AUTUMN 2016_PROMOTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRINT MEDIA THROUGHOUT EUROPE
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?
How print feeds the appetite for food marketing
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER How print inspires loyalty, devotion and commitment HOT OFF THE PRESSES Create topical print campaigns with fast turnaround ads THE 360-DEGREE REVOLUTION We explore how print is working with virtual reality THE LIONS THAT ROARED The best print campaigns from this year’s Cannes festival
Virtual reality may appear a digital-only phenomenon, but in the real world, it’s print that’s driving its awareness. From The New York Times magazine to The Economist, publications and their advertising partners are using print to push people towards VR content and cause a revolution in marketing. Lights, cameras…
Action!
— By Simon Creasey
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N NOVEMBER 8, 2015, readers of The New York Times (NYT) magazine were treated to a ‘multi-media journey’ that included text, photographs and a virtual reality (VR) fi lm delivered via a dedicated app. In addition to a stunning image on the magazine’s cover and content across 30 editorial pages, the captivating story of refugees from all over the world was brought to life in a VR fi lm, The Displaced, watched through a pair of Google cardboard glasses delivered free to subscribers. The NYT christened this initiative ‘a new way to tell stories’. The launch attracted rave reviews from news outlets around the globe, with media observers asking if VR could be the saviour of journalism. It was also a major hit with readers – in its fi rst week, NYT VR became the most successful app launch ever for the iconic US publication.
A publishing revolution The NYT is not alone in embracing this new immersive approach to storytelling. Print titles such as The Economist, The Drum and InStyle magazine have all dabbled with VR storytelling over the last 12 months, and it’s rumoured that a number of other publishing companies are about to embark on their own VR adventure. There’s little doubt that the size and scale of VR will be immense. Deloitte Global predicts that VR will have its fi rst billiondollar year in 2016 – $300m of that from content – while Goldman Sachs states that the market could be worth as much as $80bn by 2025. The original idea was that VR would transform video games, but as well as adding another dimension to the gaming industry, it now looks set to transform journalism. So how does the technology work and what opportunities does VR offer publishers, advertisers and marketers? In the media’s quest to create greater synergy between offline and online, it’s obvious why VR is so attractive to publishers and advertisers. While augmented reality (AR) has been around for some time and gained plenty of traction, VR has the ability to immerse consumers even deeper within the experience. The ultimate aim of VR producers is to make viewers feel ‘presence’, so the content feels so real that they believe they’re experiencing it first-hand. Although other media companies dabbled with VR journalism prior to the NYT, its
initiative has been the most attentiongrabbing and successful to date, winning the coveted Entertainment Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival earlier this year. According to a spokeswoman for the NYT, the paper’s VR app has been downloaded more than 600,000 times, a number that’s sure to rise with the creation of more VR content. “While there’s no exact number of virtual reality fi lms or campaigns in the works,” she says, “there are many exciting projects and collaborations to come throughout 2016 and beyond.” Announcing the launch of the app, the magazine’s editor Jake Silverstein wrote: “It is hard to know whether readers of the magazine’s issue on 6 September 1896 were as transported by the newspaper’s fi rst photographs as I hope the readers of today will be by The Displaced. But we are proud to carry on a tradition — one as old as journalism itself — of pressing new technologies into the service of storytelling.” The 360O brand experience What was striking about the NYT’s VR debut was the sheer scale of its ambition. The company delivered more than one million Google cardboard VR headsets to print subscribers in 2015 and sent a second wave of cardboards to digital subscribers a year later to allow readers to view a wave of VR journalism fi lms. In addition to this content, adverts from brands such as General Electric, Mini, Lufthansa, Hilton and TAG Heuer were specially created using the latest VR technology.
In addition to taking out a partial cover wrap, a print advert on the back page of the magazine and a DPS ad inside the magazine, Mini USA commissioned two short VR fi lms called Backwater (a heist fi lm) and Real Memories (an adventure story), both featuring the Mini car. The exhilarating, fully immersive ads proved a hit with readers, with Backwater gaining over 154,000 views and Real Memories 75,000 views. “The NYT had a bold project to deliver access to virtual reality technology to over a million of their subscribers via Google Goggles and to create a VR content hub that can help promote the newest innovative storytelling technology,” says Tom Noble, head of marketing for Mini USA. “We saw this as an additional way to share our videos with more people. We have been looking at virtual reality technology for several years so we were excited to get on board with The New York Times, General Electric and Google to help support and promote how stories will be told in the future.”
