Mipcom

Day four at MIPCOM focussed on Mobile and how various business models can be applied to make it financially viable for the operator and the consumer. The focus was on video content which of course uses higher data rates and therefore is a higher cost to the consumer. The idea of a flat rate with no cap was discussed in many of the discussions as the best alternative but this may not be the best model for the mobile operator.

As with any media platform, it is all about the user experience and although most viewers would prefer watching TV without interruptions from commercials, they accept that advertising does fund our entertainment. This applies to magazines, radio and others so why not also to the mobile space?

South Africa already has 3G connectivity and is testing DVB-H and although various packages have been offered the uptake for the operators has perhaps not been what was expected. This could be because of the costs involved, a cap to the amount that can be watched or downloaded and of course the content which I believe is the most important. This doesn’t only apply in South Africa but is the experience of operators internationally.

Peter Cowley, Director of Digital Media at Endemol UK, firmly believes that advertiser funded mobile content will dominate. This does not mean commercials but engaging branded entertainment. I believe that this also applies to South Africa. We have a very high penetration of mobile phones in South Africa and it is the only media platform that we always carry with us. This is a huge opportunity for advertisers but we mustn’t get into the spam mindset with mobile TV content. Our mobile phones are a very personal device and consumers don’t appreciate receiving spam advertising on their mobile phones. Mobile content can be more targeted and even create viral marketing opportunities.

A large number of mobile phones are capable of receiving media rich content but if the content isn’t available, the platform is underutilised. If the content was ad funded, more content would be available and the user experience would be far better and the disappointed early adopters would come back. The key is however to develop unique marketing content for this platform. The screen is smaller, the resolution and quality is not like a TV experience so re-purposing TV content is not the answer.

Mobile TV is still in its infancy and many of the big players are dabbling, with varying degrees of success. The challenge for mobile operators is to create a unique content offering. The opportunity for advertisers is to look at mobile as a unique marketing platform where consumers can be engaged on a one-to-one basis.

Posted by Stanley Edwards at 07:07 AM | Permalink

Czech my Tits was one of the entries in the Mobile TV Awards held at MIPCOM in Cannes. Wednesday was the first Mobile day at MIPCOM and included a variety of presentations dealing with all aspects of Mobile TV. Like any other media platform, content is king, as demonstrated by the very different entries into the awards which includes mobisodes of 24, Soccer Addict which included user generated content of fans filming themselves on mobile phone video and submitting them and Film Reviews done with animation.

What was also interesting is the research around mobile viewing patterns with regards to who is watching what and when. Again, like any other media platform, the mobile TV experience is unique and as such, unique content needs to be created. It is not about trying to replicate the TV experience although much of the content we are currently seeing is simply TV shows brought to you on mobile. Viewers of both platforms would question as to why they have to pay a subscription to watch TV programmes on TV and then pay another subscription to watch it on mobile? Surely one subscription is enough? This is not the case as mobile operators have a very different business model to a broadcasters’.

It’s also not a case of a broadcaster trying to become a mobile operator. ESPN’s foray into mobile was a failure as they tried to offer a handset and content package. BBC produced “Tardicodes” of their Dr Who series but were disappointed by the results indicating that the Mobile TV idea still has some way to go but as with other technologies, including mobile itself, the uptake happens very quickly once there is market acceptance and penetration.

Graeme Ferguson, who is the former Director of Global Content Development for Vodafone UK, described mobile operators as lemmings who often play a wait and see game and them all jump in at the same time. Some mobile operators also try and become broadcasters and they clearly don’t understand the content game. Launching a mobile TV service without engaging and entertaining content is set for failure. It’s all about the user / viewer experience – no other media platform would launch a product without a great content offering so why do mobile operators think this will different? Content is expensive, whether purchased or commissioned and The Mobile TV Awards showcased the type of content that can be produced for mobile and be successful.

Advertiser funded content or Branded Entertainment is a model which would work very well for mobile. Broadband content and IPTV (Internet TV) has also been a big topic at MIPCOM but in South Africa we are faced with the reality of poor connectivity so perhaps mobile TV is our answer to this. We have high handset penetration and if the mobile TV content offering was unique, engaging and entertaining and most important affordable, I believe it has huge potential.

For those who are interested, Czech My Tits focuses on mans fascination with breasts. Add a cheeky host, a TV camera and a cash incentive, girls on the streets of Prague are encouraged to flash for the camera for 5 seconds – it’s funny and curiously addictive!

Remember our MIPCOM feedback sessions being held in Cape Town and Johannesberg – go to www.thepuggle.co.za/mipcom for more information.

Posted by Stanley Edwards at 06:43 AM | Permalink

We are living in a multi-platform world where advertisers and entertainment providers are having problems engaging audiences and retaining their loyalty. That premise formed the core of a heated debate at one of the presentations at MIPCOM. One panellist, John Hegarty, chairman and worldwide creative director of BBH said “I don’t understand platforms. In the ad industry, we’ve always had to know how to write and create for different platforms – television, print and the internet for many years. What I’m finding is the incredible lack of talent. Were all artists, but some of us should not exhibit”

There has been a lot of discussion at MIPCOM about new media technologies and the threat they pose to the traditional advertising model but John’s comment must ring true for in the South African market as well. There was some debate after the Lories and I even remember seeing an article “Where has all the talent gone?” Although we’ve seen some ad people return to South Africa after assignment overseas, it still is a great concern that a lot of our creative talent is leaving our shores. There has also been some comment on Agencies and even corporates needing to fill BEE quotas and often people are placed in positions where they perhaps do not have the experience or skill to deal with demanding jobs. It takes two years to get to two years experience and this is something you simply can’t fast track. It’s unfair on the individual and on the client.

