Category: Digital

All Things Digital

Harley Davidson takes Branded Content for a Ride

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The Harley-Davidson Ridebook is a branded content series created by NY-based marketing agency Campfire for the popular motorcycle company. Each edition features stories and content from filmmakers, writers, musicians, photographers, and other personalities that highlight experiences featuring Harleys in some way. For example, in the most recent edition, called “Beyond the Hive,” singer-songwriter Butch Walker curated a video called “The Prohibition Tour,” which captured a ride with friends to Napa Valley where Walker and his buddies sampled some wine. There’s also “Ghost Towns, ” in which videographer Scott Toepfer takes a road trip to an abandoned town in California.

Other features include “Bike Anatomy,” an interactive guide to a Harley-Davidson curated by UrbanDaddy and a music playlist curated by TheFader.com. Even if you’re not a biker, this is compelling content, that will make you wish you had a Harley.

The Future of Cable TV?

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Even as cable/satellite TV carriers like Comcast and DirecTV squabble over dollars and cents with broadcast and cable networks like NBC and Viacom, the very structure of their decades-old business model is under attack from new Internet technologies and services, as well as new government regulations. At stake is the future of how people watch and pay for television and video – and who controls the experience.

With plot twists like last-minute negotiations ending in content blackouts, regulatory changes that could derail well-established business models, and brand new technologies delivering video content in brand new ways, this TV-delivery drama should be a blockbuster.

The question is, what surprises will the next episode bring? The search for possible spoilers brings up a wide range of theories from all over the industry, as various players, regulators and observers try to figure out what happens next.

Kevin Lockett, Digital Media Analyst from Lockett Media, says the result will be a fundamentally changed cable industry – one that will have to be far more transparent and flexible in order to keep its customers from defecting to new Internet-based options. If and when the general public figures out that it now has real alternatives, Locket says, “the cable companies are in trouble.”

Previously On Cable TV…
For two decades, cable TV, joined later by satellite providers, has been the dominant force in delivering video content to homes and businesses in the US. Lately that dominance has been challenged from within by cable TV’s own business practices and from without by Internet video providers like YouTube and streaming Internet TV delivered to special set-top boxes with weird names like Roku and Boxee, or Blu-Ray DVD players, or even “Smart” TVs themselves.

This new class of technology is hard to label, since there are so many variations on delivery devices, but over the top (OTT) platforms is one name that seems to be getting some traction. OTT is a broad term that describes not only the devices that receive and display Internet TV, but also the online services that deliver them. A tablet, then, is not an OTT device in itself, but it can receive OTT-delivered content, such as that from Hulu and iTunes.

OTT devices vary in form, but they share the function of bringing in video content over existing Internet connections through service providers like Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix. Such services feature on-demand video programming at monthly rates that are typically much lower than cable subscription rates (for a more limited range of content, of course).

Who’s Gone Over The Top (OTT)?
How much attention is OTT getting? The Interpret LLC’s New Media Measure syndicated report sets the number of US consumers age 18-65 that own an Internet-enabled set top box (like a Roku player, Apple TV, Slingbox, Vudu box, etc.) at 13.6%, reported a company spokesperson.

Less than 14% may not sound like much, but OTT has been around for only three years. And Interpret’s numbers don’t include the millions of users watching alternate video sources like YouTube and Vimeo.

The other half of the squeeze on the cable TV industry comes from the ossified business practices of the industry itself. Cliffhanger battles for carriage rights that lead content creators to pull their programming from cable and satellite systems if they can’t get a deal they like is shooting the industry in the foot.

Frustrated with what appear to be more frequent content blackouts and ever-rising rates, consumers – and lawmakers – are applying pressure for less bundled programming and more à la carte-style programming. Content providers like Viacom and Disney rely on channel bundles to keep alive channels that consumers might not otherwise pay for.