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/ VIRTUAL REALITY All-round solution Clockwise from left: A 360 camera image from The New York Times’ VR film The Displaced; viewers react to a preview screening; The NYT phone app (below left); InStyle magazine’s November 2015 edition, which included a VR headset; A still from Mini USA’s VR film Real Memories
Other advertisers took a slightly different approach. General Electric created an engaging animation featuring bold colours that showcased the company’s innovative spirit, Hilton’s VR fi lm enabled viewers to feel like they were holidaying with a group of friends at one of the group’s resorts, and Lufthansa’s fi lm shows a couple in a long-distance relationship meeting up after a long absence – a fi lm that’s now been viewed over 1.2 million times. A global hit A recent survey of 1,300 adults undertaken by Greenlight VR sheds some insight on why brands are so keen to jump in. The vast majority of respondents (71%) said they felt that the use of VR made brands seem ‘forward thinking and modern’, with 53% of respondents stating they would be more likely to purchase goods and services from a brand that uses VR over one that doesn’t. The NYT is not alone in embracing this new immersive approach to storytelling. Over the past year, many of Europe’s leading news brands have already begun to branch out into VR and 360 video to complement their print offerings. In April, Spain’s El Pais presented Fukushima, Contaminated Lives – a powerful video accompaniment to their print edition’s investigation into the
AND... ACTION! SIX EXPERT TIPS FOR CREATING A STUNNING VR FILM
71% of people said they felt the use of VR made brands seem ‘forward thinking and modern’, while 53% said they would be more likely to purchase goods and services from a brand that uses VR Greenlight, 2016
1_Invest in the right kit A lot of early VR content was shot using standard cameras such as GoPros mounted on bespoke 3D-printed rigs. However, technology has evolved rapidly, with the likes of Nikon and Nokia leading the way in terms of the latest generation of VR cameras. Specialist microphones have also been developed by manufacturers such as Sennheiser to capture 360 sound. 2_Hide the crew To shoot a VR scene, the camera rotates 360 degrees and films everything in its path, including the film crew and equipment, so the film makers either have to find a position that allows them to hide from the camera or they need to blend into the background of the shot. 3_The post-edit problem Once all the scenes for the VR film have been shot, there are further
challenges in post-production since all the footage has to be synchronised and seamlessly stitched together so that viewers can’t see the joins. “But thanks to the introduction of synchronised cameras and more powerful editing software,” says Henry Stuart of Visualise, “you’re now able to move seamlessly between shots, which adds to the sense of the experience being real.” 4_Distributing VR content When post-editing has been completed, content can be released to the target audience either via a website, a mobile app or, if someone has a pair of Google Goggles, they can insert their smartphone into the front and the app content becomes VR. As the technology is still in its infancy, you may need to tell people how to use the technology.
5_Create bespoke content The other major consideration when shooting and distributing VR surrounds the specific nature of the content. Patrick Milling-Smith from Here Be Dragons says that to create a VR brand experience you have to start with an idea that’s properly crafted for VR. “You can’t just take a TV ad script and make a VR version of it,” he says. 6_Don’t be too aggressive You need to be wary of pushing a product too hard. “The relationship with the consumer needs to be treated more subtly,” says MillingSmith. “Anything too overt will most likely be rejected. We advise clients to think of this as an experience that the company is gifting to the consumer, one that will foster brand awareness, brand building and brand loyalty. The consumer has already chosen to engage so there is no need to scream at them.” www.printpower.eu | PRINT POWER _19
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InFashion Another publication developing VR projects at the moment is InStyle magazine. The fashion and lifestyle publication ran a VR front cover featuring actress Drew Barrymore last year, which was a big hit with readers. The accompanying film allowed readers to get a behind-the-scenes look at Barrymore’s cover shoot, as well as an exclusive interview with the Hollywood star. Angela Matusik, Director of Branded Content Strategy at InStyle, explains that ultimately, VR and 360 is about storytelling and journalism “giving us creators a way to bring our subjects to life in ways we only dreamed of previously”. Thanks to the success of its initial foray into VR, the magazine is committed to continuing to innovate and create content in this medium, according to Matusik. “We are beyond excited to be working with our colleagues here at Time Inc on the launch of Life VR this fall,” she says. “InStyle will be one of the brands showcased in the new app, with a new fi lm we’re collaborating on with one of the subjects from our September issue. We are also working with our partners in the fashion and beauty industries to help bring
01.JUNE.2016 EDITORIAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
their brands to life in VR for consumers.” “For our next 360 fi lm,” she continues, “we worked with Bella Thorne and created an experience that brings the audience inside one of the hottest events of the year: the InStyle-Warner Bros Golden Globes afterparty. We released this in February 2016 during the height of the red carpet season. The viewer gets a sense of what it is actually like to arrive at this star-studded event, stopping to pose for photographers and talk with other stars.”
