Ad:Tech Sydney: http://www.ad-tech.com/sydney
Host: Guy Gadney, The Project Factory (far right)
Panel: Mike Cowap, Screen Australia; Louise McElvogue
I enjoyed seeing the work and case studies presented in this session. This sort of stuff – more interactive story-oriented experiences – is where a large part of the communications industry needs to move quickly. I’m not sure how tightly the panel answered the question about ‘being brave’ – despite using the phrase a lot – but some good food for thought.
Key takeouts
- Non-linear interactive experiences need a new set of skills
- That new set of skills needs cross-fertilisation from other areas
- Stay in perpetual beta – always seek to improve
- Divergence, not convergence
Favourite quote
“Find the thin line between being brave and being stupid.” Louise McElvogue
Guy Gadney, The Project Factory
- Narrative needs to be engaging in an interactive context
- Good viral campaigns can take about 6 months to build up – they drop off then build up again over another 6 months
- Multi-tasking; communications devices interrupt other communications devices
Louise McElvogue, Macleod Media
- Stay in perpetual beta: launch and keep improving
- Listen to users and do something about what they say (eg Hulu knows people hate advertising but need ad revenue to support their business model so they give people options – watch an ad before the content or get interrupted while you’re watching)
- Be brave and willing to try new stuff but measure it and know what you need to achieve
One thing I disagree with Louise on is her statement that the opportunity for advertisers is to sponsor the innovative content that’s being made. Sponsorship is definitely worth considering but if I was a marketing director, I’d be exploring what content (not message-heavy advertising content) that I could make for my business at the same time.
Mike Cowap, Screen Australia
Screen Australia is a government organisation that funds content. In recent years they’ve funded stuff like straight-to-web comedy series and interactive documentaries.
Mike talked about 5 C’s:
- Content: if it’s comedic then it better be funny
- Context: interactivity has to be meaningful and a genuine enhancement to the linear experience
- Collaboration: bring people with different skills together
- Commercial: create sustainable online content bubbles
- Cultural: ‘Australian’
On innovation: it’s a big ask to get someone to come up with a whole new genre; a project isn’t innovative simply using certain mechanisms, it’s how you use the mechanisms
My point of view
I’m a big fan of ‘engaging narrative in an interactive context’, as Guy Gadney put it. There are still way too many campaigns that lack a story – plot points, twists, a premise even. I think the 3 biggest impacts on what we do for a living will be: content, utilities and communities – so getting a handle on interactive story-telling, framing campaigns in a story… this sort of stuff will define the new creative mind. It was interesting hearing Screen Australia talk about hiring a game developer too – these guys will be in agencies over the next few years – or at least freelancing for most of them because they understand story arcs and interaction.
The Twitter stream: #atsyd1
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