Bundling Is The New Villain
The animosity over channel bundling is building. During the recent dispute with Viacom that led to a content blackout of Viacom channels for 26 million viewers, DirecTV laid it all out for the New York Times:

“Programmers like Viacom typically won’t allow anyone to buy their channels individually, but we hope to change that,” DirecTV told the Times. “We currently pay them hundreds of millions of dollars every year already, and if Viacom thinks their networks are worth a billion more, then you have to be able to select what’s most important in your own living room.”

DirecTV was willing to endure public blowback for dropping popular Viacom channels lilke Comedy Central and Nickelodeon because it was more afraid of bundling. In the past, customers had little choice but to pay for channels they didn’t watch to get the ones they were interested in.

But things are changing. Now customers can go to competing cable companies in the same town, or buy a satellite dish. Or leave the game completely to use OTT devices and services. Suddenly, the cable companies are pushing back at bundling demands from content producers.

Finding the Plot Motivation
As vice president of Accedo, a software vendor that builds apps and application interfaces for OTT devices, David Adams knows first hand about the changes in the cable TV industry.

“We’ve moved from just a few services in there with their toes in the water, to these services actually driving strategy,” Adams explains.

Ironically, though, the barriers to sweeping change within the existing cable TV industry are the same factors driving the change: business models and technology. Even as content takes new paths producer to consumer, Adams says, “when you have these 10-year, long-term carriage agreements in place, it’s hard for the [cable TV] industry to respond.”

Deeply ingrained ways of doing business show up even when cable providers or broadcasters try to adapt to the growing presence of OTT. A classic example is HBO Go, which offers on-demand programming over the Internet – but only to existing HBO customers. “They’re trying to adapt, but their business model isn’t changing,” Adams says. Instead, “they are looking to become more competitive with OTT.”

The real potential for OTT may come if it can combine the full-screen ad experience of traditional television with the targeted marketing promised by OTT technologies.

According to Adams, though, that combination is not yet mature enough to attract major advertiser interest and jump start adoption of OTT.

Is Cable Doomed?
“We’ll always be able to choose cable,” analyst Lockett predicts. “It’s in their best interests to appeal to their customer base and they eventually will.”

But even as non-technical people learn more about OTT, Lockett doesn’t see the complete abandonment of cable practices like channel bundling. Unbundling or better bundling won’t be the only thing keeping cable TV alive – instead, cable will have to find a new role. “AM radio is still around after all these years,” Lockett notes, albeit serving a more limited niche.

Adams, too, doesn’t predict the demise of cable. Customers are still dedicated to the big, full-screen watching experience, he believes, and cable remains one of the best ways to get that experience.

Instead, he sees the most revolutionary changes coming TV consumption from the use of tablets and other mobile devices in conjunction with TVs.

A Starring Role for the Second Screen
“The second-screen experience is something the content producers in Hollywood are playing around with now,” Adams explains. “The combination of tablets and TV will change the way we view television forever.”

Tablets and smartphones already provide a range of second-screen experiences – from following Twitter reactions to the Olympic opening ceremonies to show-specific apps like one launched last winter for the popular Fox reality show “American Idol” or the additional show content delivered in the form of a graphic novel for USA Network’s “Burn Notice.”

Meanwhile, companies like Shazam are trying to ease the need for viewers to hunt for apps and content related to a given show. The music-recognition app recognizes the soundtrack from a shows and downloads related content or apps chosen by the show’s producers.

Far from a challenge to cable TV, the second-screen could actually help save it. Cable TV providers could use the second screen to enhance viewing of primary video content and deliver even more targeted advertising – helping to offset income lost from the decline of bundling. That, in turn, would help cable TV service providers hold down subscription costs, and stem the bleeding of customers looking for less expensive alternatives.

Cable TV’s ratings may fall as OTT becomes more popular, but don’t cancel cable’s season just because the plot is getting a major rewrite.

Olympics Digital Coverage is a winner for NBC

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With NBC placing a larger spotlight on the digital space for its coverage of the London Olympics, the company has released some data on how its digital properties are faring in the early stages of the two-week event. NBC says for the first two days of competition, NBCOlympics.com has averaged 87 million page views (+29% compared to the Beijing Olympics) and nearly 7 million live video streams every day (+370% versus Beijing). To be fair to the latter number, Beijing did not offer as much live video content as London. The NBC Olympics apps are also performing well. Olympics Live Extra and NBC Olympics apps have surpassed 4 million downloads.

