Advertising Production Resources (APR), a content creation optimization consultancy that oversees more than $1B+ in global annual production spend – released its 2021 & Beyond Content Creation Trends & Predictions, highlighting many of the major transformations that the production industry underwent during the pressures of the pandemic and how those transformations will continue to affect content creation in the years to come.
This year’s trends include analyses on the increased demand for content at scale, content specifically made for e-commerce, and the colossal shift toward centralized productions onset by the digital acceleration of the last 18 months. Also on the rise is the need for more robust Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems, efficient processes to source and onboard Fit-for-Purpose content creation partners, and the vital role of data governance in modern production ecosystems. The primary theme around these trends is that brands must “challenge everything” they know about traditional content creation to modernize and optimize their own production efforts moving forward.
“The content creation industry landscape has changed definitively and with that comes the opportunity to test new content creation models. 2020 gave us the opportunity to evolve as an industry – which is a good thing, because we don’t believe that the traditional production model was serving us best to meet the needs of today’s marketers,” said APR Founder and CEO, Jillian Gibbs.
Unlike the past, where brands frequently led with top-of-the-funnel content, marketers will instead lead from the middle and lower levels of the funnel to ensure all asset requirements are met within budget to support their marketing plans. This means that brands will seek more efficient ways to produce content at scale, especially the high-volume assets required for real-time, personalized campaigns.
“Recent data shows that we vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in just eight weeks. Consumers were in constant digital immersion, necessitating innovative approaches for content creation. As a result, we have witnessed an increase in the number of assets needed to be produced across mediums and a substantial demand for targeted experiential messaging that is data-driven, relevant, and occasion-based,” he said.
Ecommerce is shifting away from simple online stores to more immersive brand experiences. One example is Walmart’s Wonder Lab, which demonstrates real-time product discovery through unboxing and playing with toys in a virtual space. Virtual social influencers are now common reality. These 3-D virtual characters have a real following on social media, and some are represented – and even “employed” – as actual people. For example, Lil Miquela is a computer-generated influencer who works with some of the world’s top fashion brands like Prada, Dior, and Calvin Klein. The Content Creation Trend is that these innovative e-commerce offerings require new approaches to production. Marketers must consider the production approaches to live streaming, virtual experiences, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), 360-degree product imaging, interactive video, and immersive product experiences.
“We predict that live commerce, increased use of influencer talent, and virtual stores will thrive in 2021. Social media will have the greatest impact on e-commerce, and brands will experience an increased demand for micro-content and real-time social commerce optimizations.”
The acceleration of e-commerce due to stay-at-home orders led to the merging of content, commerce, and community.
“Due to Covid-19, we are witnessing the production of more assets used for and the intersection of live streaming and e-commerce. The live-commerce industry, alone, was worth $170B in China in 2020, the equivalent of 2X the global box office today.”
Most marketers, he said, are seeking more control of their content creation, resulting in agility, quality, and efficiencies throughout production. Consequently, marketers are placing more emphasis on centralizing some of the many responsibilities that used to lie with individual agencies such as managing talent rights and payments, vendor relationships on contracts, music licensing, and stock usage rights.
“The governance of the modern content creation ecosystem requires new processes for what gets produced, by whom, and how, and getting the balance right between in-house content creation teams and external creative and production partners.”
Advertising Production Resources (APR) is a content creation optimization consultancy that oversees over $1 Billion in annual ad production spend for 60+ advertisers around the globe. With hands-on production backgrounds in TV, Print, OOH, Digital, Web, Mobile, Social & Experiential, our 200+ team members collaborate with advertisers and their creative resources to establish best practices & find efficiencies in advertising content creation. We utilize our unique vantage point and collaborative, integrated approach to drive innovation, improve production acumen, and increase return on investment for many of the world’s leading advertisers.
