"5 Things" is a biweekly newsletter from Tongal Co-Founder & CEO James DeJulio that highlights the things we're thinking about that week at Tongal. If you want to keep the conversation going, feel free to reach out or subscribe.
Thing We're Thinking Ad Frequency in the Spotlight: Enough Already!
I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty excited for Season 2 of The Bear. I loved everything about Season 1 – it's as if the show were written specifically for me – the storyline, the soundtrack (Chicago Wilco-sploitation, John Cougar Mellencamp…), down to the exact brand of San Marzano tomatoes Carmy uses…everything was on point.
Except for the ads. I recently had a flashback to watching Season 1 on Hulu, when Carvana took me on a customer journey that started with awareness building and ended with a full on bludgeoning. I was sacked with the same 30-second ad relentlessly – like Lawrence Taylor in the 80s after a night with Cocaine Bear relentlessly. I went from liking Carvana (they did offer me a decent price for my VW) to full on animosity. At any point, did someone, anyone, over there suggest they mix it up?
Unfortunately, Carvana isn't the only offender here. My question? Why aren't brands merging their creative approach with the platform and audience? OTT is creating all kinds of opportunities to put the right brand messages in front of the right audiences, but too many brands are suffering from a lack of creative inventory. No matter how good a spot is, seeing it ten times in one hour is nine times too many.
AdExchanger has been running a series on this issue, and the latest installment captures how things are playing out at Peacock. I'm pretty sure that giving brands a more efficient way to produce creative is part of the answer…ideas, anyone?
Thing We're Listening To Creative Characters Podcast x Tongal
"We believe in the power of creativity. We believe that there's great ideas and great talent everywhere. Why would we want to keep a system that only allows people who won the lottery to be in it?"
That's just a small preview of my conversation with Bill Connolly, a long-time friend of Tongal and host of Monotype's "Creative Characters'' podcast. Recently, we had the chance to sit down and discuss everything from the rapidly changing world of advertising and content creation to building a system that helps give people their big break.
Check out our conversation wherever you listen to podcasts for some laughs and (hopefully) a few insights, as we all jump into our Deloreans and try to figure out the future (and past). And if you want to continue the conversation, don't think twice about reaching out.
Thing We're Making Movie Promos for SYFY
In a 15-second animated promotional spot, you've got a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time, but Tongal Creators took that challenge and ran with it in our latest batch of on-air promo videos for SYFY's recent movie line up. And if you bring your Creator's eye to the viewing, you get a mini class on how to make your seconds count. First, establish your situation and subject. Next, introduce a hook or surprise element. Then, play that surprise through to a second (surprise) beat, by which time you've already delighted viewers and have them smiling.
Case in point: Javier Benia got revved up for John Wick, while Nathan Wells got a leg up on Jurassic World, and April Merl went all 8-bit sound and video for X-Men Apocalypse. Watched individually, these are all great promos, but watched together, and woven in with the huge variety of fan-fueled content our community has already created for SYFY, you have the beating heart of a brand driven by creativity and community.
Thing We're Watching Women who Moved Hollywood Forward
In our latest TongalTube original, a group of Tongal Creators went deep to highlight some of the hard-working and talented women throughout history who helped shape Hollywood. Give it a watch to find out how these women (some you'll likely know and others that may be new) pushed the industry forward and continue to do so to this day. One thing is for sure, a lot of your favorite properties wouldn't be what they are without people like Dorothy Dandridge, Mary Pickford and Lucille Ball, just to name a few.
5th & Final Thing Powering More Sustainable Productions
Understanding the toll production can take on our environment and educating ourselves on ways we can adopt more sustainable practices is an important first step in working toward powering greener sets year-round and, ultimately, decreasing our collective impact on the environment. That's why we were excited to collaborate with Tongal Creator and green consultant Juliane Block to compile a series of quick tips to help our community power more sustainable productions. Check it out then download our handy PDF for easy sharing with your collaborators and crew.
