Sunday, 24 December 2017

The Rise of Generation Z, and their Mobile TV Habits
Credit: D'Avila Studio
Nowadays, in this exciting, high tech, disruptive 21st century era, regulated OTT services such as OONA – the YouTube of Television, are having a strong impact on the mobile TV industry, and rapidly sinking the pirates. OONA has particular prominence as it has found a unique way to cater to Generation Z, and all generations, by fulfilling every individual viewer's desires.

The Mobile First Way of Life

Millennials, the trendy up and coming youthful professionals in their mid-20s to mid to late 30s, are generally regarded as a major demographic for mobile phone products due to their AI smart phone extensions on their hands, and their disposition to spend money [1].

By the same token, Gen Z, the generation following the Millennials, that covers anyone between age 13 to 24, is following suit. This other media loving generation is progressively becoming a focal point for mobile operators as they either get an allowance or have available income from their first jobs; and frequently profit from not having to pay rent as they live their family's home, and drive their family's car [1].

Putting the Spotlight on Generation Z's Habits

Market research conducted in late 2017, by Pioneer Consulting Asia, the global management consultancy which specializes in media, telecoms and technology, in the South East Asia region, put the spotlight on urban online individuals so as to give a clear picture of Indonesians' digital habits along demographic lines. Here are some of the main results:

In Regard to Generation Z's 18-24 Age Group:
  • “70% still watch free to air TV in Indonesia” [1].
  • They are more likely to watch over 3 hours of content daily on their mobile phone than any other age group” [1].
  • When it comes to mobile viewing, around two thirds of this demographic use their mobiles to watch music videos, while a third use their mobiles to watch sports [1].
  • “The biggest percentage of: “18-24 year olds, 46%, are spending RP50k-100k on their mobile plans, with a sharp drop to 24% on higher amounts while 25-34 year olds are more likely to spend between Rp100k-250K” [1].
  • And “43% of 18-24 year olds use paid mobile data to watch video” [1], which is only a little lower than the 47% the 25-34 year old group doing the same.
The OTT Mobile Revolution in Indonesia

Telkom Indonesia, one of the world's largest TELCOM companies, and the cutting-edge mobile TV platform OONA, understand they have to be tuned into this emerging generation’s digital habits, along with every other generation's habits, so they can deliver exactly what these users desire by tailoring services and products which align with their needs [1].Thanks to the forward thinking of the Directors at Telkom Indonesia, and the founder and CEO of OONA, leading digital stratigist, Christophe Hochart, who all share the same dynamic vision and drive to offer high quality free entertainment, a partnership was established in the autumn of 2017.

Hochart, a serial entrepreneur, masterminded the “genie in the app” service. - Step forward the amiable Siskabot, the World's First OTT AI Chatbot who has completely revolutionized the media ad space by delivering the content and ads that each individual user really wants. This demographic-specific AI chatbot, who appears live when the user has downloaded the OONA app, continually carries out her duties as an Ad Personaliser Manager.

Just like a real life counterpart, SiskaBot becomes a virtual friend, ready and waiting to chat and help 24/7. The regular discussions she has with the consumers help to determine exactly what sort of programs they enjoy watching, and what type of brand products and services they really love and would like to get for a good price. This, along with the users' behavior patterns and program choice preferences, provide excellent data collection and data architecture which in turn, optimizes ad targeting and delivers the best brand benefits to every single user.

And in addition to this, users are able to derive substantial benefits from a tcoin program; and the more they watch OONA's channels, engage in the app, chat and share with SiskaBot, other viewers, and friends, the more tcoins they can accumulate to redeem for branded goods and TELCOM products. The tcoins, which are shown in a virtual OONA wallet, achieve different statuses anywhere from Rookie to Master, depending on the number of points the user has acquired.

This first-class project which is a win-win scenario for the viewers, TELCOM company, channels and content owners, will give over 185 million Indonesians data free access to TV channels and entertainment live on their mobiles from 2018. Consumers will not have to pay anything, and they will no longer have to waste time trawling through pirate platforms, which are not likely to be there in the future.

