Digital Video: A Value Worthy Experience
You might be asking why dawn when digital video seems to have proliferated every aspect of life be it entertainment, infotainment, education, and even healthcare. Well, in a country of 1.38 Billion viewers, the online video had scaled to 350 million last year, growing 24% between 2018 and 2020, according to Bain and Company’s report ‘India Online Videos–The Long and Short of It’. And while the growth is fast, only about 59% of India’s Internet users consume videos online, as against 67% in Japan, 69% in Indonesia, 74% in Brazil, 76% in Mexico, 78% in S. Korea, 79% in the UK, 83% in the US and 92% in China. Digital video has already created some instrumental, irreversible shifts in the way Indians consume, relate and connect and it is only going to keep evolving and maturing.
Digital videos, unlike their analogue predecessors, isn’t unidimensional – limited to episodic content or movies or live content, it’s diverse and filled with oppositions. It is where both long and short-form content thrive, where both horizontal and vertical formats have a role to play, where the consumer embraces high-end content as joyfully as casual, quick user-generated content. It breaks the shackles of geographical limitations, taking regional stories global and vice versa with the added advantage of subtitles and audio dubs. A deeper appreciation of the digital video ecosystem and prevalent behaviours will allow creators, media houses and brands to truly give consumers a value worthy experience.
Making us marketers ask ourselves – for our viewers, what is the first port of call for digital video? Is it streaming platforms like Disney+ Hotstar / Amazon Prime / Netflix; or social media platforms like Facebook (see Facebook watch) / Instagram Reels / Whatsapp / or the erstwhile Tik Tok; or hybrid platforms like Youtube. And how do each increase their share of the pie?
Well, when I think of a digital video I think of the various modes in which it might be consumed - On the go (immediate), Lean forward (interactive) and Lean back (immersive). Albeit a rather simple one, it allows us to understand the context in which the content will be consumed and hence design for it.
Digital video isn’t just about access, as will be abundant in this paper. It is about an evolved experience that digital allows be it interactivity, responsiveness, immersive-ness and about inclusion – inclusion of India at large, of voices, languages, stories and diversity.
This white paper will take you on a journey of insights and revelations about our reality today along with well-informed predictions for the future of digital video. It is a rich collection of insights from industry experts, practitioners and individuals at the helm of this revolution. I am confident you will find rich takeaways that will shape your perspective on digital video and more.
The author is Mehak Jaini, Vice President- Strategy, DDB Mudra Group
