Technology is being used in exciting, sometimes unexpected new ways to engage audiences and consumers.Falon Fatemi, who as CEO of Fireside is at the forefront of monetizing fan experiences, will be among those sharing fresh insights at the Cynopsis Big TV Conference. Here’s a preview.
You’ll be addressing the topic of new ways to engage consumers. What is the potential of interactive fan and audience experiences to grow and deepen relationships with consumers?
We are seeing how interactive experiences have the potential to change the entire nature of what audience engagement looks like and has the potential to reshape how we think about our current media and entertainment businesses. Fans want more access and connection to what they love, and offering them an always-on interactive fan experience to give them access to those talents and brands is how you create superfans. Whether it is cooking along with a chef or getting real-time feedback on your business tactics, the relationship between the audience and the talent is being deepened through meaningful interactions globally. By focusing on the fan relationship, brands and talent are able to build experiences that engage audiences and keep them coming back while generating healthy net new recurring revenue streams that can then fund the creation of more IP franchises.
What do you think companies might be missing in their efforts to engage people?
Right now, most brands, talent and IP franchises are focused on attracting a mass audience instead of the right audience and focus on a core business model of monetizing content. The big opportunity is to own the community and 100% of fan data around the IP/product lines and create unique interactive experiences that give those fans a level of access that is packaged up as a subscription model and additive to the content/product experience. By focusing on these “super fans,” who spend upwards of 80% more than the average person, the IP owners and brands that do this will see incredible success and material net new revenue growth nearly immediately. This presents an opportunity to create fan driven franchises of the future with fan input, involvement, and always on connectivity.
How can companies take advantage of the creator economy in their efforts?
I like to frame this as the community economy, rather than the creator economy. There is a big opportunity for IP Owners and Brands to partner with anchor talent, writers, producers, and through very deep IP relationships with those anchor partners build exponentially more successful media franchises. This can be achieved through owning the viewer relationship more directly and turning them into fans you’re building a relationship with through owned platforms and then creating unique community experiences to bring that global fandom together that continue to deepen their relationship with the franchise and grow new franchises you introduce to them. The future of the media value chain is all about tapping into the value of your most engaged consumers in the most direct ways possible…
