Welcome to Social Entertainment - Annual Report 2011

globalwebindex.net@globalwebindex

The most detailed set of data on your online audience ever compiled

2011: 90K web users | 26 markets | 3 Waves of Data

Annual Report 2011:Welcome to Social Entertainment

globalwebindex - Annual Report 2011

The first year of the GlobalWebIndex has revealed three clear trends in the consumer adoption of the internet. In combination they are driving a new age of social entertainment through internet platforms. In this report, we analyse the current global situation and the opportunities for the future for professional media, content producers and brands:

Social media has reached mass maturity. Today it’s no longer about massive growth but a shift of already active social consumers to ‘real-time’ technologies, such as status updates or tweets. The old view of text-based social media, defined by blogs and forums, is being surpassed, moving the impact of social media, from creating content and publishing to sharing other people’s content and ‘live’ opinions about real-world events. In short ‘real-time’ is re-orientating consumer from creator to distributor and moving the focus to traditional media and professional content.

The open browser-based web is losing out to packaged internet platforms such as mobile apps, internet connected TVs, tablets, e-readers, pc apps, gaming and video platforms. These packaged platforms are re-engineering the internet and destroying the notion of the internet being a singular entity. Crucially for the entertainment revolution, they provide professional media with the means to create sustainable internet business models, something the economics of the browser-based web totally failed to enable.

Professional “traditional style” content is now a core part of the consumer online experience. Internet platforms, for hundreds of millions of consumers, are increasingly the entertainment platform of choice. This is due to continual growth of professional content in video sites (legal and illegal), the rise of ‘real-time’, and the growth of packaged platforms.

Tom SmithFounder of the GlobalWebindex@globalwebindex | [email protected]

2010: Welcome to the Social Entertainment Age


These trends will revolutionise our view of the internet. In particular, the packaged internet will transform the way we get online, the content we consume, and the ways we can create, share and communicate. Going forward five years it is clear that many people’s internet experience will not be through a browser, but through some form of packaged platform. While many ‘internet purists’ will bemoan their lack of openness, the creation of barriers to entry, and shift in control to small numbers of gatekeepers, packaged platforms crucially enable professional media to create sustainable businesses online without having to change the way that the open web works.

This is as important, if not more important, for a healthy society as enabling consumers to publish and share their opinions or content. The open browser based internet has failed to create the economics to deliver professional media business online, as advertising could not demand the premiums needed and consumers are unwilling to pay for content delivered through a browser. These changing commercial opportunities will capitalise on the consumer demand for social entertainment online. They will however have to change the way that they create and deliver content and make sure they integrate social technologies into their product.

Increasingly ‘real-time’ social will be integrated with the traditional content experience. Imagine live Twitter style messaging around major TV events or programming recommended by your social network. This will extend the impact of social media outside of the browser as well as surpassing the old models of delivering media, such as cable TV, satellite, radio or newspaper

2011 and beyond is a promising to be an extremely interesting period of innovation. Next year the GlobalWebIndex will track these shifts through 26 countries, 3 waves of research and 90,000 surveys.

2010: Welcome to the Social Entertainment Age

Rise of the packaged internet

Real-timeSocial

ProfessionalContent

Explosion

SocialEntertainment


•

•

•

•

•

•

The GlobalWebIndex tool is powered by the most detailed set of data ever compiled on global internet behaviour, social technologies, digital content and the role for brands online. All of our trends are sourced from this data set.

Such a regular and detailed view of changing internet trends has never been compiled before at a global level.

The release of the third set of data covering 51,000 consumers globally over the last 12 months paints a unique picture of changing internet behaviour and, more importantly, what it means for your audience, category and brand.

There is a minimum sample of 2,250 per market over 12 months, to enable deep analysis, and over 500 variables to define audiences specific to your business.

All of this analysis is primary research data. The data set is based on a representative sample of web users’ primary research data collected via online surveys from Lightspeed Research global online panels.

The GlobalWebIndex tool was created by Trendstream, a company who create data-driven applications to aid decision making. All insight and analysis in this document is provided by, Trendstream Consulting, a dedicated team of experts on the global adoption of internet, social technology, marketing communications and paid content, who help their clients to understand the opportunities of the changing internet ecosystem.

