content production Archives

August 21, 2024

TikTok’s new Creative AI suite is set to blur the line between UGC and “AIGC”

We recently attended a webinar hosted by TikTok APAC, in which they introduced an upcoming suite of features called TikTok Sym phony. This is a new suite of AI-powered creative tools designed to simplify and enhance content creation on TikTok. There’s no shortage of interesting features included in the suite and in this article we want to shed light on some of the most exciting ones.

In TikTok’s own words, the Symphony suite of solutions aim to:

Level the creative playing field: Make content creation on TikTok accessible to all, regardless of creative maturity or resource availability.
Boost productivity: Supercharge productivity in content creation, making mass production, hyper-personalisation, and constant iteration a reality.
Uncover Insights: Identify cultural and industry trends as well as campaign learnings, enabling informed decision-making and creative strategy refinements.

The first big feature to take a look at is the Symphony Assistant. An AI-driven virtual assistant similar to the AI chatbots we’ve all already integrated into our day-to-day that helps marketers and creators brainstorm ideas, implement best practices, and optimise content for TikTok. This tool is guaranteed to be of help to brands trying to stay in the loop with what’s happening in the ever-changing landscape of TikTok.

Some examples of useful prompts here will be:

"Create a script for a new TikTok ad for my [industry] brand called [name], targeting [market] and [target audience]. Make sure to highlight these USPs in the script: [benefits].”
“Show me the top-performing TikTok ads in the [industry] industry right now."
“Show me the top-performing TikTok ads in the [industry] industry right now."
"Come up with TikTok ideas for my brand named [name], promoting [topic]."

The next big section of this new suite is the Symphony Creative Studio. Powered by generative AI technology, this is a tool that helps quickly generate TikTok-ready video content from minimal inputs, such as product URLs or existing assets. It includes features like global translation, AI-generated avatars and advanced editing tools. According to TikTok these features are designed to enhance and amplify human imagination.

The AI-Avatars feature stands out as one of the most impactful innovations within this suite, offering brands the ability to scale storytelling through UGC-style videos that feature lifelike avatars. These avatars, modelled after real actors who have been compensated and have consented to the use of their likeness, can effectively communicate key messages about your products or services. While this feature may give off some Black Mirror-esque vibes, it presents a valuable opportunity, particularly for smaller brands that may lack the resources or expertise to create UGC-style content, which consistently performs exceptionally well on TikTok.

Another interesting feature of the Symphony Creative Studio is the ability to seamlessly translate existing video content into other languages. TikTok will take your video and use generative AI to translate and dub it into the language of your choice. If you create a UGC-Style video in English that you’re particularly happy about, why not have it run in Italian, Tagalog and Finnish as well? Trialling products in new markets will be easier than ever. In the beginning, however, you should definitely make sure to check with a native speaker that the translation makes sense before putting your whole quarterly budget behind a new international campaign.

In a nutshell, TikTok Symphony is all about blending human creativity with AI smarts, making it easier than ever to create stellar content and connect with your audiences across TikTok. And honestly, we can't wait to dive in and try out these features ourselves!

At Now We Collide, we’ve been incorporating AI workflows, creative platforms and generative AI for over 2 years through our Collide AI division. This allows us to create fit-for-purpose workflows and content creation efficiencies, no matter the platform or the objectives. You can find out more about this in our recent post - Revolutionizing The Ad-Making Process: The Generative AI Approach.

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: advertising, content production, Content strategy, Mobile-First Video, social media, social media advertising, social media strategy, Video Content Marketing, video production

January 30, 2024

ESPN – Super Bowl Sickie Campaign

Our Super Bowl Sickie campaign is live - months of meticulous planning, creative development and production - next stop Vegas!

As appeared in Ad News Article

A tongue-in-cheek campaign, via creative agency Now We Collide, is encouraging Australian fans of American football to take the day off (with the blessing of their employer) to enjoy Super Bowl LVIII.

A contagious strain of Super Bowl fever is spreading across Australia and New Zealand, and cable sports channel ESPN is helping fans deal with the condition.