1/3 of all Americans now own a Smartphone

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The latest numbers from comScore’s MobiLens service, covering the US smartphone market over a three-month period ending in May 2012:

Nearly 100 million Americans own a smartphone.

Google’s Android owned 50.9% (up 0.8% from February 2012) of the US smartphone market. Apple’s iOS-operated iPhone came in second with 31.9% (+1.7%), followed by RIM at 11.4% (-2%), Microsoft at 4% (+0.1%), and Symbian at 1.1% (-0.4%).

In May, 51.1% of US mobile subscribers used a downloaded app; 49.8% used a mobile browser; and 36.7% accessed a social networking site or blog.

Shazam’s TV Strategy

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Shazam seemed like magic when it debuted in 2008 on the iPhone. The app can identify nearly any song playing on the radio, even over the din of a coffee shop. It’s been downloaded more than 200 million times and become modestly successful; by steering buyers to iTunes and other music services, it generated about $24 million in revenue for the 12 months ending June 2011.

Now Shazam Entertainment is moving away from its musical roots. David Jones, vice president of marketing, says Shazam’s audio-matching technology can do more than help barflies settle bets about what’s playing on the jukebox. It can, he says, help advertisers and broadcasters make money from TV viewers increasingly distracted by iPhones and iPads. According to Nielsen, more than 40 percent of tablet and smartphone owners use their devices to read e-mail or scan the news while watching TV. Instead of fighting this attention-deficit trend, Shazam says media companies and marketers should embrace it.

Over the past 18 months Shazam has built technology so viewers can use the app to take an audio snapshot of TV shows and ads as they would a song. (The company’s name is the verb that describes this action: “Just Shazam it.”) During the Super Bowl, for instance, commercials from Toyota Motor included a small logo prompting watchers to Shazam the ad to enter a contest to win a Camry. The startup counted more than a million tags on ads from Toyota, PepsiCo, and other game sponsors.

Shazam now offers the same feature for TV shows and live events. The big test will come during the Summer Olympics, which begin July 27. Through a partnership with NBC Sports, viewers will be able to use Shazam to get extra info about athletes and events and to participate in polls as they watch. Says marketing chief Jones: “We’re planning to demonstrate that second-screen experiences have arrived, are mainstream, and can be quite useful and compelling.”

And potentially profitable. Shazam hopes the NBC partnership will help it gain exposure with advertisers, which pay the startup a flat rate based mostly on the size of the campaign and the number of likely viewers. While Shazam insists music is still critical, it’s hoping to carve off a sliver of the $189 billion spent on TV ads globally each year. “This is a bet-the-company kind of thing,” says Matt Murphy, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Shazam’s biggest investors.

One goal of the Olympics tie-in is to condition viewers to turn to Shazam for learning more about what they’re watching. Shazam had to invest in new technology to make its app work for live events. With songs, Shazam has plenty of time to load new tracks into its database, where algorithms decipher their unique elements so they can be recognized later. For the Olympics, Shazam’s servers listen to broadcasts in real-time and have only seconds to analyze them. “It’s like a conveyer belt where you’re just a little bit behind,” says Doug Garland, Shazam’s chief revenue officer. A fan watching, say, the 100-meter butterfly swim event might Shazam it to get stats on Michael Phelps and real-time medal counts.
It’s a neat trick, but the nagging question is whether viewers will treat it as anything more than a novelty.

For most people, tagging a song to discover new music is more enticing than tagging an Old Navy ad for a deal on corduroys. And Stephen White, the president of Gracenote, Sony’s audio-recognition unit, says Shazam’s strategy risks running afoul of broadcast and cable companies. “They’re really concerned about what happens to their advertising revenue,” says White, whose company sells technology so others can build Shazam-like features into their apps.

