Videos, VR and OTT shall rule the world of content marketing in five, or maximum ten years from now. In their latest report “1-Minute Reads for 3 BIG Trends Impacting Each of the 20 Most Compelling Transformative Technologies”ABI Research identified three macro trends which are expected to have the greatest impact on technology, influencing and pushing the marketing universe, in the nearest future. While it would be worth reading the report from beginning to end to get an update ( and be informed! ) on what is ahead of us with regard to marketing trends, we can say that the most interesting section of the text is the one focused on the evolution of videos, VR and the OTT, i.e. over-the-top – an acronym which indicates all companies which, through the web, provide contents, services and the so called “rich media” applications. Read it in Italian.
With this regard, the report points out what the most attentive observers may have already noticed: the contents market is literally reshaping both the video world and also TV, revolutionizing our traditional perspective. The crucial question to be asked is no longer “which service/content shall I offer?” but rather “which services do I need to support the contents I would like to offer?”. The range is quite wide: from SVOD (subscription video on demand) packages to TVOD (transactional video on demand) services for the rental or the possession of the contents themselves, or even the combination of the two. This is why ABI expects the video software market to reach about 4 billion dollars by 2021. An estimate which, in the forecast by Markets Insider may also exceed 10 billion dollars,with an annual growth rate of 23,2%.
With reference to contents, we can say that, thanks to the VR, this is the “360° moment”, i.e. it is the era of immersive contents which, within the video space, mix components belonging to other sectors, videogames in primis. And if in the past it was only videogames developers who could exploit immersive and interactive narrative techniques to make their products stand out, today we can find a sort of crossover world in which video editors take inspiration from techniques and ploys used by videogames creators to offer more exciting contents. And this is, actually, a global trend. For instance, in Italy, the Corriere della Sera has been relying on this a lot in recent times.
And the 360°trend, for obvious reasons, cannot exist without VR which, over the past few years, has both thrilled and disappointed experts. What is certain is that it is has not expressed its full potential (even financially speaking), yet. However, this technology is bound to make its mark and, according to ABI, longer than what can be said of 3D TV.
Interactive contents will evolve along with VR and, if everything goes according to plan, we will be able (and in a short time) to enjoy contents which will make the reader-viewer both an observer and a protagonist of the scenes, they will be able to explore directly to “investigate” news, international political meetings or simply social events.
Media, marketers and advertisers will have to gear up if they don’t want to be left behind!
Should contents evolve following the 360° trend, how would advertising change according to you? Tweet @agostinellialdo.
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