By Jennifer Miller, OgilvyEntertainment Associate

For decades, television ratings have been based on the Nielsen standards, but with the changes in the way people watch TV, standards of measurements should be changing as well. In a recent article in Wired Magazine, experts discuss how advertisers and media companies are hustling to adapt to consumers. According to the article, “it’s not rare for a huge portion of a show’s audience to watch it well after it originally aired” indicating that the “real-time” analytics that Nielsen ratings once gave us may not be an accurate representation of the show’s reach and success.

TV viewers access content via smartphones, tablets and computers, and they love having the control to watch how and when they want. With the rise of the second screen (or “the first screen” as Doug Scott considers mobile), consumers are also engaging with TV content more than ever before. Watchers are using Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms to react to what they are watching. Capturing and analyzing this sentiment could drastically change the ratings of shows.

As a result, Nielsen has made some adjustments to their model to account for this, but is that enough? Today, the socially driven consumer has so many more outlets for expressing sentiment around television. Is it even possible for us to capture it or synthesize it? Twitter’s recent partnership with Bluefin Labs will allow companies to better understand social TV analytics. Not only does the platform evaluate shows but it can also evaluate commercials, thereby helping advertisers to evaluate the effectiveness of their content and craft more targeted messaging. To read more, head over to Wired’s The Nielsen Family is Dead article here: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/nielsen-family-is-dead/

By Jennifer Miller, OgilvyEntertainment Associate

What does the future of TV look like? Rumors surrounding Intel’s newest product indicate that they have a pretty good idea. Intel’s new product, still nameless to the public, has the potential to be king of user experience when it comes to television and viewing technology. It hints at seamless, customized online viewing of your favorite TV shows and movies across all types of screens.

Rather than hosting cable television, the product will actually act “a cable operator itself” delivering television to viewers in a completely customizable way. Platforms like Netflix and Hulu already have an algorithm that helps viewers to find the shows that match their viewing habits, so why shouldn’t your TV do this for you too? Intel’s technology will.

The question arises then, where is the place for advertisers on this platform? If the integration of cable television via Intel’s product is a replacement for a cable provider, then the viewing experience of TV shows will likely remain the same. What will change is the ease of watching your favorite shows with enhanced customization based on your viewing habits (similar to what Netflix and Hulu already offer). Depending on its interface, advertisers will need to adjust their tactics in order to reach consumers switching to this platform. If the technology decreases the need for traditional television ads, this will increase the opportunity for even more branded content.  Read more on AdAge here: http://adage.com/article/media/intel-cooks-future-tv-a-potential-mess-cable/240723/

Social media is ablaze with lively discussion over the recent filibustering by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul who unleashed a passionate diatribe against the U.S. government’s increased use of drone warfare abroad and the potential extrajudicial execution of American citizens…a predictably controversial topic. Used to block President Obama’s choice of John O. Brennan for Director of the C.I.A., the filibuster lasted an impressive 13 hours. What was equally as impressive, however, was the utilization of social media to engage Rand Paul’s followers on Twitter.  Paul’s staff announced the filibuster via Paul’s official Twitter account around 9:00am on March 6, 2012 (receiving nearly 600 re-tweets) and then live-tweeted key quotes until its conclusion. By the end of the filibuster, over 30 tweets were posted by his staff, which were then collectively retweeted over 35,000 times by the Twitter community, thereby demonstrating the power of the topic on Twitter and beyond.  By far the trending hashtag throughout the filibuster was #FiliBlizzard, a portmanteau of “Filibuster” and “Blizzard” (fitting, as both had been ravaging the Northeast for hours), originally used by Paul’s staff during the first announcement of the filibuster and then picked up by the Twittersphere.

Paul’s number of Twitter followers saw a sharp upsurge during the 13-hour polemic.  Prior to filibustering, Paul had around 96,000 followers. By March 8, he had over 150,000, an impressive increase of over 50,000 in a considerably short span of time.

Paul’s utilization of Twitter to engage his supporters (and generate new ones) is part of an increasing political trend to engage the politically minded public via social media.  A PEW research report on social media and political engagement published in 2012 noted that “66% of social media users have employed the platforms to post their thoughts about civic and political issues, react to others’ postings, press friends to act on issues and vote, follow candidates, ‘like’ and link to others’ content, and belong to groups formed on social networking sites.”

It is undoubtedly important for politicians and political commentators alike to involve their supporters (and detractors as well) in political dialogue, civic engagement and activism, especially over controversial national concerns such as drone usage. The utilization of social media to produce real time conversation and engagement seems to be an inevitable evolutionary step of democratic participation.  From the historical posting of the 95 Theses of Martin Luther (disrupting Church hierarchy) to the coffee and saloon discussions of intellectuals on the quiddity of public life and participation thereof (disrupting European absolute monarchism), democratic dissemination has been developing slowly, but surely, for centuries.

Prior to social media, those who wished to voice their opinions could only do so on the Speakers’ Corner unto a very limited audience.  Now, with social media platforms, individuals have the ability to voice their opinions and engage with likeminded individuals on a global level, thus further molding democratic engagement.  The most notable example of this is, of course, is the Arab Spring, the organization that was heavily facilitated through social media.  Through social media a kind of ‘virtual public space’ was constructed, through which protesters could interact with one another in ways they could not in a physical public space.