Wave 3Sept 2010

Wave 2Jan 2010Wave 1

July 2009

Year 1

The Data Source: GlobalWebindex


Social Media: The Move to “Real-Time”

Creator Network


Overall social engagement across social networking, micro-blogging, video uploading, news writing or blog production has reached massive levels in all markets. Even in the least engaged markets, nearly 50% of consumers participated in some form of social contribution in the last month. This is a significant indication of the total impact of social media. It has, in the last 5 years, redefined all internet markets.

When we look at the combined reach in markets such as Brazil and India, this almost reaches 90%, showing mass saturation. This a clear indication that the massive periods of growth are over.

This view of total social engagement reveals a smaller gap between fast growing emerging markets and older developed web markets than is often reported. For example, the US and China have the same level of social engagement, although if you look at individual platforms (see Figure 3) China will lead the US in everything. This shows us that social users in China tend to do more across more platforms, while users in the US are more fragmented.

Figure 1: Combined monthly involvement of social network users, micro-blog users, video uploaders, news writers and blog writers. PC internet. Wave 1 to 3.

France

South Korea

Australia

Italy

MexicoUK

Canada

USA

China

Russia

India

Brazil

Japan

Netherlands

Spain

Germany

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Wave 1 (July 2009)Wave 3 (Sept 2010)

Social Media has reached Mass Maturity


Despite the overall saturation, there has been major shifts in the last 12 months among existing social consumers from creation platforms to networked ones and social networks and micro-blogs which have both grown a huge 20% year on year.

Social media used to be defined by long form primarily text-based content, whether that be forums, websites or blogs. But not anymore; blog writing has declined by 4% and forum contribution has shown an 11% decline.

This shift into micro-blogs and social networks means that the majority of consumer involvement in social media is related to providing real-time opinions, links or shared content through status updates. This radically changes the impact of social media, by primarily creating an ongoing shared agenda and conversation, that steers consumer involvement towards reacting or interacting with live events and discourse, rather than creating their own agenda or content.

There is also a clear embracement of the entertainment agenda and there is a significant 16% increase in uploading video online, again a clear shift away from the old model of text and commentary.

Writ

ten

your

own

blog

Download

ed so

ftwar

e fo

r fre

e

Used W

ebm

ail

Wat

ched

a vi

deo c

lip

Upload

ed p

hoto

s onli

ne

Subsc

ribed

to a

n RSS fe

ed

Paid fo

r softw

are

download

Liste

ned to

LIV

E radio

onli

ne

Used in

tern

et b

ankin

g

Used o

nline

offi

ce a

pplicat

ions

Liste

ned /

watch

ed a

podca

st

Edited /

man

aged

own

websit

e

Wat

ched

LIV

E TV /v

ideo

onli

ne

Paid to

downlo

ad le

gal m

usic

Visit v

ideo

shar

ing si

te

Stream

/ downlo

aded

free

TV sh

ows / fi

lms

Left

a co

mm

ent o

n a

story

or w

ebsit

e

Mad

e pho

ne c

all o

nline

/ VOIP

Upload

ed a

video

onli

ne

Used a

n ag

gregat

or

Writ

ten

news s

tory

/ ar

ticle

Man

aged

your

socia

l net

work p

rofile

Used a

micr

oblogging

site

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

-10%

Professional / Rich contentLive “Real-Time” SocialCreation SocialOnline services / productivityChange (last 12 months)

Figure 2: Online behaviour % of monthly access/usage – Global Data. Waves 1 – 3.

Used in

stan

t mes

sang

er

From “Static Social” to “Real-Time” Social


The “Real-Time” Shift is Global

Looking at the global distribution of “real-time” versus traditional social platforms, we see an interesting distribution in monthly consumer involvement. The Asian markets are still very focused on personal publishing, with China, Japan and South Korea having a strong focus on social blogging platforms.

The fast growing web markets of Brazil, India, Malaysia, Poland and Russia lead the way in social networking and micro-blogging involvement. However, they also have very high levels of involvement in blogging and forums, showing that there is a two-tier involvement between real-time and old time social platforms.

Interestingly, developed web markets such as the UK, the US or Canada, while not leading the way, are far more skewed towards real-time platforms, due to lower consumer engagement in blogs and forums and the mass adoption of social networks.

