The early narrative was that Westworld is not ‘the next Game of Thrones.’ But maybe it can be. Between the show’s October premiere and last Sunday’s Season 1 finale, 15 percent of all HBO digital content engagement was Westworld-related. Season 6 of Game of Thrones, by comparison, accounted for 45 percent of all HBO digital content engagement while it aired. This world doesn’t belong to you.
Whether it’s a custom keyboard or an email subject line, brands are using emojis more than ever. But for consumers, they’re still getting it wrong. According to a YouGov survey this month, 58% of 18- to 34-year-olds said brands using emojis are “trying too hard.” It’s no surprise: Brands have eagerly jumped on the emoji bandwagon, whether it’s to laud their causes, promote competitions or stick them anywhere they can. Is this noise or value?
Over the past century, technological advancements have massively reduced the cost and time needed to create and circulate content. Though this has liberated artists, consumers are now drowning in a virtually infinite supply of things to watch, listen to and read. The answer to a world where attention is the key constraint, not capital or distribution, isn’t Big Media – it’s the Influencer Curator. No one to blame but ourselves.
Yesterday Google added a new “fact-check” tag to its popular Google News service. The site aggregates popular timely news from multiple sources and has traditionally grouped them with tags like “opinion,” “local source” and “highly cited.” Now readers can see highlighted fact-checks right next to trending stories. You can handle the truth.
Following in the footsteps of Snapchat, Facebook Live and Periscope, Instagram in August released its own version of live content sharing in the form of “Stories.” With multiple platforms offering live content features (and some being so similar), where should brands focus their resources? How should they outline and implement their live content platform strategy? Here's the plan.
Netflix has the higher profile and bigger catalog of current series, but is far less consistent both across the lineup and within most individual shows. FX hasn't been immune to failure in recent years, but the creative batting average has been absurdly high. Point blank: FX is on as hot a streak as any outfit in the TV business at the moment. Sizzling hot.
Mark your calendars: on September 19th, Twitter will cut down on exactly which types of content count toward the platform's 140-character limit. Media attachments (images, GIFs, videos, polls, etc.) and quoted tweets will no longer reduce the count. Twitter first announced plans to stop counting extras back in May, but gave no firm date on when the shift would occur. Tell me more.
Now don’t get scared. We won't start drilling you on “who” vs. “whom,” conjugations, and gerunds. You can relax. We’ll take a much more practical approach, and we won’t use any strange words. Promise. Do you see what I just did there? “Promise” isn’t even really a sentence. Find your voice.
In this era of cord-cutting and streaming services, there has remained one constant for television networks and advertisers looking to draw a crowd: live events. Millions of Americans have continued to flock to their TVs during prime-time hours to catch extravaganzas like the Olympic Games, the Super Bowl or the Academy Awards as they happen. But even live events are now finding their way onto streaming platforms, and marketers are wondering how they can be sure to reach those viewers, too. The secret to reaching cord cutters.
If you didn’t notice Spotify trying to be Netflix last week, you probably were not alone. Spotify quietly revealed its first foray into original video content on Thursday, a two-minute animated short called “How EDM Changed the World.” Similarly, within 24 hours of Spotify’s launch, Netflix premiered its own original, music-themed video series - but with much more fanfare. Let the games begin.