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aftermath of the Japanese nuclear plant disaster and its effect on the surrounding communities. In the same month, Belgium’s leading Flemish-language daily de Standaard gave away a free pair of virtual reality glasses with its Saturday edition, inviting readers to “Take a seat in the middle of the story… become immersed in groundbreaking journalism.” In Germany, Bild recently moved on from 360 video content to VR, with editorin-chief Julian Reichelt commenting: “Following on from our 360 degree videos, this totally immersive three-dimensional virtual reality report is the next step into the future of journalistic storytelling.” Axel Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner is one of many leading figures in European publishing who is excited by the possibilities: “VR can really make journalistic content better,” Doepfner said at a Berlin conference in July. “It’s going to be huge.” Advertisers have also been only too happy to jump on board. Readers of the Times of India in April were given a free, flatpack Google Cardboard virtual reality headset with which to view a Tata Motors’ ad.
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360ON ONAN ANA380 A380 ANATOMY ANATOMYOF OFAN ANAD AD| |360
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EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCEHERE HERE vr.etihad.com vr.etihad.com
Since appointing Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman as its brand ambassador last year, Etihad has been on a mission to redefine luxury travel. Now, with more than a little help from VR, it’s looking to ‘reimagine’ it.
REIMAGINING LUXURY TRAVEL by by Gillian Gillian West West
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UAE-based airline Etihad turned to Cheil Worldwide and New York-based creative agency Barbarian Group last summer with a very lofty ambition – to create the “most high-end VR experience of all” to promote its Airbus A380 fleet. Barbarian in turn approached MediaMonks in the autumn of 2015 with a “very detailed” creative idea, to which the creative digital production company pitched a solution that – according to head of VR, Ola Björling – pushed the boundaries of what has been done in the past and what is “barely do-able” in the present. Using the latest VR technology, ‘Reimagine’ offers viewers a 360 look at the A380’s luxury surroundings, placing brand ambassador Kidman front and centre of the experience which weaves all of the plane’s unique features into “something much grander than just a brochure”. With just five planes in the fleet, the project’s initial challenge was the logistics around grounding one for at least five days to shoot, and that was before even dealing with Kidman’s availability. Original plans to shoot were moved from November to March, with the time between spent planning everything in great detail. “It’s all that planning that has made this possible to execute,” says Björling. Recalling early meetings with the creative agency, Björling says Barbarian had no idea if what it had put on paper was even possible, with MediaMonks’ “miles on the meter” in terms of VR production placing it in the unique position of being able to tear up the rule book. Filmed with a moving camera – a practice generally avoided in VR because of problems with the human vestibular system – past experience enabled Björling and his team to circumvent such problems. “One thing
that really helps is avoiding acceleration and deceleration, so if you have constant movement it doesn’t trigger nausea as easily. A slow straight line of motion is also better than turns or fast movement,” Björling explains. “By moving through a space you can elevate some of that feeling of ‘being stuck’ that a 360 film in a VR headset can create as in a film, unlike game environments where you can move around, the camera is fixed where the camera was during filming.” Describing the camera set up as a “secret sauce” Björling keeps his cards close to his chest when describing how the film’s impressive visuals were achieved, admitting that though you can “start quite modest” using GoPros for some VR films, that wasn’t enough for what this particular project had set out to achieve. “We think it’s a world first in terms of the quality we’ve been able to output, and we’ve solved a lot of technical and engineering challenges in the camera set-up,” he says, laughing that it’ll be interesting to see if anyone, including experienced VR filmmakers, will be able to “work out what we’ve done”. Shot over three days, with one day of prelights set-up, the entire film – apart from the final scene – was shot within the A380, creating an interesting challenge for MediaMonks. Björling says even he found it “daunting” to shoot within such a confined space, thanks to the numerous technical tweaks required for shooting, editing, effects and even playback and audio. “In terms of what wasn’t possible we had some things planned that timings and logistics put an end to, so it wasn’t a technical limitation as such,” he says. “We had originally scoped out more and we got some pushback on the budget so we dialled down slightly but tried to maintain
THEDRUM.COM
“VR allows the reader to take more time to enjoy a printed feature and it has the potential to offer them the chance to experience first-hand what they are reading about” Stephen Lepitak, Editor of The Drum
