1) It’s chilling to note that many fear we are moving into a “post-truth” age. As an industry that polls even lower than the new POTUS, we have an obligation to fight this trend tooth and nail. Fight for not only our industry’s credibility but that of our entire culture. And that starts with advising brands to PROVE, not claim. To never take eyeballs for granted. There is also evidence that brands are over-relying on technology at the expense of great storytelling. How many times have you sat in a 3D showing of a film and said, “Why is this in 3D?”. Great storytelling will always be the key to building relationships with brands. But it starts with truth. And being disciplined over what role technology plays.
Business-wise, there are no rules. It’s a wild west out there. More and more entities are emerging to craft those stories. I think none will render any others obsolete. There is more than enough room for all of us to help brands truthfully earn relationships, not assume them.
2) We are a Content Engine. Our Resolution is always: Never forget that—even if we all stopped making content tomorrow—audiences would still have enough content begging for their viewership to last the rest of their natural lives. Literally. Always, always, always consider what it takes to get audiences to consume content WILLINGLY. Make their eyeballs your eyeballs. Build trust one frame at a time. From a business standpoint, let every single engagement be a Proof-of-Concept engagement. Be willing to apply yourself in an ala carte way to those who are late-adopters. Always put story before glory.
Since we all tend to emulate the pop culture relevance of our cousins in entertainment, I hope we will all continue to pay close attention to what it took for them to earn that relevance in the first place. That, we do.
3) We launched in the fall of 2016 to find—through massive amounts of positive feedback and engagement—that we could not possibly be any timelier with what we’re doing. Budgets will always “suck”. So, there is a clear need for nimbler, more efficient, laser-guided storytelling that directs more and more of those $$ to the screen. We’ve also learned that while not every brand or agency partner may be ready to operate exactly as we’d wish, if we remain malleable and open to a confluence of ideas and opportunities, we can’t help but add value.
4) Talk is nice. Proof is better. Go with the latter. Be nicer than necessary.