Month: March 2020

Shooting remotely costs roughly half to one-third of the amount of money for a traditional shoot, according to three producers. The savings range based on the various expenses that can be cut from the budget for a remote production. Expenses, such as travel, location fees, equipment rentals and associated insurance costs, no longer need to be accounted for under quarantine. And while companies take no pleasure in withholding work from freelancers, they do not need to hire makeup artists or lighting operators when they are forced to ask their shows’ hosts and other talent to handle those elements of production.

Any amount of money saved can be crucial for media companies trying to protect their employees and businesses as the coronavirus pandemic causes revenue sources such as advertising and events to dry up. BuzzFeed, Vice and Group Nine have already announced they will cut at least some employees’ salaries in hopes of avoiding layoffs. Similar to the pay cuts, the production savings may only offer temporary relief. But some companies are choosing to put the money back into content production so that they may generate more revenue.

Complex Networks is already using the money saved from its remote productions to hire freelancers to produce more articles for its editorial sites.

“Shooting shows at home is inherently less expensive to produce, so we’ve taken some dollars that are going to be perceived savings and reallocated them to editorial to beef up our editorial output. We’ve done the same thing with social,” said Justin Killion, gm and evp of operations and content services at Complex Networks.

Thanks to the savings, Food52 plans to add one or two more remotely produced videos to its YouTube channel each week, in addition to its existing shows like “Genius Recipes,” said executive producer Gabriella Mangino. The company has also begun producing a new series for Instagram’s IGTV called “At Home with Us” and is posting one to two episodes a day.

Producers are happy to help offset any revenue hits their companies may suffer, and they hope the savings will eventually return to them, carrying over to productions they had planned before the pandemic. However, some producers are concerned that the reduced production budgets may become permanent after the pandemic is over.

“I think that’s definitely something to think about because we’ve proven to be scrappy [in the past] and that’s actually affected the budgets we’ve gotten,” said one producer.

“If we were still at a public company, the pressures would be different,” said Felsenthal. Time officially left Meredith’s ownership exactly a year ago on April 1, 2019. “We were one of 24 to 40 brands that didn’t get much focus within the previous environment, but now we’re in expansion mode,” he said. 

Using its resources, Time is adapting its existing franchises, such as digitizing its newly formed Time 100 Health Summit and moving its Time for Kids product online with open access. It is also creating new content packages around the coverage including a coronavirus newsletter with nearly 50,000 subscribers and an open rate of 60%. Though not unscathed, the publisher had to postpone several of its events to later in the year, moving some of the corresponding sponsorship revenue to later in the year as well.

Since joining the team, president Keith Grossman has focused on growing the company’s commercial and sales division — hiring over 50 people on the business side — and now, Time is actively hiring for more than 10 positions, most of which are anchored in the consumer revenue and technology divisions, according to Felsenthal. Several other large publishers, like Hearst and Business Insider, however, announced temporary hiring pauses, according to company spokespeople.

Time’s U.S. offices were given early warnings from its Hong Kong office, which had a correspondent in Wuhan covering the coronavirus since January 21, according to CEO Edward Felsenthal. It also served as a blueprint for how Time would function remotely.

“Marketing budgets are obviously going to contract, which is why we’re focusing on other areas,” Felsenthal said. “We recognize that investing in consumer, technology and studios are even more important today than they were three months ago.”

Time hasn’t experienced a decrease in advertising revenue yet, according to Felsenthal. Ad sales were up 17% year over year in the first quarter, he said, and the sales team closed three sponsorship deals in the past two weeks despite the turbulence in the economy. 

Additionally, he said the company’s overall revenue was up 17% in the first quarter year over year, putting the company in a stronger position for dealing with any potential revenue hits in the second quarter. 

Currently, one-third of the company’s overall revenue comes from consumer revenue, with its advertising business and studios business making up the remaining two-thirds, according to Felsenthal. All of the company’s businesses filter within those three areas.  

Since going all-remote, the company has published two issues of its weekly magazine and two issues of the Time for Kids magazine. Week over week, Felsenthal said that Time has had an 80% increase in gift subscriptions as well as a 70% increase in online orders for the magazine, which he attributes to increased traffic on the website. 

In March, Time had over 62 million unique visitors, according to Google Analytics, which is 77% higher than the publisher’s average of 35 million unique monthly visitors over the past six months.