Austra

lia

Brazil

China

Franc

e

Germ

any

India

Italy

Japan

Mala

ysia

Mex

ico

Nethe

rland

s

Poland

Russia

South

Korea

Spain UKUSA

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Manage your own social network profileUsed a microblogging serviceWritten your own blogContribute to a forum

Figure 3: Active monthly behaviour. Wave 3.

Canad

a

Source: Wave 3, September 2010


Figure 4: Frequency of updating social network – status updates. Global Data

Figure 5: Frequency of updating micro-blog – status updates. Global Data

Social Networks have been transformed by real-time involvement. Once upon a time (when MySpace was big) they were static places focused on consumer profiles. Now thanks to inspiration from Twitter, they are real-time as pioneered by Facebook news stream and being replicated across the world, in-particular services like RenRen in China. The impact is clear, already 10% of all web users are updating their social network profile on a daily basis and 24% on a weekly basis. Micro-blogs, remain smaller, are still updated daily by 5% of all web users. Twitters greatest impact is by creating the concept of real time contribution, not necessarily direct usage of the service.

This is a massive volume of interaction, conversation, opinion and content sharing that is reshaping the way the web works:

•

•

•

This is a major change. For years the web has been seen as a threat to the old order of media giants, big brands and the political elite. Now, as clearly shown in this research, changing trends in social participation are reinforcing and promoting the old hierarchical model. A major shift in the perception of social media.

These platforms depend on shared focal points and events. These are frequently live real life ones or mass media.

The light nature of interaction focuses users on sharing content over creating. This means that consumers can no longer shape the agenda through long form content and expressed ideas and opinions. Links, great content and light commentary on external events are what define consumer involvement.

The bottom up dynamic, that defined early social platforms is being eroded. This is particularly stark with micro-blogs, as we all seek to connect and follow with people in the public eye. Its no surprise that celebrities, politicians, sports people, journalists and musicians dominate the rankings on Twitter

“Real-Time” – Mass Involvement

+10% - Daily

+24% - Weekly

+32% - Monthly

+55% - Ever Done

+5% - Daily

+9% - Weekly

+12% - Monthly

+29% - Ever Done


Who is Driving “Real-Time”?

The “real-time” revolution is being driven by younger demographics. Almost 17% of 16-24s are updating their social network on a daily basis.

When we delve into the demographics we can see distinct differences in the type of web user who is embracing real time.

Taking “Category of Work” as an example, we can see that people who work in advertising and marketing are the most likely to be contributing to the real-time revolution. This is followed by people in IT, then retail and healthcare. This shows that the industry is leading the curve in adoption.

Male

Female

16-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

Financial Services

Retail

Professional Services (Law, Accounting, Architect etc)

Healthcare/Medicine

Manufacturing, Engineering Construction

Education

Government (excluding Education & Health)

Police oArmed Forces

Agriculture oMining

IT, Internet, Software, ComputeServices

Transport, Logistics, Distribution

Travel, Tourism, Leisure Services

Advertising marketing omedia

Figure 6: Percentage of web users who update their social network on a daily basisWave 3 September 2010. Global Data

Cat

ego

ry o

f W

ork

Dem

og

rap

hics

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%


The Synergy between “Real-Time” and Professional Content

We can clearly see how micro-bloggers are driving this new era of entertainment.

If we take the example of consumption of TV content via internet platforms, frequent micro-bloggers are far more likely to consume professional content.

Over 70% of users that post more than once a day have streamed a TV show on demand or live in the last month. Then, as frequency diminishes, consumption of TV content falls.

Traditionally we think of “hard core” social media users as turning their back on traditional media or professional content. This is not true and, as we can see, people who have never used a micro-blog are very light consumers of TV content online, with only 25% streaming TV or watching live TV online in the last month.

It’s this relationship between traditional content and real-time social that demonstrates how the two are interlinked and are driving a new social ecosystem.

