Saturday 24 February 2018

Did Video Kill the TV star as well?

TV Station Transmitter Tower in competition with online video created by video production companies and private people.Its been long accepted that video killed the radio star but the question is : Did video kill the TV star too? Truth be told video did not kill the radio star at all.Radio is as strong as ever, just in a different way. If the United States is the only consideration, then its actually syndication that did the most to kill the radio star as we know it. The saying actually comes from when MTV came to life. It was believed that people would flood to music videos over music on its own.This belief exploded MTV into a super channel known world wide. As you may know MTV however is not a music TV station anymore. Its seems radio made a comeback. To really understand what the future holds you simply have to look at how people love convenience. Its not the music video versus the music but the convenience versus past systems. Satellite radio made an initial dent on radio because of the ability to listen to a wide range of services and to have music without advertising.

This however was not really the final nail as streaming became the greatest threat to all forms of broadcasting. Some thought that it meant simply putting the existing broadcast onto online streams as a new delivery system for the same programming. This turned out to be far from the truth. The public became instead a consumer of sound bites and video clips. The world seems to be spinning faster everyday and most people just don't have the time to listen to a full news broadcast and music or talk shows.
If you look outside the United States, the picture is quite different. Many countries don't have satellite radio and many have very poor streaming if you are moving. This makes listening to streaming radio problematic because the signal often breaks down as the signal jumps from one cell tower to another.

With all things, technology will change over time. This means that when signals are clear and stable for a high percentage of the time across the planet, the full change from broadcast will most likely happen. That discussion however does not address the question of video.
Many thought websites like YouTube would be mild distractions at best with silly cat videos and illegal low quality copies of movies, being just another piece of junk TV.
Those in the know, like Google, realized otherwise. After Google took over YouTube the platform become a real contender for news, music, entertainment and a platform for people to voice their opinions on subjects ranging from fashion to politics, dating to global affairs.

A place to put your home video became not only another form of entertainment but a massive new business platform. The potential for advertising was suddenly realised in a way most could never have foreseen.

Depiction of Internnet star who is as famous as a regular celebrity in internet videos as opposed to broadcast TV.One type of star that has appeared is the YouTube star. Self made celebrities have begun competing with broadcast TV and movie stars. Some have termed them "Internet famous" vs "really famous".Oddly many of the "Internet famous" have more followers than traditional stars.Many of them are also self made millionaires.




The question then was : Do businesses take YouTube advertising seriously? Would companies reputation be tarnished in anyway by being associated with what many might see as unprofessional ?
At first all went well and many companies took full advantage of the cheap exposure and made huge leaps in their marketing. The fairytale however was short lived. For what ever reason many companies found that their adverts were played on channels not flattering to their image.They banded together, according to mainstream news, and demanded that YouTube control better, how and where the adverts were placed and what channels were acceptable. Many successful YouTube channels quickly became demonetised.
The question hung in the air of "what does this mean for online video marketing?" Just as marketers got to grips with the world of video commercials online, they had to rethink their strategy.

The changes not only affected YouTube channels and companies but also video production companies who had changed their services from broadcast advertising to online video marketing. The changes were not just technical as with the format and compatibility but also in understanding the diverse audience. Unlike TV channels of old, it was found that if the wrong target market was chosen, the marketing became pointless. Video marketing was no longer about making a pretty 30 second commercial and pounding it over and over on broadcast TV.The marketing with video now had to be more focused. Luckily, the algorithms that Google has been working on, have been able to help marketers to direct marketing to the appropriate audiences. Video production companies also had to come to terms with the idea that many of the video platforms were becoming more and more "live". With Periscope, Facebook Live and other services making it possible for individuals to "broadcast", the standard ideas of  advertising changed. Many people believe that the video production companies in Johannesburg and around the world have a handle on the changes happening but in fact it is such a fast changing industry that even marketing companies along with video production companies are trying to get to grips with the changes. While many of the changes have made it more viable to target a niche market, the terrain is still unknown. Many mistakes will be made and hopefully lessons learned from them. The many casualties along the way might not care too much about the lessons learned when they see their income disappear. Many YouTube channels have had to turn to outside sources for income besides advertising.These ranged from donations through many services and even printing T shirts and other merchandising for their followers to purchase.

Online video presenter shown offering an oppinion as opposed to video productions that are for marketing.One of the biggest problems is that their is no official broadcast authority. YouTube and Google have began monitoring and attempting to filter content for what is more "appropriate". Some have argued that the choices are wildly biased in political and social spheres. While cat videos are still considered by many as "acceptable" , independent news channels claim that they can be demonetised for holding the "wrong opinion".



While it has always been the responsibility of marketing companies to navigate the industry, video production companies have become the first contact for small and medium sized businesses. This means that corporate video production companies in Johannesburg are expected to not only understand the online industry but be experts. They are expected to have  an inside knowledge of how to market video correctly that best helps the businesses. Although it shouldn't be the video companies responsibilities, if the clients think it is, then it is.

With all this chaotic changing of the rules, online marketing has begun to look like a "loose cannon".
TV broadcasting of old suddenly looks appealing because of stability. The truth is though that the sheer expense of broadcast TV simply makes it out of the question for most marketers. This means that no matter how rough it gets, the price factor will keep small and medium sized businesses looking to corporate video production companies to make it work for them. So did Video kill the TV star? Clearly not ...well not yet. Only time will tell how video changes, how its delivered and how it will be used for entertainment, news and marketing.


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