Binge-watching changes the world

Binge-watching or binge-viewing is a hot topic at the moment and rightfully so. After years of watching linear TV programming or catching up the episodes on VHS after the premiere, audiences and fans are embrassing the possibility to finally consume entertainment just the way they want to and for how long they want to. Like it pretty much is with every other consumer product. So, the digital revolution is finally catching up with serialized entertainment.

Before we came up with the term "binge-watching", people sloutching before TV for hours on end were called "couch potatoes". I remember my mom reminding me that "too much TV will rot my brain" and I should "go out, it´s a beautiful day" in the middle of my weekend marathon of "Knight Rider", taped on VHS of course. Binge-watching on the other hand, is socially acceptable and makes the linear television look old fashioned. Finally the audience has the control.

But is binge-watching something new? Yes and no. For the older generation, binge-watching is welcomed form to consume your favorite content, but if you look at the web-savvy and web-native younger generation binge-watching is nothing new. Because of the short format of online video, binge-watching is all you do and you do it several times a day. As the attention span gets shorter, it will further change the way entertainment is consumed in the future. And the change is already in motion, at least that´s what it looks like if you look at the figures. According to Sandvine, real-time video and audio entertainment traffic takes up most of the Internet's bandwidth and that means Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube. And the time spent with these content providers is time taken from the traditional TV Networks, who now face a challenge that can be terminal for them.

Ad funded TV Networks need to figure out how to make revenue when viewers are in control and only want to watch the content, not the ads, for hours on end. And to make the situation even more challenging,  brands who buy the ads are waking up to a new world where quality brand content can compete with the best entertainment for the attention of the audience. Take Chipotle´s short films "The Scarecrow" and "Back to the start". These are prime examples of brand content that captures the attention of the audience and can keep it for hours on end. And with a free channel like YouTube, why would Chipotle waste their media budget on advertisements, when investment in quality content pays off better. Now Chipotle just needs to mass produce it for the binge-watchers and they will have the attention of the masses for hours on end.

Transmedia Storytelling – the secrect sauce of marketing

Storytelling is in the heart of every culture, community, family and human being. And no matter the what changes occur in the evolution of media, stories or content, which ever name you prefer, is in the heart of human interaction. In todays higly digitalized world every touchpoint between the consumer and the brand is media and media needs content.

Transmedia storytelling can be defined as a story that unfolds across multiple media outlets, touchpoints and platforms, and although it doesn’t always happen, with a degree of audience participation, interaction or collaboration. The purpose is to create a unified and engaging experience for the audience, where each medium really makes its own contribution to the development of the story. It is the best and most effective way to connect especially with the new generations of consumers and build a sustainable audience around a brand, as Red Bull has demonstrated.

It is also profitable because it redefines and increases ROI, increases impact over media, and can create new sources of income. Marketing executions no longer communicate about a medium that contains the story (tv ads directing you to see the product) but can actually be a part of the whole story. This can be seen in our upcoming brand content platform "Buy This!", that mixes fictional story with actual brands and their marketing content.

Why it is the future marketing

The noise in media is getting even louder while media keeps saturating. In order to get their voice heard brands and entertainment IP´s need to have multiple touchpoints to the audience and this means bigger budgets in the traditional marketing models. Transmedia storytelling lowers production costs by sharing assets across media and increases effectiveness, since no part is just a vessel for a message, but a part of a bigger story.

The challenge for entertainment IP´s to do transmedia storytelling is that different channels are owned or controlled by different partners that might not share the same vision or the long-term commitment. Usually this is because the main focus is given to the film or tv-series, making other channels and platforms just a way to capitalize the hype.

Product and service brands on the other hand usually have a clear vision and long-term commitment, but often face the problem of not having a consistent plan on how to do transmedia storytelling across multiple mediums and platforms while driving better business at the same time. This usually is because brand content is not considered to be something that the audience is willing to pay for, making the brand content and it´s distribution a marketing investment instead of source of income.

What will happen next 

We already have greater connectivity and consumer empowerment than ever before. Never before have people had so many devices and screens from which to follow a story, and now the consumers seek new experiences and a deeper engagement. That has created an on-demand culture, where consumers can turn on and tune-in 24 hours a day, creating an unseen need for content and storytelling. Brands find new revenue streams from content and become media themselves, offering besides great products and services, great content and stories.

