• by Eric Korsh , January 5, 2015

This will be my third digital video holiday wish-list column. Technology has made gift-giving especially fraught in the last few years, because our digital detritus is a spoiler alert for anyone paying attention.  Among other things, our search history, auto-logins, and social sharing are all intention signals. And so it must be with my prior columns, where I frequently evaluate the cultural impact of native digital content creators.

Last year I asked for only one thing:  a digital, serialized story that originates online, builds a national audience, and gets the kind of media coverage worthy of any hit TV show, movie, or book.  Lo and behold, coming just under the wire in Q4 is the aptly titled “Serial.”  Like any deal with the devil, I neglected a critical part of my wish, and was rewarded with everything I asked for -- except it’s an audio series and not a video series.  Who knew?

Still, this little-podcast-that-could has added some much needed gravitas to the depth of digital content.  Cats and accidents still overshadow long-form content from important publishers like Politico, Grantland, and Longreads.  But “Serial” has reintroduced us to the original mass media form and format – bringing serialized storytelling to a national zeitgeist level – just like “The Shadow” and other radio programs did over 50 years ago. Everything old is new again.

Now, back to this year. I’d like to see two things:

1. Brand-funded video series that matter.  Speaking of “everything old is new again,” I’d like to see some brands insert themselves into content in a way that is more akin to the old “Texaco Theater” or “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom..” This means funding, cross-promotion, and committed relationships.

This type of partnership is one of many tools in the kit needed to solve the coming disruption in the world of entertainment funding. Unbundling, as I’ve written before, is currently a bad deal for the consumer.  Right now, via bundling, we’re getting best-in-class TV content via cable at around 25 cents an hour -- far less than a singl- use purchase of $2.50 per hour via iTunes, Amazon, or Google.  Consumers need brands to defray the cost of content in general and to increase choice.  Given mobile consumption rates and the lack of quality mobile ad formats, brands will need to play a deeper role in content origination. 

2. Content-creator partnerships. In addition to TV, movie, and pop stars, we now have Vine, YouTube, and Instagram stars.  I don’t mind how they are qualified by platform, although I could do without the implied disdain. The challenge for these new stars is that they’re novices at working with agencies and brands; the money they’re making comes burdened with intrusion and expectations.  At the same time, brands are inexperienced in the mechanics and utility of social video from the consumer mindset, where the creators are true experts. 

The current intermediaries are agents and MCNs (full disclosure: I work with both of those groups).  Together, ad agencies, talent and representatives, and brands need to develop a system of working together that is win-win-win for all.  These creators are not institutionally experienced in creating branded video;  they are opportunistically finding their way.  But that brand money is critical to the system because, unlike TV, film, and music, the ancillary revenue streams for digital video are negligible for all but a few. 

Ultimately, despite the fact that MCNs are being absorbed by larger media companies, there remains a lack of deep, ongoing partnerships between these amazing new creators and the marketing people trying to get their money into the system. I am not sure what these bigger relationships will look like, but I’ll know it when I see it.

Hopefully, in 2015.