1) Every year, the industry seams to be heading deeper and deeper in the direction of streaming media, view-on-the-go and social. Virtual suddenly became popular again, at least as a novelty in the form of Google Cardboard. It will remain to be seen how this captures the collective imagination (there’s reportedly a serialized Star Wars experience launching on Dec. 2 that ties in with the new Force Awakens movie) and whether or not it will be useful for marketing and advertising in the future. There’s always a desire to expand on what seemed innovative in the past and maybe VR is a way to capitalize on the still growing trend toward streaming media. Everyone wants to view content whenever and wherever, and the more immersive the better, so what we’re seeing now is a response to that “find a need and fill it” ethos. I do believe content itself will continue to evolve both as a vehicle for entertainment and a marketing tool. I’m not sure where VR fits in yet, but we’ll see.
2) The shift in technology has a lot to do with the desire for flexibility in the industry – the ability to choose when, where, why and how when it comes to viewing, approving, and collaborating in ways that weren’t possible a few years earlier due to lack of bandwidth. With TwoPoint0, a new company I created with editor, Anthony Marinelli, we decided to capitalize on the trend toward flexibility. Our business model allows us to fully customize the technology, people, and location to the needs of any given project. Strategic relationships, like with East Coast Digital, provide a streamlined and innovative way for clients to collaborate with us and keep them involved in the process, if they so desire. We recognize that the industry is very different from when we first started. Social media is dictating a lot of what kind of content we should be focusing on. It seems that the industry is opening up to more possibilities than ever before and we are primed and ready for the challenges ahead.
3) Anthony Marinelli edited over 30 commercials for Bernie & Phyl’s furniture with DeVito/Verdi and was a key collaborator. It was a new approach for B&P’s, so it was really gratifying to see their store sales increase dramatically after these hilarious spots aired. Another commercial with DeVito for University of Chicago Medicine featuring world famous chef, Grant Achatz, touched a chord with us, in telling the story about how Grant almost lost his tongue (and part of his jaw) to cancer, and how UCM saved his life. It was also wonderful working with Xenon and director Juan Delcan on a spot for Fidelis Care which has been getting a lot of airplay. Other work I’m extremely proud of (but can’t talk about at this time!) is coming from Jonathan Edwards, Jeremy Baumann and Jane Keller for a variety of A-list clients. Stay tuned.
4) I wonder about audience participation. So I think anything that really allows the viewer or consumer to literally call the shots, whether it’s in TV, gaming or web, could be the next big thing.