Another problem is that the really good black creative talent is often poached by other agencies and even clients so it difficult for them to develop properly. Chris Moerdyk recent wrote: “Clients need to stop the incessant poaching of advertising agency black staff. It has become so bad, I am surprised that so many agencies continue with their development programmes, knowing full well that all they are doing is funding their clients' human resources.”

Peter Tortorici, president of GroupM Entertainment said at MIPCOM that ad agencies increasingly need to develop original ideas and invest in content in order to achieve clients’ objectives. It’s very, very simple – consumers want to be entertained, they want an interactive lean forward experience and really do want to engage with the brands they love and support. He gave the example of a recent Dove campaign for Unilever, in which the Hollywood actress Felicity Huffman was digitally inserted into classic sitcoms to create original webisodes to promote the brand. This web based content didn’t even make it to broadcast – the only above-line-line marketing was a call-to-action to drive people to the Dove website. It was a very success campaign and for the brand, helped create an emotional link to the product.

It’s not therefore about the technology but also about how the rules of engagement are changing. Marketers need to understand new media platforms but as John Hegary stated, if you don’t have the talent you’re not in the game.

Posted by Stanley Edwards at 05:38 AM | Permalink

It’s lunchtime on day one at MIPCOM in Cannes and I’ve already attended two very interesting talks. The second talk focussed on entertainment content and how the line is blurring between different media platforms. Television is still the most dominant but there is a big focus on new platforms such as IPTV (Internet TV), mobile, video on demand and video blogs to engage audiences. This creates new challenges for brands and advertisers as audiences fragment across these various platforms. It’s about getting another bite at the cherry - audiences may not catch a TV ad but can be engaged via their mobile phones or even via the web. It’s also about creating an entertainment experience that works across the various platforms as synergistic marketing communications. If the campaign is good enough, it would drive audiences from mobile to a TV broadcast and visa versa. It’s also a great opportunity for brands to develop multiple platform marketing communications to create and even own a new “brand” from an entertainment concept and not just have a limited TV communication. We have seen the phenomenal growth of mobile, user generated content and IPTV internationally and brands are taking this very seriously as they need to find and follow their audiences again. Brands are even creating there own Web based TV stations and are investing substantial amounts in them, to the detriment of traditional above the line marketing. BUDtv (Budweiser) has created a seven channel offering, investing $30 million at start up. Interestingly, the channel is being run by two ex Ad Agency staff who worked on the brand.

New media platforms also allow for far better measurement and database creation – the audience may be smaller but are far more of a brand community and also create a new form of viral marketing. Brands who understand their consumers fully are the ones who will benefit for using new media platforms, especially if the market is youth or young adult.

We’ve still got three full days of seminars dealing with wide range of topics. It’s interesting to see the large number of ad agencies at MIPCOM, not just as delegates but also as speakers, covering branded entertainment successes and the new rules of engagement. I’ll be covering these in future postings on the blog and we’ll also be doing MIPCOM Feedback Sessions in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Branded Entertainment

I recently wrote an article on branded entertainment / advertiser funded programming and how viewers would win if broadcasters accepted this type of content. My comments have been re-affirmed at MIPCOM where I attended a session on The Best of Branded Content. This type of content, where brands become intrinsically part of the content is gaining momentum, with more and more ad agencies attending MIPCOM to see how brands can merge with content.

Brands are putting their money behind content in a big way and getting a very good return on investment. The longer form content lives far beyond the traditional TV ad campaign and in the case of global brands, even stretches across continents. They are also using multiple new media platforms for their marketing, using mobile, web, video podcasts and blogs to find the audience where they are in a new on-demand world.

In the case of Sears who are involved with the wildly successful Extreme Makeover Home Edition, the series brought the emotion back to the brand. Their payoff line was simply an empty promise, as many payoff lines often are. Consumers and even staff simply didn’t buy into it. Their TV advertising pushed the message but with little success. Payoff lines thought out in boardrooms and not entrenched in very part of an organisation have very little chance of success.

The series changed this, and in a way they never expected. It also changed the brand perception internally where staff’s attitude towards Seers changed dramatically. Consumers absolutely loved the series and their attitude towards Seers also changed. The series added the emotion that the brand needed and missed – customer interaction with staff was a whole lot better and of course sales increased.

How about a brand creating a new sport. Red Bull did this with Air Race. They created and own an event which gets huge coverage on TV channels. It’s a big investment but again the ROI has been there for them. I don’t know if this concept was client or agency driven but one this is for sure, it certainly wasn’t the broadcaster who would have taken the risk.

Internationally, the model for branded content is that the broadcasters would be given the content for free and in return they would give the brand various ad spots. Unfortunately, this is not the case locally. We were exposed a Science and Technology series which is funded by Duracell and has been developed into three series with 39 episodes. The series is very entertaining and has very high production values, something that would not have been able to be achieved on the commissioning budgets allocated by our local broadcasters for this type of content.

The Explorations series from Duracell has also been extended to multiple platforms and even into schools where DVD’s and lesson plans are created for teachers. The Audi Channel on Sky digital in the UK is the first TV channel owned by a brand and has also been very successful. Audi UK’s agency, BBH drove the TV channel concept because of ad skipping. This is a major concern for agencies worldwide but it’s not just a case of saying that the 30-second ad is dead, it certainly isn’t, it’s just that it got a lot more competition as new media platforms are developed. Agencies and brands need to embrace these and build on the strength of the various new media platforms.

Posted by Stanley Edwards at 07:39 AM | Permalink