Variety returns in-person for its annual Entertainment & Technology Summit, presented by City National Bank. This one-day event will explore advancing technology’s impact on TV, film, gaming, music, digital media and consumer brands.
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00:00Joining me for this panel are Mike Benson, President and CMO of CBS,
00:05Danielle Bakas, EVP of International Marketing, Warner Brothers Pictures,
00:10Danielle DePalma, EVP of Global Marketing for Paramount Pictures,
00:14Christine Siegrist, VP of Consumer Marketing at Canva,
00:18and Elena Sulzer, Head of Entertainment at Snap.
00:22Well, because we're talking about storytelling across platforms,
00:27there was actually some news just about 20 minutes ago that Yellowstone is going
00:32to not only make its, you know, series premiere on Paramount Plus,
00:35but then will air on CBS as well.
00:38And it seems like a good way to kind of kick off this conversation.
00:42And so to kick off this conversation with you, Mike, to talk about that idea
00:47of this show that is one of the biggest shows on television and what it means
00:53to have it appear quite literally across platforms in its long-awaited debut.
00:59Yeah, well, we look at Yellowstone as a real opportunity for the company, right?
01:03And the way we look at things, and Danielle and I and a lot of us at Paramount
01:08and CBS talk about this all the time, it's not just about the individual shows
01:12and the individual brands, how do we elevate the entire company?
01:16And so when we were thinking about the premiere of Yellowstone,
01:19it actually came from George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy as to, like,
01:23how do we start to think about creating sampling opportunities for that?
01:27And the reach with CBS is so significant.
01:30And the data that we've got shows that we can actually grow the reach and grow the size
01:34of the audience by actually putting the premiere on CBS.
01:38So it was really a unique opportunity for us to not only make some noise
01:42from a media perspective, but gain reach and hopefully bring some new audiences in.
01:48And we think it's good for both Yellowstone, but also really great
01:51for audiences watching CBS as well.
01:54So how does that kind of relate, as you mentioned, to, like, the overall strategy
01:59when you're thinking about marketing across the CBS family?
02:03We have to have partnerships.
02:04I think what's really apparent to us out of necessity is we need to understand the strengths
02:10of our properties and the brands and how we are doing that in a way that feels authentic
02:16and organic to the IPs that we've got.
02:19And so if it's something like Tulsa King or Transformers, we want to do something in a way
02:25that feels like it's going to add value for the audience as much value as it's going to add
02:30for us from a marketing perspective as well.
02:33Yeah, I mean, I feel fortunate that we get to work so closely together and across all
02:37of the networks because, you know, for any, you know, any one of our films,
02:40we look at what are the opportunities to kind of market our films across the organization.
02:44And I think Bob Marley was a great example and great timing for us to be able to leverage,
02:49you know, the many different networks.
02:50And, you know, we were able to have a great Super Bowl presence for Bob Marley.
02:54We were integrated into the Grammys.
02:55We were able to focus on, you know, music and behind the music on MTV.
02:59So really tapping into all of the different networks
03:01to tell the film story across all those different platforms.
03:04Yeah, I think it's important to note, too, it's not just about an exchange of marketing.
03:10And so, like, Yellowstone really shows that, like, well,
03:12let's actually put the physical program on CBS or let's create integrations in the NFL
03:18or let's put talent in the Grammy presentation and dovetail that with advertising
03:23and promotion time within the show.
03:25So it really becomes a big, a broader platform or a broader approach
03:30to tell the stories that we need to tell.
03:32Like I was telling you guys backstage, it's quite a moment when you have, you know,
03:35I'm just watching football and then next, you know, Tom Cruise is jumping out of a plane.
03:40And I'm like, oh, yes, he is shooting Mission Impossible right now.
03:43I mean, it was incredible because for Top Gun Maverick, I felt like everything aligned so well
03:47with the themes of the films and the film, I guess, for the AFC Championship,
03:52kind of what you guys were doing.
03:53And it was great to have him kind of be a part of that and setting up the teams to play that game.
03:58Well, let's continue with some of those bigger wins.
04:01When you think of the campaigns that have been working,
04:05you know, what are some of those wins that you're particularly proud of?
04:08And Christine, I'll actually go to you since you're right there.
04:12Sure.