“The Super Bowl is being played on a Monday downunder, so sign me up for the Super Bowl Sickie,” said ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

“If you’ve got Super Bowl fever, no medicine is going to cure that, except watching the big game. Call in sick…trust me.”

Super Bowl sickie certificates available HERE.

Super Bowl LVIII is live on ESPN in Australia, Monday, February 12, at 10am AEDT.

ESPN - Super Bowl Sickie 2024

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: content production, Content strategy, social media strategy, video production

January 11, 2024

Continuing to grow our HubSpot partnership

We're continuing to see huge benefits and tangible results for the organisations we are working with that are utilising HubSpot as part of their integrated digital and social media strategy. As a HubSpot agency partner, we are helping our clients build out strategies that include a clear understanding of the customer and the customer lifecycle by integrating the HubSpot CRM. This then connects directly to the development of creative strategy and optimises creative, channel performance, media performance, ROAS, and informs ongoing optimisation. More information and how we achieve this is here.

So it's no surprise to us that HubSpot was recently named a Leader in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for B2B Marketing Automation Platforms for the third consecutive year. Marketing Hub, HubSpot’s marketing software, is powered by its Smart CRM, unifying data and leveraging HubSpot AI to help marketers craft personalized journeys that attract, engage and delight customers and prospects. Customers using Marketing Hub for six months have seen an 81% increase in deal close rate, 108% increase in web traffic, and 115% increase in leads.*** You can read more about the Gartner B2B award here.

If you're interested in understanding how Now We Collide is using HubSpot as part of our broader service offering and how it can impact your digital and social marketing efficiencies and drive customer growth, please drop us a line.

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: advertising, content production, HubSpot, social media, social media marketing, social media strategy

December 4, 2023

The Creative Store: Creative Talk with Ryan Bodger

Now We Collide is a Sydney, Australia-based creative agency that is embracing AI as part of their everyday. We talk to Ryan Bodger, co-founder and now the CCO about navigating AI via their arm Collide-AI and what this entails.

Appeared in THE CREATIVE STORE newsletter.

Ryan, give us the backstory – who are you and where did you come from?

A couple of decades ago, I started out as a junior broadcast cameraman and video editor at the Nine Network, where I stayed for a few years until the transition to a new digital world took hold through the dot com bubble in the late ’90s. In 1998 I co-founded the digital agency Tricky Design (now 24digital.com.au) and delivered campaigns and projects for high profile clients including Telstra, IBM and NAB (to name a few).

In 2003 I was given the opportunity to work in Japan as the Digital Creative Director for Nikkei Net, Japan’s largest news corporation, taking the lead in the redesign and development of Nikkei Net’s English website.

In 2006 I landed back in Sydney and went on to co-found Now We Collide with business partner and CEO Keir Maher in 2015, where I now work as CCO, with an awesome team, overseeing and delivering digitally integrated campaigns and projects for a broad range of great clients.

You have a great range of clients – do you focus on certain sectors, or enjoy the breadth and variety?

We are lucky in that the client partnerships we have built over the years have continued to grow and prosper. We have really spent the time nurturing them, helping them achieve their business goals while building strong relationships. While we don’t focus on particular verticals we specialise in helping big global brands deliver their marketing efforts across APAC and other regions.

Your website states you are pioneers in the field of AI – how are you working in the AI space?

Right now we are witnessing the rapid advancement of deep neural networks in language, image, audio and video synthesis, resulting in remarkably precise, realistic, and customisable outputs. What was once blurry and low-resolution has now transformed into highly realistic and aesthetically impressive imagery, ushering in a new era of synthetic media. In late 2022 we setup Collide-AI driven by a passion to test, experiment and learn what this new technology can do, while seeing an opportunity to bring it into our everyday workflow.

How do you see the future of AI changing the face of a typical agency?

