Posts by Wilson Cleveland

Recently the bastions of online video, no longer satisfied with “digital dollars,” have made some of their boldest grabs yet at television’s multi-billion dollar advertising business by emulating the look, feel and business of…television. Welcome to progress.

Let’s review:

Netflix, Yahoo, Web TV, HuluYouTube, the birthplace of the web series, the king-maker of online celebrity, the petri dish of viral video, spent $100 million on re-positioning itself as the second coming of cable television with 100 new channels of advertiser-friendly, day-parted original programming.

Netflix paid $100 million to exclusively distribute two seasons of the Kevin Spacey/David Fincher drama House of Cards; then dropped another tidy sum to revive and distribute new episodes of the Emmy-winning Fox comedy Arrested Development. Wanna bet Netflix leads a lobby with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to get streaming originals on the Emmy ballot?

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Written on February 10th, 2012 by
Categories: Digital | 3 Comments »

Shira Lazar TweetInteresting question posed on Twitter recently by What’s Trending host Shira Lazar: "Lets just stop calling online shows “web series”- instead go with “original series” on x platform - thoughts?"

Short answer: AGREED!

Long answer: Whenever possible, I avoid the term ‘web series.’ Sometimes a client will insist upon qualifying whatever we’re producing as such (typically a scripted, longer-form series) and I do my best to convince them we’re better off going with ‘original series’ and here’s why: The average media consumer judges their entertainment by the platform it’s released on. They just do. I’ve always believed one of the more obvious roadblocks online programming faces in achieving mainstream awareness (and mainstream money) lies with how the mainstream perceives the web itself.

I recently asked my 64 years-young mother to email the Hulu link to the Leap Year trailer (the web series we produced for our clients, Hiscox Small Business Insurance) to 10 of her friends of similar age and introduce it as an “original series.” All 10 watched and responded favorably. Then I asked her to send the exact same link to 10 other friends of similar age, but call it a “web series.” This time, four people claimed “the link doesn’t work;” two said the “video won’t play;” one asked “what channel is this on?;” one asked “How do I find this so I know when to watch? Only two out of the second 10 watched the trailer without any questions or issues.

Not exactly a scientific study, but it made me wonder even more if placing the word “web” in front of “series” or “show,” is hurting our cause at raising the broader awareness we need to grow. Send a link promising an “original series,” it gets opened with no problem; send the same link but call it a “web series” and suddenly the same content becomes confusing and inaccessible. Just something to think about. CJP

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Written on November 17th, 2011 by
Categories: Digital, Social Media | 1 Comment »

For Sale: HuluAccording to a recent article on the WSJ, Fox is killing free next-day viewing on Hulu (which it co-owns with NBC and Disney/ABC) for all of its shows unless you can be authenticated (assimilated?) as a paying cable subscriber. Just the latest example of Hulu being slowly suffocated by its own owners.  I thought this was a good occasion to share something I posted on Quora July 6 answering the question:“Why is Hulu for Sale?” So here it is…

Q: Why Is Hulu for Sale?

A: I’m sure there are many reasons, but I imagine Hulu has paid an enormous amount in licensing fees to NBC, Fox and ABC, not to mention their sister cable networks, movie studios, etc. to distribute their programming which doesn’t leave a lot left over to spend on actually growing or marketing the company (nevermind sustaining it).

To offset those hefty fees Hulu added the subscription-based Hulu Plus service and significantly upped the volume of ads it served (1.3 billion in May alone). The problem with that is, having that many ads takes a bite out of the audience experience. Hulu is distributing one of my web original shows right now and they’re serving an average of 4 minutes of ads per each 8-9 minute episode (2 minute pre-roll, 2 minute mid-roll). It’s enough to make folks want to watch it on other platforms where we’ve chosen to make it an ad-free viewing experience.

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Written on August 5th, 2011 by
Categories: Business, Digital | No Comments »

Branded for LifeThe past week was an odd one: Abercrombie & Fitch's latest drive-by baiting gave local news stations a reason to incite some discourse among moms and nannies at local playgrounds.  An escaped cobra charmed-up 213,688 Twitter followers in less than 4 days (myself included, despite being severely ophidophobic). Then I read a post on AnimalNewYork's Tumblr that probably would have whipped me into my own Abercrombian dervish of disapproval had I not worked in marketing for 12 years. Clothing designer Marc Ecko's new appropriately literal "branding" campaign, "Branded for Life" is offering a 20% discount for life to anybody willing to tattoo one of two Marc Ecko brand logos somewhere on their body. Permanently. Still with me?

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Written on April 5th, 2011 by
Categories: Marketing | 3 Comments »

Last week while prepping for a conversation with serial entrepreneur and all-around neat guy Guy Kawasaki I came across a post in the American Express OPEN Forum that he'd shared with the bazillion readers of his "How to Change the World" blog called "The 7 Deadly Sins of Business Storytelling."

I realized what I was reading was, in essence, both a manifesto for the modern PR pro and sage advice for every corporate communicator navigating the new normal of media relations without a compass.

Number two on this list of storytelling sins would be number one on mine and is precisely what I believe separates the PR people from the true communicators:

From "The 7 Deadly Sins of Business Storytelling:"

Telling. Show, don’t tell, is the most fundamental maxim of storytelling, and for a good reason. Your audience should see a picture, feel the conflict, and become more involved with the story -- they’re not receptacles for a series of facts. If you tell a story as though you were not there, it distances your listeners. Describe what is happening as if it were in front of you. As Mark Twain said, “Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.”

Repetitive regurgitation of corporate boilerplates always checks the protocol box and can be a great line of defense in a PR crisis but too often companies fear adding a dash of color (orange is nice) to how they tell their story and end up wondering why nobody gets excited about another beige wall.  Trust me, with so many vibrant colors now at your disposal like video, social media and mobile apps, your audience is whispering about your need for a makeover.

PR is all about storytelling after all but if nobody is listening, it may be time to work on your delivery. CJP

 

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Written on March 2nd, 2011 by
Categories: Communication, Industry Tips, Public Relations | No Comments »
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