It's 2022 - Time To Decommoditize Your Content
One of the biggest trending topics over the 2021 holiday break was the latest release in the Matrix franchise. The movie played with the theme of the general public’s overall indifference toward content and how content itself has essentially become commoditized.
Much like the bland, gray, paste Neo and his team were forced to rely on for sustenance, big budget studios are now mindlessly churning out large vats of unnoteworthy, colorless, content gruel for us all to consume.
“Water, Water Everywhere, Nor a drop to drink.”
How much time have you spent on your couch scrolling through content, only to declare, “There’s nothing to watch!”
The problem isn’t with the quantity of the content, but instead with the ability of content providers to make their product stand out, aka their ability to decommoditize their content.
So… What’s Next & Who’s Already Winning?
Shudder is a curated content provider, a premium subscription channel that caters specifically to fanatics of the horror genre.
One could easily discover new horror-themed content by surfing through their curated catalog of content. Shudder, however, takes curation 1 step deeper in decommoditizing their content.
SHUDDER ADDS A CURATOR TO THEIR ALREADY CURATED CONTENT!
(Re) Enter Joe Bob Briggs and The Last Drive-In
Joe Bob Briggs is a TV horror host, (Think Elvira, Svengoolie or the “Cool Ghoul” Zacherle for our old school readers.) He is a charismatic guide that walks you through the cinematic offerings for the evening injecting tidbits of trivia, commentary and the occasional jabs at the on-screen campiness.
The role was a common TV trope thought up by network executives to spice up their less desirable, often cheaply acquired and sometimes unwatchable content as far back as 1954.
Joe Bob’s run as host of MonsterVision on Ted Turner’s network unceremoniously came to an end in 2000 amidst Turner’s AOL merger debacle leaving the loving viewing audience of self-described “mutants” out in the cold.
In June 2018 Shudder announced a special send-off to our “Chief Mutant In Charge” with A 24-hour movie-thon hosted by the beloved icon.
Unexpectedly the special broke the internet and crashed Shudders unprepared servers with the unprecedented demand which required a response of launching additional specials.
It instantaneously became apparent that having a friendly face to introduce you to horror classics you may have missed, or having that sarcastic buddy to share a side-glance with as you “enjoy” an unwatchable, campy scene, proved to be just what the doctor ordered. The demand proved so high that his occasional specials mutated into a weekly show that has now been renewed for its 4th season.
Additionally, in true differentiating fashion, Joe Bob disrupts the status quo by not announcing, in advance the movies he will be showing. You tune in and you are treated to 4+ hours of finely curated, double-feature movie madness which you experience at the same time as others in the “mutant family.” The addition of some live-tweeting by Joe Bob, co-host Darcy “The Mail Girl” and the fans creates a regular Friday night Twitter trend.
In the fast-coming world of “Commoditized Content” where everyone is getting accustomed to consuming a bland, mind-numbing, gray paste, Shudder is winning big with discoverability and Joe Bob Briggs, The Last Drive-In and their mutant family.
You can expect this approach to content to cross over into social media and beyond. It will absolutely affect your content creation efforts. Getting ahead of this “human climate change” and adjusting your strategy will change the face of your business. In my next blog I’ll explain how DISOVERABILITY will be THE disruptive movement of 2022 and beyond.