The OONA OTT revolution is making life a lot of fun for generation X, generation Y, and every other generation in Indonesia, and is well on course to fulfill its company mission statement: “To make life fun for billions of people by providing Free Mobile TV.”

OONA is currently on course to serve billions of people in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, the US and Europe with its free and premium options.


Reference

Pioneer Consulting Asia (2017). “What are the Video Viewing Habits of Gen Z in Indonesia?” Retrieved from http://www.pioneerconsultingasia.com/archives28.html Accessed 22 Dec. 2017.


Any enquiries can be made via the OONA website at: www.oona.tv

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

Are the TV Pirates Drowning?


Are the world's TV pirates now being forced to walk the plank and face their demise? The answer to this seems to be a resounding, “yes!” This is due to the long awaited anti-pirate alliance drawn up by HBO, Warner Bros, Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Telemundo, Netflix, Amazon, Sky TV, and twenty or so other major power players in the industry [1].

This strategy is geared to stop the pirate operators in their tracks so that consumers are no longer able to download programs or films that hold copyrights, or continue streaming pirated content. And although this may sound like bad news for the viewers, it is of no consequence to consumers in countries such as Indonesia, where 185 million consumers can have fun with the OONA OTT mobile TV app. This cutting-edge interactive OONA platform, known as the YouTube of TV, empowers viewers with the best of films, top programs, and live television all in one place, any where, any time, at zero cost. OONA also offers a personalised experience, enables users to be socially connected, and even boasts an exciting rewards system. And most importantly, OONA is legal.

The heavy weight anti-pirate alliance, known as the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE for short), is concentrating on merging its multiple resources to restrict online piracy. It has already announced its strategy to utilise the clout of the Motion Picture's Association of America, and this includes making use of the latter's worldwide global anti-piracy resources, as well as ACE's members' extensive expertise [1].

All across the globe, copyrighted legal systems render mechanisms for both criminal and civil control: “ACE supports targeted criminal and civil enforcement actions aimed at reducing large-scale, for-profit online theft of content. In addition, ACE supports cooperation with law enforcement agencies around the world to advance these measures and address theft of creative works” [1]. Part of this initiative will also involve ACE carrying out its own research [1].

As time goes on, these types of anti-pirate initiatives are likely to grow. Naturally, OONA and its founder, leading digital strategist, Christopher Hochart, who is an active member of CASBAA, fully supports this action, and to that end, the pioneering OONA free TV team is working 24/7 across various countries to deliver strategies which will provide free, fully legal, exciting TV and film content to as many countries as possible, thereby making pirate TV redundant, and illegal downloading a thing of the past.

At the present time, there are close to 500 online services around the world which enable viewers to watch on demand TV and films legally, although unlike the OONA app, these generally involve a cost to the consumer. Yet, as ACE has stated: “as more creative content moves online, piracy poses a continuing threat to creators, consumers, and the economy. Films and television shows can often be found on pirate sites within days – and in many cases hours – of release” [1].

To give an indication of just how serious this problem actually is: in 2016, there were in excess of 21 billion global visits via mobile devices and desktops to streaming piracy sites; and more than 5 billion prime time VOD, TV shows, and wide-release films downloaded from pirate platforms across the world via peer-to-peer protocols [1]. This is because the consumers in these countries have not had alternative entertainment opportunities such as the OONA app free TV advantage, which is a hundred percent legitimate, and OONA boasts hundreds of fabulous channels including sports, series, films and shows, from the world's leading state-of-the-art content providers.

It is also important to note that engaging with piracy actually poses a serious risk to consumers. Of note, a study undertaken for the Digital Citizens Alliance by cyber security experts, RiskIQ, indicates that with regard to content theft sites: “one out of every three... exposed users to malware. Internet users who went on content theft sites were 28 times more likely to get malware from a content theft site than from mainstream websites or licensed content providers” [2].

The Digital Citizens Alliance's Executive Director, Tom Galvin, has stated that: “Internet users that visit content theft websites have up until now seen it as harmless, but the RiskIQ research is a wake-up call that these websites dangle free movies, TV shows and music to lure consumers” [2]. These pirate websites then infect the user's devices, sometimes causing extensive issues and costly repairs and replacements.

