You can’t get too far into the universe of media wonks talking about their own business without a reference to the latest shiny new objects – Periscope (brought to you by the makers of Twitter) and Meerkat. Both are apps you have to download from your phone. They are the live evolution of YouTube’s user-generated content revolution, in that anyone with a camera-phone can stream the world in front of them, scripted or unscripted. As the old long distance tag line goes, it's the next best thing to being there. Only this time it's more like a multicast party line. The early read on these live-streaming apps is that they are a disruptor to TV and other scripted media. But just like YouTube did not kill the television star for pre-recorded content, I think these apps are an enhancement to video viewing, not a replacement. My thoughts:
- The quality is more YouTube than Universal. If you have seen broadcasts on these apps, they range from “see me biking in the rain” to a live, unedited live take on Reddit’s Ask Me Anything (AMA) cuts. They are on shaky cameras and unscheduled, so at best the current efforts are trialing new ways to expand the concept of live digital theater.
- Tuning in depends on your existing connections. While the apps will inevitably improve their ability to engage with broad audiences (Periscope through Twitter and Meerkat through Facebook), finding good content will depend on who streamers and viewers are connected to on these services, and who is around and available when they’re live feeds “air.” Like any other medium, the fun of this first year will be a lot of experimentation, and a good time to build an audience do to the minimal competition for attention.
- Rather than worry, TV should jump into the fray. With the recognition that second-screen activity is rampant, and that people will find a way to stream something during a live event like the Mayweather v. Pacquaio fight, TV and concert promoters should learn how to tailor content to the medium to enhance the overall experience. Imagine a live analysis of a Mad Men episode after each scene. These could be aired by some of the reviewers that have made their name on Wired, Vulture, Salon and elsewhere by playing Monday-morning quarterback over the past seven seasons? Or watching the live reaction to the upcoming political debates on TV by turning the Periscope toward the audience. Multiple camera angles will make debate rhetoric a lot more interesting.
Distraction or Super-Enhancement? Is live-streaming another distraction from televised or other live content? Sure. But I think there is a net benefit to these services that YouTube doesn’t deliver – the connectedness of watching something together -- TV’s shared experience -- with the immediacy and authenticity of being connected in real time on both ends. Three constituents will need to apply live-streams to their content portfolio:
- Consumer marketers – use this to engage loyalists, not the masses. To start, brands that want to engage a community should not expect live streaming to reinvent marketing. But creating a 3-5 minute discussion, or sponsor one, off of a live sports or tent-pole event is a good way to get fans deeper into the brand. I expect my TV screen to start telling me to follow Periscope or Meerkat handles any day now.
- B2B Marketers – enhance webinars with a personal touch. Educational or technical webinars are here to say. But having a 5-minute conversation about a feature, glitch, “how to” or Q&A with an expert could democratize the conversation beyond the canned deck, and make the brand connection more powerful at scale.
- Media owners create connections to talent that feels personal. The excitement that Aston Kutcher and other stars have created with Twitter is the feeling that it is really them (cue screaming teenage girls) on the other end of the app. Live streaming proves it, by having Taylor Swift actually say “Hi @tswiftnation” during a live stream, rather than wondering if a publicist is managing the feed. On video you know it’s really them.
So, is this a shiny new object of its own, or an major enhancement to the marketing arsenal? How will you use live video streaming in your world?