04:13Well, just to back up for folks in the room, Canva,
04:17which we're representing as a visual design platform that 200 million people use each month
04:21and a lot of folks in the entertainment industry in order to power storytelling
04:24and make anything that you can dream up.
04:27And I think one thing we've been really proud of is thinking about how we focus on narrative from that community.
04:34And we just recently launched a campaign.
04:36It's called Love Your Work.
04:37And we were really inspired by this insight that 85% of us are pretty disengaged at work.
04:42We maybe aren't having a fulfilling day-to-day experience.
04:46And, you know, we really felt like there was an opportunity for that to be better.
04:49And we came down to this core insight that it's really about how you feel recognized, seen.
04:55We all want our voices to matter, our ideas to matter.
04:58And we really went to our community and found those real stories around, you know,
05:02maybe a young woman who doesn't feel empowered to come into the boardroom and share her thoughts,
05:07a creative who wants to work on his own terms while raising his young daughter.
05:11And we really, we hear all these folks to tell those stories and brought that narrative to life.
05:15And, you know, it demonstrated how people can achieve those goals in an authentic way.
05:19And a real creative challenge because we weren't scripting these folks.
05:22This was their authentic quotes, comments, stories.
05:26So it was quite a creative journey.
05:27But I think the work allowed that to be something that people can see themselves in.
05:32And when you think about an endeavor or campaign like that, what were kind of some of the learnings
05:38that you've also taken from those creative partnerships that you have in this entertainment business too?
05:45I mean, for us, partnership is really important because that's when you can see
05:48when you put tools into people's hands, we're inspired by the creativity of all the folks we work with
05:54and all the things they can dream up with our platforms.
05:56So some of the different partners that we work with on an ongoing basis are the AFI, Tribeca, also Color Creative and Hooray.
06:06And really working on partnerships where we're helping up-and-coming filmmakers in front of and
06:12behind the camera to tell their stories, to get their ideas to come to life.
06:16Because I think we all know the difference between having something greenlit or a project funded
06:21often is in how well you can sell your idea, package your idea.
06:24And the visual storytelling is a huge part of that.
06:27So those partnerships have allowed us to say, okay, let's make this incredible suite of tools,
06:31but let the creativity truly sing by putting them in the hands of creatives to bring their stories to life.
06:38Creatives, fans.
06:39Well, actually, that just makes me think of with Sinners, actually, one of your new Warner Brothers properties.
06:50It was actually a really creative partnership that happened with a lot of content creators as the trailer was launching.
06:58Tell me a little bit about, Danielle, the ways in which you look at the kind of global marketplace
07:04when you're launching a huge film like that or, of course, Joker 2 as well.
07:08You guys are all over the world with that movie at the moment.
07:11Yeah, no, definitely.
07:13I'm glad you saw the Sinners trailer.
07:14Hopefully everybody liked it.
07:16I mean, I think that touching on Beetlejuice is probably the best example of ways in which we really see success
07:24in how we're approaching our marketing campaigns.
07:27You know, we've learned that we really need to go where the customer is.
07:32And every time we try to bring them to us, it's much harder for them to get to really engage in our content and engage with our movies.
07:40And so, we did...
07:43So, I know you guys mentioned partnerships, but like partnerships have been a really key and critical piece for us to be able to take our movies to them.
07:52And so, for example, my favorite story is my son was playing Roblox and he calls from the other room and goes,
08:00Mom, your movie's on Roblox.
08:03And, you know, I'm wondering, like, what is he seeing?
08:06Is he seeing an ad?
08:07And, no, he found this, like, six-minute, like, gameplay that we built on Roblox that people spent an average of, like, 10-plus minutes engaging with our game.
08:21The game followed our story, our narrative, our characters, so you got to spend 10 minutes immersed in our movie.
08:28And that's one way that we were able to connect to audiences where they're at in a very organic and authentic way.
08:35We also were able to, you know, I don't know how we did it, but we got Michael Keaton to dress back up as Beetlejuice,
08:43and we created custom content for him for TikTok.
08:48He does the Macarena in one of them.
08:50It's pretty exciting and fun.
08:52And then, also, we had him go on The Hot Ones where he was testing out, you know, how hot a sauce can he get before he can't anymore.
09:03And that piece went, you know, completely everywhere.
