Branded/Social Engagement: Embracing New Economic Models
From my former boss and mentor, Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate, speaking at MIPCOM.
I especially liked his paragraph below – which I’ve sliced up – as branded and social engagement is where audiences now permanently live; whether consumers “own” legacy technology or “rent” the next-generation digital devices…:
We need to create new relationships, relationships with people who install telephone lines and build mobile networks, relationships with people like billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, 26 years old, who connects millions of people through bits and bytes.
Ironic that tv networks have since been surpassed by social “networks,” where the direct to consumer, or network effect, moves the needle faster to the right than any and all traditional marketing and distribution means. Read more >>
Quick Take on Google Instant
From the iHollywood Forum event – jump to 0:48 in for my take on Google Instant:
Newspaper of the Future, Ex-Googler Style
Calling itself “The World’s First Personalized Newspaper,” Hawthorne Labs has released Apollo on iPad only ($2.99 and going to $4.99). Founded by Google ex-coders for the most part, Apollo offers a cleaner, more laid-out version of NetVibes, Google News, AllTop, Newser, Yahoo!, HuffPo/Drudge – basically any of the news aggregators but with related clustering and more social modularity.
We’re looking forward to testing out, but check out the well-designed layouts below and the YouTube video (after the jump with its bumpy classical/techno, engineer-produced beat). These kind of news tech builds are somewhat generic in structure – an Apple, Facebook, Google, NYT or Demand Media should be able to duplicate, as it’s UI/UX with a good web crawler/recommendation engine.
However, what we still find missing, is who is aggregating the feeds? What is the POV that makes it interesting. If the recommendation engines and content clusters are dead-on for high-level, online readers then the results will be good…for that reader, but what about others with less disciplined RSS/news browsing. Who are the leaders or tastemakers of online content consumption that, frankly, are worth following.
Who is the voice of the NYT – we know the voice of Dealbook? Who is the voice of the LAT – we know the voice of Company Town?
A Tale of Two Netflix Strategy Decks
In a world where CEOs eschew social media sharing, Netflix’s Reed Hastings likes to share. Two recent strategy decks speak to Netflix’s desire to lead by standalone example: via company culture and the business opportunity that Netflix’s longtail and tv-driven consumption model with streaming has created.
The first deck on Netflix Business Opportunity was published to Slideshare five days ago and has 8.6k views; the second on Freedom and Responsibility Culture was published 10 months ago and has 404k views (here’s hoping a lot of HR directors use SlideShare). Read more >>
The Ten Spot: Dec 7, 2009
On today’s TenSpot – counting down to Vevo’s launch – how can it improve on the Hulu model and get subscriptions/micro and macro (macro being monthly/yearly subscriptions?) transactions; MySpace backgrounder from FT; Aardvark (Vark.com) social search eyed by Google – a blocking move for Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) on Twitter?; a brilliant NYT article on Jerry Maguire as “Representative Man”; niche private sale site OneKingsLane.com’s funded by Kleiner Perkins; Peter Liguori to Discovery to grown OWN; and Mahalo reaching 13M uniques quickly…
via I want my Vevo: Will video site be next-gen MTV? – CNET News
[Note: New Medici is working on Vevo's launch campaign with client MP+G] Rio Caraeff, Vevo’s CEO, says the music video is only one of the site’s features. The obligatory playlists will be available but music lyrics will also be offered. Vevo’s mission is to attract [cpm] rates of $25 to $40. “What we’re really doing is taking back control of everything,” said [Doug] Morris, who operates the largest of the top four recording companies. “This is us taking control of our future…Vevo enables us to provide consumers with about 80 percent of all the music videos in the world. So, this is really like MTV on steroids. We’re starting with that kind of audience. But now we’re in control of it. We don’t have to go through a middleman anymore.”
via The rise and fall of MySpace – FT
[Long article but light in reporting from FT - doesn't talk about why things went haywire, Levinsohn's reason for departing, but good overview for newbies] But by the beginning of 2008, things began to sour. Facebook, a rival social network that was simpler and easier to use, was gaining momentum and starting to grow more quickly than MySpace. Murdoch confidently told the world that MySpace would make $1bn in advertising revenues in 2008 – but the company missed its target. Users began to desert the site, which had become cluttered with unappealing ads for teeth straightening and weight-loss products.