Why games and brands are a perfect match

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne and his team have published a fascinating set of charts about the long, slow decline of old-fashioned broadcast and cable TV. There has been a 50 percent collapse in broadcast TV audience ratings since 2002 and the same time online video and mobile apps have exploded.

Games dominate the app usage and given the explosion of smart phones, you can reach over billion people instantly through games. Thats a bigger reach than Superbowl or most of the global media companies have. For brands games are the perfect media, since they are engaging by nature.

I´ve met with dozens of game studios and what still strikes me odd is that still only few of them see themselves as media or entertainment companies or take advantage their media-like posture. Many brands would gladly seize the opportunity to speak to an audience of hundreds of millions if given the chance. Of course it doesn´t work just by placing a logo in the game. Brands need to bring something more to the fans, not just billboards on the side of the road when you play Need For Speed, but really augment the game and have an active role in it. For example Michelin tires to make your car go faster or in-game currency handled by Visa. The level of engagement is in a whole another level so the brands should not be passive. Even with casual games that usually last minutes, the attention and focus is beyond anything you´ll get from a traditional TV ad.

But one should not limit themselves to just have an active role inside the game. Thanks to mobile gaming, augmenting can be done also in a physical place. The Angry Birds & McDonald´s campaign we did in China is a good example of this. By entering a McDonalds restaurant, Angry Birds players would unlock in-game currency called Power-Ups and hidden game modes, giving them chance to play as the pigs and use the power-ups to get a better score. These features could be unlocked three times a day, so that drives traffic to the actual restaurants several times a day.

There is also the question of should a brand develop a game by itself. In my opinion, the answer is yes and no. Yes, I you have the resources and are ready to promote and develop the game in a long run. No if you see this as a campaign gimmick, thats live for some weeks and then fades away (and the game is about using the product in a boring way). Like always, you should listen and respect the fans.

Content Wheel of Fortune

The way I see content marketing or effective distribution of any message should be done, is divided in three parts. Everyone of the parts affects the other and every part is vital. Of course when looked closely, everything comes complex, but I think this is a good way to model your content development and distribution. I call it the Content Wheel, but my colleagues call it "väkkärä", which means a crooked bunch of things, or something.

First there has to be an Understanding of the needs and motives of the audience and the state of the brand or an IP. I´ve also used the word Analytics here, but that seems to guide the thinking into gathering data instead of using all the data to develop the content. What this means is that every time content is distributed, there has to be a clear set of KPI´s as well as data gathering. Also just as important is studying the audience. The old school demographics of "urban females aged 25-44" no longer apply, we need to profile our target groups through needs and motives and keep in mind that these differ depending on time, place and economy for other things. Understanding what distribution method works for particular content gives the message a chance to get through the static.

Second comes Content, although the crucial piece of the puzzle (without it there´s nothing to understand or distribute), relies heavily on understanding and distributing. The ideal would be a steady stream of charming, exiting and emotional content, developed to engage the audience according to their needs and motives, in a format or channel of their choosing. This is something that often is overlooked. The media consumption is changing rapidly and understanding how the audience wants to consume the media is vital for any brand or an IP. Finding the balance between the brand message and audience motives is a delicate work, but no rocket science. Nobody wants to listen to a brand or a person, who goes on blabbering about their ideas instead of listening and contributing to a conversation. Basic human communications really.

Third piece of the puzzle is Distribution. The right content, in a right channel, at the right moment. Here the format of the content and the media channel play the central role. No point of showing 30 second pre-roll ads before a 60 second YouTube-video about cats unless you´re absolutely sure your message is more interesting than a grumpy cat (be honest). Good question also is should one use the existing channels or create one of its own. Creating your own media has never been so easy and although the cost of cutting through the static has risen, it´s still relatively cheap if you have content that your audience loves.

All brands should be Lost

The idea of broadcasting is deteriorating as more entertainment is distributed online and that is making an impact on advertising too. TiVo and other digital recording services offer viewers the option to skip the commercials and watch the content they want at whatever time suits them the best. Netflix has started to created their own content and are releasing it all at once to indulge binge-watching, without commercial breaks. And the experience doesn´t stop anymore to television. Shows like `Lost` let the viewers explore the islands twisted history in an online game, making the engagement more deeper. Creative storytelling has evolved into transmedia engagement where every channel takes the story forward in a way that best suits the media as well as consumers mindset.

