Mike Proulx - Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences by Connecting Television to the Web, Social Media, and Mobile

Contents

Copyright 2012 by Mike Proulx. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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For the late Don Harley.

Your mentorship has forever lighted my lamp.

M.C.P.

For WJRD.

Keep watching!!!!

S.S.H.

Preface

What Is in a Name?

Television has always been social. It would seem, then, that the name of our book, Social TV , implies that there is nothing new to say about the beloved entertainment medium. Yet that could not be further from the truth. Television nowadays is a very different experience than it was in 1941, when TV advertisements first began airing in the United States.

According to its strictest definition, the phrase social TV was coined to depict the convergence of television and social media. However, social TV has often been used in recent years as a catchall expression when referring to the modern era of television. While we tend to prefer the former definition, we painted using broad brush strokes throughout the book.

Televisions love affair with social media comprises a sizable chunk of our narrative. We also tackle the effect that mobile and tablet devices have had on the medium (Chapters 4 and 8) and examine the growing impact of Internet-connected TVs (Chapter 9). Recognizing that the blending of media also gives TV audiences a much more personalized experience, we even included a section dedicated to addressable advertising (Chapter 7).

We wrote this book as a guide for marketers. Each chapter illustrates a slice of the television landscape, fraught with examples and case studies, followed by a deep dive into the advertising implications that result. Mobile QR codes conclude each chapter. By simply scanning these with your smartphone, you will access second screen companion content that brings to life many of the examples we illustrate within the book.

We intend Social TV to appeal not only to brands but also agencies, television networks, content creators, educators, and even TV viewers. In order to keep the book manageable in size and scope, we focus primarily on broadcast television series and events. While we have included some content on news and sports, each of those verticals could be a book in and of themselves.

Though we interviewed nearly fifty companies and featured many additional ones throughout Social TV , it simply was not possible to include a description of or story about every player within the space. New companies with interesting solutions seem to crop up every week. So instead, we attempted to provide enough of a representative cross-section to help illustrate the most important trends that are impacting television today. You will also notice thatbecause things are changing at breakneck speedChapter 11 can only be accessed online. We purposefully waited to write the last chapter just as Social TV was released in order to bring you the most up-to-date information.

That is why one need not go back over seven decades to witness the profound shift in the media landscape. Television is changing before our very eyes. It is a perpetual work in progress; a living medium influenced by advances in technology and evolutions in human culture. Yet as TV continues to change in both form and function, it will forever remain social at its core. Welcome to Social TV .

Mike and Stacey

Notes

Acknowledgments

Social TV is our first book and we did not know exactly what to expect throughout its 10-month proposal, development, and launch process. The two of us are both floored by the level of support we have received from our colleagues, friends, and families.

Our employer, Hill Holliday, has been rooting us on from the very beginning, and we want to give special thanks to Mike Sheehan, Karen Kaplan, Baba Shetty, Cindy Stockwell, and Adam Cahill. Additionally, there were several other people at the agency who contributed to the books development. Thanks to Tracy Brady for her help with publicity. Scott Woolwine, Liz Colonto, and Mark Wong created the Social TV logo animation sequence. Thomas Peri is the photographer behind our cover headshots. Erica Sperry and Michael Abbott assisted with network buying research. Lenora Cushing advised us on business affairs. And Austin Gardner Smith designed the custom Tumblr theme for the books companion website.

We also want to thank the team at Wiley (Dan Ambrosio, Christine Moore, and Kim Dayman) for guiding us along the way.

Our book would be nothing without its content and we want to thank the people who provided us excellent seed material from which to write. In total, we spoke with nearly 50 different companies and over 75 industry leaders in order to glean background content, case studies, and/or direct quotes. Each of the following people enthusiastically made themselves available for meetings or conference calls and, in many cases, multiple follow-ups:

• ABC: Geri Wang, Rick Mandler, and Andrew Messina
• Backchannel Media: Madeleine Norton
• BET: J. P. Lespinasse
• Bluefin Labs: Deb Roy, Anjali Midha, and Tom Thai
• Boxee: Andrew Kippen