Figure 7: Micro-blog frequency versus consumption of TV content online. Wave 3 September 2010. Global Data

Watch TV shows on demand via online serviceWatched Live TV / Video online

Every other day

Every 3-4 days

Once a week

Twice this month

One time only this past month

Haven't Used in the Last Month

Never Used

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%


The changing social ecosystem can be seen through the way that users are adopting micro-blogs. Figure 8 shows current behaviour on a micro-blog and also growth rates between January and September, clearly indicating a shifting dynamic from personal content to professional content. Personal pictures, while still the number one action on a micro-blog, fell by 5% in the period, while links to external news stories increased by 17%. This is a pattern that is repeated on social networks and video sharing platforms, which are orientating away from being places to share personal content.

This is contrary to the impact of when social media emerged. For example, when blogs arrived they were seen as a publishing revolution and one that opened up the media world to consumers. Today, these creation platforms are in decline and the professionals are back in the driving seat when it comes to content. This makes the opportunity for brands and media companies even more compelling.

“‘real time’ technologies such as Twitter are increasingly orientatingus towards the professional, rather than driving a bottom up dynamic”

Figure 8: Activities on a micro-blog. Monthly percentage by active micro- blog users and Wave 2 v Wave 3 percentage change

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Links to news stories

An opinion on a product / brand

A link to your blog

Personal photos

We are the Network – not the Creator


The Impact of the Consumer-Driven Network

While professional content grows massively, the consumer rises in influence. Figure 9 looks at the change in perception of “trusted product recommendations”, with a huge growth in trust for social network or micro-blog contacts.

This shows how important the synergy between professional content and the consumer distributor will be into the future. Increasingly, we turn to the consumer network to drive our consumption trends.

Figure 9: % change from Wave 1 to Wave 3 data. Scored 4/5 from a 5 point scale, where 5 = strongly trust. 5 from 21 sources of recommendation shown

Television Radio Microblog Contact

Newspaper Blogger A Social Network Contact

+2.5% +3% +8%+16% +21%

+47.5%


It is clear how this consumer network is impacting content distribution, when we explore the importance of “friend recommendation” in sourcing content online. When looking at news, only 17% of respondents choose this as the key motivation. However, when we look at video, this rises to 28%.

It’s this increase for entertainment-driven content that demonstrates how important the consumer network will be in guiding our content consumption and choices as we move into the future.

36.8% - Familiar Site

18% - Answers a search query

17% - Friend Recommendation

11.2% - Quality of Design

18% - Recently Produced

Figure 10: Key factor in sourcing a news story online. Wave 3. Global Data

News

39.2% - Familiar Site

16.5% - Answers a search query

28.2% - Friend Recommendation

11.8% - Quality of Design

10.6% - Recently Produced

Figure 11: Key factor in sourcing an online video. Wave 3. Global Data

Video

32.9%16.5%

28.2%

11.8%

10.6%

36.8%

18.0%

17.0%

11.2%

18.0%

Entertainment is Driven by the Consumer Network

The Rise of the Packaged Internet


Mobile Devices

TV

Apps

E-Readers/Tablets

Games Consoles


In 2010, we have seen a massive growth in “packaged internet” platforms, such as applications, games consoles, mobile (technically allows open web usage but typically focused on repackaged sites and apps), and now television sets and e-readers into the mainstream. They are moving interaction away from the open browser-based delivery of content that people think of the internet. We can already see that 4% of global web users have accessed the web through their TV, 10% through a games console and 2% through an e-reader.

This growing trend thoroughly undermines the concept of “the internet” as a media or singular entity. More crucially, they are bringing back “traditional media” economics, included barriers to entry for consumers’ content and a more limited and dictated choice for consumers. In the future, connecting to the internet may look more like switching on your TV..

As our research shows, these “packaged platforms” will grow massively. While they’re not open, or consumer driven, they work. You only have to look at the success of the iPhone and app platforms. If it works, we embrace. Disconnected, open browser-based platforms tend not to work as well as packaged ones for delivery of a seamless entertainment experience.

Figure 12: Monthly access to the packaged internet. Global Data

Mobile35%

Mobile Apps

25%

Gaming10%

TV Streaming

On-Demand

27%

E-Readers2%

TV4%

Browser-based Web Packaged Internet

The Death of the Internet – Hail the internet


The Impact of Mobile: Entertainment Everywhere

Internet access via mobiles has exploded (Figure 13) in the last 12 months, rising from 25% of web users to 33%. While you can use your mobile device to access the open web, the large areas of growth are due to applications or mobile formatted sites, which limit user experience or provide a smaller section of content. The mobile drives the shift into the packaged internet.

