
• There is an amazing range of high quality well written drama and comedy being created with budgets for some shows well in excess of what some movies had just a decade ago. There is a lot of TV and visual content being created and consumed, with fresh new talent working alongside industry legends.

Consumers are in control

• Viewers are demanding access to the content they want on their terms as Mark Frain the new CEO of MCN (Multi channel Network – the advertising arm of Foxtel) said: There is a new battle in the attention economy, with games, social media and lots of home-made video, there are plenty of outlets for advertising and each of us has the same limited time to pay attention in a day. It was refreshing to hear a senior advertising executive admit that viewers have a lower tolerance to advertising and their experience will be better if there are fewer ads. This trend has started to happen with some networks in the US where advertising per hour is being dramatically reduced: shorter ads with greater impact and higher value to advertisers and broadcasters alike is the mantra that is gaining ground.
• Kate Smith,Village Roadshow’s Head of Digital and Customer Marketing, described her very personal journey into how Village Roadshow brought the voice of the customer into the heart of the business. The project realised the financial and engagement benefits of re-imagining how they connect with movie watchers, understanding fully the audience segments and creating engaging long-term interest to movie watchers, not just a place to simply watch trailers

Convergence is finally happening

• Technology and creativity are intermingling more than ever before. As I heard a senior marketer declare on a panel, the CMO of today needs to be both technology and creative fluent.
• The same is true in media and entertainment. If you are an IP and digital technologist, then you need to understand the heart and soul of the creative and operations of a broadcaster or entertainment business and similarly a broadcast engineer is becoming more hands-on with IP technology.
• At a macro level as OTT and mobile delivery expands rapidly then the skills and networks of traditional communications capability are converging to provide the holistic access to content that viewers want on TV, mobiles and other devices.

Consolidation is growing

• 2018 has certainly been the year of mergers globally, with Disney, Comcast and others all keen to be expanding their footprint via mergers. In Australia and New Zealand there are plenty more desired and planned by the industry, although in New Zealand these are not coming to fruition currently due to market concerns from regulators. All this consolidation is probably not over yet, as traditional broadcast and entertainment companies defend their turf against the powerhouses of Amazon, You Tube, Netflix, Apple, Facebook and Google.

Champions for change are emerging

• It could be argued that at times over recent years, the TV industry in parts has looked as if it was clinging on to the world where viewers were happy to accept seeing the shows they loved, at the times broadcasters wanted and packed with advertising that often was not relevant to a viewer’s personal needs.
• As a passionate fan of the broadcast industry, it is so pleasing to see transformation champions emerging. They are bringing the magic of television and power of visual storytelling together with the benefits of the individual consumer-centric world we now all live in.

The road of business, technology and creative transformation has a lot of challenges ahead, that is true. Reinventing a whole industry is not a simple task. What I personally see now is a confidence that TV will survive and that traditional broadcasters have a huge opportunity to be the guardians of the positive changes, if they continue to accelerate the positive evolution of viewer, subscriber and advertiser experience.

Paul Whybrow is the Managing Director and Creative Collaborator for Bodyboard Immersive Experiences. A boutique business with access to award winning creative, broadcast and immersive experience skills and consulting. Our purpose is to be the creative connector for imagining the possibilities and crafting the practical, so you can share passionate storytelling. 

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