BuzzFeed: creative department

 

                                                                                    

COMPANY OVERALL

BuzzFeed is an online platform that started from an experimental media company. It began in New York city in 2006 as BuzzFeed, Inc. and focused on tracking viral content. But now, the company has 18 cities and 1300 employees around the world. Also, starting in 2013, up to 15 foreign reporting staff were hired.

The company provides videos, photos and interesting article on the website. In 2012, BuzzFeed video and BuzzFeed Motion Picture were created by Ze Frank, located in Los Angeles. There are a lot of successful video channels on it, such as Tasty. Tasty is a Facebook-only cooking segment that is made by Buzzfeed. It is the most popular cooking channel in America. It has 30 million followers on Facebook and tens millions of views(Griffith). BuzzFeed is a successful example of people sharing videos on social media websites. Some websites such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter help the company receive 75% of its views.

Social media is an important resource to browsing BuzzFeed. It has published video, new stories, interesting quizzes all online and mobile site.

 

 Alvin Zhou A camera hang for tasty
 CEO Jonah Peretti
Executive producer Henry Goldman
The editor in chief Ben Smith
Co-founder and chairman Kenneth Lerer

 

ASSETS

BuzzFeed owns Kingfish Lab which it uses to optimize Facebook ads. In 2014, BuzzFeed acquired Torando Lab as its first data engineering team. BuzzFeed owns Buzzfeed motion Picture channel that produced a lot of creative video, such as “The Creep Series” and feature length films. Aside from Tasty, the company also produces a lot of good segments, such as The Dress, exploding watermelons, news investigations, and quizzes.

One of the important people I will mention is Jonah Peretti. He left the Huffington Post, and joined in the competitor, Buzzfeed, in 2006.He helps to find the interesting content around the Internet.

 

Successful and business model:

The business model for BuzzFeed is very successful. It includes advertisements and focuses on younger people as the target audience. BuzzFeed keeps the content interesting and simple. The most important resource for people to browse the BuzzFeed website is social media. So BuzzFeed apps are one of the successful points for the company. Tasty, which gets 500 million people a month watching their videos on social media, helps to develop the company faster. Most of the videos on Buzzfeed are short and easy to understand.

The competitor for BuzzFeed is Huffpost. However, compared with Huffpost,  Buzzfeed’s videos are short and interesting. Also, Buzzfeed is more international and people from different cultures like to browse it from social media. Additionally, Buzzfeed is more diverse than Huffpost. BuzzFeed also hired foreign staff to create different cultural content. On the other hand, the target audience for Buzzfeed is younger than Huffpost’s. Buzzfeed creates different kinds of interesting quizzes to attract young people’s attention and get them to share on social media.

 

THE REVENUE MODEL

The company has become very international, located in18 cites around the world, including London, San Paulo and Tokyo. In 2015, NBCUniversal gave BuzzFeed a 200 million dollar investment because BuzzFeed is one of the most valuable digital media companies.

Tasty food videos are the main way for BuzzFeed to make money. It attracts advertisers by using ingredients or cookware the advertisers are trying to sell. Since Tasty is very international and show cuisine from different countries, it gets audiences from different cultures allowing for a wide range of advertisers. In 2014, video revenue was just 15% of BuzzFeed’s total revenue. However, it is more than 50% today.  Video will attract 75% of BuzzFeed’s advertising revenue in 2017 and 2018.

 

Creative department for company

BuzzFeed’s creative department their business strategy is to inspiring advertisers. Each creative department crew understands brand goals and initiatives, creating relatable and authentic content for advertisers.

Creative department consists of four parts. First is sponsored content, which is thinking of advertisements for the brand. Second, involves thinking of the big idea with larger integration and initiatives. The third part is relaying to the idea to design with the product team. The creatives meet with the production team to design the final product. The last step is going to add the copyright. Most of the time, creative department is work with advertisers.

