Future Thinking: Television On The Move

Cannes Lions offers a rare opportunity for the industry’s creative thinkers to get together to explore the state of the business and make bold predictions about the trends that will determine the future. Over the following pages, we explore what delegates had to say about the evolution of TV, the impact of technology and social media, and how clients see the route ahead

As TV and internet on-demand services merge, advertising content needs to match the rising quality of televised programming and become seamlessly device-agnostic.

Everybody who spoke at Cannes Lions about television as an information and entertainment medium, as well as a platform for advertising, agreed on two things. The first was that, far from being dead, TV has a brighter future than ever. The second was that, in order to capitalise on that future, the television and advertising industries need to engage with audiences in new ways by creating platform-specific content that maximises the potential of today’s and tomorrow’s technology.

Anytime, anyplace, anywhere

Unsurprisingly much of the talk was about bringing TV to the consumer wherever and whenever they want to watch it. According to some, the current strength of the industry is down to the fact that we can watch our favourite shows sprawled not just on the sofa, but also on the park bench, bus or anywhere else we can find a 3G signal. “The TV business is essentially merging with the internet on-demand business,” said Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner, at his firm’s seminar. “The most important thing is: forget the device. It’s about TV on-demand: your show, when you want, on whatever device you want,” he said. “There’s no question this is making the medium more powerful, more widespread. All over the planet we’ve got more people watching.”

Speaking at Yahoo’s seminar was Emmy and Golden Globe-winning producer Ben Silverman, founder and CEO of Electus, a company that unites producers, writers, advertisers and distributors to create content for distribution across various global platforms. On the subject of new technology, he said: “You really need to build content for the environment to tap into all of its utility. A mouse is different from a remote control. That’s very important as you think creatively to build content for tomorrow.” He added that brands have the opportunity to collaborate with content producers rather than just sponsor shows or buy ad slots: “There are opportunities to use content as a platform.” Silverman also feels that, regardless of the medium, there should only be one goal: “Give the audience what they want. Without the audience you’re nothing.”

Despite all the talk about putting TV onto internet-oriented devices such as smartphones and tablets, Jason Choi, director of global crossover group, digital marketing for Cheil Worldwide, believes the future of the genre requires a reversal of this – to bring the internet to the big screen and make the traditional TV experience untraditional. He kicked off his firm’s seminar by asking: “Who here thought TV was dead? It’s easy to think that [it is dead] when people have been talking about the internet dominating our lives for the last 15 years. But TV is not dead, it’s alive and kicking because people love television. There’s still a big role for the big screen.”

Choi went on to suggest how advertising will fit in with smart TV: “This is the part where I get excited because all the branded apps you see today are built for the small mobile screen. Brands can have a field day creating branded apps for the bigger screen.” Some examples suggested by Choi included a car manufacturer’s virtual test drive, a preview of a fashion brand’s new collection and an app that prompts you to order a pizza at the start of the Super Bowl, or add the ingredients of a cookery programme’s recipe to your online Tesco shopping basket. It’ll be easier to get in front of the right audience too, he says: “It’s a new advertising ecosystem with ad serving and targeting abilities so you can think about contextual and behavioural targeting, based on what you’re watching or what you’ve watched before, along with geo-demographic targeting as well.”

TV and branded content seems destined to further intertwine and one thing is inescapable – whichever ind ustry or medium you work in, to connect to your audience you need to tell a good story. Speaking at the Time Warner seminar was one of the best storytellers of recent times, The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, who said: “I love ads. So many of my friends in the business say: ‘I wish I could write a 30-second spot.’”

Art vs. commerce

When it comes to advertising on TV, the Super Bowl is the greatest spectacle of all. While he has no interest in the sport, DreamWorks Animation’s co-founder and CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, tunes in every year to watch the spots. “This year I didn’t think it was a great year,” he said, while also lamenting his own industry’s recent output: “When you look at movies out of Hollywood in the last six months, it’s probably the worst and least creative work in a decade or more.”

At the Cannes Debate, he and News International’s James Murdoch discussed the importance of striking a balance between creating fresh, brave content and keeping the books in order by relying on safer, tried and tested means:

“It’s a razor’s edge,” Katzenberg said. “But when you find the right balance between art and commerce, the rewards are spectacular in any field, whether it’s James Cameron, or a great TV show or ad campaign.”