“They’re going to be much more aggressive in terms of asserting what they consider to be their rights around the content.” Media companies will increasingly want people using their own applications, not Shazam’s, says White. Walt Disney and Viacom’s MTV are among those creating their own tablet and smartphone apps to keep people engaged as they watch The Lion King or the MTV Video Music Awards.
Shazam says it’s careful to work closely with broadcasters and shares some of its revenue with those making the shows, though it won’t go into detail.

With more than 200 million users, Jones says its built-in mobile audience is an advantage. Says Heather Way, an analyst with Parks Associates who has studied the company: “Shazam has the biggest opportunity because they already have a huge footprint.”

New Study Reveals Key Tablet Usage Patterns

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A new tablet study by the Online Publishers Association reveals that tablet adoption continues to skyrocket, now up to 31% of respondents — and a surprising 74% use the device daily. The study (.pdf), conducted with Magid, drills down on usage patterns and other handy facts. It’s a great nuts-and-bolts study to have, and we’ve highlighted TV-oriented data points below:

Tablet users spend an average of 13.9 hours a week on the device, and 5-11 p.m. is primetime. Last week, ABC noted it “parallels broadcast consumption patterns,” so the network tailored its new iPad app to showcase video during the primetime hours.

Of all the activities on the app, watching video comes in first at 54%. Weather and news follow.

Taking a deeper look at video, shorter-form content still rules, spanning news, sports, TV show clips and weather forecasts. Full-length content, however, will probably climb up the list as more compelling content increasingly becomes available for iPad viewing.

And as we all know, second-screen multitasking (85% of the time) — and even third-screen multitasking (66% of the time) — is a natural phenomenon with the tablet. Heavy multitaskers spend as much as 3 hours a day while actively consuming content on several devices.

On the advertising front, such multitasking doesn’t dilute the tablet ad experience. Around one-third of heavy multitaskers in the study said tablet ads motivated them to research and purchase products. Lots more good stuff in the study, which is available here (.pdf.), and here’s the study overview.

Mobile is rapidly changing the way we watch TV

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The day is coming when more TV viewing will be done over a mobile device (tablet or smartphone) than via cable or satellite. The implications of the change from one pipeline to another will have tremendous ramifications throughout the $70 billion TV advertising industry that will positively impact consumers, marketers and networks.

Various industry forecasts show that TV consumption habits will soon be changing. ComScore reported that in April, 181 million U.S. Internet users watched nearly 37 billion online videos. Cisco projects that IP traffic used worldwide will grow fourfold by 2016, driven by a proliferation of connected devices, ever-increasing broadband connectivity and greater adoption of IP video worldwide. Furthermore, estimates suggest that Apple will sell as many as 60 million iPads in 2012. The latest iPad innovations largely focused around improving video consumption included a better screen and a faster microprocessor. According to Pew Research Center, as of the first quarter of 2012, 29 percent of U.S. adults owned a tablet computer or eReader, up nearly 15-fold since April 2009. Lastly, Rhythm NewMedia recently reported that viewers consistently watch 50 percent to 175 percent more videos on tablets than on smartphones on a per-viewer basis.

All of these facts point to consumers who are changing the face of how video is consumed from a TV in their living room to their mobile device. While we are just in the beginning of this trend, the adoption rate could gain traction even faster if it is coupled with access to live TV content on a mobile device.

In the last year, we have seen more evidence that live TV will likely become available online. The first few major sporting events have been streamed live on the Internet to whet consumers’ appetites for live TV content on their mobile devices. The Super Bowl was broadcast live over the Internet for the first time, while also registering its highest rating. The Masters.com streamed several different live feeds, with no apparent negative impact on ratings. This summer, NBC will stream all Olympic events live, in hopes of both satiating demand and improving TV ratings. Bloomberg Television launched an app so viewers can watch the network live on a mobile device. The growing consensus, as NBC cited in its Olympic announcement, is that streaming live does not cannibalize TV ratings and may very likely increase them.

The more networks provide access to live TV content, the more likely they are to improve ratings and monetize their content. For example, consumers could watch CNBC live at their desks on the Internet, and, in turn, CNBC could monetize their out-of-home audience more effectively.