 

 

 

BIBLIGRAPHY

Buzzfeed. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2017 from the Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuzzFeed#cite_note-24

 

 

 

Ava Seave, 2013 Nov. 26. BuzzFeed’s Director Of Creative: ‘Authentic Content Earns The Right To Go Viral’ .Forbes.

Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2013/11/26/buzzfeeds-director-of-creative-authentic-content-earns-the-right-to-go-viral/#669ce26f5cea

 

 

Scott W. Cowley, 20 Apr 2017, The BuzzFeed Marketing Challenge: An Integrative Social Media Experience, marketing Education Review, 109-114, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10528008.2017.1309981?scroll=top&needAccess=true

 

 

Butler Kelley, 07/2015, BuzzFeed goes benefits, Business Insights, p20, Volum 94

http://nq5hl7cp9d.search.serialssolutions.com/?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fgale%3ABIE&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&req_dat=info%3Asid%2Fgale&svc_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Amtx%3Asch_svc&ctx_tim=2017-09-12T17%3A15%3A00Z&rft.atitle=Buzzfeed+goes+benefits&rft.au=Butler%2C+Kelley+M.&rft.aufirst=Kelley&rft.aulast=Butler&rft.date=2015-07&rft.genre=article&rft.issn=23312793&rft.issue=7&rft.jtitle=Workforce&rft.pages=20&rft.spage=20&rft.volume=94

 

 

Ember Sydney, Sep 6, BuzzFeed Regroups as Media Turns Video-Centric, The New York Time ,Retrieved by Sep 14 2017.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/business/media/buzzfeed-regroups-as-media-industry-turns-to-video.html?partner=bloomberg

 

 

Erin Griffith, Jan 19, 2016, BuzzFeed’s Foodie Channels are Blowing Up on Facebook. Fortune, Retrieved by Sep 13 2017.

http://fortune.com/2016/01/19/buzzfeed-tasty-proper-tasty/

 

 

 

April Glaser, Feb 14, 2017, How BuzzFeed makes money from its Tasty food videos, Recode, Retived By sep 13, 2017

https://www.recode.net/2017/2/14/14594782/buzzfeed-makes-money-from-its-tasty-food-videos-facebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Candy Store: Creative Development at ABC

The American Broadcasting Company, or ABC, is one of the few national broadcast networks in the USA.  With roots as a radio network, ABC actually evolved from a mandated offshoot of NBC’s radio holdings (NBC Blue) but was acquired decades later by Disney in 1995.  While Bob Iger is the Chairman and CEO of Disney and Ben Sherwood oversees all of Disney Media Networks as President and Co-Chairman, the majority of creative development takes place within the ABC Entertainment division, led by President Channing Dungey, and ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone Television), run by President Patrick Moran.  The network development team and ABC Studios operate out of Burbank, California. (ABC/Disney/Wikipedia) Continue reading

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Declassified: Untold Stories of Cable Creative Development

Stranger Than Fiction

We’re in Moscow in 1975, it’s the height of the Cold War and an American woman has been tasked by the CIA to help obtain information from a Soviet double agent. Sounds like a good movie, doesn’t it? Even better. It’s reality. This is the story of Martha (Marti) Peterson who was the subject of the documentary series Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies for the first episode on CNN (Hinds, 2016). Continue reading

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SubCat Studios Dominates the Central New York Sound

Subcat Studios | 219 S West Street, Syracuse, NY 13202                                      Photo by Kristin O’Grady

From basement to big time, Ron Keck has turned his love for music, technology, and education into a world-class audio recording studio in quiet Central New York. Continue reading

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Monsters of Cable TV: Mutant Enemy Inc.

Introduction

In 1996, the American screenwriter Joss Whedon founded Mutant Enemy Productions with the main purpose to produce his own TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (buffy.wikia.com.2017). The series in its first three seasons became such a worldwide phenomenon to generate tie-in products, novels and videogames till the point that Joss Whedon decided to use once again his company in order to produce a spin-off called Angel. These two successful series Continue reading

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The BSI Production Concert Formula

Introduction

Concerts evoke a magical feeling that leads fans of artists to see their favorite band over and over again. These experiences are not possible without the work of companies such as BSI Production, that organize and execute the preproduction of the event.