Today (Figure 14), mobile devices are being primarily utilised for services. However, updates to a social network service now stand at 38% of web users, while an update to a micro-blog service stands at 14%. This will grow massively. This light social involvement will define the future of consumer contribution as more and more of web access is via mobile and portable devices.

Mobile is also bringing in an age of entertainment, despite small screens. Just over 17% have watched live streamed TV in the last month, while 26% have watch an on-demand video.

Figure 14: Mobile internet actions/behaviour last month. Percentage of mobile internet users. Global data

Read news

Used mapping service / search for directions

Searched for local services / places to go

Searched for a product / service to buy

Updated your social network profile

Checked sports scores

Used an online banking service

Uploaded a photo to a website

Watched an on-demand video

Wrote and uploaded a blog post

Bought a product on a retail site

Watched live streamed TV

Update your microblog status

Access live travel information

Check stocks and financial information

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Figure 13: Percentage of PC internet users who access via mobile in the last month. Global data

25%Wave 1

27%Wave 2

33%Wave 3


If we think about the internet in 10 years, it is clear that the browser will seem antiquated. Already, many new TV sets integrate internet-enabled content and services. In a decade, there will be a mass market global internet delivered content network that links straight to your TV. It may look more like your cable service, but to many it may be their primary internet experience.

While many ‘internet purists’ we bemoan their lack of openness, the creation of barriers to entry and shift in control to small numbers of gatekeepers, packaged platforms crucially enable professional media to create sustainable businesses online without having to change the way that open web works.

This is as important, if not more important, for a healthy society as enabling consumers to publish and share their opinions. The open browser based internet has failed to create the economics to deliver traditional media business online.

This shift will infuse social dynamics into traditional media environments. The content we consume will be dictated by other consumer recommendations, live Twitter-style messaging will bring programming to life and social networks will allow us to share and consume content as a shared experience. This is a true revolution in media delivery and one that makes “real time-social” one of biggest opportunities ever .

This growth will cannibalise internet usage in open browser-based environments. More importantly, packaged internet platforms will start to replace traditional media delivery platforms, such as terrestrial, cable or satellite TV providers. Rather than being a threat to the content producers, the social entertainment landscape is a threat to the distributors and the networks.

This is already happening in developed markets, where commercial gains and budgets are bigger and investments have been made to bring the packaged web to the living room. This we expect to continue, and the upcoming launch of the BBC-backed YouView in the UK, which integrates traditional broadcasting delivery with on-demand online content and social applications into one mass market-friendly box, underlines this.

Markets like the US, the UK and Japan will be dominated by the packaged internet, while markets like Brazil and China will be slower to move from the open web environments, due to lack of commercial development and the proliferation of non-copyrighted (legal or illegal) content available on the open web.

The Future of the Internet

“In 10 years,it is clear that thebrowser will seem

antiquated”


The Packaged Web brings New Commercial Dynamics

This change will bring dramatic impact to the way we look at and talk about the internet and how it enables traditional media, entertainment-driven models. It will change the economic models that underpin the internet and will enable content producers to extract value from their content online.

By looking at advertising, we can understand the dynamics more clearly. Advertising on the open web has long been priced and benchmarked on response and click through, due to the almost unlimited supply of inventory. This pure price approach that occupies the majority of the market has driven costs in an ever decreasing spiral. Advertising offline has always maintained its value through a scarcity of supply, context to content and by associating with “watercooler” moments, that drive out offline conversations.

This is why news websites have not managed to drive the revenues of their offline counterparts. It is also why social networks have struggled to drive value from advertising and attract big brand advertisers. They had almost unlimited inventory, without any content context. It could only be sold on response basis. Facebook’s social ads are a step in the right direction, but ultimately it’s conversations and not advertising that brands relish in the social space.

This will change. The packaging of the internet is a huge opportunity for web companies to monetise their advertising assets more effectively, by channelling users through a more traditional environment, offering limited choice, high quality content, a shared consumer experience and creative and inventive advertising solutions that go beyond banners.

