It’s the new year, which means everyone is posting their year in reviews and predictions for next year. Of course, that also means Q4 projects coming in just before annual budgets roll over. Combine that with a refreshed website and you get one super swamped DVI team, which has put us slightly behind on our New Years update (I’l take good problems for 500 Alex)!
Without further ado, here is our (slightly delayed) list of predictions for 2015
Smart Companies will move away from Traditional Mega Agencies
Video Marketing needs are growing much faster than marketing budgets. That shift has CMO’s questioning whether their relationships with their agencies are healthy, or parasitic. In order to get more content out of smaller budgets, look for a shift from huge-super star agencies with a lot of bloat and overhead to smaller, more nimble creative teams.
The definition of Production Company will change
As Agencies start to shrink, companies will turn to relationships with production companies to fill the gap. Companies that really want to thrive in this environment will adapt and grow into the role that Agencies used to fill. In 2015, marketers will look to their production companies as partners instead of vendors, and with that, will expect them to provide creative, strategy, and distribution in addition to execution. Small, nimble companies that are still able to fill that role will start to emerge and thrive in this new landscape.
The trend towards shorter videos will continue
2014 was the year marketers finally started to realize what audiences have naturally understood for years: no one wants to watch a 2 minute long corporate video. Vine, Instagram, and :15 second preroll ads have only shortened consumer patience with long video. As content becomes more focused, and broken up into smaller, digestible morsels, expect 2015 to be the year of the short form video – even in instructional, or other traditionally long form video formats.
Great Creative will be more important than ever
With videos getting shorter, and more importance being placed on dense, audience-aware content, video producers who can bring great creative will be in high demand among marketers. There will always be point and click production companies, but telling a story in :15 seconds will require an understanding of video as a medium that will separate the heavyweights from the pretenders.
Companies will look for economies of scale in content marketing
Google’s renewed focus on content for SEO and a need for video content on a budget will force marketers and video producers alike to get creative in 2015. Companies will look for ways to repurpose, breakdown, or combine productions in order to fit more content into already shrinking budgets. Producers who want to win business will need to be prepared to offer value adds and content strategies instead of just single, long form projects.
Companies will drop one-size-fits all TV spots in favor of multiple hyper-focused ads
The slow death of traditional media, and the rise of Netflix and its ilk will have a huge impact on advertisers in 2015. As television becomes a less sure-fire way to make impressions (especially among younger viewers) internet distribution will present a unique challenge. The fractured internet viewer base requires more focused creative, but offers the opportunity to engage customers more deeply and organically than blanket TV spots. At the same time, the reduced distribution costs associated with internet buys will mean less penetration for each spot, but greater opportunity to grow production budgets and spread them across multiple videos, aimed at multiple audiences.
No one will say the word Crowdsourcing
At least, we hope so.