as much of the original spirit as we could. In the end we didn’t cut much. “The final scene, however, just could not be shot on the plane as the camera needed to be inside the wall and that just wasn’t physically possible,” he adds. Of the partnership between MediaMonks and Barbarian, Björling describes an “atmosphere of trust” with the creative agency acknowledging MediaMonks’ prowess in VR and MediaMonks allowing Barbarian to own the tonality and narrative of the film. “It’s Barbarian’s job to know its client and what notes to strike. I’d say we influenced each other but there was never a time where we needed to step into each other’s domain.” The project was still in post-production up until the 11th hour, according to MediaMonks co-founder Wesley ter Haar. Launched on 27 May, a final stereoscopic version is still in the works for mid-June. According to Ter Haar, almost 20 people had worked on the project, spanning everything from planning and shooting to the creation of custom playback apps – all of which were handled in-house. “We’re pushing to be the best there is on every front, not just looking at what is the best today, but looking at what will be best tomorrow,” adds Björling, explaining that the reason for launching a version before the final stereoscopic film, which will add depth perception, is down to Etihad wanting to release the film before Ramadan. With the pace of VR such as it is, Ter Haar and Björling reveal no two pieces of VR work completed by MediaMonks are ever filmed in the same way, with “almost everything” in this particular piece being new. “We were conscious that we were asking people to view what is essentially an advert, so you can’t set the bar too high in terms of time and effort,” says Björling. “But what VR does so well is it allows you to occupy a time and space you could not otherwise be in. There’s an arms race in VR and, with this film, we’re pushing to take the number one spot.”
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Banging The Drum While these long-standing titles may be delivering richer, more immersive content in a digital format, the key thing to remember is that the journey always begins in print before the reader is directed to the VR content. The challenge is working out the best way to take readers on this journey. That’s the issue Stephen Lepitak, Editor at marketing title The Drum, had to wrestle with when the magazine published a special VR edition in June this year. “When we decided to create the VR issue of The Drum, part of the challenge was how we could connect print with VR, which are seemingly worlds apart,” recalls Lepitak. The magazine’s VR issue contained its regular ‘Creative Works’ section, which featured images of campaigns from around the world, only this was fully dedicated to recent VR campaigns that readers were encouraged to view through the cardboard Google Goggles given away free with each issue. It also featured a VR campaign by Emirates starring Nicole Kidman, a feature on the role VR can play with psychology, and The Guardian’s recently released prison VR project. The magazine successfully pulled it off, with feedback from readers “universally positive”. As a result, it’s not surprising to hear that Lepitak is a major advocate of VR technology and the possibilities it offers publishers. “VR allows the reader to take more time to enjoy a printed feature and it has the potential to offer them the chance to experience what they are reading about,” he explains. “If you published a feature about visiting a country or interviewing a celebrity, readers could use their VR headset to watch a film and experience the content of the article first-hand. The possibilities are incredibly exciting for anyone in the media who wants to engage and entertain.”
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/ VIRTUAL REALITY International outlook Clockwise from right: Axel Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner; a still from the film Fukushima, Contaminated Lives produced by Spain’s El Pais; Belgium’s de Standaard, which gave away a free pair of virtual reality glasses with every newspaper
“ VR can really make journalistic content better. It’s going to be huge” Mathias Doepfner, CEO, Axel Springer
A vision of the future Judging by feedback from VR content creators, there are plenty of people in the media who are looking to engage and entertain their readers by curating a multimedia experience with VR at its core. Henry Stuart, co-founder and CEO at VR content company Visualise, which worked with The Economist to build a VR reconstruction of Mosul Museum in Iraq, says his company has already worked with a number of publishers on VR projects. “They’re all moving in that direction because it’s a great new avenue for promoting their journalism,” says
Stuart. “You can offer readers a number of touchpoints along the multimedia spectrum. You can start from reading and looking at pictures in print and then follow the link to the VR content to have a fully immersive experience.” Like Stuart, Patrick Milling-Smith, Co-Founder and President of VR creative agency and production studio Here Be Dragons, has been approached by a number of brands looking to ‘fully jump’ into VR. “It’s fast emerging as the only medium that enables brands to fully engage with an audience,” says Milling-Smith. “There’s a great power to VR in the form of creating a feeling of presence within the environment and story. Your brain is tricked by the nature of the 360 environment to believe you are truly there. This helps create a powerful memory of the experience.” This power is why the medium is so appealing to publishers and advertisers. It’s also why you can expect to see more publications and brand owners experimenting with VR technology in the very near future. www.printpower.eu | PRINT POWER _21
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