The Ten Spot: Nov 18, 2009
EXCLUSIVE: Carl Icahn Buying Up MGM Bonds “Like A Bat Out Of Hell” – Deadline.com
As for Icahn’s intentions for MGM, film financing circles think he’s going after the studio because he wants it for his son. True, Icahn wanted to give one of the four Lionsgate board seats he was seeking to his 29-year-old offspring Brett. A Princeton grad like his dad, Brett worked for years under the radar as an analyst for his dad’s investment company. He has been one of 10 young traders moving the firm’s cash and its hedge fund, which the family started two years ago with $1 billion.
Rupert Murdoch’s Guy Gets It | Newser
If Arthur Miller were at it again, he’d call the play Death of a PR Guy. Gary Ginsberg, Murdoch’s PR guy who got the ax yesterday, used to beg me not to call him a PR Guy—his official title was Executive VP of Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs—but that was his job: making Murdoch look good. Read more >>
The Ten Spot: Nov 7, 2009
Spielberg: Have Movies Will Travel…. Again? – BusinessWeek
Even before Steven Spielberg’s newly reformulated Dreamworks SKG makes its first film, his studio is moving for a third time – well, sort of. BusinessWeek has learned that the Dreamworks operation, headed by Spielberg and producing partner Stacey Snider, is moving the rights to show its movies on pay TV from Starz (LMDIA) to Showtime (CBS).
The Hot New Business Of Virtual Goods – SAI
NYT: Analysts estimate that virtual goods could bring in a billion dollars in the United States and around $5 billion worldwide this year — all for things that, aside from perhaps a few hours of work by an artist and a programmer, cost nothing to produce. “It’s a fantastic business,” said Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that has invested $10 million in several virtual goods companies. “Because it’s digital, the marginal cost for every one you sell is zero, so you have 100 percent margins.”
FunnyorDie.com: ‘SNL’ for the online crowd – LAT
Since its launch, the site has transcended the initial hype of Ferrell and McKay’s debut video, “The Landlord” (with 66.7-million views and counting). Now it’s a fledgling new media studio with a CEO, a Silicon Valley office and a reported ($15-million investment. (Though the site is making money, it hasn’t turned a profit, according to those familiar with its finances. McKay calls it “our not-for-profit theater.”) For the legions of comic unknowns out there, the site offers another way to network and possibly get discovered. For the A-listers, it is a creative outlet, set apart from the conglomerates running entertainment, that may not earn them a dime but pays off with street cred on the comedy scene.) Read more >>
The Ten Spot: Nov 4, 2009
[Ari Emanuel slipped this 1970 Life magazine to his agents recently. Per Patrick Goldstein:] Don’t overreact to the current studio cost-cutting frenzy. As this story makes all too clear, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Studios always think they can make the movie business into a more rational enterprise, but that’s a bean-counter fantasy. Making movies will always require a leap of faith.
Just as today’s studio chiefs think that they can now make “Transformers” and “Hangover”-style hits without movie stars, Bluhdorn was convinced that high-priced talent was superfluous. “You get from these big stars a document of conditions of how many hours they’ll work, what they’ll do and won’t do…. Well, who needs them? With today’s young audiences, names won’t sell a picture anymore. A great script and a devoted director — that’s what makes things happen. Substitute “special effects” for ”script” and you could easily slip those words into any of today’s studio bosses’ mouths.
via YouTube’s Content Head Jordan Hoffner Leaving To Join Ben Silverman’s New Venture | paidContent.
Jordan Hoffner, the head of content partnerships for YouTube, is leaving the company, and joining Ben Silverman’s new content venture at IAC (NSDQ: IACI), we have learned. The move from YouTube was announced internally today. This is the second senior digital exec to join Silverman’s venture, after we first reported on Drew Buckley also joining it last month.
via But Who’ll Break Up The Fistfights? – Deadline.com.
James Murdoch, Howard Stringer, Les Moonves, David Zaslav, and, interestingly, Comcast’s Brian Roberts and GE’s Jeff Immelt back to back, will be speaking at the annual hush-hush Quadrangle confab being held Wednesday and Thursday in NYC. [...] Speakers — Emilio Azcárraga, Grupo Televisa; Dennis Crowley, Foursquare; Barry Diller, Iac; Brian Dunn, Best Buy; Charles Forman & Dan Porter, Omgpop; Reed Hastings, Netflix; Reid Hoffman, Linkedin. More after the jump… Read more >>
Imagenation: Hybrid Marketing & Distribution
These players certainly don’t need “help” in the global economic sense. Imagenation out of Abu Dhabi – with $1B in film capital – continues to create ties in the world of cross-culture film financing. In a recent expansion with early partner Hyde Park Entertainment ($250M in Imagenation funding) into Singapore with $75M towards four films, Imagenation looks keen to transition its financing into Asia, which many say is the next big Hollywood donor after the Middle East and India (Reliance and Dreamworks).
