Content Strategy for the Masses

Over the last two days, two different types of interactive billboards have come to my attention. One bus stop billboard advertisement for Vitamin Water, which allows users to charge their phones using a USB port under the guise the drink gives you alternative energy. Another ad, from Australia and promoting the Sun Smart Cancer Council Western Australia, offers passersby free sunscreen. These ads show an incredible use of interactivity and neither of them involve a screen!

This interesting blog post from Razorfish’s scatter/gather discusses how typical digital/interactive approaches are making their way into print and other platforms, and how it affects the digital content strategist. The author points to the increased use of QR codes in print magazines, Wired Magazine’s web-inspired layout and Yahoo!’s Bus Stop Derby promotion where San Franciscans played games with people waiting at other bus stops across the city.

Since traditional media is creating real-world interactive experiences, this offers a great time for the online world to understand these different communication worlds and, as the author says: “start thinking about handoff opportunities, places where our work can pass the baton.”

I feel lucky to have a basic understanding of international TV program distribution, broadcasting strategies and TV series production works as it translates into being able help television show producers effectively create digital media entertainment for their linear experiences.

By wanting to learn how other medias communicate in your industry, you could help eliminate silos and create the next cross-media experiences that reach out to audiences in a new and interactive way.

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t have cable anymore. As someone who LOVES television, this was an adjustment in how to spend my spare time. While I don’t miss it, I’m thrilled to see more options to catch great content without a cable subscription.

Thank you, Netflix Canada. Sure, it’s has only one season of Hoarders (not… that… I.. watch… it…) and some sub-par programming choices (no, Netflix, I am not interested in anything from Jeff  Dunham). But it also has the first three seasons of Mad Men, all seasons of The Kids in the Hall, Faulty Towers, documentaries galore and tons of A-list movies.

This is why I’m perplexed to read some statuses updates on Facebook and Twitter where people are thinking of quitting. Is it that these people have a cable subscription and are used to a wider selection of programming choice? Or is this service actually more expensive for Canadians than Netflix’s $8/month subscription fee?

A recent Credit Suisse study outlined in Forbes suggests a Canadian Netflix subscriber watching a standard definition video would see his or her broadband usage go up by roughly 1GB an hour. “Based on Rogers Communications’ data pricing structure,” the study says, “this would have resulted in a $12 per month increase in broadband for our test home.”

I haven’t heard from others whether they’ve experienced this type of sticker shock by watching video with Netflix. The main complaint I see revolves around content selection.

For me, however, the no commercials (yet?), fast streaming (due in large part to my good internet connection) and number of titles (including those I wouldn’t pay iTunes to watch – see mention of Hoarders) makes it worthwhile.

Maybe that’s the point… Perhaps Netflix is only really good to someone like me who has been away from cable television for over a year. Even if I were with Rogers Internet and needed to purchase a higher broadband subscription, $20/month is still worth it. It’s still cheaper than what I was paying for cable with, to be honest, some really horrible programming choices.

What about you? If you subscribe to Netflix, do you like it? If you don’t, what’s holding you back?

One of the many blogs I follow pointed me to this series, which some American readers may already know: StoryCorps. For the past seven years, the indie, non-profit series has recorded 30,000 interviews from Americans who wish to share their story.

The series is a great multiplatform story with podcasts, email subscription, a few books, an iPhone app, a Twitter account – and they travel across the U.S. to help people record their stories.

Recently, some of the most popular stories have been turned into original animated shorts. I really enjoyed watching the Danny & Annie animation unfold because it captured raw emotion. Then again, this was the first time I heard the story – and it’s fantastically told.

Earlier this year when I tried to watch The Ricky Gervais Show, which is animated episodes of his hilarious podcast, I found my eyes wandering away from the screen. I had listened to the audio beforehand and created an image that didn’t necessarily correspond with the animators vision.

Repurposed content doesn’t have to match a vision perfectly in order for something to grab my attention, but I felt disappointed – like when you go see a movie based on your favourite book. The animation didn’t add anything to the story.

So, I did an experiment – I listened to StoryCorps next animated short – Q & A – without watching the video… only audio. Afterwards, I watched the animation to see how it affected my enjoyment of the story.

Do me a favour. Do the same. And if you want, tell me what experience you had. Is it like listening to your favourite song and then watching a disappointing video? Or did the animation make you listen to certain elements you may have missed in your original listen?