Watch this – BBC’s intro/commercial for the Olympics.
We see this level of production value in movies all the time. But more and more, we’re seeing this level of production value for short content spots like commercials.
This is becoming/will quickly become the new norm.
This is the type of content that people will expect to see on any screen, in and out of the home.
Time is a funny thing. It keeps going. Regardless of how much value you place in it. Personally, I didn’t really learn the value of time until later in my life. Perhaps some people are instinctually tuned into how valuable their time is. Not me. I like to do many things, help many people, say yes, make time, make stuff. I think there comes a point in your life when you actually start to put a premium on time and therefore prioritize, consciously or unconsciously, all of the things you find yourself faced with.
Technology has a funny effect on time, the thing that keeps going. It seems to make it go by faster. Consumption via all these screens fast-forwards our lives in drastic proportions. Just by the shear rate of life, who has time for what content?
Ah, this pesky, key ingredient – content. What we consume and engage with on a daily basis. What we give our attention to, be it for connection or entertainment or education. TV shows, websites, blogs, videos, pictures, news feeds, texts – the sea of content is deep and easily time-suckable. How do we prioritize what content we give our time to? I think that decision is based on any of these three factors:
These factors are much easier to control on our personal screen. Not so much on a public one. That begs the question – what is the role of digital signage, these public screens?
And what can we expect them to really do?
Is there more noise out there than quality content? Or is it just harder and harder to find the quality content, given all the creators and channels to consume it on? These are more rhetorical than not, especially since these questions have surfaced in different forms over the past few years. But each day, it becomes easier and easier for anyone to create good content and distribute it across many different channels. (What was once intended for Twitter can now be seen on a billboard in the middle of Times Square.) And with that, it becomes harder and harder to focus on and find the quality content. That is, the content that I want, need, and like.
As one of my colleagues recently said to me, we don’t need more platforms to consume and share content on, we need 1 tool to shut out all the noise. So, there you go, inventors – an identified and growing need.
When I think of content – either producing it or consuming it – it’s not about the type of content that is most important to me. Meaning, just because it’s video content (dynamic, moving, all that), does not mean that I will consume it. In fact, that’s really the least important factor. It takes much more than that to make me stop, consume and ultimately, interact with it. Here’s what’s important to me, in order:
What is it about? The subject matter is the key. If it’s about Dave Matthews Band, I’ll consume it. If it’s about baseball, I won’t. However, if it’s about the Texas Rangers, I will. It’s important to understand the generality and specificity of your audience/community when planning content.
Who is producing it? Where is it coming from? Take the examples above – if Dave Matthews Band is producing the content, I want to see it. It’s about them, by them. If my wife forwards me a piece of DMB content, I want to see it. It’s about them, by them, yes, but in this case, passed on to me by someone that I trust, especially about “quality” content pertaining to DMB. If someone close to me – be it friends or family – sends me something or posts something, I want to make sure that I consume it. If it’s someone who I think is credible on any particular subject, I’ll consume it. Otherwise, it’s harder and harder for me to even give it a chance.
What type of content is it? I think too much emphasis is put on type of content above all. Not that great looking content isn’t compelling enough to get me to consume it, but it’s certainly much harder if it’s not something I care about – and even more, am passionate about – or it’s not coming from someone I trust.
Maybe the type of content is enough to get my attention, especially when I’m out in the real world. But if it stands any chance of getting me to actually spend time with it, much less do something with it, it takes much more than that.
So, whether your making content for a website or a OOH digital sign, what drives your content creation? The answer could be the difference between noise and consumption. Maybe even action.
Image credit: dailydooh.com
I had a chance to meet Phil Cohen at DSE and sat down with him for one of his Cohen on Content interviews. Here is mine.
I don’t think I did a great job of explaining the convergence of “out-of-home” and content with my current agency. Since I work for a PR firm – although I think it’s the most progressive, digitally-saavy PR firm in the world – we don’t deal with traditional “digital” out-of-home and certainly not with networks. But where I’ve found incredible opportunity, particularly with the proliferation of mobile devices, is being able to turn on the things around us (cars, posters, etc.), that we use in events that we concept and support. We take a very grassroots approach to interactive out-of-home.
And the story that I was going to tell was how we basically turned a car (a thing in the real-world) into a virtual scrapbook that allowed everyone who came into contact with it to not only consume content, but create and add their own content to it. In today’s social world, brands don’t need to create all of the content themselves. Consumers are creating content themselves and sharing with their networks. This is a treasure trove of content that brands can tap into.
For anyone putting together a content and/or engagement strategy, regardless of channel/screen, consider social content. It is powerful, effective, and for the most part, free.
Aside from that, I just wish someone would have told me to look at the camera more.