The Small Picture

Gaurav Dharmani
Nov 4 · 3 min read

“No more searching for the exact dress you fell in love with, the hat that catches your fancy, the liquor brand the Mad Men drink…”

Small screen content consumption is growing constantly with increasing internet penetration around the globe. With smartphones becoming the primary methods of screen interaction for millions of users, the movie industry is shifting slowly but gradually from the theatres to the streaming platforms. Simultaneously in the world of e-commerce, sales figures have never been higher. With both only set to rise further in the same platform, there’s a potential to collaborate and grow from cross competencies of customer engagement (entertainment industry) and customer retention (e-commerce industry).

The ‘X-Ray’ feature in Amazon Prime Video, is an excellent way to increase fan engagement with the content. For the uninitiated, it shows the cast of the scene, and the insights from behind the scenes, location, history, and more. However, it has stayed limited in its scope and imagination. Imagine if, with the trivia, the consumers are shown affiliate links to products that have been used in the scene. No more searching for the exact dress you fell in love with, the hat that catches your fancy, the liquor brand the Mad Men drink, and so on. Product placement as a concept is not new to the movie industry and can only set to create a revolution if adapted to the digital medium in a way that enhances customer engagement.

An idea is not worth a cent if the ask is much and the returns are not profitable for all the stakeholders. With that key aspect, here are how all stakeholders will optimize the idea:

1. Consumers
The Ask:
Click or tap on scenes for products that they like while watching their favourite content.
The Reward: Enhances Customer Experience. Saves hours of scrolling and searching products that fit their needs.
Bonus: Seeing products in the scene helps visualize how the product or service fits in a lifestyle. Finding products easily encourages fandom, merchandise, collectibles, and so on.

2. Production Studios
The Ask: Seeking out product placement opportunities and collaborations. Prop list per scene available with the art and set production department to be transferred to OTTs.
The Reward: Direct revenue options via affiliate products, auctions, merchandise, and so on.
Bonus: Increased data awareness of fans to help with targeted marketing, both digital and physical.

3. Brands / Products & Services / E-Commerce Websites
The Ask: Create affiliate links and programs to partner with studios.
The Reward: Increase in Sales revenue. Increased targeted data points for customer preferences.
Bonus: New method of Customer Acquisition. Improves LTV: CAC ratio due to engagement by not just a consumer but a fan.

4. OTTs / Streaming Platforms
The Ask: Phase 1 — Additional coding to enable links in trivia. Phase 2 — Motion tracking objects once Phase 1 has achieved internally set KPIs.
The Reward: Earnings through affiliate links. Increased targeted data points for customer preferences.
Bonus: Safeguards against piracy by technological innovation. Promotes primary e-commerce business for Disney, Amazon, Walmart, or Costco. Sneaks in advertising dollars even if the primary business is subscription revenue.

The movie production studios, irrespective of their scale and clout, seek mainly to develop fans that promise continuous engagement with a low-risk franchise/sequel model. Customer experience being paramount in this industry brings in advantages that the e-commerce industry can collaborate and mutually both can capitalize from. Walt Disney Co. has the advantage of having built worlds that consumers are invested in, and they can make the best of online sales with relative ease when it does launch Disney+. Walmart and Costco may be far from being entertainment wizards, but their anticipated individual entries into the streaming service market can turn a few heads if they manage to create a symbiotic relationship with their main business. Until then, Amazon is just one step away from being the leader yet again.

#CX19 #marketing #customerexperience #innovation #streamingmedia #ecommerce

Gaurav Dharmani

Written by

Observer and Commentator in realm of Media, Marketing, Politics, Philosophy and more.

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