1) The increasing prevalence of “binge watching” has revealed an incredible appetite for episodic productions. From the intimate (and more modest) series to the epic blockbuster productions, viewers can’t seem to get enough. That should bode well for the production industry as commercial TV battles with online and cable services for a share of that audience. I suspect this trend will continue but at some point we’ll see a slow burnout, as we’re beginning to see with reality TV. But not to worry. The next trend will make itself apparent in due course.
2) In terms of advertising, I’m really enjoying the simple elegance of the “Shot on iPhone” work — TV, print and outdoor. It’s essentially crowd-sourced content that has been brilliantly packaged. I also think the power of real people testimonials continues to demonstrate its value as an advertising technique. I am witnessing this value in the work at my own agency as well as the work I’m seeing by other agencies.
3) As far as marrying advertising and entertainment, it’s still hard to beat the Geico campaign. They continue to turn out wonderfully entertaining work in the context of a simple advertising message.
4) As you say, it’s hard to predict the future, but I believe we will continue to see more and more issue-oriented efforts, both on the creative side and as part of overarching business plans. Women’s rights, LGBT issues and environmental conservation are all topics resonating with consumers as never before. The advertising industry is also racing to keep up with the rapidly changing digital world, especially as it pertains to ad blockers, anemic click-through rates, the rise of branded content and native advertising and the opportunities for advertising on mobile. It will be interesting to see if we remain in the “wild west” or if things eventually shake out and settle into some kind of convention.
5) While there were practically no awards given for Virtual Reality this year, the one exception was Lockheed Martin’s “Field Trip to Mars,” a brilliantly executed piece that didn’t even require the use of a VR headset. That concept won a number of lions at Cannes. I believe it was the harbinger of what’s to come—a tsunami of VR experiences in advertising, entertainment and gaming. Total immersion in a VR experience will become an obsession in the industry at large.
6) We have in-house editorial capabilities and we’ve made a number of investments in software to advance those capabilities in the areas of color correction, special effects, finishing and green screen work. This year we also purchased a DJI Osmo Handheld 4K Camera with 3-Axis Gimble. It’s turned out to be an incredibly useful piece of equipment in a compact package.
