Video Insights and Learnings from #vdonxtasia - A layman's guide

I was at Vdonxt last week in Mumbai and I learnt a great deal from 2 days of conference. Following is a summary of 48 hours of conference (This doesn't cover my opinion on the desserts served at Westin!):

• Five Axis for growth: Content, Platform, Revenue, Language and Genre
• Women and Millennial-older audiences are fast gaining traction
• 2016 saw the emergence of Bengali (Food), Marathi (Bollywood) and Gujrati (Comedy)
• Youtube Space in Mumbai is the 8th such in the world
• Comedy creators are leveraging video for standup shows while movie creators are using BTS/Making-of videos before release to push sales

In India if you give free data, People will watch video

• Today Youtube commands 70% of the Indian video advertising pie
• Trailer reaction videos, 360 degrees and VR are innovations
• Difference in writing and production quality are the future of great content
• Today production quality ranges from a basic phone (e.g. BB Ki Vines) to detailed setup (e.g. Arre)
• While it took #TVF a couple of years to reach a million subscribers, creators today can reach a million in a few months
• Youtube algorithm awards time spent wherein 30-40% traffic comes from suggested videos (in the queue on the right)
• Youtube Video watched for 1min and 1 sec is ranked higher than that watched for 1 min
• Indian creators are discovering other platforms - They are on youtube for the great community
• The three key stakeholders in the video space: Creator, Consumer and Advertiser
• By 2018, 74% content consumed will be video (Short form, vernacular will rise)

Youtube and Facebook have become cable operators

• It takes approx. 4 hours for a creator to make 4 minutes of original video content (based on metadata and insights)
• Sometimes 10k views earn as much money as 50k views for a youtube creator like Mostly Sane

Audience love = Money

• Watch-time currency for VOOT = 15 minutes (Adults) and 25 minutes (Kids)
• ChuChuTV started as a project for founder's daughter Harshita. In 2013, their first video (Chubby cheeks) reached 3 lac views in 2 weeks while their Johny Johny is India's first video to hit 1Bn views
• Peek time for VOOT kids is 9 PM when parents let go of the device (55% consumption happens on father's phone as husbands have the best handsets and data plans)
• With Ranveer Ching Returns, brand jingle was played for free across the world. In this video, there is no brand placement and 80% of marketing budget was put into production). This branded content transitioned Capital foods as a business from INR 180 CR to INR 600 CR! Ching's secret made this as a song for the film and did not make an ad-film.
• Neither consumers nor advertisers are married to platform. Be it 5" or 70 mm, its an engaging story that works.
• Netflix and Amazon are tech companies who spend most on content.
• With Online video, brands have the option of spending INR 80 lacs for 100 videos over making 1 TVC.
• Today, the #1 TV show in India is Naagin !
• Cinema experience is dark and mobile TV experience is bright
• Indian audiences are ready to pay for content not available on TV

Content is King and Delivery is Queen

• 48% Indians consume regional content (Movies is the core driver)
• Stories never change
• Branded content and engagement are not mutually exclusive
• HUL started targeting news publishers after Patanjali became the biggest spender on Hindi news
• Movies, news and sports are mirroring the TV Space
• Monetisation on facebook is happening today via Instant articles, Suggested video and ad breaks on FB Live

By 2017 end, more than 100 million Indian viewers will be from tier 2 and tier 3 (Urban and rural)

• While Punjabi and Bhojpuri content will emerge, 60% revenue will come from professional content
• Players like Webtalkies have an approach to serve audiences who want tailored content that is cheaper than cinema and not available on TV
• Brands today are investing 40% of the marketing monies on Original Content

TV has missed the bus on youth. Content has become a game of seduction - Vikram Bhatt

• The genres of Action, Soaps, Erotica and comedy have gone away from Bollywood. That is the reason Biopics are being made today!
• Screens matter less and less for the consumers
• Brands like Raymonds have evolved a different mindset for marketing. Their marketing team has a healthy mix of content guys alongside the traditional marketing guys.

Branded content is more content and less brand

• People don't want to listen to product stories, they want to tune into human stories (101 India's Hip Hop Homeland and Dice media's Little things are case studies).
• First comes story, then comes audience and then comes brand (Like in the case of Arre's Dark Psy-Fi A.I.SHA)

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