Another implication of the transformation of TV is the dynamic between advertiser and network. There could be a dramatic shift in the way TV inventory is bought from an upfront marketplace, which takes place three to 15 months in advance of the commercial airing, to a more dynamic and accountable marketplace, as more TV content gets viewed with a mobile device. As long as video is consumed over a mobile device, that inventory can be sold, in theory, on an exchange using improved targeting, real-time bidding, customization and optimization.

Various estimates expect that at least 200-225 million tablets will be bought by U.S. consumers by the end of 2013, and the demand for quality video will only increase. Consumer demand for TV content will be hard for networks to ignore. At some point, TV networks will have to choose between providing live Internet access or losing ratings to competitors who are allowing live access.

All the buzz about Apple changing TV with a new product launch this fall may well happen, but it is how consumers think of their iPads as mobile TVs that will truly transform TV.

TV is changing, but is the industry ready?

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How TV will change the game for digital marketers

TV is going through the biggest radical rethink in decades as it becomes connected to the Internet.

TV still commands 50 percent of the half-a-trillion dollar global media budget because it still engages consumers unlike any other media.

But over the last few years, the rise of smart mobile devices combined with the rapid growth of social media has changed the way we interact with television. When something piques our interests we want to share and dig deeper.

It is estimated that 25 percent of consumers go online after seeing a TV ad. That’s a huge spike right there. Not to mention that half of all TV watchers have a second electronic device in their hands, such as a smart phone or tablet, while on the couch. But whether you are checking your email or talking on Facebook, the habit is now truly synced for TV watchers. So much so, the biggest topic of discussion on social media by far is TV content. We just love it and we can’t get enough, because with every wave of consumer technology — from video recorders to X-Box and Hulu — technology drives TV viewing up and up, and with it the potential for advertising dollars and media measurement.

The next organic wave of “dual screening” — watching linear content on the main TV screen — while interacting on a second screen in your hand, is going to change everything we know about media.

In addition, the ability to place-shift content and carry TV with you in your pocket is going to grow exponentially, especially as the promise of 4G becomes a reality — but the forecast of $254 million by 2015 isn’t something the TV producers are too worried about. The big shift is in the delivery of video — not through traditional broadcast methods– but increasingly via the internet infrastructure.

Already 30 percent of U.S. homes find their TV sets are connected to the internet, whether directly or via an over-the-top service like cable or BluRay live. Best Buy saw 30 percent of all new TVs sold last year were “connected” and this number is continuing to grow.

The distinction between TV and online is quickly becoming blurred — and this is clearly shown in the impending explosion of online video. But sitting in front of your laptop isn’t the future for online video, it’s going to be video distributed over the internet to the very best screen in your home, your television. So what does this mean for the digital marketer?

But for all the talk of smart TVs and the rumor mills around a 50″ Apple iTV, consumers don’t replace their TV sets the way they do their mobiles. We typically replace our mobile every 12 to 18 months compared to every 7 to 10 years for TV sets, though that figure is now beginning to drop. This means for TV to shift we need to think of things connecting to the TV, as opposed to an actual smart TV in the near future. And that, my friends, is the race between OTT boxes from cable companies to Roku, Apple TV, etc. and wireless companion devices of the smart phone and tablet era.

When you look into what tablet and smart phone users are doing when watching TV, we discover that about 19 percent are searching for content related to TV advertising, a huge percentage of which are looking for coupons and discounts. This means that if we can simplify the process of finding related information or even sharing with friends whilst in front of the TV using a companion device, we can find a hybrid lean-back experience with lean-forward engagement.

Whether it is snapping a QR code on the screen, or letting high-frequency audio be picked up by a listening app on your smart phone or tablet, you can trigger a related response on the second screen. This doesn’t just have to act as a single redirect mimicking a click-thru, oh no. Multiple audio signals can be picked up within TV content or ad content to create multiple trigger points such as to collect characters by swiping your phone at the TV as shown by Wieden and Kennedy in its Honda Jazz TV ad, whereby the more interactive characters collected on the phone, the more hidden features one could discover.