09:07And everyone who watches Hot Ones content now has got another piece of the Beetlejuice campaign.
09:14And then, yeah, and then TikTok has been a really, really helpful player for us in this as well where, you know, we were very lucky to have Jenna Ortega in our film.
09:22She brings a younger audience to the movie.
09:28We were able to bring back all of our original cast, but she was an incredible ad.
09:33And coming off of Wednesday and Tim and her success off that show, it just was the perfect time to be able to evangelize her fans where her fans are in a authentic way.
09:46And so we did a lot of, you know, TikTok trends that, you know, felt very of the time, and she was really down to do it.
09:55And she spent time with influencers, and it felt like it wasn't a, you know, canned or pre-done thing,
10:02that it was very authentic to how the influencers wanted to put content out in the discussion.
10:08And so I think that it's harder and harder to get to our customers when we try to just buy our customers and try to get in front of them.
10:18And so it's all the partnerships that we do that makes it feel like they're not just watching advertising and that they're actually having a personal connection with our film.
10:30I mean, Elena, I don't even need to tee you up because I feel like that just did.
10:34No, definitely.
10:35I think that, well, I think that the idea is really about authenticity, right?
10:40And making sure that your, you know, our platform is the place that people feel like they can be their most authentic self and where they're communicating with their closest friends and family.
10:52So that's definitely the partnerships that we love the most are when everybody's bringing in things that are how you would normally communicate with people.
11:03So it's, you know, if you're using like stickers the way you would normally chat with people on the platform or watching these creators that are just like posting all day long as their normal selves, instead of being like all dressed up and you don't really even, you know, believe what they're saying because you're like, oh, you're just doing this for likes.
11:24We're the place that they're just doing this because that's how they feel and what they want to share with the people they're closest with.
11:32Elena, tell me a little bit about the kind of flexibility that not just snap, but just the idea that we are kind of moving marketing beyond, you know, of course, traditional ads are hugely important, but we're moving it into a broader scope.
11:47What does that mean in terms of flexibility of even changing the campaign closer to launch or how you engage with people the week the movie or even the day the movie comes out?
12:00Well, I would say in terms of like advertising, I definitely think the closer you get to the opening, you're looking at like a big conversion campaign, right?
12:10So it's all about like selling movie tickets, but I've we've had like the way that things work on the platform, like had partners that do, you know, great talk to the camera, like right now, buy your tickets.
12:22And that's the kind of thing that gets like real reaction from our users, because, again, that's the authentic way to use the platform.
12:30But we've seen some amazing conversions just based off of like knowing the right time to focus on each thing, right?
12:39Like, when it's early out, you want to be looking at, like, getting people interested, putting like the longer pieces, a trailer, that type of thing.
12:48But as it's closer, it's like, just get that message straight up across, you know, in the way that users are used to using the platform.
12:57I'll quickly say even outside of like what we've worked with you guys on, like on platform and advertising, we've had a lot of success in doing Snapchat events and screenings, because we really see that, you know, outside of the trailer, I feel like word of mouth is really the biggest driver in getting people to the theater.
13:12And so working with Snap, we've done a lot of great events with Snap creators to bring them out, to be immersed in, you know, the film and see the film and then spread that word of mouth early.
13:20And then that's also translated to like great content that we've posted on the platform and then pushed to ticket sales.
13:26Yeah, so one of the things that, you know, we have our map that lots of people spend a lot of time in, and people post from a movie theater, tag the movie theater, and then you show up like with that content on the map.
13:38So it gives the opportunity when we have a screening or something like that, that people are like actually posting how excited they are, how much they love the film from that location, and then tons of people see it because people are spending a lot of time there as well.
13:53And that's also, I would imagine, valuable information for you all as you're crafting the next campaigns too, is kind of seeing, okay, so all of a sudden, this movie did amazingly well in Des Moines, in part because we had this partnership.
14:07How do some of those kinds of, I guess, metrics, these sort of new metrics, how do these new metrics help you plan whatever is next?
14:16I mean, we're continually trying to figure out how to gather and parse data in a way that not only helps us understand the audiences that we need to target, but the performance of what we're doing, then applying that to the next campaign.
14:28I think that's, it's one story trying to do that with a show like Survivor that's been on for 25 years, but it's something else when it's a new movie or a new television show that we have to launch, it becomes a whole different approach.
