Harmonic Aftershock

The one thing that will change the business of television.

2013-05-10T10:39:51-04:00

Television has seen a lot of disruption in its 74 year-old existence in the U.S. We experience "TV" in 2013 very differently than we did in 1939. But at least one thing is the same: The reason we watch.

While many like to proclaim the death of TV, the mass medium is quite fraught with life. It's not that television is dying but that its business model must adapt along with technology innovation and changes to our own consumer behaviors, else be left behind.

So what is the reason we watch TV? And why will that change the business of television?

The answer is detailed in an artical I wrote for Lost Remote. Check it out and I'd love to know what you think.

[READ FULL ARTICLE]

Another #TVnext Wraps

2013-05-03T12:01:56-04:00

Looking back at my TVnext℠ recap posts from 2011 and 2012, at least one big thing is consistent: That “floored” feeling I have because of the people I work with every day. Over 80 Hill Holliday employees contributed to TVnext whether it be in planning, production, or speaking roles. And, of course, an enormous thanks to our speakers and sponsors as well as the judges and sponsors of our TVnext℠ Hack.

Relive this past Monday with a look back at the photos and videos from the day.

PHOTOS:

VIDEOS:

Also, be sure to check out my colleague Laura Nelson’s post about the participation results from our third annual TVnext℠ Summit.

DVR proofing TV commercials.

2013-04-13T10:35:43-04:00

Although 87% of broadcast television is still watched when it airs, DVR usage continues to rise. And both TV networks and brands are getting creative with ways to increase tune-in to commercials. The latest is what Fox is doing on American Idol and its live results shows:

During the commercial break between when the bottom 2 contestants got announced and then when the last place contestant was revealed, the cameras kept rolling in the upper right corner. The brands advertising during that “pod” (Ford being one of them) had their commercial play but in a smaller player all wrapped around, for all intents and purposes, a giant display ad.

It’s an interesting way to keep the audiences engaged during commercial breaks and, at least, notice the brands while either watching live or time-shifted. (It worked on me ;-)

The future of television.

2013-04-01T10:00:38-04:00

Exactly 4 weeks from today is Hill Holliday’s 3^rd annual TVnext℠ Summit. I absolutely love being part of putting on this event each year and am particularly psyched about this year’s program as we’re tackling some of the hottest topics about television right now – all wrapped around the theme “Belief + Behavior” – what we’ve believed to be true about TV contrasted with our actual (modern) behaviors around the 74 year old medium.

A few highlights:

A Fragmented “Cultureverse”: TVnext kicks off with a compelling keynote from NPR’s Neda Ulaby who examines the impact that television’s increased media/channel fragmentation is having on pop-culture.

The Twitter TV Rating: Nielsen’s acquisition of SocialGuide got a ton of buzz when the television measurement company announced the “Twitter TV Rating.” We have the people behind it who will show – for the first time – actual examples of how the rating will be used in conjunction to the Nielsen TV rating.

SyFy’s Defiance – Transmedia: In what has been hailed as the biggest transmedia play to-date, we have SyFy to tell us how things are going with its massive TV+Videogame “mashed up” series just 2 weeks after its debut.

Sports: The sporting world is seeing some of the highest TV ratings in years (despite the claims of the death of television). We’re giving sports a special focus at TVnext this year with MLB’s Tim Brosnan and the President of ESPN, Ed Erhardt who will be joined by ESPN on-air commentator Michael Smith.

Bluefin Labs Post Acquisition: When Twitter acquired Bluefin Labs, many speculated about what it would mean to Twitter, television, and advertising. Our afternoon keynote will be a fireside chat with Twitter’s Fred Graver and Bluefin labs co-founder (now with Twitter) Deb Roy.

The Kitchen Cousins: We've got Kitchen Cousins, Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, live and in the flesh along with HGTV's head of programming (Freddy James) to talk about the success of their show in the age of modern television.

The Future of Cable TV: Marcien Jenckes is the guy who literally runs all of Xfinity TV - and he'll be joining us to share a peak into how a company like Comcast is adapting to our changing consumption behaviors around TV.