BSI Production is a private business headquartered in Ithaca, New York. Its clientele is composed primarily of upstate New York companies, such as Cornell University. BSI production has a variety of corporate clients outside upstate New York as well, from Budweiser to Watkins Glen (BSI Production, 2017), an international race track company (Watkins Glen International, 2017). It has also worked with artists and government officials, ranging from former president Bill Clinton to Rihanna (BSI Production, 2017).

BSI Production was founded in December of 1993. Once known as Branchini Sound (Darnell, 1994), named after founder Ron Branchini, the company provides numerous concert related services. It will set up the sound/staging, provide video resources, manage the event, and perform sales and services. It can provide complete vertical integration of the concert experience, should a client request it (BSI Production, 2017).

Assets

BSI Productions at Cornell

The company lists on its home website what assets they have available for sound, lighting, staging, and other equipment. In addition, it has founder Ron Branchini behind the business, who has worked as the president of the company for all twenty-four years of the company’s existence. Branchini’s consistent excellence has resulted in continued work for the company, such as its project with Cornell, pictured above, in 2015 (Branchini, 2017). Its relationships with its clients, and diverse pool of former clients, is a significant asset for the company, and is a driver of its business model.

Business Model

While the music industry is adapting to a heavily stream based world (Gerber, 2014), BSI’s business model remains true to its core strengths, but has evolved to include a diverse offering of services to clients. Branchini has noted the importance of being ahead technologically compared to his competitors since a year within the company’s founding, which was documented in the Sound Reinforcement magazine (Darnell, 1994). BSI Productions offers the capability not only to set up any concert, but to streamline and produce the entire production (BSI Production, 2017).

There is a competitive market in the Northeastern New York area for concert production work. Googling is a primary way to find companies for services that a potential customer is looking for, and BSI Production is listed fifth in a search for “Northeast New York Concert Production Companies” (Google, 2017). In addition, founder Ron Branchini explained that the word of mouth from prior work the company has done is also a big draw for the company’s business.

Branchini explained that when a potential client reaches out, BSI Productions will offer a bid, and notify the client to respond with a flat yes or no. They do not renegotiate with the client, as they open with the most competitive offer they have.

BSI Productions recognizes its competitive advantage to its competitors to the area, and hone in on its prior client history. The other four companies listed before them on the google search, National Audio (National Audio, 2017), Audio East (Audio East, 2017), ESP New York, and Northeastern Production (Northeastern Production, 2017), all do not list out its previous client experience on its home website. Its competitors elect to focus in on other segments of its business.

BSI highlights these prior relationships as to provide concrete examples to potential clients with the star power of its clientele and it work to those whom are looking for a production company.

Revenue Model

The company makes money based on the amount of services it provides to the client. The client and BSI productions will enter into an agreement on what services BSI Production will provide, negotiate a contract, and then execute the contract. Branchini explained that the company’s revenue is driven primarily by large client contacts.

The company collects revenue in two separate avenues. If the contract is under $30,000, BSI productions will collect the full amount the day of the event. If the contract is over $30,000, the company will collect a deposit beforehand. If the contract is above $300,000, the company will be paid at drop points, which will be negotiated with the client.

While competitors in the area will offer bundle discounts, BSI Productions does not. Branchini explained that in order to pay everyone’s salary, health care and benefits, that the company cannot afford to offer discounts to meet his company’s needs.

Future of the Business

The company has adapted to the market trend change of going to casinos for events, instead of local theaters. Branchini explained that once casinos opened, concert production turned to a corporate model.

In addition, BSI Productions has had to become more regionally focused, relative to its focus across the continental United States. Fuel costs, as well as casinos opening up, led the company to adapt this way.