It’s an intelligent play to bridge capital between markets, i.e., share risk globally. Per Imagenation CEO: “It give us a focus east – Singapore, China, India – which is something that we want to do. And as Abu Dhabi and Singapore have a very close relationship, as city states, this strengthens our bonds with Singapore.” It also opens up their early production resources to digital effects, animation and gaming, including EA and Ubisoft. Read more >>
Disney/Marvel: Last of the Independent IP
Disney/Marvel Hybrids: When IP Worlds Collide
Bob (Iger) the Brand Builder, indeed. Who doesn’t love the new Mouse House under Bob Iger? With Pixar as the premium family + crossover adult animation brand acquisition to start (and building direct access to Apple which makes iTunes Video/Apps/Music more lucrative for its properties), followed by Marvel, a brand known originally for its comic books, which is now creating merchandising gold with Iron Man – not to mention the recent Guillermo Del Toro “Disney Double Dare You” line of films/merch, and ImageMovers … and Disneynature – Disney is “crossing genres” while building enormous brand reach in the entertainment marketplace.
Forget the licensing deals that Disney has to earn/work out with competing studios, the real driver is that Iger can start turning on merchandising for upcoming Marvel IP (intellectual property, e.g., the original characters) while cashing in on the current crop of merchandise.
And growing it – meaning every studio salivates at Disney’s ability to merchandise product (and not just Disney DVDs) and grow brand share.
So if Disney can extend the Spider-Man or Iron Man or X-Men brand merchandise, it’s a win-win for all parties until Marvel’s external deals terminate and the Mouse House can own it outright.
The lesson learned many decades ago with George Lucas and a little property called Star Wars is that merchandise rights are extremely valuable, especially as they help build continuity between film and franchise (e.g., sequel) releases.
In Marvel’s case, pre-Disney, they also move you away from a pure for-hire production company. Think of it as entertainment windowing being improved on by actually branding your properties to draw revenue year-round.
Now that Disney is on its acquisitions’ run again, expect the other studios to start trying to create value quickly on both internal IP catalog (Warner Bros’ Robinov taking more control of D.C. Comics) and looking for bargain basement IP acquisitions. We’ll list a few of the more interesting IP catalogs or filmmaker relationships that New Medici would scout after the jump… Read more >>
Jim Cameron’s Avatar Movie Video
Jim Cameron’s latest – click here for the exclusive video link via UK’s The Sun. Good to see News Corp controlling the exclusive, although surprised MySpace didn’t get the first placement. With very strong anticipation tracking, Avatar cries out for some understanding of the main character – not the 3d or special effects – but the actual blue creatures.
Looking forward to some viral backstory on this tribe. Audiences want to live and breathe these characters, and their human counterparts. It’s all about conditioning people online in advance of the big picture pay-out. 20th Century Fox has the right team, imho, to pull this off brilliantly. View the video: The Sun link
Weinsteins’ Media Makeover: Project Add-More-Runway
Via the NYT’s The Weinsteins Scramble to Regain a Golden Touch in Hollywood story, there’s more personality restructuring going on within the Weinstein Company: talk of the relatively new “newco” being stretched too thin in creating a “Barry Diller-style conglomerate” with the 2005 $1 billion in private equity from Goldman Sachs, which Joe Ravitch set up. Ravitch is now working with William Morris Endeavor. A few directors “made” by the Weinsteins, via Miramax/Disney days, impart that the guerilla-style of old, indie studio days needs to return. Kevin Smith, following “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” suggests that the brothers succeeded when they were hungry, but now are “starving and desperate.” Harsh but perhaps realistic. Read more >>
MySpace Facelift, New CEO Owen Van Natta
MySpace’s “loss of face” to Facebook, a rough and tumble economy and a pivotal change of company seats, i.e., Peter Chernin, at News Corp (and MySpace’s own COO and senior technical team’s exodus) has contributed to a major executive facelift of MySpace. While their track record of change with Jeff Berman as President of Sales and Marketing and pitch towards being framed as a “social portal” has helped, the inability to keep up with Facebook’s growth rate and product innovation has forced change at MySpace. With the forthcoming announcement (today) by new CDO Jon Miller of former Facebook COO, Owen Van Natta, to the CEO spot, Fox and Murdoch are betting on social competitiveness to regain position. After the jump, we’ll look at Van Natta, and outside choice, Jason Calacanis’ recommendations. Read more >>
Anti-Studio: Media Rights Capital(izes)
