July 25, 2024 (written from 30K ft, excuse any typos or incoherence)
One can’t complain when your workweek is spent with a group of old and new friends at the Sundance Resort. Which is what I’ve just been doing at the BrandStorytelling Elevate conference. It’s a great event, and while it is focused on a particular niche, I find a lot of the stuff you learn is relevant for the film business in general, not just for brands. Here’s a few takeaways that were on my mind – and the minds of many attendees this week – from the conference.
Distribution (remains) the core issue. Everyone is trying to figure out how to distribute their films, and reach an audience, especially in a very crowded attention marketplace. With the major streamers cutting back on what they will take, this is becoming a harder puzzle to solve for everyone in the business. Unfortunately, many brands I met with are still waiting until after they make their films/series to ask how they’ll distribute it to an audience, which is much too late. As I’ve written here before, you need to be thinking about how and where you’ll be distributing your film/series before you make it, and after post is finished it much too late. An unspoken truth at this particular conference is that many, if not most, brands are doing pay to play – paying a distributor like Prime, Roku or similar to take their films, which is a valid strategy even if no one wanted to admit this is what they’d done on the stage. The problem is – this can be one part of your strategy, but you still need to do other things to get an audience’s attention, and it remains more of an option for brands than your average indie filmmaker – but I think foundations and donors should start supporting this as an option, because some of these outlets get more viewership than Max, and done right, these deals can sometimes be better than many other options.
Impact is on More Brand’s Minds. A central theme of more than one presentation, as well as many side discussions was how we can better tie our film projects to actual impact. There was a sidebar session about how brands who are value aligned might work better with the nonprofit sector to jointly make and distribute work that can move audiences to action, and I suspect we’ll begin to see many more of these collaborations. Side note – they can work well, as we discovered here with John Deere collaborating with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) on the making (with a great film team) and release of the film Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat. We need to see more of these collaborations. And in a discussion with the head of Rock the Vote, it was crystal clear that younger audiences want brands to stand for something and take more risks. So, whether you’re an indie filmmaker or a brand who wants to reach younger audiences, now is not the time to turn your back on issues based filmmaking and having an actual CTA and impact goals, even if the streamers don’t seem to want these films very often – which is itself another reason to encourage these collaborations.
Collaborations Rising. Speaking of collaboration, while this wasn’t a big topic of conversation on the main stage here, a lot of my conversations with my brand colleagues were on the need for more collaboration between brands (as well as between brands and nonprofits per the above). With budgets getting cut everywhere, people are more interested in sharing the costs to make and distribute films, and more realization that if you aren’t direct competitors, you might have more allies than you once thought. This is especially true when it comes to distribution. Some brands have big audiences and followings, while others don’t – but they might share values, and smart collaborations can help solve for some of the distribution issues. What I hope to see more of – but I don’t honestly see this yet- is more collaboration between brands and filmmakers who have great projects. But one can wish.
Brainwaves. Two separate companies were pitching their neuroscience based measurement solutions at this conference. One was the Evoke score, and the other was Immersion. I can’t explain the differences in their approaches to the neuroscience, but they were both pretty interesting. The Evoke score uses brain-wave measurement to determine how well your film (or any other content) is working, and how well aligned it is with your brand, based on how people are actually responding to the content, instead of via a focus group. The Immersion approach is more about what audiences actually like, and it’s very relevant for traditional filmmakers and storytellers, as well as marketers. You can see what’s getting an audience member’s attention, and where you’re losing it, and when they’re most engaged. While some of the key findings are obvious – good storytelling works best – others were less obvious. Such as not putting your call to action (CTA) at the end, after the resolution of your issue, as people are more likely to want to take action at those moments when they are more engaged. Figuring out how to do this within your storytelling is the hard part for creatives to figure out, but I’m sure it can be done.
Convincing the C-Suite. This one is more relevant to brands, but I bet it’s also relevant to most folks within the business side of film, which is the difficulty of convincing the C-Suite to embrace good storytelling as a strategy. The folks attending this conference are already among the converted – they know that good storytelling works best, and is better than interruptive advertising alone. But convincing the CFO, or the CEO can be a bit harder. And with constant change and turnover at the top of many of these companies, people are often having to make this case, and prove it, again and again. I can also see this at play at the streamers – I’m pretty sure most of their acquisitions execs want to pick up more daring and bold films, but their bosses want crowd-pleasers that will sell subscriptions (or ads) and in both cases, they’re more focused on quarterly results than long-term brand health. Figuring out more case studies, best practices, and better measurement of actual success is going to be crucial. And I think we need more studies showing that audiences want and respond to bolder storytelling as well.