Taking a macro view on the industry as a whole, North American concert industry tickets have risen year over year since 2011, with 2016 total revenue amounting to $7.3 billion dollars, per the chart above found on Variety (DiMartino, 2017).

This would lead one to believe that the demand for concerts would be up. However, the Syracuse area is the 29th poorest in America as of 2016 census data, with populous Rochester and Buffalo coming in 15th and 16th poorest cities in the country, respectively. The Upstate New York area is one of the poorest in the United States (Weiner, 2016), leaving the area with low disposable incomes for luxury goods such as concerts. This will put pressure on BSI Productions if the demand for concerts decreases with a potential increase in poverty rate.

Branchini explained that this economic trend does not harm the company’s large business clients. As those clients are companies and universities, they are not as affected by the poverty trend.

BSI Productions has shown an ability to adapt to a changing concert market, and they will continue to show its magic going forward.

Bibliography

Branchini, R. (n.d.). Ron Branchini LinkedIn Profile. Retrieved September 12, 2017 from   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-branchini-0935b916/

BSI Production. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from         http://www.bsiproduction.com/

[BSI Production Example]. (n.d.) Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.bsiproduction.com/index.html

Concert & Event Production Company | Audio Visual Services. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://audioeast.com

[Cornell University 2015]. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-branchini-0935b916/

Darnell, R. (1994, March). Regional SRs Maintaining Edge Through Competitiveness &   Flexibility. Sound Reinforcement, 75-75.

DiMartino, D. (2017, February 08). Live Nation Leads the Charge in Concert Business’ Booming Revenue. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://variety.com/2017/music/features/live-nation-concert-business-1201979571/

Eastern Stage Productions. (2015, September 25). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.espnewyork.com

Gerber, R. (2014, July 29). Making Money in the Music Industry. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/07/29/making-money-in-the-music-industry/#6c00cd3a4b41

Google. (N.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=North+east+new+york+concert+production+companies&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

National Audio. (n.d.). Retreived September 12, 2017, from http://www.nationalaudio.us

North American Concert Industry Ticket Sales by Year [Chart from 1990-2016]. (2017, February 7). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://variety.com/2017/music/features/live-nation-concert-business-1201979571/

Northeastern Production Web Site. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017 from http://www.northeasternproduction.com

Watkins Glen International. (N.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from                  http://www.theglen.com/?homepage=true

Weiner, M. (2016, September 15). Syracuse’s poverty rate remains among worst in nation, Census finds. Retreived September 12, 2017 from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2016/09/syracuses_poverty_rate_remains_among_worst_in_nation_census_finds.html

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Distribution in Broadcast Television: A Closer Look at WCNY

Source: wcny.org

 

Background and Management

In 1965, the New York State Department of Education launched WCNY and for the last fifty years, it has served as a voice for the community in central New York. The PBS member-supported affiliate was solely known as the “education station” but it has grown into including five digital channels that reach over 1.8 million people (“About WCNY,” n.d.). This nonprofit organization now resides in Syracuse’s Westside and is home to an experiential learning center, two large studios, multiple production suites and owns Joint Master Control Operating Co., which handles program distribution for all the New York and New Jersey broadcasting companies.   Continue reading

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Film Marketing and Promotion: Paramount Pictures Corporation

 

       Introduction

The corporation was founded in 1912 has its headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Moreover, these days they have added their offices in Europe, South America, and Asia.