MRC, Media Rights Capital, is quickly becoming the new model for production companies and talent agencies – a hybrid of financing, rights ownership and innovative packaging. Its rights’ model shares ownership equity with film talent, moving beyond the usual pay-or-play contracts. After the jump, we’ll dive into their recent formation, industry perspective and what their success means to the market. Upcoming MRC titles include:
- Brüno- $42.5 million from Universal, rights revert to MRC; received new R-rating instead of NC-17 yesterday
- The B Team – Will Ferrell+Mark Wahlberg action/comedy, rights to Sony
- The Adjustment Bureau – Matt Damon action/romance/sci-fi, $62M budget, rights to Universal for 20 years, then revert to MRC; 20% first-dollar-gross backend. The studio puts up P&A and gets worldwide distribution rights. Read more >>
TwitLit, Twitter’s First Multi-Book Deal for Gary Vaynerchuk
Call it “Micro Diaries of a Mad Twitterer,” but early 30s Gary Vaynerchuk has amassed a meta-canon of video blogs (aka vlogs) and Twitter-Facebook updates. Specifically, these are not normal ‘human’ numbers of vlogs or Twitter updates – GaryVee (GV), as he goes by, has 208,000+ Twitter followers and upwards of 20,000 once-counted Facebook fans. He’s creating a legacy of video bloggers – Samantha Ettus at Obsessedtv.com – to build on his “personal branding” meets “social business” platform. And the recent non-digital coup: a book deal with HarperStudio – 10 social branding books for a 7-figure deal. A breakdown of the deal, the frequency dilemma for GV, and his growing personal brand network – after the jump… Read more >>
Anti-Studio: Theatrical Drives Theatrical, Not DVD As Usual
Is DVD on the downturn? During a recent lunch with one of my favorite studio digital media chiefs, we discussed the future of home entertainment – DVDs, Blu-Ray, Netflix, hulu, On Demand, digital downloads, you get the basic idea. We mused what the return would be in the next year or two when more of the consumer world is looking for at-home (“digital home”) entertainment, and not tuned into buying packaged DVDs or renting from brick-and-mortars like Blockbuster. Do people actually still buy and rent this way still, you ask? Yes, but they’re moving towards the $4 on-demand, 24-hour window rental – which is 1/4 what studios are used to based on the current retail environment. So how do they survive? Read more >>
The Blogfire of the Vanities
If Sherman McCoy (think Tom Hanks in the disastrous feature) was a “Master of the Universe” – who would that “Master” be in the blog world? Would it be a Nick Denton, Arianna Huffington, Michael Arrington, Om Malik, Henry Blodget or another? While The Bonfire of the Vanities was a bestseller for its generation, a “Blogfire” could be interpreted as the next generation – or “New Medici” – of innovative publishers who challenge mainstream media newspapers, magazines, tabloids and even television market share. Read more >>
What’s the “Thread Count” of Your Friend Count?
I had coffee with a longtime investor colleague who threw a nice metaphor in my direction: “thread count” as it related to the depth of your friendships. As we all initiate, accept or add new digital relationships into our lives (yes, I did get ‘social’ with LinkedIn back in its early years with 1,500 linkedins; more recently with ~650 Facebook friends), how do we measure the relative quality of the quantity of friends we connect to? Do we connect to add relative quality value to our own persona, or is it done merely to create a personal, i.e., quantitative, fan club of sorts? Read more >>
Imagenation at Work in Abu Dhabi
In 2008, a new financing arm made a serious amount of noise in the M&E, or Media and Entertainment space. The new multi-billion dollar fund to create an innovative media+cultural center, named after its geographic location: TwoFour54. On top of that, imagenation was formed with $1B to develop content for Middle Eastern/Arabian and international markets; as well of course, as programming for the western markets. Just about every studio mogul was intrigued about this new source of equity financing to support their production slates. En route from the Cannes Film Festival, entertainment execs and their attorneys flocked en masse to Abu Dhabi, curious and hungry for a new influx of foreign capital, as past domestic and international equity lines were dry. Read more >>
Innovation in Recession: Attack, Be Narrow and Backlog Ideas
From BusinessWeek’s “The Innovation Engine: The Upside of Recession” – which innocently enough came out in March 2008 with early advice about attacking advertising market share and catapulting past slower/tighter brands during recession. In that article’s predictive wake, New Medici will pull various items that correspond with taking advantage during hard times. Interestingly, BW made note that Trader Joe’s (1958), MTV (1981) and Apple’s iPod (2001) all were born during recessions. We’ll pour into how the media and lifestyle or brand space can increase value in 2009. Read more >>