14:41And I think what ends up becoming really interesting is using that data, but I think the real trick here is finding more unusual types of partnerships that you can create.
14:51And that's, I think, not only with other brands and other types of distribution partners, but I also think it's with your own fans and make them feel like partners.
15:00And so the more that we can start to understand fandom and curate that fandom and then leverage that fandom and make them feel like they're actually part of what we're doing,
15:10we find a lot of success in that.
15:12Well, I know you have five new shows right now, and one of the fandoms is, of course, that Kathy Bates fandom.
15:19Yeah, absolutely.
15:20And that was something we really looked at and leveraged.
15:23And we really, what we were seeing is that Kathy Bates has a great fandom, but we also think that there's a lot of life left in that fandom.
15:30Like, just because she is an older adult doesn't mean that she isn't relevant anymore.
15:37And it was really interesting.
15:38I actually saw a story this morning.
15:39It's like, you know, she's older and the Gen X, like, they love her.
15:43You know, it's just like and so the idea of really understanding the data and the opportunities within the data and what's the white space and then how you start to play with that with your campaign and what you're doing with what you're creating.
15:55The trick really becomes making sure you're getting it in front of the right audience.
15:59And that's where I think things have changed so much is like, I think all of our campaigns have become highly, highly surgical in a way that still needs to be broad and makes a lot of noise.
16:09But it really is about reaching the right audience at the right time to the recency of that.
16:14I think it's also using data to find white space, whether it's new partnerships, taking some risks beyond a formula that maybe has worked, which can serve you well, but then also can stunt some of that creativity.
16:24And one thing we try to look at a lot is what are people hungry for on our platform when they want to design something?
16:31And one of the top areas we've focused on is this real hunger for Disney content, whether it's Mickey or Star Wars or that IP.
16:38So we've partnered with them to bring that type of content in to really just delight people and to make sure that we can meet unmet demand.
16:48And I love the point about the Kathy Bates fandom.
16:51There is a universality around that that does span across generations.
16:55So I think looking at kind of that fast moving data to maybe let yourself be surprised and to scratch into an opportunity that wasn't so obvious at the forefront.
17:03Yeah, I think for us, for A Quiet Place day one, I think that was a great example of us really listening to the fans over the course of the franchise and seeing that there was a real hunger for a prequel and to understand more about what happened on day one.
17:16So I think both from like a filmmaking perspective and where we went with the franchise and then also from the marketing side was really like tapping into the audience and understanding what they wanted and then trying to feed that back to them in the marketing.
17:27And I do think it's like we talk a lot about storytelling, but I think it's also what is the story that we're telling which audience?
17:33And often you have to kind of change up that story based on who you're reaching and then try to reach them.
17:38So I think it's like there's the story you're telling the audience.
17:40And then how do we make sure that we're getting that right message in front of them?
17:44Danielle, while you have the mic, I do want to ask you about a forthcoming story that you're telling because it's a huge fandom.
17:49It's Gladiator, Gladiator 2 and Paul Meskel's fandom is quite rabid.
17:55So in that idea of having this multigenerational cast, this scope, this huge scope of a story IP that has been proven, what does that then look like when you're kind of crunching on those data points and figuring out how to roll a movie out?
18:08Yeah, I mean, I'm beyond excited about this film.
18:10And I think there's to your point, I think there's so many ways in and with so many different audiences.
18:14And I think our team is really looking at activating against all audiences, younger, older fans, non fans.
18:22And it's really figuring out what those pockets of fandom are and then kind of serving up that right creative.
18:26I know there's going to be a large audience that is there to watch the plot and they'll see a lot of that.
18:31And so, yeah, I think that in this campaign, it's really about creating an event, less of even marketing a movie.
18:38And it's like, how do we make this an event that is going to get people out, you know, out of their homes to buy a ticket and show up opening weekend?
18:45Because it has to be an event movie for them to do that.
18:48And so everything that we do on this film, you will see is going to be, you know, really event status.
18:53It sounds like different on ramps for different audiences.
18:56Like you were speaking out with Jenna in Beetlejuice, right?
18:58That's that's the way in for a new generation.
19:00Yeah, I was going to say, too, you know, for Joker, we've been talking a lot about this movie coming out very soon.
