Weekly Wrap Up: Channel 4's media affair

This week, Channel 4 announced that it was ending its 5-year media affair with Youtube.

In a 2009 deal that saw all Channel 4 programmes (Skins, Peep Show etc) made freely available for on-demand viewing, both the broadcaster and broadcast sharer planned to benefit from a split of advertising revenues.

Now, however, the shiny-media-polish appears to have worn thin on this partnership; full length features and programmes have now been removed, though clips and trailers will still be shared. Broadcasters such as Channel 4 and BBC previously relied on platforms like Youtube for global distribution, but they have now developed their own on-demand technology to host their programmes.

The response from online trolls was predictably strong. In an age, and (in fact) a week (#Sainsburys), where media is becoming both increasingly difficult to source in hard copy and expected in freely, the news was met with acrimony.  In a Reddit post, given 467 up-votes, a complaint about having to stream Channel 4 through what the user described as a less than perfect website (in not so many words). This article incited 78 comments, most of which related anger at the media migration.

But is this announcement really a bad thing in the world of media and social media? Where does this leave Google-owned video-breathing beast of Youtube?

Youtube, the largest video sharing website and the second largest search engine,  was created to “share your videos with friends, family, and the world”. Whilst the quality of content varies, it's safe to say the vast majority is not of the polished Channel 4 product quality.  Now that full-feature and professionally made programmes have been stripped, will the platform return to its old roots of sharing social rather than professional content?

Youtube is an invaluable tool for the public to share material, and for businesses to portray engaging messages. It's arguably a far more important tool for these groups than for corporate broadcasters who now have their own means of digital distribution.

This purification of Youtube may take Youtube back to its core, improving its value as a social media sharing site. Without the distraction of the glossy programmes and feature films, those high quality videos shared by the public/ businesses will have more of a chance to make an impact. Citizen journalism will reach more eyes, and SME messages in corporate videos may be heard by more ears.



Abchaps have been getting back into their stride this week, enjoying the distinct buzz of anticipation around the City! A particular highlight was the Tech Start Up themed Market Lunch that Abchurch co-hosted with Alistair Crane, Executive Vice President of Monitise Create and original Founder of Grapple Mobile. Whilst Abchaps won't give too much away, it was undoubtedly a fabulous way to kick off 2014. We were fortunate enough to sit down with 10 of the City's most influential tech advisers, as well as the CEOs of start-ups that can only be described as "ones to watch" for 2014!



Cancacord Genuity strengthens its research team with three new appointments. Making the jump across from Oriel Securities is Charlotte Keyworth and Harry Philips who join the aerospace and defence desk and capital goods desk respectively. Arun George, previously of Edison Investment Research, also joins the technology team.

Our friends at Stephenson Harwood made a new partner appointment with the hiring of Suzanne Tarplee who joins the rail team. And Zeus Capital bolsters its healthcare team with a new analyst: Gary Waanders. Gary joins from Nomura and brings his wealth of expertise to the team; particularly in biotech and pharma.



"Vlog" - A video blog, or blog that contains video entries



Still suffering the financial effects of Christmas? Here are a couple of the best free events hitting London this weekend:

The London Ice Sculpting Festival takes over this weekend, so head East to Canary Wharf to witness the world’s leading ice sculpting teams chisel big boring blocks into spectacular creations as they carve everything from fashion pieces to miniature cities!

With the opening ceremony tonight, the annual London Short Film Festival takes over the City’s best indy cinemas and venues to showcase over 300 short films and documentaries. The LSFF will throw in the excellent added extras of live music gigs and parties too. With such an extensive series and tickets ranging from free to £10, check out the site to see what tickles your tastebuds.

Finally, for those not feeling the squeeze, soak up contemporary, cutting-edge and thought-provoking artistic culture and attend one of the mesmerising productions being performed at the London International Mime Festival.

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The Digital Audience

In an email to staff a few weeks ago, Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times, announced a ‘digital first’ strategy for the pink paper as more and more content is consumed online. A recent survey by @Investis  found that 40% of FTSE 250 companies now have a presence on social media, compared to just 14% this time last year and PR giant Brunswick surveyed investors and found that 30% have made investment decisions based on information they first heard about on Twitter.

As communications professionals we have to ask ourselves – how does online content differ from print and how can we make sure that our media strategies cater to an increasingly digital audience?

Richer content

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the value of a video embedded in a relevant article? What about a five minute podcast you can download and listen to on your way into work? What about being able to immediately read a reference because there is a link to it as you read it?

The days of two dimensional newspaper articles are over so journalists need to skill-up to provide the ‘extras’ that we now expect as standard. Journalists continually have to consider how stories can be enhanced with multimedia, so companies with predominantly visual stories are already on a winner.

If you read an article about a company that had developed a new time machine, you would expect a video interview along side the words, wouldn’t you? And then you’d want to share it with friends using email, Facebook or Twitter. For this very reason, we have so many more opportunities to develop exciting, dynamic content. And for a media outlet, sharing is priceless – you would generally trust information coming from your friends and contacts, wouldn’t you? Shared information has already been endorsed so it is considered more reputable and more useful than similar information found by other sources. And when it comes to online content, the source of social media matters less than the sharer.

Speedy

Twitter breaks major news stories these days, there’s no doubt about that, and often online, news articles are written briefly to get the story out, and then updated as the story develops. Due to the nature of online content, it can often (but not always) be considered a work in progress, with the opportunity for it to evolve. Speed is of the essence so the timeliness of stories is paramount.

The dynamic nature of news today also provides many more opportunities to engage and contribute, but sifting through the vast amount of content is a skill in itself. Gareth Price, brand researcher at business intelligence firm Precise used the phrase ‘interpassivity’ in a recent blog post to describe the fact that we may actually be reading and digesting less information now, under the misguided belief that we are accumulating vast knowledge by reading headline tweets and titles. 

Perhaps in this information age, when we are bombarded by online content from every direction, we need to find an effective way to filter all this information and digest the relevant parts. It’s a steep learning curve, particularly in the corporate world where this one-to-many communication has historically only taken place through controlled and regulated channels.

Limitless possibilities?

A printed newspaper or magazine has a finite number of pages which has meant fierce competition for space. The internet has seemingly erased competition for space, and replaced it with competition for quality content. In theory there ought to be limitless opportunities to get a story out, but everyone knows online information is only valuable if it comes from a trustworthy source, be that the sharer or the author. Misinformation is quickly and easily spread online so very often, stories that are broken on Twitter or other online platforms, will require verification among the wider public by a reputable news agency or paper.

As professional communicators, we must constantly ask ourselves who are the influencers in the space? Who do I trust to give me the information that I need? These might be journalists, bloggers, vloggers, the twitterati – each are unique and, importantly, have different audiences. So, while online may present more opportunities for PR, it’s more important than ever to make sure that rich content is reaching the right channels.

Simone

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How to stand out: a very clever PR CV

This is one of the most innovative and interesting CV's I've ever come across.  PR Week has a good blog post about the video - how fast PR is moving and how important it is to keep your skills up to date. In an industry as competitive as ours, this is a brilliant way to get noticed. Hats off to Graeme.



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