Differentiation – we need more of it. A light criticism of my colleagues, and given with love because we need to address this – Brands are making too many undifferentiated films and series. The majority of stuff shown at the conference, and that we see from the brand space in general, could be made by any other brand. None of it screams “this is definitely a Brand X film, and Brand Y couldn’t make it.” You could randomly swap logos on three-quarters of the films out there, and you wouldn’t know the difference. Folks – we need to up our game. We need to differentiate, and we need films that are much more closely, and uniquely associated with our brands. I’d argue this is also true of the majority of film distributors and streamers these days. Meet with one of them and ask that makes something a uniquely Streamer X project and you’ll hear – we focus on celebrity, true crime, timely issues… just like everyone else. Audiences want something better, and none of us are going to succeed making interchangeable widgets of a film or series.
Younger Audiences. I mentioned this a bit above, but everyone is trying to reach a younger audience, but no one seems to be doing it right. As the leader of Rock the Vote told the audience – younger audiences have given up on established media – meaning news outlets, but also most established media companies. They’re also pretty tired of the established system across the board – our politics, our leadership, and so on. They do care about issues, and they want brands – and the people they follow, creatives, etc. – to stand for something. And to take more risks – which few brands or film companies are really doing.
Where will Sundance go? That was the number one question I kept getting from attendees, maybe because they know I’m friendly with many folks there. But whenever I meet with anyone from Sundance, and I ran into one of their board members on the committee at this event, I avoid this topic completely. I know everyone else is excited to know, or has a strong opinion. I could honestly care less about speculating about this one, but I seem to be in the minority here. It came up in nearly every conversation. For the record, except for the attendees who live in the finalist cities, everyone else wants them to stay right where they are now.
Diversity. There was a lot of talk about how companies are stepping back from DEI initiatives. But there was also some chatter about those who are sticking with these ideals and programs, but just speaking about them less – we need them to get louder. But… this remains a very white conference and field, even though the organizers are making a concerted effort to change that. More needs to be done, because our audiences don’t look like these decision makers, or these creators, and won’t stick with us or watch our films if we don’t solve for this issue.
Unplug: Relaxation leads to Renewal. One of the great things about Elevate is that they give you time every afternoon to enjoy the outdoor activities at the Sundance Resort. This can seem like a luxury – ok it is, and a humblebrag, too. But I’ll be damned if it isn’t exactly what you need to renew your creative juices. It’s a good reminder that we need to build in quality time, unplug, get outside and clear your mind, as it’s the only real path to coming up with great ideas. I guess that’s also convenient when the film business is in a slow period, with less getting made or picked up for distribution. Maybe we can use this mandated/imposed upon us break to rethink how we do things. That’s a lot of what I was doing in between the sessions at Elevate, and something I recommend we all do, and on that note…
A quick note to close the newsletter – For those (many) of you who are new to the newsletter this year, I take an annual digital detox break for the month of August. Each year, I unplug from all social media, all postings, and all newsletter writing and online reading for the entire month of August (until after Labor Day). That means no more newsletters til September. I might pre-schedule some reprints of old, more important news items if enough people want that - let me know.
I’ve been doing this since 2010, and it’s always a necessary refresh for my brain. I highly recommend you consider doing the same – seriously; you won’t miss any news if you look at a print newspaper a few times, and you’ll escape the daily grind of feeling like you need to be up to speed every waking second. If you’re like me, you’ll find it even harder to come back each and every year, because being away from digital media gives your brain so much more space for the things you should be doing instead, whether that’s being creative or just emptying your mind of all thought.
For those of you who are just readers, not clients, I’ll see you again post Labor Day, and I bet you won’t even have missed me. For clients, and potential clients, I’m still working through August 13th, and am easy to find on email, but then I completely disconnect for a vacation from August 14-Labor Day. Why am I telling all of you this here? Because too many people reach out via the newsletter, and this is a way to let the world know how to find or not find me in the interim. Until Labor Day... be well, take a digital detox, see some movies on the big screen, and keep dreaming up ways to change the future.