The caveat is that participating only in virtual activism is not an equitable substitute for actual political activism as well.  The two need to be seen as complementary processes for inspiring change.  It is unlikely that the profound revolutions in the Middle East would have occurred as they did, had dissenters stayed at their computers, without actually demonstrating their powerful desire for change.

And while Congress confirmed John Brennan as Director of the CIA regardless, Paul (a highly polarizing figure) and his staff should nevertheless be commended on their innovative usage of social media to spark a political conversation.

Sam Gutwetter is an intern with OgilvyEntertainment.

Econsultancy and Outbrain teamed up last October to produce a Content Marketing Survey Report, the results of which should be of vital interest to marketers around the globe.  More than 1,200 marketing professionals took part in the survey, which examined the number of brands incorporating content marketing, the strategies and mediums employed, as well as the challenges they have faced such as budget, size, and those unexpected little fun, never before seen things that happen when you take on new programs.  The result was a revealing look at how marketers are responding to the challenges of content and a handful of insightful, future-facing projections.  In a world where consumers are incessantly bombarded by commercial messaging, it has become increasingly crucial for marketers to stand apart from their competitors, and tailor messaging to engage target audiences.

2012 was a noteworthy year for content marketing, arguably its most important year to date, as it was filled with striking examples that are likely to set an industry standard.  McDonald Canada’s “Our Food, Your Questions”, while risky, was met with much praise for the campaign’s ability to engage in a meaningful discussion with customers on the issue of food quality.  Red Bull sponsored daredevil extraordinaire, Felix Baumgartner, with a record shattering space jump (Red Bull Stratos), attracted 8 million of views and is likely to pave the way for ‘hero-centric’ storytelling, which is predicted to be an important trend for 2013.  Another notable content-led campaign, Oreo’s ‘Daily Twist’ celebrated the brand’s 100^th anniversary by “twisting” the look of an Oreo cookie each day for 100 days, engaging the audience in a manner both creative and continuously engaging.

The research study was not without its surprises.  The survey found that over 90% of in-house marketers and agencies “believe that content marketing will become more important in the next 12 months.”  Despite this self-proclaimed exigency, only 38% of in-house marketers and a measly 13% of agencies/consultants stated that they currently had a defined strategy for content marketing.  This asymmetric response will no doubt need to be corrected in 2013 and marketers seem to be well aware of this, as 55% of in-house, and 58% of agency/consulting marketers stated that they were planning to create a defined strategy for their content marketing. Surprisingly, 29% of ad agencies stated that they were not planning to create one.  It will be interesting to see how the agencies that do not have a plan for content marketing will fare throughout 2013.

It might be dangerous to view content marketing as merely a trend that will fizzle out by the end of 2013, and therefore not worth pursuing.  On the contrary, it is becoming increasingly evident that consumers are craving a more tangible relationship with the products they purchase and companies need to give them that value.  Currently, 46% of companies stated that they have individuals dedicated to producing content marketing and only 34% have budgets dedicated to it.  It is clear that marketers will need to put in extra effort to engage their audiences with valuable content for 2013 if they want to stay relevant and competitive.

Unfortunately, marketers also need to be focused on creating meaningful, quality-driven content marketing that provides long-tail value.  “For content marketing to ‘work’, the input needs to be good,” said James Gurd, owner of Digital Juggler, “Content has to serve a purpose and provide a value to the end-user.  I personally think that there is too much content being produced at the expense of a focus on quality…there is no structured, coherent plan and content gets thrown up on a website with no understanding of where it sits in the user journey and why customers would want to use it.”  Indeed, the ambition for creating compelling, instead of substandard content, seems to be a noticeable barrier for marketers.  The survey reported that, for agencies/consultants, 46% cited the lack of understanding and training, and 39% cited the lack of content creation skills, as obstacles to creating content marketing.  It is arguably more effective to take the time to create high quality content, than rush into it without clear objectives.  It is interesting to note, however, that in-house marketers are not experiencing similar barriers.  Their respondents cited ‘lack of human resources’ (42%), and ‘lack of budget’ (35%) as the two main obstacles.

The Content Marketing Survey Report also demonstrates that there is a wide variety of content types that are being utilized by marketers, the most popular being social posts and updates, of which 83% of in-house markets and 70% agency clients are using.  Email newsletters, on-site news articles, PR releases, blogs, and videos also account for over 50% of content marketing utilized by marketers.  As we have seen, video content marketing continues to grow in popularity as more powerful technologies (including mobile and tablet devices) are introduced into the market.

The results of this survey make it clear that in-house marketers are more comfortable with, and are adopting content marketing faster than agency counterparts.  Nevertheless, the latter are pledging to increase their focus on content marketing in order to further engage their audiences and provide value and utility.  As we’ve outlined in our white paper (Ogilvy.com/BEAM), brands can employ the magic of branded entertainment effectively and profitably by creating entertainment authentic to brand ideals and rooted in the logic that drives all elements of the marketing mix.

We are counting down the days to October 5th when ESCAPE FIRE hits theaters nationwide! And we’re not the only ones excited for the big release date. In this exclusive interview, Documentary.org chats with the directors, Matt Heineman and Susan Froemke, about the pressing social issues captured in the documentary. Take a look here: http://www.documentary.org/magazine/first-do-no-harm-escape-fire-tackles-healthcare-crisis