At COLLIDE-AI we believe that AI is not the creative solution for all projects or briefs. It doesn't provide all the answers, or simply replace more traditional creative development or production, nor should it. It is our belief that AI should be adopted as another creative tool for brands and marketers to get their message to market, at speed, in unique and exciting ways. We are conscious of the ethical issues surrounding its use and ensure we are not using it in the wrong way, using specific artists as reference for style and output. What is incredible about generative AI is the way we can come up with new ideas we may never of dreamed of in a much shorter period of time. This is based on how we are using it, prompting and engineering our outputs. It is not a simple process of prompting a few words in and hoping for the best. The processes we use, especially for AI video, is quite complex and uses a number of tools and techniques to get results that push the boundaries. In terms of the future and changing face of the typical agency, I think it is up to agencies to find the AI tools that suit their style or approach best, to find ways to adapt. There is no value in sticking your head in the sand and being stuck in old ways, the game has definitely changed.

Covering Content Marketing – Do you recommend HubSpot as the main tool? How & why would you recommend this CRM for clients?

We work with our clients from developing initial strategy, through to creative and ideation, content creation and media distribution. HubSpot is a fantastic platform to help us understand how all this comes together to achieve objectives and gain insights on what's working and how to optimise. HubSpot connects marketing activities, with sales, content management and customer service - so it really allows us to see the full customer lifecycle and understand the impact of marketing throughout all those stages. We work closely with our clients to ensure they are getting the best out of the software and we collaborate to gain insights, plan and optimise marketing activities.

What has been your most exciting creative to work on to date?

As a person with a life long love of playing and watching basketball, a campaign we recently delivered was for ESPN, creating their brand platform ‘Your Home For Hoops’. This initiative has been in development for a few years now and it has been exciting to see it unfold through such a strong period of growth for basketball in Australia. I’d like to think the campaigns we have run for ESPN, NBA, NBL, NBA Basketball School in Australia have helped to fuel this interest and growth. What has been most exciting about it, is the opportunity it has given us to push the creative boundaries and experiment with many different ideas, production techniques and concepts. You can check out some of the work here.

How do you curate a positive culture at Now We Collide?

By being open, honest and collaborative with our clients, our team and everyone we come into contact. Early Fridays' in summer, flexible working, rostered birthdays off, fun events, regular 'community days' where we give back to the community, the odd long lunch and gatherings and a passion for nurturing ideas and creativity also helps.

Do you look to other companies / have a mentor – whether that is in Australia or overseas?

I’ve been lucky enough to end up with a business partner who at times acts as a mentor, keeps my wandering creative mind on the straight and narrow and ensures things are as much about function as well as form.

As far as other companies go for inspiration I have always had a curiosity for tech-enabled creativity, so am always on the lookout for people, agencies or artists doing new, incredible things, be it here or overseas. I feel like the space for creative innovation is now more exciting than it has ever been before.

How has 2023 been for you? What are you looking forward to in 2024?

2023 has been exciting but challenging. Coming out of Covid posed many new challenges. I felt empathy for employees and clients who had effectively been working in a bubble for over two years, while this year gave people an opportunity to properly reconnect and travel again without as many rules and restrictions. I think people came into 2023 feeling quite restless with a need to explore again. As an agency, we doubled in size during COVID so it was a tricky juggle to find new talent and integrate them into the business. 2023 has opened things back up and brought the team back into the office, which is so important as a creative agency. 2024 will be another exciting year for us with many new and exciting projects currently in the pipes set to launch in the new year.

Last words?

Collide-AI watch this space.

Published by Ryan Bodger in News

Tags: advertising, AI, Artificial Intelligence, brands, content production, creative agency, CRM, HubSpot, sydney, sydney agency

June 8, 2023

Chief Executive Women partners with Now We Collide to rebrand and launch annual Leadership Summit

MediaWeek

AdNews

Independent creative agency Now We Collide has partnered with Chief Executive Women (CEW) across their creative and marketing initiatives. This strategic partnership aims to revamp CEW’s Leadership Summit, driving awareness among Australian leaders and expediting progress towards gender equality.

CEW is the pre-eminent organisation representing Australia’s most influential women leaders across various sectors such as corporate, public service, academic and not-for-profit sector.