Paramount Pictures Corporation, a filmmaker that involve creating movies for home entertainment, digital and TV purposes worldwide. It deals with current and classic genres as well as develops gaming applications where then distribute such through different channels, such as iTunes (“Paramount Pictures Corporation: Private Company Information – Bloomberg,” 2017). The organization creates and conveys computerized and TV home content for entertaining purposes. It is known in the world as the largest and the oldest among the Hollywood’s ‘Big Six.’ They continually striving for improving the quality of the films they create, as well as implementing innovational approaches to the making process.
       About

Paramount Pictures has celebrated 100 years anniversary being involved in the entertainment industry in 2012 (“The Paramount Story | Paramount Pictures,” 2017). The Company has been a leader in media market for a century and continues to serve for the people to provide them with high quality all over the world. There are plenty of Studios which operate within the Paramount and create television shows and movies to broadcast overseas.  As a part of the strategy of such growth, the corporation implements different training to maintain the professional level of each employee (Ellwood et al, 2009). The business focuses on enhancing the communication skills, set up common objectives for a defined period, apply technology and innovative approaches to operate efficiently. These all and more remain the fundamental concept for the growth and prosperity as well as those strategies reflect on the company’s strengths.

Paramount Pictures is the oldest film company which has been established back in 1912. It now shapes the center of the Filmed Entertainment division inside media association Viacom. Paramount downsized its operations in the mid-2000s and thus was quite close the be out of the Hollywood’s filmmakers (“Paramount Pictures (US),” 2017).  In 2007 the studio got back on the track with a few big-budget projects. Decades after its prosperity period, the corporation returned to take number one on the Hollywood scale. Nevertheless, in 2008 there were several major directors left the studio, such as Steven Spielberg

Business Model

Paramount mainly specializes in delivering content for consuming by the mass client market.  The Company has a changed arrangement of film and TV real estates that serve to the broad scope of purchasers. This incorporates such studios as Nickelodeon entertainment for teenagers and children, popular movies releases, for instance, the Star Trek franchise, and small-budget projects which are aimed at some particular target audience.

There are numerous competitors who remain quite hazardous for the company as the industry in developing and enhancing different strategies to move forward with success. These days there are three key competitors: Walt Disney Pictures and Television, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., and Fox Entertainment.

Revenue Model

Paramount Pictures makes its profits from the production success both through box offices and commercial which are shown during the TV shows (“Company Paramount Pictures | Cleverism.com,” 2017). They create and distribute the original content only which possess them as a profitable enough corporation. They do not rely on the big-budget projects only but also make money from selling low-budget films. Not only the corporation remain profitable of filmmaking, but also from running several channels, such as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV.

As a method of growing within the industry, the corporation has presented brand new models of distribution, which release films on streaming tools such as Netflix (“Company Paramount Pictures | Cleverism.com,” 2017). Another revenue model is YouTube channel where they make money from advertising on it and by selling the content to the YouTube.

Paramount has some crucial associations with various partners, incorporating with financials, advertising members, content representatives, co-creation partners, and distribution channels members (“Company Paramount Pictures | Cleverism.com,” 2017). The Company works together with speculators who assist in financing the Company’s slate of full-length releases.

Paramount Pictures is an extensive motion picture and TV creation studio. It performs through eight main departments: Paramount Digital Entertainment, which Provides advanced and advantageous services by means of applications and innovation stages, for instance, gaming comforts, online networking and cell phones; Paramount Home Media Distribution, which supervise the Company’s home amusement, computerized and TV dissemination exercises around the world, for the benefit of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and material authorizing and overhauling of certain DreamWorks Animation titles; Paramount Pictures International, which is in charge of advertising and circulating Paramount films to groups of onlookers around the globe. (“Company Paramount Pictures | Cleverism.com”, 2017).

       References

Company Paramount Pictures | Cleverism.com. (2017). Cleverism. Retrieved 26 September 2017, from https://www.cleverism.com/company/paramount-pictures/

Divisions | Paramount Pictures. (2017). Paramount.com. Retrieved 26 September 2017, from http://www.paramount.com/inside-studio/studio/divisions

Ellwood, G., Tabrys, J., Toomer, J., Laure, E., Tabrys, J., Stearns, A., & Campoamor, D. (2009). Analysis: When is the drama at Paramount going to end?. UPROXX. Retrieved 26 September 2017, from http://uproxx.com/hitfix/analysis-when-is-the-drama-at-paramount-going-to-end/

