• by Kristine Shine , February 22, 2013

This season’s must-watch film, “Argo,” tells the story of a group of content creators who took the media and utilized content to deliver a message that helped change the lives of those who some say would have died without their ability to make the “media the message.” The film and its characters, for many, delivered an “inside” look as to how media messages are delivered and digested by the general public in modern culture.  

For many years, media companies sold advertising and consumers digested, or actually hopefully digested a range of media images and messages. Today, in the ecosystem of content creators, the brands that we are all collaborating with have a unique opportunity to change the menu while still “serving up” the traditional favorites of display ads.

They are designed to grab your attention, but we’re also able to add so much more to the menu.  We’re able to create digestible media that is truly measurable; not just through the digital analytics that drive us all for accountability, but an even deeper relationship. It is content that grabs the attention of consumers and actually gets them to hit the “buy now” button, fill their cart with goods and check out; all motivated by this new recipe for consumer media consumption. Not only are we creating media that crosses new business verticals but various platforms, truly connecting all media in a way that is new and innovative.

This paradigm shift finds commerce now playing a very complimentary role to content, as  advertising has done for years; we see this in businesses across the spectrum – from success like the “Dollar Shave” video that went viral to lifestyle content that is filling mobile devices, tablets and computer screens. This redefining the relationship among advertising, content and commerce is going to be a progression that very quickly starts to fill video content sites and it will not be long before this method becomes the norm, rather than the subject of an opinion piece such as the one you read today.

The true magic of where this all leads us to is the most powerful analytic of all; “is my product selling?” If one is to consider the multibillion-dollar infomercial business, it has been operating on this methodology, quite successfully for years. The opportunities in this new redefinition are limitless and in the same way that the right celebrities could power a successful infomercial (think Suzanne Somers’ enormous hit the “Thighmaster”), engaging content can power retail sales. And what consumer brand wouldn’t want to wrap itself around this powerful consumer dynamic; this is where advertising becomes a compliment to this engaging, transactional experience.

For content creators, we are experiencing a new shift. We are creating content that actually engages and activates (capturing consumer attention and buying power in the same moment). There are very few opportunities to directly influence consumer behavior as clearly as this new paradigm. The brands that can capture the emotion, attention and activation of spending will be the brands that truly have cooked up the recipe for what is not only like “Argo may be this year’s Best Picture” but a new way to experience media – which is truly “award-worthy.”