And don’t forget about our TVnext Hack featuring APIs from the likes of Tribune, ESPN, Klout, Viggle, GetGlue, WatchWith, Ramp, and many others. Winners of the 5 Hack categories will demo their app in front of you guys at the Summit and YOU vote via Twitter for ‘Best In Show.’

Our 2013 TVnext Event is going to be awesome. And I hope you’ll join us on Monday, April 29.

Angry Birds Toons expands the definition of “TV.”

2013-03-15T11:16:48-04:00

The first of 52 episodes of Rovio’s Angry Birds Toons launches to the world this weekend. But you won’t be watching it on television – or will you?

The idea of a video game spawning a cartoon “TV” series is nothing new. I vividly remember playing Pac-Man in the early 80s at the local arcade and then watching its Saturday morning cartoon on ABC.

What is new about Rovio’s approach is their distribution strategy that bypasses U.S. television networks. The company is placing its bets on the hyper connected on-the-go/on-demand consumer. With bite-sized content (each episode is 3 minutes long), smart TVs (Samsung), connected TV devices (Roku), plus smartphones, laptops, and tablets is how potential viewers can consume Angry Birds Toons.

Rovio’s biggest asset? Their 1.5 billion app installs worldwide that will now feature a button on the games’ home screen - shepherding its users to take a few minutes to watch some good old “television” and hopefully attracting advertisers in the process.

But with over 100 million TV households in the U.S. is Rovio missing out on a mass audience? A partnership with Comcast distributes Angry Birds Toons via Xfinity on-demand and the Xfinity TV Player. That’s the closest step Rovio has taken (so far) to reach the mainstream TV audience. We’ll soon see if it’s enough…

The State of TV's Twitter Backchannel

2013-03-10T12:25:45-04:00

Should brands that aren't part of a given TV broadcast get involved in its corresponding Twitter backchannel?

That's a question I've been mulling around ever since the Oscars this year. Where's the line between inviting and invasive? And is a steady stream of snarky one-liners effective marketing for (most) brands?

I begin to just touch on this in a post I did for ClickZ as a prelude for the opening keynote I'll be giving at SES in a couple of weeks.

This is just one part of what I'll be chatting about at SES. Hopefully I'll see you there!

6 Keys For Branded Mobile App Success.

2013-03-01T18:50:42-05:00

Almost as alarming as when a brand says, “Let’s make a viral video” is “We need a mobile app.” There’s no doubt how critical it is for marketers to reach mobile audiences. But the means to do so shouldn’t default to launching an app – that’s not a marketing strategy. (when it calls for an app, here are 6 questions to ask before…)

1. Provide utility not advertising.
Utility makes doing something materially easier. Simply building an app that mirrors your website doesn’t add value. Ask yourself: What core customer need is this app solving for?

2. Keep it focused.
An app is like a tool in a toolbox – you use it when you need (or want) it. When developing your app, it’ll be tempting to dump all sorts of things into it, however a “catch all” app dilutes its purpose and confuses users. Ask yourself: How will we describe this app in one short sentence?

3. Design for simplicity.
Since we’re often on-the-go, there’s not a lot of time (or patience) to hunt and peck for things. The best mobile user experiences are when something great happens at a mere touch of a button. Leverage the full canvas and technical capabilities of the device on which the app is being built. Ask yourself: Is our UX designed in a way that people will just know how (and love) to use it?

4. Ensure it’s ownable to your brand.
If you’re going to launch a branded app, its very DNA should be the essence of your brand, else there’s nothing unique about it – It’s simply a generic app that provides very little marketing value. Ask yourself: Could another brand put their logo on our app and pass it off as their own?

5. Budget for promotion.
Getting the app out into the world is all too often an afterthought. Brands who spend all of their budgets trying to develop the perfect app, will be surprised with minimal downloads because nobody knows about it. It takes a lot more than a couple of Tweets and Facebook posts to activate an app. Leverage your existing marketing channels as well as native advertising designed for app activation. Ask yourself: How are we making it as easy as possible for people to download our app?

