CCO Replica Sample - 10

it can't be done at scale. By analyzing the social
data, you find invaluable things about them that
they might not know themselves; we can see en
masse what they like, what they respond to, what
they value, what makes them laugh, and what their
overall personality traits are. You can then use that
understanding to inform your writing, and see if
your interpretation of that data tallies with the
audience in real life.
Do you think senior executives in the
entertainment industry are ready for this?
Legendary Pictures uses data like this all the time,
as does MGM because one of their investors is
a big data guy. It's growing, but there are some
roadblocks, which is a shame because this approach
removes a lot of big question marks. The problem
is that there are still some executives in charge of
the networks that got used to being gatekeepers,
a holdover from a time when there was a limited
amount of media to compete with. They understood

WHAT'S IT TO ME?

I hear your inner monologue: "This is fascinating, but I'm not making
a TV show. What does this mean to a marketer like me?" Well, here
are some takeaways that apply to all marketers:
*	 Using artificial intelligece to analyze audience psychology will tell you things
about them at scale that they might not even know about themselves.
*	 Insights can inform creative strategy, as well as ensure your marketing
message matches the audience you want to reach.
*	 There's more competition for attention than ever, placing a greater pressure
on brands to know their audience to cut through the noise.
*	 Personality insights gleaned from artificial intelligence (such as IBM Watson)
highlight which sections of an audience are more likely to respond to your
campaigns in a certain manner.
*	 Audience data is an invaluable aid to creativity and insight, but it shouldn't
replace the innovative spark in your top talent. Let one power the other, and
vice versa.
*	 Staying still is not an option; best practices and technologies that were
sufficient in the past will become outdated. An eye needs to be kept on new
marketing platforms and ways to use them.
*	 TV audiences are still highly active and vocal on Twitter, allowing for
substantial audience research and building.

10 | CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM | CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER

a model for making television that worked in the
past, and they're cautious about deviating from it.
Why do you think they should deviate from it if it
worked in the past?
There's now an unlimited amount of media competing
for our attention; anybody with a camera and an idea
can make a TV show. It might be on YouTube, Twitter
or Snapchat rather than a traditional TV channel, but
what's the difference nowadays? It's all competition
for eyeballs. So in order to attract an audience you
have to do extraordinary things, and really work hard
to prove you're valuable. You prove that value by
listening to the audience, and showing the results of it
in your work.
What's the relationship between the creators of TV
shows and Twitter?
It still has limitless potential. Both producers and
showrunners I speak to are still really interested in
using Twitter alongside their TV shows. Twitter is
where the conversation takes place, and it offers new
ways to build an audience. They're looking at how to
use other social networks too, and the best practice
for each platform differs; but the overwhelming view
is that for real-time engagement about the show,
Twitter is still the second screen of choice.
How are writers and producers using that
conversation to shape their shows?
I've talked with a lot of writers and producers about
this. Many are already on Twitter, talking to the
audience. They are comfortable with hearing how
viewers are feeling. It's like a third eye that looks
at what viewers think about plot, characters and
episodes. To make it a truly useful feedback loop,
the producers then have to ask, why is the audience
REALLY saying that?
How do TV producers understand the underlying
reasons why an audience gives the feedback that
they do?
Answering that question is very much the craft of
writing and producing something. It's not a strict
connect-the-dots process, and that's why you're still
going to need top quality, creative talent. But to me,
that process can be hugely assisted by analyzing the
audience having those conversations using IBM
Watson, and implementing your discoveries into the
show's creation.

Andy Vale is content manager at Audiense. Follow him
@AndyVale.
http://www.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM
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