Paramount Pictures (US). (2017). Retrieved 26 September 2017, from https://www.adbrands.net/us/paramount_us.htm

Paramount Pictures Corporation: Private Company Information – Bloomberg. (2017). Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 26 September 2017, from https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=3573695

The Paramount Story | Paramount Pictures. (2017). Paramount.com. Retrieved 26 September 2017, from http://www.paramount.com/100-years-paramount/paramount-story

 

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Loose Films: An Emergent Film Production Company

 

Four of the five members of Loose Films

The Company

Loose Films is a film production company comprised of five partners who met as undergraduate students in the Department of Cinema at Denison University. Founded in 2015, the nascent company has traveled from its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio to cities around the world, including New Orleans, Paris and Mexico City, to complete projects for clients and amass a diverse portfolio of films, documentaries, commercials, promotional videos, music videos, and animations. Loose Films maintains a focus on transcending conventionally assumed binaries and boundaries, including those between the artistry and industry of film production and also those between the various forms of content it creates. When discussing the long-term plans for the company over the phone, Brett Reiter, Producer and Director of Outreach at Loose Films, explained that he envisions the company relocating to Los Angeles and focusing exclusively on creating and producing its own content within three to five years (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017).

The Assets

The most valuable assets Loose Film possesses are its five partners and the work that they create together. While each member has a specific title and brings a distinct set of skills and experiences to the company, the collaborative atmosphere that they cultivate enables them to engage each other beyond these individual designations and effectively create and produce content for clients. In addition to the work the company does for hire, it is also committed to pursuing the passion projects of its members, the completed versions of which become valuable intellectual properties that showcase the artistic talent and ability of the team as the company continues to strive towards focusing entirely on creating its own content. The five members of Loose Films assisted their summer intern in completing a short film that he produced, wrote, and created and shared the promotional trailer on their Instagram page, demonstrating the company’s reverence for high-quality artistic creations and the passion they share in creating them (Loose Films, 2017). Recently, a Loose Films documentary called Down and Dirty, which explores the world of street performance in New Orleans, won “Audience Choice for Best Documentary” at UNO Film Festival 2017. By sharing the film’s accolades through social media, Loose Films is able to display its strengths as a film production company to potential clients (Loose Films, 2017). While the talent of the team members is what will ultimately be indispensable to the clients for whom they create content, the quality of their portfolio is what attracts those clients to Loose Films.

 

Promotional image for Down & Dirty

Business Model       

Despite warnings to avoid becoming a “jack of all trades” by producing too wide an array of content, Loose Films believes that the diversity of their work reflects the breadth of their capabilities and sees this as a vital point in the evolution of the company towards its ultimate goal (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017). So while the company foresees a time when it is dedicated to producing its own narrative films and documentaries, it currently welcomes commercial projects, like television spots and promotional videos, and approaches each of them from the same cinematic and artistic perspective from which they approach their own projects (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017). The company prefers clients that trust the creative instincts of the team and allow them to pursue their own vision for the project (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017). Loose Films’ main competition in the entertainment industry is similar start-up film production companies, who may have talented employees but have too little experience in the industry to negotiate high-paying contracts. In an interview with Denison University, one member of Loose Films revealed that it “strives to maintain all production positions in-house – with the ability to staff every shoot, from the director of photography to the production assistant” as a means of competing with their peers (Burgin, 2016).

The Revenue Model

            Loose Films operates on a fee model, and requires half of the agreed amount upfront and half upon delivery of the product (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017). When pricing each project, two factors have a strong bearing on the price charge: the duration of the video, which impacts the amount of time and resources that will be spent during post-production, and the number of crew members and amount of equipment that will be required during production (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017). The company’s emphasis on maintaining control over all facets of production enables them to negotiate slightly higher fees from clients, as they will have little additional expenses for the project since Loose Films manages all the requirements.

