| |
 |
 |
Sun, November 23, 2008
We've all seen the video clip of the bulldog skateboarding, the exploding Mentos or the audio clip of my car being stolen (yeah, it's an authentic message left on my answering machine after my car was stolen). User-generated video clearly can drive big traffic but, to the folks at YouTube, they seem to be considering a major shift in their business strategy to put a larger focus on monetizing, long-form professional content.
YouTube recently announced it is now officially in bed with MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) to carry feature full-length films online (should live events be considering a deal like this?). My guess is that this is just one of many more partnerships to come as more and more consumers are turning to the web to watch professional content and Youtube knows it. Furthermore, their competitor Hulu (NBC Universal), while it has a fraction of the impressions that YouTube gets, is making significantly more revenue per video impression than YouTube. This just reinforces that the major advertising revenue is still following professional versus user-generated content.
To me, this is all so interesting. I've continued to be baffled by YouTube's business strategy - they are clearly hosting content that is illegally posted and getting away with it (although currently being sued by a bunch of folks). Yes, we all check out user-generated content on their site but that's not going to generate enough revenue to justify the Google purchase price. YouTube wants to be the first place you go to catch a clip you missed on TV, heard about on the news, etc. Until they can appease the professional content creators, I think their long-term success remains somewhat in limbo as consumers can't count on YouTube for delivering on that brand promise.
YouTube has a solid brand name and a big lead in the game of collecting eyeballs - but, as sites like Hulu continue to build steam and a new crop of user-generated video sharing sites continuing to pop up, they should be taking nothing for granted. There is an opportunity for live entertainment here – particularly if we can ultimately figure out the rights to with all of the unions to make this happen. Whether it’s a stream of a full show or just pieces of the shows, if delivered in a high-quality format, I think the video publishing space is all ears to ideas right now as the competition heats up. Put your thinking caps on and you may wake up a gazillionaire.
Check out this story talking about the MGM deal.
Wed, September 06, 2006
Sit back and enjoy the ride as Apple and Amazon are doing their part to forever change the movie business by allowing legal access to thousands of movies on demand online.
Click here to read more.
Mon, June 12, 2006
As stated on numerous occasions, we are not crazy about the 'movie' and 'theater' industry analogies. When you really think about it, it's comparing apples to oranges.
With that said, they do spend boat loads of money and are always trying new things on the web. We found this article that talks about some recent campaigns and what they feel is working and what is not.
Click here to read more.
Fri, March 10, 2006
Fandango, the nation's largest movie ticketing service, has partnered with TicketsNow.com to begin selling Broadway tickets.
So, is this good news for Broadway? Well, not exactly. We ran a search for a Wednesday night for a show that is currently only selling at about 60% capacity and yielded ticket prices of approximately $220 per ticket for an orchestra seat.
So, that would be about $900 for a family of four to come see the show. This has to be hurting Broadway as a whole as these prices simply push us off of a consumers list of affordable entertainment options.
Click here to take a look for yourself.
Thu, February 23, 2006
Ah, the great topic of ticket pricing. Do we raise our top ticket price? Do we offer more affordable pricing for sections of the theatre.
Now, the new hot topic may become variable pricing.
As we are sure many of you read last week in The New York Times, the concept of variable pricing may be hitting movie theaters in the near future. According to Peter C. Brown, who runs the nation's second-biggest theater chain, AMC Entertainment, "I predict we will see it within a year."
What is variable pricing? Well, in the case of the movie theater industry, it simply means you will pay more for a ticket on the weekends and less on weekdays. You'll be able to buy a reserved seat in the center of the theater for a few extra dollars.
Should Broadway be next to follow? Should a ticket to a Tuesday night performance cost the same as a Saturday night performance? Should one show that opened to rave reviews have the same pricing structure of one that is simply not as "hot"?
Or, is this pricing strategy dangerous for Broadway or simply not feasible?
Mon, January 23, 2006
We'll be the first to admit that we hate comparing theatre to the film industry. Price point, accessibility and the consumer experience and are on complete opposite sides of the spectrum.
With that said, we do think there is something in this recent study completed for the film industry that we believe has some synergy with the theatre world.
The new report says "online ads for theatrical film releases are most effective four weeks before release date."
To us, this makes total sense. Ad impressions can start the conversation with a prospect. The buzz comes when that conversation extends outside of the advertiser's communication channel. This involves ample time to allow for the word-of-mouth to spread effectively.
The report offers a few tips that you could keep in your plan for future buzz campaigns.
- Leverage the "buzz factor" early to generate awareness.
- Creative content is still key.
- Rich media, especially online video ads, are highly recommended.
- Weekend advertising is especially effective.
Click here to read the complete study.
1
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Signup 
About 
Archives
