Five big things in media

We at Essential were having an internal discussion yesterday, over what we think the five major things to happen to media and communications will be over the next 12 months within the UK. We all know that trends are notoriously difficult to discern and predict, since they are gradual rather than binary. Something like Digital [...]

Five predictions on the future of TV

Scheduled broadcast television will always constitute the majority of viewing The majority of viewing will always be passive Simultaneous social media activity will remain niche – it will primarily be a substitute for when people aren’t physically in the room with you A form of modified Pareto principle will persist (maybe not 80% of viewing [...]

Links – 22nd February 2009

Some of the things I’ve read over the past week and would recommend: There have been some interesting events occurring in London over the past week: John Griffiths went to the NESTA workshop, and Anjali Ramachandran and Eaon Pritchard both went to see Seth Godin speak A thought-provoking article in the Atlantic on the future [...]

Online video working with TV

Far from being a replacement to the traditional broadcast model, online video acts as a strong complement. Online video can be used to increase both reach and frequency, and the highly immersive environment offers multiple benefits. 2008 was a watershed year for online video. Ever faster and more reliable broadband connections are improving the online [...]

Links – 31st January 2009

As Des’ree once bemoaned, “Life, oh life, oh life, oh life”. A hectic few weeks are *fingers crossed* finally over. Rather than just watching the evening news and eating toast in that time, I also managed to read and bookmark some interesting things posted on the internet. Here is part 1 of a two-part collection [...]

Could targeted ads work on TV?

I’ve been exploring the concept of targeted advertising on television. Loosely defined, it is the ability to purchase advertising space against a diverse array of groups that go beyond the traditional trading audiences. This post accumulates the background information I’ve collected on the topic and speculation (mostly mine) on how theory may become reality. Because [...]

Why advertise around online video?

I was recently asked to summarise the reasons to advertise around online video. I came up with four broad factors: 1. User Experience Users are actively choosing to watch a clip Adverts generally can’t be fast-forwarded Ads can be interactive Ad breaks are shorter than TV and so spots have a greater chance of standing [...]

Keeping up with catch-up

I don’t own a DTR (it is a heritage from working with Digital UK in the past that I persist with that name, even though most people I speak to use PVR) or DVD Recorder, and my VCR only works when the TV is turned on (it is a combo). I also happen to spend [...]

Buying online advertising alongside TV

Over the last few months, I’ve visited a lot of media agencies (nearly all of the bigger ones) with my presentation on online video on demand. The overwhelming theme that has emerged from the presentations is that there is very little information on VOD out in the market, and that agencies are desperate for knowledge [...]

Links – 30th November 2008

This list is both later and longer than recent posts, but the quality of thought and writing is extremely high Changing industries Seth Godin on things the New York Times could have done to stay ahead in the digital environment. While hindsight is a wonderful thing, and while every successful online venture is greeted by [...]