Just about every snippet of compelling content features a
social media component, said a panel of social media experts, but the
second-screen activity will only flourish if the content truly stands out.
Doug Scott, president of OgilvyEntertainment, moderated the high-energy Brands
Leveraging Social TV Reach the Consumer Zeitgeist session that closed out B&C/Multichannel
News' Next TV Summit on Thursday.
"It's kind of hard to talk about TV and not talk about social TV,"
said Beth McCabe, VP and group director of social marketing and technologies at
Digitas. "When will we stop calling it social TV and just call it TV
again?"
Marketers are tasked with making their social campaigns flourish, but the
panelists said a viral home run is hard to manufacture. "When you start
with the intent of making something viral, you almost always fail," said
Jeff Siegel, senior VP of global media sales at Rovi.
Knowing your audience well and tailoring the Facebook and Twitter activity to
that audience is a win, said Mike Freeman, social media specialist at Crown
Media Family Networks. Using social media to constantly sell a show or product,
he added, is a fail. "You're not constantly shoving tune-in down people's
throats," he said.
The panelists offered examples of successful social media, such as parody
tweets from Mad Men and online fan fiction stemming from Rizzoli
& Isles. "Our audience wants to be immersed more deeply,"
said Tricia Melton, senior VP of entertainment, marketing and branding at cable
nets TBS, TNT and TMC. "They want the
story to continue."
The panelists welcome the "Big Data" available to them about viewers
and users but noted that even bigger analytics are required to sort through the
morass of info.
The ad agencies, meanwhile, are increasingly required to play a bigger role in
their relationship with clients. Mike Wiese, director of branded entertainment
at JWT, used the term "idea studio" to describe the agency's role.
"Every day, you're in a meeting with someone who wants you to be something
other than an agency," he said.
Social media represents huge opportunity for agencies and networks, believed
the panelists, although harnessing its considerable might remains a challenge.
"Our jobs have gotten so much harder," said Melton. "It's
strategy on top of social strategy on top of social strategy."