The Branding

            While not having a business background may appear to be a drawback for any startup, Loose Films uses it to its advantage in the way it brands itself as a company. By stripping away business from conversations with potential clients, the members of Loose Films are able to engage them as individuals and establish themselves as passionate artists (B. Reiter, phone interview, September 20, 2017). The company’s presentation of this identity through its various social media channels is vital to its success as a company. In addition to sharing trailers and clips from their portfolio to illustrate the ability the team possesses, they also create elaborate video clips of the company itself, including videos of them exploring the various cities they have traveled to for clients. While Loose Films is indeed a company, the online presence they curate relies on the individual personalities of its five team members, who each share photos on the company’s Instagram account and post blog entries on its website, which enables clients and fans of the company to feel engaged with the team on a personal level. The company’s Instagram description, which reads “Cinematic Videos + Occasional Shenanigans” is emblematic of the personality Loose Films strives to maintain, as it qualifies even the commercials and promotional videos it produces as artistic works, and also communicates the individual personalities with which the potential clients will be working (Loose Films, 2017).

References

Burgin, J. (2016, 8 22). Cinema majors become cinema makers. Retrieved 9 12, 2017, from Denison University: https://denison.edu/academics/cinema/feature/82072

Films, L. (2017, September 26). Loose Films (@LooseFilms_). Retrieved September 26, 2017 , from Twitter: https://twitter.com/loosefilms_?lang=en

Iannone, A. M. (2017, September 27). Snapfluence. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from Loose Films + Columbus Book Project: http://www.snapfluence.com/blog/loose-films-columbus-book-project

Loose Films. (2017). Home. Retrieved 9 12, 2017, from Loose Films: http://loosefilms.com

Loose Films. (2017, 9 12). Loose Films @loosefilms. Retrieved 9 12, 2017, from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loosefilms/

Loose Films. (2015). Loose Films: The Promo Video. Retrieved 9 12, 2017, from Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/110683937

Reiter, B. (2017, September 20). Phone interview.

Turow, J. (2017). Media Today: Mass Communication in a Converging World. New York City, NY: Routledge.

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Cable Marketing and Promotion: News 12 Long Island

 

COMPANY BIO

Established in 1986, News 12 Long Island is a local 24-hour cable television station. As its slogan goes, it is “as Local as Local News Gets” (News 12, 2017). News 12 Long Island is just one entity from a network of News 12’s which also covers the Bronx, Brooklyn, Connecticut, Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and Westchester. According to News 12’s website, the Long Island sector is “the largest and most watched regional news network in the country” (News 12. 2017). Over the past 10 years, News 12 has won 131 Emmy awards, many of which are proudly displayed in the News 12 headquarters lobby in Woodbury, New York. The building also houses the News 12 Long Island station.

The News 12 network was originally owned by Patrick Dolan’s Cablevision, until the cable provider, Altice USA, bought it out in 2016. Patrick Dolan still resides as president of the News 12 networks.  Along with News 12, Altice USA owns Optimum, Suddenlink, Lightpath, and AMS. According to the June 2017 quarterly report, Altice’s cable television franchises made $ 8,113,575 (Media Kit. 2017). Out of all the cable news stations Altice owns, News 12 attracts the most viewers when referring to the early morning and late prime. In fact, Nielsen ranked New 12 in the early morning the highest ratings compared to local broadcast news from adults 25-54, Monday thru Friday (Media Kit. 2017). In other words, News 12 is an audience and advertising gold mine.

 

 

COMPETITION

News 12 relies on audiences joining or staying with cable providers. It must ultimately promote cable in order for it to stay on the air. The station is as it says in its promos, “Only on Cable. Never on FiOS. Never on satellite” (News 12. 2017). Verizon’s FiOS1 is News 12’s main competitor. FiOS1’s Long Island sector was established in 2007, while its other sectors are located in New Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley. News 12 Long Island’s reporters, anchors, and meteorologists have become a part of the brand that allows it to compete. While there are a few rotations of talent throughout the day, viewers can expect to see the same faces in the same timeslots weekly. They have become celebrities, fans have tried tracking them at the station, but security and card access inside the building has made that preventable.