19:07And I think that, you know, what's been really interesting about the film so far is, is that if you don't understanding who your audience is, is really critical and key.
19:18And I do think there's a way in which to, you know, surgically be able to understand, like, OK, how does what is this audience responding to?
19:25And then what's that audience responding to?
19:27On the first movie, we definitely saw a lot of young male and older male be like the primary people that that came out opening weekend to see the film.
19:37And so I think that as we started to look at our data signals, our marketing signals, you know, tracking, we started to realize that some of our younger and older female audiences started to really rise.
19:47And Lady Gaga's in our movie.
19:50And, you know, we do think that her her character and her maniacal character coming to the film is actually quite a very interesting, broader story point and character for maybe females who didn't see the first one are more excited for it to see this one.
20:08But I think it's also talking about, like, how do then you make these things feel like an event?
20:12And so I don't know if everybody saw, but we did this insane Louvre shoot where we took Lady Gaga to the Louvre.
20:20They closed it down for us.
20:21So that was a once in a lifetime moment.
20:24And she got to walk the halls as Harley Quinn and kind of show her sort of maniacal, like, you know, psychopathic, you know, sort of character.
20:38That's kind of what goes on in her head.
20:40And then the and then the Louvre basically allowed us to take the most iconic smile in the world and allow for Harley Quinn to put the red lipstick smile on the Mona Lisa.
20:56So, um, yeah, so, you know, that was, uh, the strategy there was just to kind of create an event, create culture, create conversation, because, you know, we, we need to continue to figure out ways to drive earned conversations.
21:11So people are talking about our movie.
21:14We have big spikes, you know, in our, you know, and our marketing campaign in the movie so that it gives people things to talk about and connect to so that by the time we're closer to, you know, our opening week, we have a much potentially broader audience now peeking in and finding curiosity, um, as we open.
21:33So that was a fun way to engage a newer audience for Joker.
21:38And to your point also about earlier, what you mentioned about Michael Keaton being as engaged as he was, it also helps when you have creatives like him, like Lady Gaga, who is kind of creating her own world around Harley Quinn with the Harley Quinn album that she's doing, too.
21:54Correct.
21:55Yeah, I mean, we joke, we were like, we never thought we would get Michael Keaton to get back into his Beetlejuice costume to do marketing for the movie.
22:02But you know what?
22:03He's he went on TikTok, you know, he he did the hot ones.
22:07And, uh, you know, and it did, it really paid dividends because I do think more non-traditional content is what's going to really help us break free from ads that are just being skipped.
22:19And that's probably, I think the hardest part in our business is we have, you know, depending on the platform seconds to capture people's attention.
22:27And if they just look like ads, you know, then it's sometimes that gets skipped over very quickly.
22:33But if you can start to find more natural, innovative ways where to go, where people are to give them this more non-traditional content, we seem to be able to capture people's attention much easier.
22:43We are finding and it's interesting that talent are getting this, like they are understanding that they need to play a bigger role in what we are doing from a marketing perspective.
22:53And and I really have found, especially even in the last year where you've got talent, where you might even think it's like, well, should we even ask them to do this?
23:02It's like we will ask them to really go out on a limb.
23:04And so you bring a campaign to Kathy Bates, you say, look, we want to go out and we want to call you a liar and a fraud.
23:12And we're going to say that you are maybe not who the person you say you are.
23:16And and and we push the envelope and then she understands that and wants to lean into it.
23:21And I think that more and more we've got to understand that that the talent understand what's going on in the ether and how they need to participate in this to generate the word of mouth that we need.
23:34Mike, what do you attribute that to?
23:35Do you think it's because that's how they're using those channels in their own lives?
23:38Yeah, I think they see what's going on and they they kind of feel like it.
23:41In fact, I've talked with many of our talent at CBS and they like they want to participate.
23:46They want to feel like they have something live going on to help create those events that we need.
23:52And we know we need that.
23:53And so more and more, we're just seeing the talent saying, yeah, just let's do it.
23:58What do you need us to do?
23:59And then we end up collaborating with them and they and hopefully the one plus one equals three and what we're doing.
24:04But I just I think a lot of them are seeing what others are doing and it starts to get competitive.
24:11I think, too, it's just I mean, more and more talent are asking to be at least educated.
24:16You know, the ones that don't want to do it are uncomfortable with it.