With the financial backing of Google, AT&T, HP and PwC Charitable Foundation, Time for Kids — originally only available as a print product in classrooms — was made available to students at home and in just over a week of going live, the digital library has been downloaded over 165,000 times.

As for event sponsorships, all of the events scheduled for the spring and early summer, including the Time 100 Summit, were moved to the fall and Felsenthal said all of the sponsors for the Time 100 Summit stayed on board with the later date.  

There is a goal to develop a virtual version of its Time 100 Health Summit, which took place in October, as well, which will invite the 800 previous attendees to a discussion forum around the pandemic. The date has not been set yet for the Virtual Health Conference, however it would be done as an addition to its other events, rather than a replacement, Felsenthal said.

Time’s production company, Time Studios, is also an area of focus, as it is currently bringing in new licensing revenue for the company. The video team recently signed a deal with PBS to show its two-hour long special on the opioid crisis. The Studios team is actively working on its first scripted project based on its “Women of the Year” issue, as well.

“There is a huge demand in the long form video space with things that have already been shot,” Felsenthal said.

Eddie Koller, managing partner of recruitment and executive search agency Koller Search Partners, said that 40% of the company’s business comes from media clients. While some of those clients have delayed the hiring process for some of their openings, he said many are still focused on strategic hiring, particularly for roles that will have a “direct impact on the top line revenue and bottom line profitability.” 

For some publishers that are focused on developing a targeted audience through a membership model, Koller said he has seen an increase of searches around the audience development leadership positions because of their immediate impacts on revenue generation.

Over the last month, the number of U.S. users watching live video on Facebook has surged 50% compared to February, according to the company. Now that people can’t attend a concert or visit the zoo, Facebook Live has gone from being the backup way to experience those events to be one of the only ways. 

“Over the last week or so there have been celebrities using Facebook Live as well as news organizations highlighting how people are using it so its something that we’ll be talking to our clients about,” said John Tebault, group director of search and social at iCrossing. 

Those conversations will happen over the next two months once Tebault’s team has had time to run post mortems on what live-streams have and haven’t worked. 

Defected Records has been streaming virtual festivals on Facebook Live this month. Six of the record label’s DJs streamed directly from either their home or studio last Friday, which generated one million views on Facebook Live. Views were higher the week before at 1.5 million, albeit over a longer 12-hour set. For context, BuzzFeed News Facebook Live videos had less than 50,000 views when they called time on the service in 2018. 

“It’s almost like the original purpose of Facebook Live has resurfaced from the mess we’re in right now,” said James Kirkham chief business officer at Defected Records, who attributed the popularity of the live streams to the platform’s ability to aggregate a vast audience. 

Defected Records live-streams will continue for as long as possible over Facebook Live, YouTube and Twitter, he said. 

Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Beer has made similar moves. 

Last week, the brewer launched a weekly live-streamed game show on Facebook Live to raise money for bartenders struggling for money during the pandemic. Each week contestants can win prizes like branded swag and donate to the U.S. Bartenders Guild, which launched to assist bartenders during the pandemic. 

“Over the past two weeks we’ve seen more progress culturally and organizationally in developing virtual experiences than we have in the past five years,” said Oliver Feldwick, head of innovation at media agency The&Partnership.” 

For now, however, these efforts are focused squarely on creating content for live-streams on the social network rather than advertising within them. Opportunities to promote live broadcasts via paid formats on Facebook have always been limited, leaving marketers to rely on organic reach for success. 

“From an advertising perspective, often we found that the majority of audience reach on FB live videos was gained after the event itself so the value of Facebook Live needed to be carefully considered,” said Natalie Carder, head of paid social for Zenith. It wasn’t the live element that made Facebook Live tick for advertisers, it was more the audience participation aspect, said Carder. 

To capitalize on the renewed interest in Facebook Live, the social network is working on new features and evolving the existing ones. These updates range from letting more publishers and creators to monetize their live videos to making them more accessible to people who aren’t on Facebook . 

In fact, there are even signs to suggest that Facebook will start actively pitching Facebook Live to advertisers again. The social network pitched and supported the launch of Facebook Live from 2016 through to 2018, said Carder. But with so many more use cases now to share, the social network seems poised to bring it back to pitch decks. Facebook has already asked Defected Records if its live-streams can be used as a case study for Facebook Live, said Kirkham. 

It’s a stark contrast to where Facebook Live was in November when the social network removed the feature to add friends to live-streams. By making its live streams less shareable it seemed Facebook Live was no longer a priority for the social network. It had bet big on everyone streaming their lives in real-time, but the gamble was arguably a little too late. Facebook Live launched when the social network’s younger users were already moving to Instagram and Snapchat where formats like Stories and augmented reality were easier for advertisers to grasp. 

