The Expectations of a Millennial Generation

No industry ever stands still. This fact is just as true for directors as it is in any other sector. Next time we catch ourselves bemoaning today's industry budgets and lamenting how "its not like the good old days", we should ask where the current action really is and be sure to get a slice of it.

Film directors including Kevin Macdonald and Jon Landau are spearheading the way our industry needs to evolve. The challenge for all of us now is how to produce content for a millennial generation who no longer watch television in its traditional form.

The two directors mentioned have experimented with ideas around crowdsourcing to drive deeper engagement with their intended audiences [you can also read Darren Khan's piece on creative crowdsourcing by clicking here].

Kevin Macdonald produced Life in a Day [below], a film comprising an arranged series of videos se-lected from 80,000 clips submitted to YouTube. Jon Landau, meanwhile is working with brands and young filmmakers to crowdsource new creative ideas that the millennial generation can relate to and, more importantly, engage with.

The work of forward-thinking film and TVC directors is important for our industry. Currently, the mindset of traditional TVC directors is directly at odds with the way we consume media and this needs to change.

This generation of filmmakers and established directors who have embraced this new interactive way of thinking are ‘integrated directors’. They work within teams to ensure that short-form content complements digital formats and integrates effectively with social strategies for second-screen viewers.

One of our millennial directors at B-Reel is a guy called Miles Jay. His work includes an amazing piece of video on behalf of Facebook Messenger that was shot in Mexico and edited day-to-day.

Miles understands the need for real-time content with high production values and his Facebook film has been consumed by more than six million viewers. It’s the true story of a Mexican from a remote village who had never travelled around his country. He’s given Facebook Messenger and begins to interact with people from different cities and towns who offer to meet, host or show him around.

Facebook Messenger - Case Study from B-Reel on Vimeo.

By producing this content in real-time, Mexicans could follow and engage with his ongoing journey via Facebook, instead of only being able to view a TVC six months later that would have offered no interaction and therefore limited measurable engagement.

Cross-platform story-telling and driving deeper engagement by incorporating social interaction into TVC content will not only redefine our industry, it will be the making of it as well.

Brands are finding increased budgets for more holistic campaigns that can guarantee amplification and reach. As budgets decline in traditional TVC environments, production companies and agencies need to adopt a more interactive approach, combining digital with televisual creative. This is where the money is now and just as importantly the true creativity and innovation.

Millennials are currently employed in brand marketing and digital departments and they demand fresh innovative ideas and original ways to engage with more targeted audiences. If we promise to deliver, they’ll ensure that increased budgets are made available.

Take Xbox One’s Glitch TV campaign which B-Reel made before I joined for example. Microsoft wanted to engage its most die-hard and tech savvy fans, so they inserted a one-second 'blink and you'll miss it' clip into the middle of a nationwide Xbox One commercial [below].

To the untrained eye, it looked like a ‘glitch’ but to coders and gamers alike, it created intrigue and the desire to discover the clues within the 25 frames that would unlock prizes such as consoles and a trip to LA.

The debate over what clues could be found within the Glitch TVC raged across social channels and generated a huge amount of positive exposure for Xbox One. It was measurable, targeted and tapped into a generation of gamers who want their content served up in unique and different ways.

Brands who understand this new world are only too happy to oblige. Traditional TVC production companies who bemoan the present state of television advertising and desire a return to the past, won’t be a part of this exciting and revelatory future.