Media Analysis – Generation Media considers the importance of content

Content is still king

Photo by Victoria Borodinova

More and more toy brands are investing in content production to engage with their audiences. Greta BisettoDonelan from Generation Media analyses why, where and when to adopt this strategy to maximise reach and ultimately, product sellthrough

We are preparing to attend MIPCOPM [the

world’s greatest gathering of television and media professionals] this month, to watch and discover the latest content offering, across all genres, from all around the world.

As usual, we note an incredible proliferation and vibrance of new animation content, with an offering that is surpassing the most optimistic dreams of coproduction and acquisition deals.

Why should toy manufacturers keep considering content as key to the long-term development of their brands? The toys and games industry is a great supporter of animation, with toy manufacturers understanding the value of a well-executed content strategy. This can help build a solid brand franchise in the long term and contribute to product sell-in.

What defines great content in this scenario? It’s all about fulfilling a defined audience’s passion points, it’s

'toyetic', but it also offers “flexibility from a distribution point of view. In essence, Things the content needs to be are moving reachable by the audience any time, anywhere. This is much faster such a critical consideration, and consumers that it must be reflected in the content format and its duration. expect to be able to purchase Once the right content is identified, where is the best products platform to distribute it? branded with The short answer is anywhere, any time. It is our view that their favourite characters audiences are agnostic as soon as the when it comes to content consumption as they will follow their passion points (talents, characters, content is shown “ formats, interests, etc), where they are available to them. It’s never an either/or choice when it comes to content distribution, but more about selecting the right combination of platforms that will dictate optimum levels of engagement… and deliver success. So what’s the ideal formula?

■ Linear TV placement to achieve validation and status. ■ SVOD to complement the linear offering and ensure an 'always on' distribution type. ■ Social media to maximise reach, but also to create a dialogue between a brand and its audience. ■ And, if the content is strong enough, an event cinema distribution piece would make content and brand achieve theatrical status.

Once the audience is defined, it will become easy to decide on the right combination and timing for distribution.

Timing is everything. How to define the perfect content distribution timeline, especially when a business wants to develop a consumer products programme in the long term? The 'traditional' mechanic of content distribution saw a minimum of one year of showcases on linear TV as a standard pre-requisite to build that critical mass that unlocks product sell-in.

However, things are moving much faster, and consumers expect to be able to purchase products branded with their favourite characters as soon as the content is shown.

In this scenario, while a linear placement of the episodic content is still fulfilling the big and fast audience reach KIP, social media plays a critical role when it comes to audience engagement around the consumer products programme.

So, while episodes are being played on-air at given slots, complemented by an SVOD offering, social media channels can become the destination for product showcase. These channels can fulfil a critical function by instigating a two-way dialogue with the audience, driving engagement and participation around a product. This is valuable information for future content production and product development initiatives.

The most valuable piece of advice? Listen to your audience.

Please email greta.bisetto-donelan@ generationmedia.co.uk if you want to know more about Generation Media’s communication strategies in the content space.