There was also a clearer monetization strategy behind those formats, at least in the case of Stories. Conversely, the ad model for live video on Facebook didn’t mature to the levels seen for other video formats on Facebook. A lack of meaningful revenue shared with publishers hampers the amount of social live production because it doesn’t always make financial sense, for example.

“This is a key point because producing high-quality live videos can be expensive, and content owners need to have a clear pathway to commercialize this investment in time and resources for any live video platform,” said Gareth Capon, CEO at video tech platform Grabyo. 

The problem for Facebook is what comes next. Renewed popularity and new updates will only go so far. After all, a lot of activity is moving to Facebook Live because people can’t do it in person. Not to mention the fact that Facebook Live was a conduit for videos that would be prohibited on mainstream media, from the death of African-American men at the hands of law enforcement to a terrorist’s massacre of 50 Muslims. 

“Facebook Live may be at a pivotal point in time,” said Casey Fitzsimmons, global client lead at PHD. Usage for the various Facebook platforms has grown exponentially as people look at new ways of connecting and explore new apps,” said Fitzsimmons

“We’re making ads quickly,” said TBWA/Chiat/Day CEO Rob Schwartz; the agency has also created a new ad for Nissan to speak to the current moment. “We’re not talking about Super Bowl ads. We’re talking about response ads.” The overriding message of the response ads in the market is how brands can “be helpful,” added Schwartz.

New advertising has emerged amid the coronavirus pandemic. But for most marketers, who are replacing ads that were running prior to the crisis, it’s a tough balance to strike. On one hand, they need to nod at the reality of people’s uncertain lives. At the same time, they also want to be seen as present, and even useful. The messages vary by brand but generally have shifted away from promotions or sales-driven messaging to reflect a more helpful tone, telling consumers how a particular brand can do for them or reflect the dramatic changes to day-to-day life during the current moment.

“This is really about responding to people,” said Hyundai CMO Angela Zepeda. The carmaker is among the marketers with new ads running that respond to the crisis; the spot touts its revival of the Hyundai Assurance program. “We have had to break processes to get to market really fast.” Hyundai used footage it had on hand and new voiceover to get its message across. While much of the ad is showcasing its cars, the company did want to show people in its spot to make sure that its message of the importance of family would resonate. 

Using that tactic — fostering a sense of community with some version of “we’re in this together” and making explicit how big businesses are trying to help — is common. Case in point: GMC/Buick is letting people know that the carmaker is “here to help” with its new ad; Walmart is celebrating its employees, dubbed “heroes” in its new spot; and Jack Daniels is showing you how to share a drink with friends via social distancing, to name a few. 

When it comes to television, OTT and video ad placements, many of those major marketers like Hyundai and Quickbooks are removing ads they had running in-market. Instead, they are now running new spots that lean on voiceover and copywriting to get the brand’s message across while using previously shot or user-generated footage. For radio and podcast ads, new voiceover work using a similar response is also used. As for digital and social ads, some are simply echoing the work on TV. Others, especially smaller direct-to-consumer marketers, are only using digital and social ads to address the moment by telling people to stay inside (like Nike and Adidas) or showing ways they can use the brand to help them while staying inside. 

“We’re using words like ‘comfy’ and changing the language to be about lounging and being comfortable,” said Kevin Simonson, vp of social for Wpromote, of the ads the company is running for its clients, many of which are startups, on social channels as well as in email marketing. “You’re not using words like ‘workwear.’ The ad copy speaks to the moment and the images show people in their homes rather than out on the town.” The agency is using its ads to speak to the changing behaviors of its consumers and implying changes rather than explicitly stating why those behaviors have changed. 

Reflecting the changing nature of everyday life in ad copy while still being sensitive and avoiding promotional language is the delicate balance agencies and brands are looking to manage with the new ads in the market. Getting it right is difficult and will continue to be.

“What the right tone to strike with your advertising is changing week by week,” said brand consultant and co-founder of Metaforce, Allen Adamson. “It’s a really fluid time to be creating ads. You don’t know what will be out there by the time your ad runs. Even when you’re trying to do good it just feels like marketers are trying too hard. They need to be really sure that what they have to say is relevant right now.” 

