The Cynopsis BIG Digital Monetization Summit is fast approaching, and to gear up for the June 19 event, Cynopsis is sitting down with panelists for one-on-one conversations. First up is the summit’s morning keynote speaker Kathleen Grace, who’s the Chief Creative Officer of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s New Form Digital Studios. By the way, you can register for the event at http://www.cyndigitalmonetization.com/.
What digital trend is most interesting to you as the Summit approaches?
The strong growth in mobile traffic and video consumption on mobile is top of mind. It sneaks up on you, and I didn’t believe it until I realized that the first ten minutes of my day are spent in my bed watching videos on my phone. However, I’m ready for the era of “views” as the only metric to be over. We have to get more sophisticated in our measurement of success. It’s not enough for your audience to watch you. They should love you. Then they’re more than eyeballs. They’re fans.
With a nod to Twitter, describe the current digital environment in 140 characters or less.
Infinite channels. Infinite audience. Infinite potential.
What do you see as the biggest obstacles confronting content creators, brands and advertisers?
For content creators, the top challenge is capturing attention in a world with infinite content. When it comes to brands and advertisers, authentically connecting with your audience and building a real sense of community are challenging – but not insurmountable.
Do you expect we will see more branded series, or do you see brand marketing expanding elsewhere?
We’ll probably see a bit of both, but eventually brands will need to find partners to help them tell stories that speak to their audience. Over time, I expect we’ll see fewer “traditional” branded series. Instead, there will be and more story-driven content.
There was a substantial amount of new series presented at the NewFronts this year. Do you see this as the key strategy going forward? Or do you see something else evolving?
I’m excited to see the new series. I’ll be even more excited to see them all return. But the cadence of an annual NewFront feels very old school in the fast-paced world of the Internet; shows and strategy can evolve as quickly as the audience does.
What are you hoping to learn from the Cyn Digital Summit?
To gain a deeper perspective by listening the concerns of media buyers, agencies and brands. I’d love to better understand their biggest obstacles, how they’re trying to tackle them and how we can work together.
