11/06/2013
BCON Expo NY, 2013. Main takeaways
Back from the Expo.
Here is the main takeaways list.
There is no order of importance.
VICE.com
Definitely not a new kid in town, but it looks like I will add VICE to my storytelling tools. During Spencer Baim speech at BCON EXPO I realized that VICE research department is doing a good job tracing new world tendencies applicable to my branded content storytelling needs.
Example of use: Let’s say you wrote a love story and estimated chances to sell it – 5 out of 10.
Take some VICE article sounding interesting to you and use it as the social context for your love story – you are definitely increasing the sellability of your story.
Understanding new tendencies helps to wrap ideas with hot sellable themes.
For the same reason I successfully used resources of the Russian magazine “OM” (www.om.ru) at the time I was prestigious author of the magazine. But the content has changed over the years and I had to stop. I use other sources for different specific story directions. Feel free to ask.
VICE global grows is impressive. Main concentration of the brand is to answer the question “what it means to be young”.
www.vice.com
Emerging platforms
This is the tendency that I have been watching for quite a while.
Cannes loves it. Trace Cannes Lions wins for the last years – you’ll know what I mean and see the tendency yourself.
Snapchat, Vine, Foursquare, Instagram etc.
GE as well as reps of other companies spoke a lot about their interest in emerging platforms and their openness toward good branded content ideas connected to emerging platforms.
Lance Weiler
Introduced his new project:
“Building Storyworlds – the art, craft & biz of storytelling in 21c”.
140 copies published. 94 left by the time of this writing.
The book comes with 30 minute of conversation slot with Lance Weiler. You can discuss your project, trends or just a casual conversation.
It is an ongoing prototype and story R&D (research & development) project. The goal of the project is to develop an open resource that experiments with the notion of storytelling in the 21st Century.
Ideas can be added and discuss here
http://buildingstoryworlds.tumblr.com/
Beyond the webisode: Data driven, cross platform and transmedia storytelling.
Webisodes become a table stakes when it comes to branded content.
Short-form episodic online films became a ordinary way for brands to connect.
Two speakers at BCON EXPO NY made interesting moves beyond the ordinary.
Billy Parks with his real-time series , distributed exclusively through social media has set a new standard for cross-platform storytelling.
kids were broadcasting in their own words with AT&T phones. Cast was not restricted to use any social media, which is right the opposite with what most of the reality shows do. Enabling the cast to speak in their own words and their own voices bumped up views.
Randy Stein and the first feature film made as a branded content for Kokanee: It’s the movie out there.
bit.ly/1a6rSY4