Doing its bit, Dazed is participating in initiatives like “Culture is not Canceled” to showcase creativity without physical access. Hack is also on the board of the Creative Industries Federation and involved in lobbying for payment relief for self-employed creatives. The CEO discusses how Dazed, with 120 staff, is staying valuable to brand partners. The interview has been edited and condensed.

How are you and staff adapting to the new reality? 

Isolation is a big psychological challenge. It’s going to be tough. We are taking the best duty of care for our staff and applying the same consideration to our audience. There’s a lot to be said about the power of digital media: It’s interactive, you are connecting, you can have a two-way dialogue. You can binge-watch a lot in lockdown but it will drive you crazy. There’s only so much Netflix you can watch.

What are you offering your audience that’s different?

The first thing was to launch [campaign] “Alone Together”. Clarity of purpose is the most important thing the media can be thinking of right now. There’s also a bigger emphasis on live, participatory media and interactive elements. We’re launching various Facebook groups where editors are in constant dialogue with our audience.

How is your output changing? 

We can produce many things from isolation. We’re doing double what we were doing before coronavirus. We’re making shows, involving the audience. We’re talking to artists like [musician and cover star for its virtual issue] Billie Eilish about what we can do now they aren’t performing, there are no festivals but there’s a desire to connect with people. 

We’ve canceled the summer print issue, instead, it will be a reader-created virtual issue. The best thing for us to do right now is to represent how young creative people are expressing themselves in isolation.

How are you talking with your brand partners?

We’re sharing a digital care package every fortnight of insights about our audiences’ needs. Dazed and Nowness operate in China so we’re getting insights from a longer gestation of coronavirus. We’re speaking to everyone we are working with and asking ‘how can we support you through this, how can we share ideas to help navigate through a different time?’ Without it being a conversation about money, conversations about money right now are kind of irrelevant.

But publishers need to manage their cash flow as much as anyone does.

I’m not being naive about it, but everyone has been affected on every level, which makes you see the scale and enormity of it.

Some of our energy has gone into more humanitarian efforts. How can we help the most vulnerable and at risk: 50% of workers in the creative industries are freelancers. They are the life and soul of our culture. We are working with Hong Kong partners distributing 300,000 masks over here.

What are you hearing from advertisers?

No one is really making any moves. They are all doing corporate announcements rather than ad campaigns. We see that as the trend for the next few months. For our legacy campaigns, like our tie in with Converse for our Dazed 100, we’re talking about modifying the message for an audience in crisis, a post-corona reality. 

What does this mean for the business outlook for Dazed?

All our brand partners see us as being core to their value and vision. Initial conversations make me feel confident for the future, the short term is very tough and I have to take a hit on that. The fall is our peak time but I’m anticipating a massive reduction in spend: 70% less revenue for what I had projected. It will come back but slowly and in a different way. We need to look at a two-year road map to get to a similar sort of revenue projection. If we don’t do that we are not being realistic. We have to err on side of caution.

We’re in shock at the moment. There is no road map. We’re all making it up as we go along. There are new best practices coming out of different behaviors. As a publisher who has had a strong social purpose and agenda, we have a built-in sensitivity that puts us in good stead in navigating a time of crisis where it’s about the emotional and social wellbeing of the audience. 

How do you managing through a crisis when the outcome is so uncertain?

The question has to be ‘how do you make a call or judgment where there is no precedent?’ You have to apply common sense and put your values and authenticity before anything. Do that and I believe the business will follow. I don’t believe we are going to go back to business as usual, there is no business as usual after this. There is, what are your value propositions to your audience? Does it square with mine and my audience? If so let’s work together. 

Wasn’t it like that before?

It was for me, I don’t know for others. Those in the middle, the bloating excesses of our industry, they come into sharp relief. When the value proposition to the audience was never clear. When the media — from a creative, strategic side — treated the audience as a number and not communities of people with real emotions.

Has your day today changed?

I’m feeling very adrenalized by the threat and the task at hand. There is so much at stake — on the humanitarian and cultural side — and so urgent speed of action is imperative. There’s the duty of care to staff. I’m trying to apply some self-care, exercise and meditate, eat healthily, I’ve quit smoking too so I have the energy to put into the challenge. 

Dazed will be around another 30 years. This is a massive reset, we’re not going back. If we want to set any agenda —  a person of influence, a media owner or brand owner — it needs to be done quickly. Anyone sitting back seeing how it plays out is part of the problem rather than the solution. I only want to work with people who are part of the solution.

Image: Sarah Piantadosi.