Figure 15: The dynamics of the packaged internet

Consumer

Content

Web Platforms

Experience

Navigation

Contribution

Access

Lead Creator

Popularity

Access Point

Scale

Commercial Model

Inventory

Approach

Metrics

Pricing

Context

Owned Space

Role

Consumer Engagement

Advertising

Brands

Open Web

Unique & Singular

Search / Query driven

Creation

No barriers to entry

Consumer

Long tail

Singular Entity

As big as possible

Build it & then work it out

Unlimited

Optimisation

Click through

Ever decreasing

None

Web Site

Information & Accessibility

2-way conversation

Packaged Internet

Shared

Guided / Limited options

Distribution

Barriers

Professional

Chart / Hit models

Multiple platforms

Targetted

Profit model from Day 1

Scarcity

Strategy

Engagement

Increacing Value

Related to specific content

Content / Experience

To Entertain & Educate

Network Activation

Professional content explosion


TV

Internet

Music

Magazines

Books

Films


Entertainment is the Key Growth Motivation in 2010

Our motivations to get online (figure 16) have shifted considerably in the last 12 months, with content focused ones exceeded those for social connection. The fastest growing motivations to use the internet are “finding TV / Films”, “Finding music” and “Entertainment”. A clear demonstration of the new age of entertainment that is driving change in how we use the web.

This is reflected in the growth of internet enabled platforms which has made rich content easily accessible online.

Long term this is a clear indication of how the future of the internet will orientate to be the mass entertainment and content delivery platform. We as consumers are going back to traditional needs and demands and seeking a more passive experience.

+0.5%

+13.3% +13.4%+22.3% +28.5%

Figure 16: Our “Very important” motivations to use “The internet”: Global Data. Percentage change between Wave 1 v Wave 3. 5 out of 21 motivation statements

To stay in touch with friends Entertainment To find TV / Films

To share my opinion To find Music


Traditional Content is a Core Part of the Online Experience

For web users across the world, traditional content is now a core part of their online experience.

In September 2010, 29% watched live TV, 27% of internet users streamed on demand and 25% downloaded free programming. This compares with just 13% who downloaded illegally. It is undoubtedly the case that much of the streaming will be via non-legitimate sources, particularly in markets like China, India or Malaysia.

However in established internet markets like the US and the UK, much of this is legal, thanks to the efforts of broadcasters to put their content online.

Most of all, it shows: how popular on-demand streaming is online; the value of social media to drive consumption; and how much demand there is for the internet to provide the entertainment experience. It also demonstrates the massive opportunities for professional content producers and rights holders to drive audiences and revenue online.

Figure 17: Our “Very important” motivations to use “The internet”: Global Data. Percentage change between Wave 1 v Wave 3. 5 out of 21 motivation statements

Paid for TV / Film Downloads Download free TV / Film content Watched Live TV

Download TV shows via P2P Watched TV on demand via streaming service

29%27%25%13%9%


Figure 18: Percentage of active video viewers who watched full length TV programming online in the last week. Wave 3 data. 1 from 22 types of video content viewed

BrazilUSAChinaUK

UGC / Personal home videos

Music videos

Full length TV show

Full length sports programs

Sports hi-lights

Full length films

Film Trailers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Looking specifically at weekly video streaming habits through video sharing platforms, we can see how this new landscape of content consumption looks. Consumer generated content, which has traditionally defined the growth of video, is now eclipsed by traditional rich content in all markets, a demonstration of how social platforms are driving consumption of professional content. There are nuances in this shift, depending on local market trends, and interesting distinctions between commercially-led and organic, consumer-led markets:

•

•

•

•

China: a more liberal attitude to copyright means that the leading Chinese video platforms, such as YouKu and Tudou, are dominated by long form content. Consumers have been free to upload and share any professional content, and users can watch any TV show or film at the click of the button. This is a far better offer than the state-controlled TV and the internet is becoming the main entertainment platform for hundreds of millions of people. It also shows what happens when you let consumers distribute and upload professional content in a free and open network.

Brazil: a YouTube dominated market and the massive consumption of music videos is a reflection of the number of people that utilise YouTube as an on-demand music player.

