Warner Bros. exec: UltraViolet is a big initiative
A Warner Bros. executive speaking on Mobile Marketer's webinar yesterday said that the company is making UltraViolet a priority and letting consumers stream and download entertainment content to any device.
During the hour-long Mobile Marketing Association-sponsored webinar, executives from Warner Bros., Flixster and comScore spoke about trends they are seeing in the entertainment industry with mobile video. The webinar panel was moderated by Rimma Kats, associate editor at Mobile Marketer, New York.
?The small screen has gotten bigger,? said Michele Edelman, vice president for direct to consumer marketing at Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, Burbank, CA.
?We are really trying to get the ability for people to buy content from their devices ? essentially by putting it in their cloud," she said.
"That is the ability to get your content, put it in the cloud and watch it from wherever you are on whatever device ? that is what consumers have been asking for, and that is what we really want to deliver."
Connected consumers
UltraViolet content makes it possible to both download and stream content wherever a user is. This gives consumers the opportunity to take a piece of content and watch it via their mobile devices.
Warner Bros. is also pushing to make sure that all of its content is optimized for mobile no matter where it comes from.
Marketing to a consumer who is immersed in a video can be difficult. Therefore, the company is looking at optional ways that consumers could interact with content such as trivia questions that they could control.
Warner Bros. is primarily focused on mobile with its new release films and franchises. The company has rolled out approximately 70 applications for iOS and Android devices.
Although there is a market for feature phone users, Warner Bros. is focusing on initiatives aimed at smartphone users.
The company aims to bring both content and full-feature films to the apps depending on the film.
For example, for the Harry Potter series, the company developed an all-in-one app for the iOS and Android operating systems that let users watch clips from the movies. Users could then upgrade the app with an in-app purchase to watch all eight movies plus extra content.
Moving forward, Warner Bros. is looking at developing an HTML5-based platform that will include UltraViolet.
Depending on the type of content that users are looking for, the company sees consumers accessing both short clips and full-length content.
Additionally, social media plays a large role for the company and is heavily integrated into Warner Bros.' mobile strategy.
For example, the company knows that consumers are accessing their social networks via their devices, so it makes sense to include a short piece versus longer video content.
Social media also opens up the opportunity for users to find new content, per Ms. Edelman. Warner Bros. recently began focusing more on Pinterest, for instance, and claims that the social site is helping the company generate revenue.
Shifting tide
According to Hans Fredericks, vice president of mobile business development at comScore, Reston, VA, tablets are one of the biggest opportunities in mobile video.
ComScore data reveals that there are 40 million consumer tablet owners. This is especially impressive since tablets have only been on the market for two years.
In particular, consumers are using their mobile devices while interacting with other media. For example, 21.2 million smartphone owners in the United States watched TV or video online in March 2012, marking a 74 percent year-over-year increase.
Additionally, 54 percent of tablet owners watched video on their devices in March 2012. Of those tablet owners, 16 percent of them watch video daily, 38 percent watch weekly and 46 percent watch a few times a month.
Not only are tablet users watching videos on their devices, they are also paying for it. For example, one in four tablet users watch paid video or TV content.
Tablet users are also more likely to purchase games than smartphone owners, and 29 percent of tablet users remember seeing an in-game ad, per comScore?s research. This shows the opportunities available to marketers to target mobile users.
Mr. Fredericks agreed that although there are still feature phone users, smartphones are where the market is headed. ComScore?s research shows that smartphone owners will be the majority of mobile phone users in 2012.
When it comes to what smartphone owners are doing, 82 percent of their time is spent in-app versus 18 percent spent in mobile Web sites.
Despite the high uptick in content that mobile users consume, there is still an increase in online content and video as well, showing that mobile is complementary to online.
This type of new consumer wants access to content anywhere and at any time, regardless of the device that they are on.
?With the tablet market, we are seeing a tremendous amount of consumption and making content more interactive,? Mr. Fredericks said.
?When it comes to video, game or what have you, it is presenting new opportunities to old media,? he said.
Social movies
Consumers are moving to a place where they want to access their content wherever they are, which includes smartphones and tablets.
?Consumers will gravitate towards whatever makes the most sense to them,? said James Smith, chief revenue officer at Flixster, New York.
According to Mr. Smith, since Flixster was originally a Facebook app, social media is intertwined in everything the company does.
Additionally, the company relies on partnerships, promotions and app stores to build up its presence. Word of mouth is also a strong marketing tactic for Flixster. The company claims to have more than 60 million app downloads.
Between the company?s Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes brand, the company claims to have more than 20 million monthly unique visitors.
Although mobile Web is important for the company?s Rotten Tomatoes brand, Flixster is primarily focused on apps.
Time of day plays a large role for the company?s usage.
Given its entertainment focus, Flixster has seen a jump in traffic during the weekends. For example, according to a third party study conducted for Flixster, 69 percent of smartphone owners use their mobile device as the primary weekend planning tool.
Similar to industry trends, Flixster?s users are watching content on multiple screens. Fifty-eight percent of users watch movie content on their smartphone and 25 percent watch on their tablets.
One of the vehicles the company uses for app downloads is performance-based advertising.
?Our mission has always been to be the premier movie discovery brand, and to be the premier movie discovery brand in 2012, the founders had a couple of check boxes that needed to be checked," Mr. Smith said.
"In 2012, it needed to be accessible anywhere ? people want to make their plans, get their ideas and see ratings of movies often in groups and often while on the go. So mobile since 2009 has been a very large part of the Flixster ecosystem,? Mr. Smith said.
Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York