24:19You know, we have to find ways in which to make them more comfortable.
24:23And so we have sat down, you know, to explain why it's so important.
24:28We we joke like, oh, launch, launch a social page.
24:31But we don't even need them to launch a social page.
24:32We can go put this amazing content where it needs to be so they don't have to put themselves out there.
24:38But when talent doesn't work with for the movie and and it just depends on the movie, too, to be honest, we're not going to ask Joaquin Phoenix to, you know, do the Macarena on Tick Tock.
24:50But I'll ask him.
24:52Yeah. OK, I don't.
24:55Great. But when we know that we have like Jenna Ortega, who is a a strong, young, very popular actress, and we know that certain things will break
25:07through, it's about making them feel comfortable, showing them examples, trying to tailor to their comfort level, but try to but try to also explain to them how critical it is to the success of our opening weekend if they participate.
25:21And so they're getting there.
25:24It's been great.
25:25Yeah. Having those great examples is so helpful.
25:27So thank you to the Joe.
25:28Yeah, we have to think about just to make sure.
25:30No, but that's what it is.
25:31It's like you need some some proof points that you can say, well, look at what they did or look at what's happening here.
25:37To your point, you've got to educate them as to how this all works.
25:41And it seems like the key to it, though, too, is authenticity.
25:44You have to understand just the same way we're understanding the audience.
25:48It's also an understanding of the talent, their boundaries, their interest level, what will actually make will play for them because that resonates with who they are.
25:58And to that point, we've obviously been talking a lot about digital and and a lot of marketing that a lot of people would assume is targeted to, you know, Gen Z and younger millennials.
26:09But what do you see when it comes to, you know, targeting the different audience ranges?
26:14And actually, I'm going to start with you, because I think there is a misconception about like the age range on Snap, for example.
26:20Who are you really reaching?
26:22Well, we just turned 13.
26:24So think about everybody who started with Snap when they were, you know, when we originally came out.
26:31So we've been around for quite a while and people have stayed on and people are going back and looking at their memories all the time.
26:37And I actually even look at like all these cute snaps that I made with my kids, like through time.
26:43So, I mean, we are hitting everybody.
26:46And really, I would say the thing that has been hitting me the most lately is all the parents were talking to me about how they're on Snap all the time, because that's the way they talk to their teenager.
26:57So if you want to talk to your teenager, I get I mean, I have a 15 year old.
27:03She I'm going to give I'm going to throw out a little bit of information that she gave me this past week.
27:09You can go onto your iPhone and see how many times you respond to something.
27:13So it's called pickups in your iPhone.
27:15So if you get a notification, if you picked up that notification in one day, she had 432 pickups from Snapchat.
27:23But it's like if I want her, it's like I send her a snap.
27:27She snaps me right back and shows me exactly what she's doing at that moment.
27:31So I feel like so many parents have said that same thing to me.
27:34Like if I want to talk to my kids, I go right on Snapchat and you can see where they are, where their friends are on the map.
27:40Like you get the full experience by being there, watching all their friends' stories.
27:44Like it's the place where parents like get to know their kids the best.
27:48So we are seeing more and more parents on the platform.
27:52And when that comes to audience engagement, and if somebody's picking up their phone that many times, they may not be like you were saying earlier, skipping the ad because they they're seeing they're seeing it on snap.
28:04Absolutely.
28:05And to that point, actually, I also think it's like the first place some of these people like my kids, I know if they're awake in the morning because I can see when the last time they were on the app was.
28:15So if it's within a few minutes, I know they're awake.
28:19Right.
28:20So I mean, but yes, they are.
28:23They're definitely like when you pick up your phone first thing in the morning and start watching stories, I don't know how quickly you're skipping.
28:28It's definitely coming into your brain at that point.
28:31Right.
28:32It's interesting what you said, though, about first of all, we're 11 years old, so I feel seen.
28:35So thank you.
28:36Thank you for being here with me.
28:38Your point about authenticity, because I think I love Daniel's point about, you know, you need to meet your audience where they are.
28:43And I think that's a lot about the different generations.
28:45Just be mindful.
28:46How are they moving through the world?
28:48How can you structure to meet them on their own terms?
28:51But I do think there's things about authenticity that span generations.
28:56And that's the reason some of this great IP can touch people, because it's great storytelling and there's something true to the core.
