Last month, Mediaweek and Samsung Ads launched a video series called Behind the Screens.
The five-part short-form series presents interviews conducted by Mediaweek editor-in-chief James Manning.
Each episode features a key player in the TV sector who shares insights about the latest trends in the sector from changing viewing habits to advertising business models. The guests have been brought together to discuss challenges, opportunities and the transformation of the TV landscape.
Guests across the series feature executives from Nine, Seven, Foxtel Media, Paramount ANZ, the IAB, EssenceMedia and Samsung Ads.
Samsung Ads is Advanced TV advertising. Its smart TV advertising solutions are built on data from millions of Smart TVs in Australia.
For the final episode, The Future of Television, Behind the Screens speaks to the chief marketing officer at Nine Entertainment, Liana Dubois.
In the first episode Cathy Oh, VP & global head of marketing Samsung Ads, spoke about how technology is driving viewing behaviours, the future of connected TV advertising and key questions for marketers.
Watch episode 1 of Behind the Screens here.
In the second episode, Mark Frain, CEO Foxtel Media, and Nick Thomas, chief investment officer at EssenceMediacom Australia spoke about the importance of attention as a measurement of advertising success.
Watch episode 2 of Behind the Screens here.
In episode three, Richard Henson, Seven Network director distribution & content partnership, and Alex Spurzem, Samsung Ads ANZ general manager discuss the growth and opportunities offered by FAST channels.
Watch episode 3 of Behind the Screens here.
In episode four, Is connected TV the new cookie? our special guests were IAB chief executive Gai Le Roy and Paramount ANZ’s digital advertising and product director Shani Kugenthiran.
Watch episode 4 of Behind the Screens here.
Here are some highlights from her interview with James Manning:
Tell us about the importance of the TV business at Nine?
As group CMO for Nine, in addition to the television business we have a digital business, a radio business and a publishing business. My remit and my role spans the entirety of those assets. The focus for me is on growth and that’s what gets me out of bed every single day. I ask myself how Nine can continue it cultural relevance for the next 100 years as it has for the past 100.
How reactive do you need to be to things like ratings, and audience engagement?
We are beholden to audience numbers for live audiences and what is happening for video on demand and all catch-up numbers. We need to be on our toes every day having a look at what the results are which tell us about the mood of the nation and what Australians really want from us.
We need to be making sure we are creating content, product and services and offering frictionless experiences that enable them to come in and out of our environment in a way that they choose.
How important is the television sector?
Television is an extraordinary medium. I often talk of television as the cultural campfire. The relevance of television today is as much as it has always been. The question is really around the future of content. It’s all about content. “Content is king” and there is a reason that saying exists.
In order to maintain television’s relevance into the future, where we compete for people’s attention in a very competitive environment, I don’t think about traditional competitors. I am competing for people’s time and attention. What are we creating for them and producing for them, serving to them that is going to make them want to come and spend time with us?
How much input do you have with the other departments at Nine?
I spend a lot of time from a marketing point of view looking at audience insights. Keeping my finger as close as I can to the pulse of Australia. What’s happening to the culture, how is our country changing and what does that mean for us? A big part of my responsibility is to ensure everyone in our business is also acutely aware of audience insights and what is happening. That allows us to continue creating those products, experiences and services that today’s Australia, and a future Australia, wants and needs.
Tell us about what might be coming in the future?
We are constantly looking for what is next and what’s best for the future. Whether that is what’s happening on the 9Now platform, FAST channel strategies and what we might be experimenting with from a pure campaign point of view. How we might want to show up a little bit differently, the kind of activation we might do or how we might pop up in a surprising or delightful kind of way.
We are embarking on a FAST channel strategy whereby in 9Now we schedule content that might be served by genre, or by demographics. People will have more choice, that content will be easier to find, and it will be a frictionless experience to access premium television that everybody knows and loves.
You can watch and podcast Behind the Screens powered by Samsung Ads.
Episode one podcast
Episode one video
Episode two podcast
Episode two video
Episode three podcast
Episode three video
Episode four podcasts
Episode four video
