How the Next Five Years Will Change How We Watch TV Forever

Every executive in television entertainment knows that media consumption patterns are changing in response to the emergence of new technologies. How industry players will respond will prove to be incredibly crucial.

Hello, my name is Amon Jones  and as an undergraduate at Northwestern University studying Broadcast Journalism and pursuing a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications, I have found two articles that I think are very useful.

Dear TV: We Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change. (But Not Too Much.)

by Jeanine Poggi

This article offers new possibilities on how advertisers could change the way they buy air time on traditional networks. Poggi addresses how to incorporate data into purchasing decisions, how many ads should be featured during a show, how to produce the most engaging ads, what role programmatic or automated ads could play and what the near future will look like during upfront presentations. The piece concludes by weighing different options between airing less commercials or choosing to display more native advertising like branded content and integration into storylines.

 

HBO, Discovery Acquire Stakes in 3D Graphics Firm Otoy to Create Holographic Content

by Todd Spangler

HBO and Discovery Communications plan to develop and distribute original holographic content across television, mobile, web, social and virtual reality and augmented reality wearable devices. President of HBO programming, Michael Lombardo said “Otoy has a roadmap for the future of entertainment and technology. Their creativity and drive perfectly aligns with HBO’s.” As a part of the deal, Otoy is working with John Stewart on the development of short form content for HBO digital services as well. The hope from both networks is to create programming that keeps up with technological innovation to create a more immersive experience for all audiences.

As a journalism student who’s worked in sports, entertainment and political television coverage, next time you start a new creative project I suggest you incorporate:

·      More branded content

·      Multi-platform storylines

·      Virtual Reality/3D Viewing

All aspects of TV watching are subject to dramatic change and revolutionary changes, it’s time to choose: Will you be a pioneer or a late-adapter?

Bio

Amon Jones, Graduate from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in June 2016, pursuing a career in entertainment TV production.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amon-jones-8781869b

 

Keywords: Northwestern, Medill, Journalism, Television, Entertainment, Advertising, Production, Programming, Ad Age, Variety, Virtual Reality, Holograms, Technology, General Managers, Presidents, CEO, President of Programming, Director of Ad Sales

Creating Automatic Brand Advocates

How else would you know that your friend secretly likes to listen to European pop music while on the computer? Thanks to the Spotify app on Facebook, we can all know what our friends listen to, for better or for worse. And this is only the beginning of a wave of new apps that are a part of Facebook’s Open Graph development. This allows apps to share real time information about a user’s activity without having to ask for permission every time.

Source: http://mashable.com/2011/11/08/music-apps-facebook-open-graph/

As a current Integrated Marketing Communications student at Northwestern, I have seen the many ways companies often try to artificially get word of mouth and how those attempts all fall flat. Brands have flocked to Facebook looking to find ways to get their customers to discuss and share their products. As many have found, it is a lot harder than just creating a Facebook page. So now the idea is: if our customers won’t talk to their friends about our brand, we will do it for them. By placing in the news feed that so and so listened to this song, companies can let a person’s actions speak. The reasoning behind this is that we as potential customers are more likely to try a product if we know our friends use it. A use is much more powerful than a like.

So far, this strategy has proven to be quite successful. In the past six weeks, songs have been shared 1.5 billion times on Facebook (Mashable). More developers are sure to take notice as this application can be extended to numerous categories. But there is certain to be some backlash. Users who are not aware of what they have agreed to may not exactly want all their friends to know every little thing they are doing. You may be a brand advocate and not even know it. There is also the risk of filling up people’s news feeds like what happened when everyone started playing Farmville. This will only further the debate over privacy and Facebook, but we have repeatedly seen that users are definitely willing to give away a little information for free perks.

Alex Greenwald, Graduate IMC Northwestern, @agreenw