MARKETING

The News 12 network has its own marketing department, separate and distinct from Altice USA. It exclusively supports all 7 local news channels, 5 traffic and weather channels, and the interactive division in the regions they serve. For example, News 12 Long Island only gets promoted to Long Islanders, not the Bronx. The content, as well as marketing, of each channel is targeted specifically to that region. The marketing campaigns vary depending on the market conditions, the timing of the promoted, and each channel’s marketing budget. According to News 12 Promotions Coordinator Jennifer Espada, the marketing department has two divisions: outreach and production. The outreach team is responsible for event sponsorships, talent appearances, tours, press releases, coordinates network awards, and much more. The production team is in charge of the creative execution of promotional messages including on-air promos, print ads, and digital advertising.

BUSINESS MODEL

News 12 Long Island is successful at reaching a 25-54 target audience. While keeping its thriving format, it has tried to modernize and appeal to a more technologically inclined demographic. Its interactive division consists of their website, app, and social media. In regard to social media, News 12 Long Island has a presence on Facebook and Twitter. The accounts feature stories with links to it website and has a daily photo competition. Users submit their photos of Long Island and the best one gets posted. While some admission to the News 12 website itself is available, a subscription gives a user much more access. Subscriptions are “free” for cable subscribers. This strategy is yet again another way to market the perks of getting cable. News 12 also promotes itself locally, in non-digital means. It is active in the community. During fairs, festivals, and vendor events, News 12 Long Island usually has a tent. In it, there is an interactive green screen for people to experiment with. They also give out promotional items with their logo on hats, pens, frisbees, etc. This creates more of an everyday appeal, as if inviting News 12 Long Island into the family unit.

REVENUE

According to Jennifer Espada, News 12 revenue comes from affiliate fees from the cable companies that carry it, subscriptions, and advertising revenue in the form of commercial advertising, sponsorships, and digital advertising. Each region and division has different top advertisers. Its ad revenue model has different divisions including local, regional, and national. For traditional on-air news, sponsors may advertise with a 10-second billboard, general sponsorship, or time and temperature sponsorship. According to Altice Media Solutions, the New 12 Long Island website gets an average monthly metric of 8,378,000-page views (Media Kit. 2017). Advertisers have the option of customizable ad positions and banner sizes, pre-roll opportunities, high-impact skins, or high-impact roadblocks. The News 12 mobile app gets an average monthly metric of 15,493,000-page views (Media Kit. 2017). Advertisers can choose from a 15-second pre-roll, clickable banners, and full-page ads.

                                                                   

LOOKING AHEAD

News 12 Long Island is able to obtain viewers, sponsors, and advertisers. The local appeal has made a more personalized and catering feel to audiences. It is playing in almost every doctor’s office, deli, and restaurants with a television. Their plan is “to continue to provide a proprietary product that viewers want and need as part of their information resources. We are ““as local as local news gets”” and provide relevant news and information that viewers can’t get anywhere else.” (Espada. 2017)

 

References

12, N. (n.d.). News 12. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.news12.com/

Account, N. (2017, September 12). News12LI (@News12LI). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://twitter.com/News12LI

Choose region. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.fios1news.com/longisland

Company Altice USA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.cleverism.com/company/altice-usa/

Current Financials. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://alticeusa.com/investor-information/current-financials/

Espada, J. (2017, September 11). Email.

Media Kit News 12 Networks. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.alticemediasolutions.com/sites/default/files/News12%20Ring%20Deck%20Q22016.pdf

News 12 Long Island. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/pg/News12LI/about/?ref=page_internal

News 12 Long Island. (2017, January 05). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://longisland.news12.com/

We are Altice. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://alticeusa.com/

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