UK: the rise of professional platforms, such as iPlayer from the BBC, ITV player, Sky Player and Seesaw, plus the growing integration of professional content into YouTube has driven full length programming consumption.

USA: the same story, where Hulu, YouTube and the networks have pushed consumption, but not to the same levels as China, where organic consumer-driven distribution has made professional content a mass phenomenon.

Video Streaming: The Shift to Professional Content

When Brands and Content Producers became One


Brand ContentProducerOpportunity


These mega trends that define the internet in 2010 represent a huge opportunity for content companies and brands.

For the content companies there are obvious and immediate opportunties to distribute and monetise their content on a global scale, while the packaged internet offers the chance to reintroduce traditional economics that drive advertising revenue and collective mass audiences. “Real-time” provides a mechanism to build “live” feedback, a channel to distribute content and a way of creating live community around real events.

For brands, the shifts represent a major opportunity. Online advertising and search, which has typified the last 10 years of online, with its unlimited inventory and the focus on optimisation and “click throughs”, has often fallen short of the branding environment that traditional media delivers. However, the packaged platforms offer high quality advertising placement, while consumers in this new age of social entertainment demand content from brands.

Today, the challenge is typically seen as selling social involvement to companies and brands. This is not the case. We have already seen the success of employing social platforms to deliver customer service and enabling customer feedback . As this data shows, consumers significantly value this and it’s an approach that will become as standard as operating a call centre. The real challenge now is how companies and brands embrace this new era of entertainment to build their brand in the growing content environment. In a world that is dominated by the packaged internet, conversation will be more limited. Content will be king.

The puts big brands in a great position. They have resource, the connections and the credibility to create online experience and content and the network of staff, agencies and consumer advocates to distribute them.

The New Entertainment Environment

“The challengenow is not selling the need to be involved in

social, but how companies and brands engage the

current online environment to proactively build

their brand”


Monetising Content Online

The packaged internet demonstrates how content companies can drive real revenues online. Rich content that consumers can download and keep is by far the leading content form for consumers to purchase online, whether that be music, TV or e-books. The interesting thing is that people pay for permanent content over the service or delivery.

When we look at the motivating factors we can also see that the leading factor to drive payment is “high definition”.

This shows how high quality packaged content platforms can drive revenue as they create a higher quality experience.

Interestingly, the lack of advertising is the second key factor. This shows how brands will need to embrace the culture of entertainment to increase their opportunities to drive engagement. Following that are the ability to access from all devices, online only content, and instant access to complete series. These show that there is much potential to deliver content using new models of delivery.

Figure 19: The content/services that consumers would pay for online. Global data Figure 20: The key motivating factors to pay for video content online. Global data

Music download to keep

Television / Film download to keep

E-book

Premium web service e.g email / online storage

An application for your mobile phone

A mapping / GPS service of a mobile phone

Television / Film live stream

A multi-player online game

A game on your mobile phone

News website

Music to stream to stream on-demand

Live sports stream online

Sports hi-lights

A social network service

A dating service

A photo sharing service

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Higher quality e.g High Definition

No advertising

Being able to accessfrom all my devices

Access before the offline release

Instant access to episodes of a series

Access to content that willonly be released online

Priority in purchasing tickets for offline screening / performance

Digital rights management free

To support the producers / artists

An option to share with friends

Access to a related exclusive community to meet other fans

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%


Consumers want Brands to Entertain them

In this age of entertainment, the consumer/brand relationship is changing. It is clear that consumers actively want to engage with companies and brands.

Often, people in the marketing industry talk about what is appropriate for brands to engage in. There is also a perception that as social media is “consumer driven” it’s not always appropriate for brands to engage or there is a need to be extremely cautious.

This is untrue. Consumers are extremely open to brand engagement and, in the age of entertainment, this goes beyond information and conversation. The lead motivation for younger consumers is for brands to “entertain them”, with up 66% of 16-24 year olds stating this as a way they would like a brand to act towards them.

Older age groups are more focused on product information and, in particular to “improve their knowledge”.

This is a major shift in how consumers relate to brands and is a clear indication of the need for brands to adopt the position of content creator to either entertain or inform.

The web is an inherently commercial space, and brands have a major role to play in defining its future through great content, digital experience and applications.

