Digital Hollywood debuted in 1990, a conference bringing together industry leaders from across multiple service categories:film, television, music, home video, cable, telecommunications and computers… unfortunately, the entire format seems to be stuck there. To be fair, I attended three panels out of dozens in a single day. But check out their website. It’s terrible. Egregiously so.
Amid the shameless promotion, my favorite insights came from Gregg Colvin, SVP/ Director of Digital Communications at Universal McCann, Andrew Solmssen, managing director for POSSIBLE Agency, Mark Ghuneim, CEO of Trendrr, and Anna Wilding, producer, creative, and charity founder.
While Hollywood seems to struggle with branded content and brands still seem to struggle with social media, we must remember branded entertainment is the future AND the past.
Remember the origin of soap operas like P&G. (And you must never forget
their weird satires like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.) This ad-sponsored content made it OK for glamorous women to use P&G
products: soap, floor wax, etc. Humans respond to the cues of other humans. This response supersedes any existing product benefit or brand loyalty.
Another point of discussion: the consolidation of screens. It was pointed out repeatedly that differentiating between devices will eventually become obsolete: the difference between the smallest tablet and the largest phone is less than an inch. The difference between the largest tablet and the smallest laptop is less than an inch. We’re consolidating!
The concept of creating content for a single “intelligent” screen, along with cameras and individual-adaptive recognization features is currently in the works.
Despite evil TVs of the future, as the buzz at Digital Hollywood went… television is respectable again! Celebrate. Television is GOOD AGAIN.
The quality of on-demand, time-shifted television shows is turning the idiot box into a formidable foe for Internet and theatrical content. We’ve known for a while that consumers are spending less on entertainment but consuming more than ever. This pattern won’t reverse, and everyone’s getting in on the content game. An astounding statistic: Netflix-produced House of Cards gained the company 2 million new users alone.
The future is here. And with all the ominous camera/ single screen/ connected features beginning to surround us, in some 1984-esque future, transparency is is paramount. Listen to your customers, respect your
customers, and be honest. Trust lost is difficult to regain.
Live, learn, and optimize.
xo,
suzymae