29:03I think from our perspective, we have some core tenets of our brand in terms of what we're committed to.
29:08We had this idea of a step one, step two process where we're trying to be the most valuable company we can, but also be very values led in terms of things like
29:16sustainability or helping with areas around like poverty eradication that resonates across the board.
29:24It's the reason that you might feel emotional about buying Patagonia versus another type of product, because those values or storytelling, there's some things that just, I think, transcend.
29:34So I feel like as a marketer, we can get very fixed on, oh, God, Gen Z and how they no cap.
29:39What should we do?
29:40But I think there is something that's deeper that can be a common thread that is worth reflecting on as well.
29:50I think one of my favorite campaigns this year that we did that we sought out to reach both the new audience and the older audience was from Mean Girls, because we had this incredible film that had like the nostalgic audience.
30:00But then we also needed to bring in a new audience that had never seen it.
30:03And so we had seen, you know, in following what the audience was doing, we had seen on TikTok, like a big part of the trend was sharing things in parts.
30:10And so, you know, on Mean Girls Day, we were like, let's release the original film in 23 clips on the platform and just try to reach a new audience to see the film.
30:20And it was great because we saw in the 24 hours that it was out there, you know, I think over a million views and the comments were coming from audiences that said they had never seen it and they were excited or audiences that hadn't seen it in years.
30:30And so I think that and even just like the halo of PR that we saw and people talking about the original film and then mentioning the new film that was coming out, it was just really an impactful way to kind of reach all of those audiences.
30:41And so it was one of my favorites.
30:41And I feel like what they did on our platform, what you did on our platform was super smart because you leaned into the camera right away, which we automatically opened to the camera and every week with a brand new lens.
30:51So it gave the chance for people to keep engaging.
30:56And what's great about these lenses is that people are sharing them as well.
31:00Right. So you share them with your friends.
31:02You post them on your story.
31:04And I think they did such a great job that we even put together a whole lens collection of all the different lenses they did.
31:11Everybody can have their burn book photo.
31:14I think the exciting part of all this is how much all of us are innovating and how we like lean into.
31:19We find platforms.
31:20We find partners and we just push to do things differently with them.
31:25There is a platform that we've started to experiment with.
31:28It's called Mutual Markets.
31:29And it's actually kind of like Match.com for brands and IP.
31:34And what they do is they'll a brand will go in and they'll put in the targets that they want.
31:38And then up will come some IP and they can create these brand partnerships.
31:43And we're starting to experiment because we can do digital buys and digital placements with our IP with small companies that you wouldn't think that we'd ever do business with.
31:53And we're starting to do that.
31:54So there's this micro targeting that we're doing like like you could find a walleye sandwich shop in Minnesota who could partner with Survivor.
32:02But you've got to do it in a way that makes sense.
32:05And that to me is really interesting when you start to find these partnerships that are unusual and pair it with your IP.
32:13But make it fun and exciting for the user.
32:15And then also put those messages in places where people wouldn't expect us to be.
32:21I did want to nosily ask you what was the Snapchat lens that was the most popular?
32:26Do you remember for Mean Girls?
32:29Yeah.
32:30I think it's like the burn book, right?
32:32Like, yeah, the burn books.
32:34I think I mean, of course, it was the burn book.
32:35I thought everybody wanted to have their photo in the burn book.
32:37I mean, they were all pink.
32:38So they were all popular.
32:40Let's be honest.
32:42Okay, but back to the actual conversation.
32:44You can try it out later.
32:45Exactly.
32:46Because, Mike, what you just said, the idea of the innovation is really the key.
32:51That is what's most important to this panel.
32:52So I would like to end on that note to ask you all what you kind of see as those new innovations, those new target audiences.
33:01You know, what are some of the things that are rather trends you're seeing in marketing that you're hoping people will pursue more that you've started to notice are working that you want to recommend?
33:12Well, I go back to what I just said.
33:14I think a lot of what is happening is you're finding ways to micro target audiences at scale.
33:19And so like and the challenge with that is how you start to create the right type of messages and stories that also scale.
33:28And so how we can you might want to say one thing to one audience and a different thing to another audience.
33:33But when they come in, you want to make sure that that they are experiencing what you've sold in a way that is ultimately really gratifying.
