For years, traditional television has ruled the roost. Despite the rapid rise of mobile video, social video and over-the-top (OTT) content, the living room has remained a safe haven for media companies, who have continued to command global audiences largely unchallenged.
But could this be changing?
Recent growth in the number of big-name brands like RedBull and UK retailers Matalan and Iceland who are starting to deliver broadcast-style content offerings appears to be signalling a move by mainstream retailers into the media domain.
To understand how this trend is playing out across the European region, Brightcove recently commissioned research firm Vanson Bourne to explore how brands are experimenting with TV-like video content in order to engage customers – and whether consumers are actually ready to let these brands into their living rooms.
Comparing the responses of 200 retail decision makers and 2,000 consumers across the UK, France, and Germany, the resulting report – The Future of Retail: Streaming into Your Living Room – reveals an interesting future interplay between content producer and audience, and highlights a clear and growing opportunity for TV-like brand content from retailers.
Here’s a quick snapshot of what we found:
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Retailers are readying themselves for a media future – With 8 in 10 (81%) retailers anticipating a future as a media company, and 7 in 10 (71%) saying they are on their way to becoming one, brands are clearly preparing themselves for a change in direction. In fact, almost two thirds (61%) told us that their organisation is already delivering ‘lean-back’ or TV-like content services to consumers, and a further third (33%) have plans to do so within the next two years.
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Consumers are sceptical, but their appetite is apparent – Though consumers seem wary of TV-like content from brands – with less than half (40%) saying they have watched such content to date – 6 in 10 (62%) would be open to watching TV-like content from retailers in future; especially if it came from their favourite brands (51%).
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Content discovery is key – More than half (65%) of the consumers that hadn’t watched branded ‘lean-back’ content before said they’d simply not come across it. Linked to this, of those that had watched, only a quarter had been served the content via advertising (27%) or as a result of direct targeting (26%). The takeaway: for branded TV-like content to succeed, discovery is key.
To learn more about what these findings could mean for your business, and for insights on how to successfully navigate the transition from brand to broadcaster, download a copy of the full research report here: http://go.brightcove.com/marketing-future-of-retail.
Access the free full report "The Future of Retail"