Despite the dramatic impact and changes digital technology has had on consumers and the media, the one constant is the demand and need for great content.
“Content drives everything else,” Anne Sweeney, the president of Disney-ABC Television Group and co-chair of Disney Media Networks said yesterday. “It drives opportunities, platforms, revenues and most importantly, it drives consumers to our brands and your messages.”
In the growing clutter of the digital market, consumers look for ways to navigate the options. They rely on recognizable brands that create great content to drive consumers to new platforms, she said.
As an example, traffic on ABC.com corresponds with the programming and performance of ABC content on TV. Last year, about 140 million episodes of ABC primetime shows were viewed on the Web site’s player. And last fall, during first 18 weeks of the season, people logged on to watch more than 124 million episodes—a 178% increase over the same period last season, she said.
“We were floored, really,” Sweeney said. “The sheer volume of online viewing took us by surprise.”
Similar patterns are taking place with Disney Channel and ABC Family.
She cited a study from the Solutions Research Group that found that 80 million people in the U.S. have gone online to see their favorite TV shows—and at least 20% of them do so weekly.
In a bid to slow ad-skipping technologies, ABC has formed a partnership with its local broadcast affiliates to make programming available in a video-on-demand service through cable, DBS, and telco operators who agree to disable the fast-forward feature. The company tested the platform with customers in Orange County.
Sweeney offered four guidelines for success in the digital age.
Consumers Come First—Pay attention to who your consumers are and how they’re using content. Build models that reflect and respect both.
“As consumers migrate to digital platforms, advertisers also need to pay attention to what the consumers are doing there and adapt their messaging models to fit the way people use the devices,” she said.
Content Drives Everything—The size and type of the screen will never be as important as what’s on it. Invest in creating innovative, high-quality content.
Creativity is Critical—In a world where there are endless choices for entertainment and thousands upon thousands of messages coming at us every day from all directions, companies need to be more creative than ever to break through and stand out.
Commit to Change—Don’t rely on old models, or follow old rules.
“The choice in the digital age isn’t whether to adapt or remain the same,” Sweeney said. “It is whether to evolve or perish. In the fight to be relevant to consumers, “status quo” isn’t a viable strategy. We have to keep moving forward – to keep up with our consumers and if we’re very, very lucky actually get out ahead of them.”