For many people around the world, the exciting evolution of hundreds of personalised top quality free TV and film channels all in one place, cannot come quickly enough, and as a global game changer, OONA is well on course to fulfill its company mission statement: “To make life fun for billions of people in as many countries as possible, by providing Free Mobile TV.”

Currently, OONA is on course to provide its unique service to billions of people in other parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, the US and the UK.

References

Photo credit: Wonder, Power, Courage. Illustration by Amien Juugo.

1. Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. (2017). “Global entertainment companies join forces to launch the alliance for creativity and entertainment to reduce online piracy.” Retrieved from: http://alliance4creativity.com/news/ace-launch/ Accessed 26 November, 2017.

2. Digital Citizens Allaince (2015). “Victims No More: Malware Risk Prompts Internet User to Steer Clear of Content Theft Sites, According to New Survey.” Retrieved from: http://www.digitalcitizensalliance.org/news/press-releases-2015/victims-no-more-malware-risk-prompts-internet-user-to-steer-clear-of-content-theft-sites-according-to-new-survey/
Accessed 26 November, 2017.







Are TVs Facing Extinction?


There is a disruptive revolution going on, and the traditional TV industry is becoming enemy number one. Consumers are now systematically cutting traditional TV out of their lives as OTT mobile TV such as OONA, take center stage by providing viewers with the best of TV all in one place, anywhere, any time, at zero cost. What more could anyone want? Well – how about gaining points that can be redeemed for branded goods just for interacting with the platform? This is something that the cutting-edge OONA platform offers as well.

Networks are battling to keep their heads above water, as are satellite and cable companies which are being confronted with a face-off involving mass streaming and personal selection options. But then, there has always been evolution within the TV industry. Black and white programs morphed into a wonderful spectrum of colour, and huge heavy televisions with extensive components at the back magically became flat screens that provided far superior picture quality, 4 channel choices miraculously improved to 100s, and networks were obliged to let in satellite and cable.

Yet now, as it stands, all of these entities are being trumped by mobile and online cutting-edge platforms such as OONA - which is rapidly becoming known as the YouTube of television. Moreover, the mobile and online ecosystem has dramatically transformed the way in which the content gets to the consumer; and “on demand,” are the new trendy watch words. So, this exciting right here, right now, way of viewing a show, film, sports game or anything else, has rendered the rigid, moderated agenda of linear programming totally outdated.

Users who are on the go have been empowered by advances in wireless connectivity, and now enjoy excellent access to digital content from a market which is supersaturated with devices including the OONA mobile app that can access mobile TV and video. Indeed, current research indicates that only 23% of responders prefer to watch television shows in the traditional way [1]. And thus, the sun is now setting on traditional television. New mobile and online pathways coupled with the growing cloud-based power to offer nonlinear on-demand services, are most definitely holding their own, and present a clear and present danger to the old traditional ways.

For many people around the world, this exciting evolution cannot come quick enough, and as a game changer, OONA is well on course to fulfill its company mission statement: “To make life fun for billions of people around the world, by providing Free Mobile TV.”

OONA's Founder, Christophe Hochart says: “TV is not dead!” “Like cinema, television is an experience, and it's a homely one! OONA in partnership with Telkom Indonesia, delivers exciting entertainment to the Indonesian population who like to enjoy free content. And with dongle technology, OONA Indonesia will be soon be offering a home TV experience, as well as its on-the-go service to 185 million Indonesians, via its free mobile content delivery.”

Reference

1. Accenture (2017). Retrieved from https://www.accenture.com/us-en/new-applied-now  Retrieved 4 Jan. 2018.








Mobile TV Past and Present to Future

Mobile TV, also known as MTV, enables users to stream content provided by cutting-edge companies such as OONA - the YouTube of television. OONA's high tech OTT platform is designed to revolutionize the way viewers watch TV, and enables them to enjoy fantastic free entertainment on the go. Yet this form of portable TV has come a very long way since 1977, when British inventor Clive Sinclair, unveiled the world's very first pocket sized mobile television. So you may be asking yourself why the 2 inch thick, sharp black and white Sinclair MTV-1 Micro TV did not take off. Well, the simple answer is that the technology was a million miles from where it is today.