But that is only TV ads. What about content itself? Adding meta data to all TV and film content means that potentially the trigger points of Daniel Craig sporting the latest Omega Seamaster in a Bond film becomes a trigger for the companion device to show an ad. Ever wondered what shoes Sarah Jessica Parker was wearing? Well now you can know without even doing a search.

Rolling a phone in front of a TV that triggers a response is just the next iteration of rich-media. It combines picture-in-picture across devices, whilst allowing a mass-reached broadcast medium to be overlaid with highly targeted personal ads that are user-initiated. It’s the 21 century expandable ad! It’s an in-stream plus a companion ad. It is HTML5 at its finest, set within an organically tactile device your toddler or grandmother will just intuitively “get.”

No more explaining to my mother what I actually do. No more convincing your CEO about online banners working, and them never actually seeing your work. Finally we are going to converge TV and online, and out-of-home content with interactive advertising, search and social media sharing within the most personal of devices. Not only that, but the chance for discount coupons and offers (or even payments) will happen right on a phone in your hand. Before you can even type “What is that hand bag she has?” your phone tells you and lets you look at it in 360 degrees, review it, buy it and show off to all your friends on Facebook that you are awaiting delivery of that very beautiful designer bag, all before the ad break even comes on the TV. Bingo! Winner, winner, chicken dinner (which, incidentally, you just ordered for home delivery via your mobile after seeing the latest Kentucky Fried Chicken ad.)

And the best part? Not only is this highly targeted advertising, being able to deliver individual ads to every single person in any given living room, or theatre or high-street, It offers measurability, accountability, consumer engagement, stunning creativity, and all with consumer-initiated opt-in. Did you hear me privacy advocates? I said “consumer opt-in!”

The bottom line is TV is changing. The notion of online video is permeating all media channels, and modes of measurement are going to be a hybrid from evaluating the value of an emotional connection through exposure as well as a tangible engagement through interaction. TV is just a large high-quality monitor that displays video content, irrespective of how it is transmitted to it. But everyone knows this will be increasingly via internet. It isn’t going to die. It’s just going to become a lot more dynamic, targeted, and measurable — complemented with “huge” production budgets. And that my friends, is the future of digital.

21% of americans connect their TV to the Internet

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21% of consumers in the US connect their TVs to the internet, up from 16% a year ago, according to a study released this week from Frank N. Magid Associates. Looking ahead, the research firm projects that number to rise as it finds that 30% of consumers who haven’t already connected their TVs to the web are interested in doing so. Game consoles are the most popular connected TV devices, followed by smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and OTT video receivers from companies like Roku, Apple, and Google.

Apple wants to own every screen in your home

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Apple wants every screen in your home to be an Apple screen. The company will be taking a giant leap toward accomplishing its goal at this year’s WWDC.

In just a decade, Apple has become a dominant force in computers, tablets, and mobile. It has yet to make major inroads into the biggest screen of them all: the television.

Sure, there’s Apple TV, but it has been a “hobby” for the company. Last year, 2.8 million units of the device were sold, and 2.7 million units have been sold so far this year. Though that’s impressive, it’s a far cry from the company’s iPhone, iPad, Mac, and iPod sales.

“It’s not a fifth leg of the stool,” CEO Tim Cook said recently at the D Conference. “It’s not the same size as the phone or Mac or tablet business.”

That’s all about to change, though. The Apple TV App Store is on its way, opening up the floodgates for developers to create killer apps for people’s living rooms. The new TV app store will be part of iOS 6, I’m told, which already powers the operating systems of the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod Touch.

With a TV app store, the technology titan is laying the groundwork for the Apple television set (the iTV, iPanel, or whatever it will be called).

Releasing the Apple TV SDK is just the first step in Apple’s long-term plan to control every screen in your home. The big vision is to make all of the screens in your home interoperable via AirPlay and iOS.

Once that happens, it’ll be impossible to buy anything but Apple devices, because they will be the only products that work with the rest of screens in your home. Why buy a TV that can’t pull up your favorite apps, shows, and games instantly?