What Productions Trends Can We Expect in 2017?

As 2016 comes to a close, one area of our business that is perhaps less fashionable to reflect on or make predictions around is that of production. The output of all our effort, time and talent. But this area is fundamental to whether we have any impact on audiences.  So here’s where I think the industry, and in particular the production part of our industry, will go in 2017 …

Craft is King

Still fresh in our mind, the end of 2016 has once again seen holiday adverts that make the headlines for their storytelling-fuelled, “tug at the heartstrings” moments.  Brands step away from more traditional montage-style commercials and dig a bit deeper to tell a holiday tale of the kid at Christmas who believed his stuffed penguin came to life.  Or the grandfather who faked his own death just so that his kids would come home and share Christmas dinner with him.  It’s the time of year where we champion the craftswomen and men of our industry; from casting and production design to the music and special effects. There is no denying the time and effort that goes into these spots.

In 2017, I expect to see more of this, not only during the holiday season, but throughout the year.  And it will extend beyond a traditional TVC.  I expect to see more web-series or mini-epics such as this year’s Burberry spot, where the viewer forgets that they are watching an advert but feel more like they are scrolling through Netflix or watching movie trailers on Rotten Tomatoes.  

Made for mobile

We live in a mobile universe. We rely on our smart devices to connect with friends, pay for our groceries, invest our spare change, and stream live to the world at any particular moment in time.  

In 2017, mobile won’t be an afterthought or an addition-to, it will be the norm.  When filming, I expect to see landscape and portrait crop marks on the monitors (for those who refuse to change the orientation on their phone!). 

Video packages, not versions

I barely remember the last time I saw defined time lengths on a content brief.  The request is more often for “whatever time is needed to tell the story … oh, and it must work as a 30”.  In the next year I predict we’ll see less emphasis on delivering 60, 30, 15s plus online – the 1 min 4 seconds version that get put into awards. 

There’s also a growing request for additional content – 2 min, 15 second, gif and the digital display retail CTA. Video viewing is at an all-time high and a lot of it is done online; over 70% of internet bandwidth is used for video. Every major online player is developing proprietary video content. Consumers don’t care how it’s delivered as long as it is simple and entertaining.

The technology and, yes, VR

Of course I am going to mention VR, how can you not? 

People will continue to get excited about VR and it’ll be in lots of presentations but will it become a useful marketing tool? Cost and timeline implications are still being understood by both agencies and clients.  It’s a new way of thinking and developing creative with uncertain measurable results, so it’s still quite a leap of faith.  

Our prediction is that most clients will show an interest. Fumble a bit. Try again. And repeat. In the end it’ll be about making the tech add enough value to the understanding or experience of the brand – not just another way to experience the ad.

Experiential marketing – storydoing, not just storytelling

We’ve done a number of global activations this year with brands like HP Omen and Asics. It’s clear that marketing departments are getting better at amplifying those experiences for global audiences, moving beyond the mobile “pop-up shop” as a way of physically bringing the brand to the consumer.  Instead, we are breaking ground with increasingly innovative ways to get the product in the hands of the consumer in ways that are also entertaining for others to watch and not just those experiencing it.  With our HP Omen Challenge, we put one of the most powerful gaming laptops into the hands of professional gamers during a video game challenge streamed live on Twitch, while introducing real-time physical challenges that made it interesting to the non-gaming world as well.  This really broadened our reach in a way that was relevant and memorable for the participants and the audience.

In-house migration. 

In the evolving digital landscape, our attention spans are shrinking so brands must find ways to stay fresh in the minds of the consumer.  To supplement the main brand campaigns, we are seeing a growing request for more frequent, quick, entertaining bites of content.  So, in order to continually produce quality work while keeping things affordable, agencies are bringing production capabilities in-house and creating social and digital production teams that can generate large amounts of content quickly and at little cost. It’s why 180 Amsterdam launched 180 Studios earlier this year to create in-house, social and digital content and assets for clients like Trainline, Asics and Benetton. 

Quality can’t be neglected. Pumping out a load of average digital landfill isn’t necessarily the way to build long term growth. The desire to be able to measure the immediate – the likes, the shares, the clicks – suggests that the era of creating and producing brand clickbait is upon us and much like any of the sites that use clickbait to build their value, their long term health is in serious jeopardy. 

2016…F*#k you

This year … well, parts of it REALLY sucked! The upside is that it got people asking themselves how can they have a voice and what they can do to help.  I predict that in the coming year(s), more agencies will team up with production companies, developers and organisations to create powerful messages that get the world talking and acting responsibly.  Whether it’s donating to a charity, standing up against hate crimes or bringing awareness to a cause that has been overshadowed; there are, unfortunately, more reasons than ever for the industry to use their powers for good.