Today, the 2018 MTVS which include smart phones, tablets and ipods, have massive advantages over their forerunners. Their cutting-edge technology is second to none, and includes the digital television (DTV) revolution which arrived around 2006, and systematically made analog transmission redundant. The former transmits TV audio and video signals via digital encoding, as opposed to analog TV technology and signals. In fact, this great transformation constitutes the first profound TV evolution since the 1950s, when black and white televisions magically transformed to glorious colour [1].

Digital television has brought with it many state-of-the-art features that were unthinkable before, and is able to use the same bandwidth to transmit multiple channels. This runs in sharp contrast to analog, which could only transmit one [2]. On top of this, better reception, bigger screens and great portability are the new norm, and MTV with the help of regulated platforms like OONA, is becoming the name of the game all over the globe. The superior larger screen versions make viewing our favourite shows, films, serials, live sports and news channels, such as the hundreds of free channels offered via the OONA by Telkom Indonesia app, far more fun.

Today's MTV offers exciting additional applications, and enables viewers to have fun with interactive TV featuring specific content tailored to the mobile medium. For example, OONA users enjoy a brilliant personalized service with hundreds of choices all in one place, and this saves them a lot of time searching. They are empowered with a seamless experience of live and linear channels; never have to miss out on any important events, can watch offline when they are out of signal, and can capture, edit and share for fun. Consumers also have an in App genie: a personalised friendly chatbot assistant who works to optimize each individual's content and advertising preferences; and users can even get rewarded from all the ads they watch by receiving OONA / Telkom tcoins that they can redeem for Telkom Indonesia products and branded goods.

The MTV age is most definitely upon us. According to the 2017 ConsumerLab TV and Media Report commissioned by Ericsson: “Around 70 percent of consumers watch TV and video on a smartphone today – twice as many as in 2012” [3]. Moreover, TV couch potatoes are getting into gear, as: “By 2020, only 1 in 10 consumers will be stuck watching TV only on a traditional screen, a 50 percent decrease compared to 2010” [3]. And the Indonesia Market is now passing the 4 hour average daily time spend on smartphones, and over 50% of this time accounts for video viewing.

The thrilling and ever growing MTV market is systematically becoming a big part of billions of people's lives, and innovative providers such as OONA by Telkom Indonesia, who work to inspire, are always looking for new ways to give users even more fun. Enjoy!

OONA's Founder and CEO, leading digital strategist, Christophe Hochart, has said that his: "inspiration for OONA is to build a strong media ecosystem equilibrium where Content Owners will enjoy a very healthy business model, and where consumers will get what they like when they like, and be rewarded."

References

Photo credit: Felipe Miranda and Alberto Chaves

1. Kruger, L. G. (2001). Digital Television: An Overview. Hauppauge. New York: Nova Publishers. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

2. Disabled World (n.d.). “HDTV Set Top Boxes and Digital TV Broadcast Information.” Retrieved from: https://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/digital-hdtv.shtml Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

The Revolution in OTT Mobile TV Media Space Has Arrived

Credit: Flavio Liss
The global advertising media space is continuously changing and re-inventing itself. Google and Facebook are prime examples of this. And when it comes to advertising via the medium of mobile television, OONA - the YouTube of TV, is a case in point: so step forward the genie in the app, the amiable Siskabot, the World First OTT AI Chatbot who has completely revolutionized the media ad space by delivering the ads each individual user really wants.

Entrepreneur, Christophe Hochart's unique strategy has made OONA a substantial channel of opportunity for TV channels and content holders. This is while simultaneously providing the best of TV and VOD entertainment; free and instant access to both ad-supported and commercial-free current season shows from the largest international networks; live and on demand channels, acclaimed original series, films of all genres; premium library TV and movies, and educational video content.

The genius in Hochart's business model is that the platform is entirely financed via a personalised ad service. This is generated by the consumers' regular chats with Siskabot, together with data about the user's behavior on the platform (all of which is kept strictly confidential). So it is a win-win situation for the three way partnership: the TELCOM company which partners OONA, the channels/content holders, and the viewers.