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Film
Michael Mann Archives Could Change The Filmmaker/Viewer Relationship: Last week, director Michael Mann (“Miami Vice”, “The Last Of The Mohicans”...etc) launched the Michael Mann Archives which offers an “unprecedented exploration of the creative process within Mann’s films… [including] videos of rehearsals, storytelling strategies determining film form, annotated script pages, director instructions” and more. For $65, fans can “enter and explore the Archive’s extensive collection at their own pace and in perpetuity,” starting with Mann’s film, “Ferrari.” Ben Pearson for SlashFilm has the news, and you can head to his FAQ page for more info. My takeaway: In our world of fast and fleeting content, I love the idea of artists/creators giving their fans access to digital libraries that house not only their work but also contain all that (often intimate) BTS material. Spaces like these would serve to strengthen fans’ connection to the artist’s work and would in turn help artists identify and connect with their core audiences. (GSH)
The Digital Video Pendulum Is Starting To Swing The Other Way: Short-form videos are (still) having their moment (and have been since 2014 when those 7-second Vines, now discontinued, took over the internet), but long-form video is making a comeback. Tim Peterson for Digiday notes, “The number of 20-plus minute-long videos creators around the world are uploading to YouTube each month has increased from 1.3 million in July 2022 to 8.5 million in June 2024 (Tubular Labs data). Why? (1) YouTube’s growing viewership on connected TV screens is one piece of the puzzle; (2) Many YouTubers say their commenters often request longer videos from them (and it makes so much sense that consumers are tired of getting 15-30 second videos crammed down their throats every time they open their phone); (3) Many short-form creators started with long form video a while back, miss it, and are now returning to what makes them happy. A few takeaways: (a) Let’s not forget that TikTok is experimenting with 1-hour long reels, suggesting they believe people want to spend longer time with creators and their creations; (b) It takes a lot more money to produce long-form content. If platforms like TikTok want to see quality long form content, they’ll need to help fund that; (c) The barrier of entry to create long-form is a lot higher (which may be a good thing for our overly saturated market); (d) Instead of the ‘digital video pendulum’ swinging from long form to short form and back again, we may start to see more ‘mid-form’ video (10-20 min). (GSH)
News In Streaming: Apple Struggling, Netflix Winning: The world’s richest company — Apple — (at $3 Trillion) is cutting down spending on entertainment. They’re paying “less up front for shows and is quicker to cancel ones that aren’t working (Bloomberg),” they’re cutting down on the lifespan of their original series (in 2019 originals averaged 4 seasons and now it’s just 2), and the company is trying to get 3rd-party studios to take on more financial burden when shows go above budget. More at Tony Maglio’s piece for IndieWire. And just a reminder, Apple TV+ generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in one day. That’s just 0.2% of TV viewing in the U.S, compared to Netflix’s 8%! And it’s Netflix’s enormous power over the market that allowed it to reject streaming bundles with Max and Disney + last week. (GSH)
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Branded Content
Chipotle Champions ESports: After 2 years in esports, Chipotle has become the unofficial official brand sponsor of the fighting game community (FGC). How’d they do it? Alexander Lee for Digiday writes they “invested its marketing budget in the relatively smaller fighting game community,” did lots of outreach, “integrated itself directly into titles like “Street Fighter,” and sponsored tournaments. And their presence has reportedly paid off: U.S. esports fans between 18-44 reported a nearly 100% increase in their intent to purchase Chipotle following the brand’s esports campaign last year, with 20% of respondents saying they planned to eat there within the next month (YouGov and rEvolution joint study). The study also noted increases in Chipotle brand sentiment among U.S esports fans. Takeaway: Brands can learn from Chipotle and invest time and passion into a relatively small community (hey, maybe Arthouse cinema / cinema-goers) that’ll more likely than not return the favor in some shape or form. (GSH)
Another Luxury Brand Enters Gaming (And Virtual Fashion): Following its involvement in 2023’s Metaverse Fashion Week, the luxury fashion brand Coach launched the “Find Your Courage” Spring 2024 collection on virtual platforms Roblox and Zepeto (an avatar-based social app). Users can style their avatars with Coach designs and accessories as they interact with Imma, a virtual character who goes on a journey of self-discovery across 5 differently themed worlds relating to self-expression. Users can also interact with each other on virtual runways. Watch the trailer here. Amazingly, as it turns out, 84% of Gen Z users believe their avatar’s style impacts what they wear in real life. Audrey Kemp for The Drum has the news. (GSH)
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Miscellany:
When Augmented Reality Booms, User Control Over What They See In The World Will be Paramount: Check out Will Duffield’s article for Techdirt to learn about how Augmented Reality (AR) will become (and already is) a part of our life, and potential challenges we’ll face once the tech is accessible, especially with regards to content moderation. First and foremost, for those who aren't as up to speed, AR is, in short, “the ability to layer media over top of the real world.”
Some things to know: (1) “True augmented reality will be social and locative. Users will view media published and placed by other users, and… this media will be tied to particular real-world locations. Users’ AR content may be visible to anyone; (2) AR “will turbocharge anxieties about online speech by bringing it further into, or onto, the real physical world”; (3) “Locative AR media is unlikely to be text-first,” rather images/video; (4) The context, meaning, and offensive potential of AR speech will turn in large part on where it appears. What is it layered over? “Who can place what speech where?” will soon matter a lot to already-large platforms moving into the AR space…. Their varied uses of the ability to layer speech over the real world are likely to push the boundaries of platform comfort and constitutional speech protections. Who can publish what on a church, a gay bar, an embassy, or their ex-husband’s home. Visible to whom?; (5) Finally, none of this will be easy to moderate or control, but “User control over what they see in the world around them will be paramount.” (GSH)
Introducing Your New AI Assistant: On Tuesday, Meta released Llama 3.1, the largest-ever open-source AI model, which the company says outperforms OpenAI and other Meta rivals across multiple benchmarks. This week, Llama 3.1 will be accessible through WhatsApp and the Meta AI website followed by FB and IG in the coming weeks. The virtual assistant (which Zuckerberg predicts will be the most widely used assistant by the end of 2024) will support new languages including French, German, Hindi, Italian, and Spanish. Much much more at Alex Heath’s article for The Verge. (GSH)
GSH = Articles written by Sub-Genre's Gabriel Schillinger-Hyman, not Brian Newman (BN)
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