6. Measure success by repeat usage not downloads.
While big publicity (and advertising dollars) often spikes downloads, the real measure of your app’s true appeal, is whether or not people use it over and over again. Brands who are under the gun to “meet their download goals” (so they can report good news to their boss) can easily spend money to achieve them. But you can’t “force” what really matters: People actually using the app. Ask yourself: Does my measurement plan include repeat users and active users?

The big question (that sums up all of the above) to ask yourself before you spend any money developing an app is, why would my customers take time to download and use this app? And if you cannot confidently, eloquently, and succinctly answer the question, rethink your mobile strategy and invest those dollars in other ways to reach your audience on mobile.

Lessons learned as a student leader.

2013-02-17T13:45:44-05:00

This past Thursday, I had a really great time keynoting my alma mater’s executive forum. What made the event truly awesome was that a bunch of students trekked down to Boston from New Hampshire to be part of it (which, BTW, had a 7:30am start time – and it was Valentine’s Day).

I spoke about the profound impact that my mentor, Don Harley, had on me both as a student and in life after graduation and how he expressed, at the time, that “now” (as a student leader) is the time to take risks as the consequences of failure are nil. As students we didn’t have mortgages to pay or families to feed – so we could be that much more daring, bold, and courageous – and in the process learn and grow more in a short concentrated burst of time than we would at any other stage in our lives.

If there was one take away that I hope everyone left the event with was that being actively involved in student run organizations (in my case the Student Senate) and having a mentor as a trusted guide was, for me, an incredible jumpstart into the world I’d be facing beyond campus – it was essentially leadership boot camp.

Back in 2003 & 2005 I shared some of my lessons learned at UNH’s Student Senate orientation. I didn’t speak about these on Thursday but dug them up off my old laptop. Here they are:

It’s not about formal power - It’s about influence.
We spend so much time and energy agonizing over organizational structures, reporting relationships, job descriptions, and titles. But the only power that matters is the ability to influence others. And the power of influence can only come from you through the relationships you foster. While your title might open a door or two, people ultimately follow leaders who they truly believe in.

Money is always limited - Get used to making tradeoffs.
Getting things done requires constant compromises. Resources are always scarce and “bandwidth” is always low. Those who are tenacious, can creatively think quickly on their feet, great at triage + prioritization, and can stay focused on the ultimate goal are usually the ones first to the finish line.

Politics are everywhere - Learn to be politically savvy.
In every organization, there are those who will say or do anything to further their own agendas. Take the high road, stay far away from organizational gossip, don’t assume trust – and constantly deliver outstanding work. Your career will be that much more fulfilling if you have a mentor who inherently believes in you and always has your back.

There is no autopilot - “Drivers Wanted.”
Getting things done requires an entrepreneurial spirit. Ambition doesn’t always equate to action. Leaders are inherently wired to want so badly to get things done that they’re willing make the sacrifices necessary to reach the goal. You’re not going to look back on your college days and wished you’d partied more.

Student Senate isn’t a resume builder - It’s a skill builder.
Some students join organizations to bolster their resume. Employers don’t care about what student clubs you belonged to; they care about the skills that you can offer them. Use every moment as a learning opportunity to grow your skills so you can demonstrate leadership at the entry-level.

Of course it’s tough - That’s what separates you from the rest.
From Don Harley: “Leaders always work harder and longer; they endure more frustration; they receive more criticism. Harry Truman said: ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ The beauty of [UNH Student Organizations] is that they begin (only begin) to teach you how hot it can be in the kitchen.”

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Updated 2/18 - After I spoke, UNH students Aidan King '14 and Sam Nute '13 asked a couple (really good) questions for this video they produced (also embedded above). It was Aidan's question (after the fact) that prompted me to write this post in the first place. And the more thorough answer to Sam's question (which really got me thinking) could be a whole other blog post in itself. Challenge accepted! Stay tuned... ;-)

What Twitter's acquisition of Bluefin Labs might mean for brands.