Figure 21: “How do you want a brand to act towards you?” Global Data

66%

60%

52%

45%

40%

45%

50%

55%

61%

64%

61%

62%

68%

72%

76%

42%

35%

29%

28%

29%

36%

37%

31%

30%

27%

37%

36%

36%

34%

34%

30%

34%

35%

32%

30%

22%

24%

31%

36%

44%

16-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

Keep you informed on the product and

the companyImprove yourknowledge

Connect you withpeople

Provide you withinteresting real life

experiencesBe part of your

daily routineHelp you organise

your lifeTalk to me like a

real personEntertain you


Interaction Versus Entertainment

Mass market social media has enabled a revolution in how consumers can interact and be serviced by companies and brands, driving new levels of interaction and transparency.

This is of clear interest to consumers, as we can see from Figure 22. When asking what type of digital marketing activities improve their opinion of a brand we can see that direct conversation wins.

For large ticket items, such as cars , there is a clear consumer demand for real-time contact and service, with even higher scores than for a brand you like.

There is also major demand for the same large ticket brands to create content. For cars/autos this is clear, with online videos featuring the brand ,and sponsorship of music downloads leading the way. This underlines how brands can now go much further in directly engaging consumers.

Becoming your friend in a social network

Using micro-blog / social network pages to provide customer support / service

Creating blogs to talk about the company and product

Contacting me with helpful information if I mention the brand on a microblog

Talking to bloggers directly about relevant products and services

Creating a website allow you to interact with the brand / company directly

Listening to the comments that people say on forums, or social networks

Sponsoring music downloads

Creating videos online featuring the brand

Create applications / online services

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Interaction Entertainment

Figure 22: “Which of the following marketing communications activities improves your opinion of a brand?” 3 out of 10 categories

Brand you likeAlcoholic BrandCar / Auto

Where next?: The Future of Social Entertainment


Brand ContentProducerFuture


The Future of Social Entertainment

The combination of real-time social, rich professional content and packaged platforms is changing the dynamics of the web today and will increasingly transform all content and media delivery in the coming years, particularly as the internet begins to link all devices:

•

•

•

The fusion of social technologies and professional content: This will change the dynamics of content distribution. Your social network, contacts on Twitter or social data will impact what you view, replacing the scheduler or editor.

Tangible web: Increasing the internet will not only be packaged into digital applications, but physical boxes. TV connected boxes that mix web content, applications and traditional live TV onto your screen, will become the next thing, or tablets that are pre-bundled with content, and paid for with a contract. The physical object enables the extraction of value in the digital.

The content passport: A key consumer driver to pay for digital content is to link it with multi-platform. Imagine a content application that provides you access to a film via your mobile, PC, TV, the soundtrack for streaming, exclusive access to the fanzone community and digital mobile vouchers to enable real world cinema access or a live event.

•

•

•

The emergence of the 2 tier web: The packaged web is driven by the media, technology and web businesses. It is commercially driven and will grow where there are bigger budgets to invest and higher returns to make. We expect markets like the US, the UK and Japan to be very focused on packaged platforms into the future, while markets like India, China or Brazil will not have the “big media” commercial development and will be orientated around the open web.

The rise of social data-driving content selections: Consumer impact is less about the content they make and more about the trail of data they leave behind, whether that be number of views, similar views or rating.

Brands as content producers: All companies have great stories to tell. The social entertainment age provides an opportunity to create these and to distribute them. There is also the opportunity to be more involved in the financing of good content. Who would bet against Coca Cola have a programming division in the next 10 years? The line between content producers and brands will disappear.


•

•••

•

The work of the following flickr users is duly acknowledged under the creative commons attribution license:

••••••••

The GlobalWebIndex team is based in London and work with customers from all over the world. If you want to find out how you can understand your audience, business and category online and experience the product to see how it can enable exceptional internet strategy, get in touch today to organise a demonstration:

+44 (0)208 549 [email protected] Globalwebindex.net

Or stay in touch with the latest research and trends at Twitter: @globalwebindex and on Tumblr: globalwebindex.tumblr.com

Find out More!

dailyinventioneye of einsteinmarkhillaryMike FlemingMr NegativesjonTayTedd Santana

Technology

Welcome to Social Entertainment - Annual Report 2011