33:41And something they want to talk about.
33:42Right. So but I really think like the more we can find different unusual partnerships and execute those partnerships in ways that people wouldn't expect.
33:53Like it's how do you use also traditional media in different ways and whether that's the on air promotion of CBS or just use figuring out different ways that CBS can use Snapchat.
34:04Right. And and so I think a lot of it just comes down to finding new ways with the platforms that we know.
34:11And then also experimenting with new platforms that we that seem to come to us every day.
34:15A.I., I think, is a huge part of that.
34:17But we're all just trying to figure out where that's going.
34:21Fraid to say the A.I. word.
34:22I know I said it so far, though, but I agree.
34:25Thankfully, we only have a couple of minutes left.
34:26So but Danielle, I mean, I agree with that.
34:30I think it is that hyper personalization in our campaigns.
34:33And it's really just kind of it's what we're doing.
34:36But I think it's like us getting better at it even more like with data.
34:39And how are we targeting the right audience and really serving up the right messaging to those audiences?
34:43And it's something we've been doing for years.
34:45And I think it's just getting, you know, continuing to perfect it and do more.
34:49So I feel like it's kind of I think about it sort of as a barbell.
34:53On one side, the expectations for marketers and creative are rising.
34:58It has to be as engaging.
35:00Hopefully your goals is as engaging as the content.
35:02People want to be entertained, delighted, informed, like the bar is up there in terms of what you're putting out for creativity.
35:08But on the other side, there's what you are noting, which is this micro targeting.
35:11We can be so precise now.
35:13And that means that we have to have personalization at scale, which means we need creative personalization of scale, which is where I think AI comes in as the superhero to take your big idea and then find the relative delivery mechanism for all of those folks, for our sockeye farmers or anyone else that we're kind of walleye.
35:31It's a delicious whitefish.
35:33If you haven't tried.
35:34Yes.
35:34Highly what is walleye?
35:35What's he talking about?
35:39I think for the future, I really hope I think it'll it'll come back that, you know, theatrical is the place to be.
35:46I love movies and I love going to movies.
35:50And I know it's so hard right now to get people to go back to the movies the way they did pre covid.
35:57But and there's a ton of choices and there's so many choices for every single person in this room at any point in time.
36:05So it's hard to, you know, to want to see that movie that's being made and go to the theaters.
36:12One thing I think that is really exciting and something I hope that I can do and we can do at Warner Brothers and we can do in general is starting to get our fans and our communities to be more bought in on the products we make and on the talent we pursue and bring them along in our process a lot earlier.
36:34So that they feel more ownership and bought in on the types of movies we're making from the get go to then show up to want to see that movie that they've been following for the last year in theaters and in theaters opening weekend.
36:51And truthfully, too, like they are a mouthpiece for us.
36:54Like I'm I'm very into very into book talk.
36:56I love book talk.
36:58But there are a lot of these books are being bought and a lot of these books are being made into movies or TV shows.
37:04And the amount of conversation that is going on from very vocal communities isn't is insane.
37:10So why not try to really embrace the community that we of those people we need back in theaters to be a part of the making of the movie and a part of the marketing of the film.
37:23So we can continue to have more people feel connected to the products we make.
37:28So that's that's what I hope for the future.
37:31And I was trying to nail this earlier that I feel like the younger generation, just my focus group of one household, they were all over the movies this summer.
37:40So they like are really bought in and going back.
37:43So I feel very good about that.
37:45You're wondering where they were.
37:47What's that?
37:47You're wondering where they were.
37:49Well, they were on snap and then they ended up at the movies.
37:52Yes, they bought their tickets on snap and then ended up at the movies and then talked about it on snap afterwards and how much they loved it.
37:58So I would just take you back to A.I. for a second.
38:03We are doing these amazing Gen A.I.
38:06lenses that are so beautiful and put you right in the situation.
38:10And I feel like that is something I'm really excited about on the platform.
38:14And I know everybody kind of feels like it's a bit of a bad word, but it's actually like coming up with the most amazing creative.
38:22So I'm super excited about that.
38:24We're excited to work with you on that.
38:27Well, we're super excited to have had all of you here, but mostly to have had your insight.
38:32Thank you so much for joining us.
38:34And please, we'll continue on with the program for the day.
38:38Thank you so much.