OONA has revolutionized the OTT TV media space by integrating the demographic-specific AI chatbot, who appears live when the user has downloaded the OONA app, and then continually carries out her duties as an Ad Personaliser Manager. Just like a real life counterpart, SiskaBot becomes a virtual friend, ready and waiting to chat and help 24/7. The regular discussions she has with the consumers help to determine exactly what sort of programs they enjoy watching, and what type of brand products they really love and would like to get for a good price. This, along with the users' behavior patterns and program choice preferences provide excellent data collection and data architecture which in turn, optimizes ad targeting and delivers the best brand benefits to every single user.

This personalized experience strategy builds customer loyalty by not only helping the consumers get what they want and save money, but by not showing them irrelevant and annoying ads. Moreover, research indicates that the majority of users like being able to ask questions in real time, and appreciate being given personalised online experiences. In fact, customer experience has emerged as the new battlefield: “When Econsultancy conducted their survey for Digital Marketing Trends, they asked companies to state the single most exciting opportunity for 2017. The results? Customer experience (or CX) came in first (beating content marketing and mobile marketing!) [1]. Further, Gartner, the world’s leading advisory and research company: “predicts that by 2018, more than 50% of organizations will redirect their investments to customer experience innovations” [1].

And so in the drive for excellent CX, OONA understands competitive advantage, and that the name of the game is knowing your consumers extremely well. To that end, Siskabot, who appears like a genie on an overlay, regularly checks to see if she has done a good job for the user's ads experience, and asks what she can do better to serve her user. This feedback ensures that the consumer gets the very best that OONA has to offer in the way of optimized app ads and great money saving promotions. And on top of this, the users even gets bonus points that reward them for interacting with the OONA app, chatting with Siskabot and other users, watching and sharing content, viewing channels; and clicking, watching and sharing ads. These points can be redeemed for branded goods and TELCOM products.

Leading TV channel owners and content holders are taking an up close and personal look at all the advertising strategies regulated OTT companies such as OONA have to offer. But this is to be expected, when data from the GSMA Intelligence Report, Global Mobile Trends 2017, indicated that: “5 billion unique mobile subscribers globally was achieved in Q2 2017. [And] by 2020, almost 75% of the global population will be connected by mobile.”2

OONA empowers TV channel companies and content owners by giving them a 100% control, customization and data transparency, without threatening their existing model. And this is one of the areas where OONA's highly successful strategy partnership is different to other platforms. Further, OONA adapts to each single market without changing its first-class universal user experience. The TV landscape, media content and economics of a particular country remain the same, and every OTT solution is framed using a custom designed model which is beneficial to both the channel company and the user.

OONA places its customers first in everything it does, and offers TV channel partners far more than they could have imagined. Siskabot, the genie in the app, plays a huge part in bringing in the revenue they will enjoy.

References

1. Kulbyte, Toma (2017). “32 Customer Experience Statistics You Need to Know for 2017.” Superoffice. Retrieved from: https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-experience-statistics/ Accessed 9 Dec. 2017.

2. GSMA Intelligence Report. “Global Mobile Trends 2017.” Retrieved from: https://www.gsmaintelligence.com/research/?file=3df1b7d57b1e63a0cbc3d585feb82dc2&download Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.



The Rock and Roll of Programmatic Advertising on Mobile TV

The $70 billion television advertising business is poised for a change. Following the path of desktop, social and mobile ads, the television industry is beginning to flirt with programmatic technologies [1]



Global Head of Digital & Innovation at Zenith Media, Benoit Cacheux, has stated: “We believe that the growth of programmatic will continue to be fueled by improvements in the quality of media available in programmatic environments... and the greater availability of programmatic mobile media, as well as the sophistication provided by ad tech solutions such as data management platforms and connected ad tech stacks” [2].

So What Exactly is Programmatic Advertising?

In a nutshell, programmatic advertising is buying advertising space and placing ads via an auction procedure. OONA – known as the YouTube of TV, offers AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) and premium options via its OTT TV platform which serves 185 million Indonesians. It is also on course for delivering its revolutionary to other parts of Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East, the US and Europe. OONA focuses on user experience for competitive advantage, so naturally, OONA is very geared towards programmatic advertising which employs various parameters including viewers' historical data and advanced algorithms in order to calculate real time bids for each advert that is placed by channel owners and content holders. The purchasing transactions are immediate.