2013-02-05T21:10:59-05:00

It's finally official after a day of reports. Social TV analytics company, Bluefin Labs has been aquired by Twitter just 3 months after Nielsen aquired (Bluefin competitor) SocialGuide.

After reading Twitter's announcement, I started to visualize in my head their description of the current ecosystem they've created around the much buzzed about (and forthcoming) Twitter TV rating. Here's my attempt at diagraming it:

But I doubt this acquisition is just about "social TV" and the Twitter TV rating. Brands continue to ask the tough questions about how social media is helping to drive their respective businesses. Data must be both the start and end points in answering this. And what Bluefin Labs has done with social analytics (by taking a "big data" approach) is innovative in helping to surface actionable insights.

Over half of Sunday's Super Bowl TV spots incorporated a Twitter hashtag. And many of those brands additionally purchased promoted Tweets from Twitter. I'm sure Twitter wants (and needs) to continue to prove its value as a place for brands and media companies to invest marketing budget dollars. Bolstering the company's arsenal of measurement and analytics capabilities is one way of doing just that at scale.

But there's even more beyond the realm of measurement. Let's not forget Bluefin's keen ability to map affinity relationships between lifestyle attributes and brands (and TV shows). It would seem that this kind of algorithm and intelligence could be used as a powerful (advertising?) targeting engine. And that may just have more imporant implications for brands.

Let's see what happens...

Let’s Make A Deal – A Twitter Episode

2013-01-26T14:54:15-05:00

Note: Post was updated on 2/12 with ratings info.

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This post may contain “spoilers” to the January 30^th broadcast of Let’s Make A Deal.

CBS continues to experiment with innovative uses of social TV’s Twitter “backchannel.” This time, engaging its more than 67,000 @LetsMakeDealCBS Twitter followers, yesterday, while the show’s latest episode was being taped for its January 30^th broadcast.

Over the course of about two hours there were about 7 times where folks following the @LetsMakeDealCBS Twitter handle could Tweet answers that would affect the course of the show.

Some of the engagement was through multiple choice hashtags:

While others were more open ended questions:

CBS also used Tout to give the Twitter audience short behind the scenes video clips of the game show’s talent.

How many participated?
Using Radian6, I extracted all of the mentions of 10 different hashtags used over the course of yesterday (click chart to enlarge).

The multiple choice hashtag that was Tweeted the most garnered 65 mentions. That's less than one hundred (in case you thought that was a typo ;-). The more generic #DecideTheDeal hashtag was Tweeted 172 times yesterday. That’s about .25% (note the “.”) of Let’s Make A Deal’s followers on Twitter.

BUT…
Before any of us think these seem like low participation numbers, let’s keep in mind what CBS’s goal is: Ratings. They’re using this as a stunt to generate buzz that will drive people to tune in on Wednesday, January 30^th when the actual episode airs.

That’s when we’ll see whether or not this (again innovative) experiment worked for them.

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UPDATED 2/12 - The ratings are in and it seems as though this stunt did what it was intended to do as this episode garnered the highest ratings so far this season amoung adults 18-49 (47% higher than the average) and is tied as the top rated Let's Make A Deal eipsode in 2 years.

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A final thought:
I’ve now looked a results for stunts like these for The Voice, Hawaii Five-0, and now Let’s Make A Deal with the latter two having relatively low volumes of people who Tweet about the show when compared to shows like ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars or AMC’s The Walking Dead or VH1’s Love & Hip Hop– and especially live events (sports or awards shows).

If television networks want to drive the volume of participating in interactive “social TV” stunts like these, producers may want to consider the most social shows on their respective networks. Yet at the same time, NBC’s The Voice does indeed have a very active real-time audience on Twitter yet still only got about 15,000 Tweets when they tried a real-time vote.

In the end, this is just the beginning of the potential for audiences (who want to) to be able to interact with and affect their favorite shows. I hope the experimentation from TV networks continues…