Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/21561
OUTLOOK “It’s a great time to create new things and move the needle in this mar- ketplace.” — Greg Manago Hello concepted and created a tiered contest powered by group participation that lived online,culminating in a grand- prize giveaway and opening of Herman Miller’s online store. “We also need to take into consideration that older platforms may sometimes be a better solution than new ones depending on the goals of a campaign. Email marketing at times is a better solution than Twitter or Facebook.What it comes down to is a willingness to experiment, try new things, and not be afraid to fail.” OPPORTUNITIES:“The coming of age for production shops is a huge opportunity for our industry.There is less and less of a distinc- tion between digital agencies and the type of work we are able to produce. Fortune 500 companies now hold digital agencies of record that manage their entire online presence across all digital platforms. Our industry is always changing and it’s our role to keep our clients’ digital strategy living and evolving.This involves handling brand strategy, social media, and establishing a company’s online rep- utation — not just building a Website and calling it a day. “People today are hyper-connected to digital, which has become Coincident TV provided the technology platform, tools and services to create this immersive online video experience for Glee that integrates video extras,Weblinks, e-commerce, music and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. part of the fabric and surfaces of everyday life.Now we are thinking broader about every digital touch-point, including sites, games, appli- cations, mobile apps, touch screens and films. Digital agencies are helping clients constantly innovate and own a broader conversation in the digital space.” THREATS: “Timing and technology can factor into threats we face in our industry. Some quality ideas are not successful because they are ahead of their time, meaning the right technology is not yet available to implement their success, or because they are not exe- cuted in the right industry.There is also the case where the technol- ogy is there, but is ahead of the curve without the right platforms to be executed on.An example would be the adoption of HTML5 as a tool for platforms that do not support Flash. Although addressing the problem of inaccessibility with Flash, HTML5 raised other prob- lems because some browsers have not caught up to support it yet. These weaknesses are a reminder of our dependence on browsers and tools.” OUTLOOK ON 2011:“People find uses for technology in unex- pected ways, which then fuels an entirely new realm of possibilities. We are going to see a trend similar to what the HDSLR movement has started in releasing quality, professional tools at increasingly af- fordable prices. Creatives in the digital industry and prosumers alike are adopting professional equipment at a rapid pace, empowered to 36 Post • December 2010 www.postmagazine.com New Media create original compelling content of their own which then takes on various forms digitally and can be shared with the online community. This trend is a movement that further blurs the different ways we can tell stories integrated with rich experiences.” WINTER MEAD Product Marketing Manager Coincident TV www.coincident.tv San Francisco Coincident TV offers a technology platform for creating interactive videos.Their main business is providing post tools to create interactive video as well as video player technology that adds interactivity to existing online video players such as YouTube or Brightcove. Currently they work with Fox, MTV,Audi and other big com- panies that are used to experimenting in the post and production space with interactive video. STRENGTHS: “Online video viewing is taking off. Companies that have been traditionally associated with just print now have Websites and videos playing on those Websites.The value of online interactive video is that it allows you to build on traditional Web- based behavior such as using hypertext.With hypertext, people click on text, but now instead of clicking on text, the user is clicking on videos.That’s where we see the industry heading — it’s starting with large audience aggregators like Hulu, Netflix,YouTube, and slowly gaining more traction in the ‘Internet-enabled’ space, for example, with the introduction of Google TV.As a platform, Coincident TV of- fers a way to enhance all the video that’s currently out there be- cause of our proprietary XML-based language called Cue Point.This language allows content creators to customize and monetize video in new ways by making them interactive.” WEAKNESSES: “Successful interactive video campaigns usually go hand-in-hand with good content or creative delivery. For exam- ple, on YouTube, make-your-own-adventure videos are interesting because they compel the user to make a choice to view what’s next. In addition, people watching a show like Fox’s Glee enjoy getting extra behind-the-scenes content in addition to just the linear play- back of the show. However, carving out a share of the online video market requires an adjustment of viewing behavior on a grand scale. For the most part, people are still used to the traditional television experience, that is, where many of us find ourselves being potatoes on a couch. Changing this couch potato behavior to interactive be- havior, for example, by clicking the screen, can be non-intuitive.To be successful, it’s a matter of making it easier and intuitive to use inter- active video as well as providing proper incentives and value-added content to encourage people to click. “For example, with the Audi R8 experience, we offer a $100 coupon off an Audi test drive via a text message that’s sent while the video is playing. It’s a new space and there are a lot of opportu- nities to incorporate interactive into a video, but because it’s a new space it’s going to take some time to learn new ways of clicking on video and getting more from your video than just the content.” OPPORTUNITIES: “Right now with digital you have so many hours worth of content and people are throwing out a lot of what they are shooting, and a lot of it is good content. Being able to mon- continued on page 47