So what happens to advertising in the middle of all this? Unfortunately brands still rely on the strategy of disturbing. Instead of continuous flow of entertainment, we get steady stream of bland commercial breaks that keep us from the conclusion of the season finale. None of the brands seem to bring anything more to my TV-experience or deepen the engagement. They just want to ram their message down my throat instead of adding value to the content. The same can been seen in almost every channel. Take in-game advertising for example. Ever so often we see brands trying to engage the fans by painting their logo inside the game or better yet, showing static banner ads while i´m trying to make a high score. Brands have a lot to learn from shows like `Lost`.

A part of the blame seems to be the advertising industry. Instead of creating engaging brand content worth the consumers time, the toolbox seems to have the same tools that were used in the 50´s (yes, there is a thing called internet, but all the banner ads are just animated prints). Same formats, same messages, none of the engagement. No connection to the consumers current mindset, motives or the media they are consuming.

But a change is coming. Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry is forced to find new revenue streams because of the declining DVD markets and the ever growing piracy. The same time brands need to start creating relevant content that engages the consumers, not just in the traditional media and not just in a traditional format. The entertainment industry has the tool box needed for deeper engagement. The IP´s, writers, directors, producers, channels, game studios and so forth. The only thing keeping them from devouring the advertising industry is their lack of knowledge and experience in traditional brand managing, but that is changing too. Couple of good recruitments will do the job. First indications can be seen in collaboration between Ridley Scott and Coca-Cola or the whole media business of Red Bull. I know, it´s easy to refer to Red Bull and yes, there are no other benchmarks, but that also tells us something. It´s possible to make money with brand content and few brands are doing it.

But it doesn´t have to be a match between Hollywood and brands, since most of the local brands can´t afford it and they already produce content - just not in a way that engages consumers. Take food industry for example. Every food brand produces hundreds of recipes every year, have their chefs, web sites and YouTube channels and appear in TV almost every night. To me, that sound like a framework for a hit cooking show and this would also have the products to back it up.

Don´t invade, engage!

According Wikipedia, the first banner ad was sold by Global Network Navigator (GNN) in 1993 to Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe and the rest was advertising history. Wheather the now defunct law firm with a Silicon Valley office started what is today a multi-billion dollar industry or not, is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that ever since the first display ad hit the screens, the evolution of online advertising has been non existent. What makes it even worse is that it basicly animated print ads and use a much smaller space. So when James Salins, the CEO of Supersonic Ads said at Mobile Games Forum 2013, in London: "In-game advertising is twice as effective as online advertising, and four times more effective than TV advertising", I started thinking that maybe now is the time to do something different. Most of the in-game advertising are the same display ads that are used on sites, but since gaming is all about engaging, even those annoying, old fashioned banners get more attention. So we have the audience, how can we create new ad forms?

Brands should see games as a platform to engage the audience and deepen the brand experience – they need to argument the game and the gaming experience instead of invading it. Think it from the gamers perpective. You´re trying to finnish a level, beat the boss, get the high score and you have spent the better half of the hour trying to achieve all that. At the same time a local bank is blocking part of your view with ad promoting a credit card (which you don´t need at that particular moment) and the car shop trying to sell you a pair of tires (you don´t even have a car!). Feeling the love? Not likely. But what if the brand would help you to achieve your goals or added a new level? What if the brand was a part of the gaming experience and would tell its story through the game? That would benefit the brand, the game company and most importantly – the fans.

We, at TBWA\Gamelab, recently did a campaign for McDonalds China with Rovio Entertainment. Rovio´s Angry Birds has over billion downloads worldwide, making it one of the biggest media platforms on earth. And to be honest, the campaign included display ads and TV ads, the traditional ad formats and we even had paper posters, POS materials and toys (it´s Angry Birds, you got to have the merchandise), but we also created something unique. McDonald´s would offer the fans something extra, using a new ad space within the Angry Birds game and the GPS available in every mobile device these days. By entering a physical McDonald´s restaurant, customers would be able to unlock new levels and game modes (you could play as the pigs) and get in-game currency called Power-ups. McDonald´s was offering this to anyone who had Angry Birds installed in their mobile phone and was at the restaurant. The campaign was a success both in advertising metrics as well as business.

Moving away from display ads to new ways of engagement also creates new challenges for gaming companies. Game engines need to be designed from the beginning to offer the tools to create augmented brand experiences and there should be sufficient amount of data about the gamers. No brand can invest if they don´t know what they are getting. And to calculate the marketing ROI, we need to understand what is the value for in-game brand engagement and that requires new metrics and measuring tools, since the current ones are still based on the 1990´s display ads.