OONA offers a strong business model to channels and content holders via its OTT monetization methods. Programmatic advertising is a highly successful advertising option on the OONA platform. It effortlessly streamlines the process of ad buying via the use of automated data-driven, technology. There are three platforms involved in this type of marketing automation: 1. DMPs (data management platforms) which analyze and collect the users' information to drive specific targeting. 2. SSPs (supply-side platforms) which maintain the publishers' ad inventory, and 3. DSPs (demand-side platforms) which provide ad purchases on the open market [3]. OONA's advertising options include: 1. A programmatic advertising video (30 seconds), CMP and CPC revenue; 2. Programmatic display advertising (30 seconds), CMP and CPC revenue; 3. Programmatic advertising short-video (pre-roll 6 seconds); and 4. Pay per view micro-transactions.

So What is So Advantageous about Programmatic Advertising?

“Programmatic advertising has risen to dominate the digital display market in just a few years, having accounted for just 13% of display adspend in 2012. Programmatic adspend grew from US$5bn in 2012 to US$39bn in 2016, at an average rate of 71% a year” [2]. And the spending for programmatic digital display advertising: “is projected to grow to 45.72 billion in 2019” [3].

Programmatic marketing empowers channel and content owners so they can target specific audiences. This can cover various demographic segments including location, social standing, gender, age and interests. Moreover, ads can be limited to certain frequencies and specific times in the day to coincide with target markets, such as in between live sports specials. With this method, channel and content owners are only paying for hugely effective adverts, delivered at the right time to the right people.

The bottom line is that programmatic advertising increases efficiency and saves money - two very valuable advantages. By opting for automation, it puts human beings are out of the equation, and buying ads becomes less expensive and more dependable. Also, very importantly, program channels and content holders are able to optimize their KPIs (key performance indicators), and attain a deeper insight into the behavior of consumers [4].

The Rock and Roll Future of Programmatic Advertising



There are a number of exciting predictions: 1. Purchases of programmatic advertising will skyrocket, and ultimately, purchasing will surpass conventional, manual ad purchasing. Furthermore, industry experts predict that leading up to 2020: “programmatic advertising will drive 100% of advertising purchases. Organizations not championing automation will fall behind those that do” [4]. 2. Traction will be gained in the field of DCO (dynamic creative optimization), the cutting-edge display advertising which delivers automatic multi-variate testing, namely, algorithms which interpret results and ascertain how to deliver advertisements for the most optimal performance. 3. There will be more header bidding [2], such as that offered by the OONA platform. This empowers channels and content owners with a high tech method so they are able to offer inventory to multiple advertising exchanges at the same time. 4. Personalisation will become more intelligent. When channels and content owners are able to laser focus their programmatic ads to individual viewers, then they can leverage strategies including explicit demographics and geographical location [4].

References

[1]. Blattburg, Eric (2013). “WTF is Programmatic TV Advertising?” Digiday UK. https://digiday.com/media/wtf-programmatic-tv-advertising/ Accessed 12 Dec. 2017.

[2]. Zenith Media (2017). “Programmatic ads to grow 31% in 2017, ahead of all other channels.” Retrieved from: https://www.zenithmedia.com/%EF%BB%BF%EF%BB%BF%EF%BB%BFprogrammatic-ads-grow-31-2017-ahead-channels/ Accessed 12 Dec. 2017.

[3]. Statistica (n.d.).“Programmatic digital display advertising spending in the United States from 2013 to 2019 (in billion U.S. Dollars).” Retrieved from:

[4]. Kloefkorn, Sheila (2017). “Trends In Programmatic Advertising To Watch This Year.” Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/05/16/trends-in-programmatic-advertising-to-watch-this-year/#781cb7cf7f11 Accessed 12 Dec. 2017.





Tuesday, 19 December 2017

Disruptive Distribution


CASSBA Convention 2017

Interview with Christophe Hochart, Founder & CEO of OONA, and Joddy Hernady, SVP of Media & Digital Business Telkom Indonesia / CEO of Metranet

Watch it on YouTube here:


Christophe Hochart Talking About His Innovative Ideas