Their annual Leadership Summit, now branded as ‘Agenda 2033’, acts as a catalyst to reaching a future where gender equality is reality. An unmissable lineup of influential speakers and disruptors will take to the stage to identify tangible actions that people and businesses can implement to accelerate change across Australia.

Ann Burns GAIDC, CEW Member and Strategic Advisor, comments: “No one wants to wait 100 years for an equal future. We are a force for change and are advocating for more diverse voices at every table and women’s workforce participation enabled across all sectors. Our mission is to empower all women so they are economically secure and free from violence across their life course and that there is workplace flexibility for all to work and care.”

Burns continues, “Our Leadership Summit is for all leaders looking to take decisive action in the next ten years to accelerate our journey and to empower men and women to have the same social and economic choices. This is the forum where change is re-ignited and we set a new Agenda that is built on activation and collaboration.

“Working with Now We Collide has given us the creative inspiration to move ahead with confidence and set our passion in the context of action,” says Burns.

Naomi Young, Strategy Director at Now We Collide, said, “Key to the creative strategy was identifying the data-wow point we drew from the 2022 CEW Census*. Based on the current rate of change, it will take 100 years to have leadership equality.

“Accelerating this unacceptable statistic is at the heart of the new name, Agenda 2033, but also key to CEW’s action plan. This event will ignite a chain reaction to fast track equality, turning what could be 100 years of snail-paced change into 10.”

Young continues, “Partnering with the CEW team in their rebrand for the summit has been very fulfilling. Leadership development is a crowded space in the market, so creatively we needed cut-through, to clearly communicate the unique position of Agenda 2033.

“This is not just another leadership event or a day to shape your future self, this is about igniting change on a national level. The creative, from naming through to visuals in market, needs to inspire and activate people.”

Announced earlier this week, the lineup of speakers for Agenda 2033 includes notable individuals like Taryn Brumfitt, who was honoured as the Australian of the Year in 2023. Joining her are influential leaders such as Shemara Wikramanayake, CEO of Macquarie Group, Leah Weckert, CEO of Coles, and Kaylee Anderson, Victorian Aboriginal Engagement Lead.

Want to be part of the fast track to equality? Tickets are now on sale for CEW’s Leadership Summit here: https://cew.org.au/events/cew-summit/

Credits:

Chief Creative Officer: Ryan Bodger

CEO: Keir Maher

Strategy Director: Naomi Young

Creative Lead: Kate Holdsworth

Art Director: Sarah Coleman

Chief Executive Women - Agenda 2033

*Source: 2022 CEW Census https://cew.org.au/advocacy/2022-cew-census-an-urgent-wakeup-call-ceo-gender-balance-100-years-away/

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: brand strategy, content production, Content strategy, social media strategy

November 25, 2022

Cocentric – Unlock the Best in People

Now We Collide launches campaign unveiling new name and look for digital transformation business Cocentric. Independent creative agency Now We Collide has worked with digital employee experience company Azuronaut to rebrand, creating a new name - Cocentric - brand values and visual identity. Cocentric improves the digital employee experience, bringing people and tech together to […]

Creating history with ESPN and the Opals

For just the second time in history, Australia played host to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, and in a first, ESPN would be broadcasting a major sporting event, live from Australian shores. Now We Collide was given the task of creating a social media led creative campaign that targeted a wide Australian audience alongside basketball fans to drive tune-in to ESPN’s live broadcast.

The creative strategy involved featuring high profile Opals players delivering inspirational lines to camera from a New York training camp, which NWC managed remotely. We then combined this footage with unique cell animation, game footage and commentary stings to set the scene for the home town showdown. Multiple exports were created with different calls to action. The first was to create awareness in the lead up to the competition, we then tailored messaging to game specific tune-in as each game approached. The creative was then A/B tested with sound on and sound off versions across different platforms.

The semi-final game creative - Opals v China on ESPN.

We ran the campaign using a blended social media strategy with the goal of reaching the widest possible audience and combining this with ‘active engagement’ to achieve video view completions.

The Opals did Aussie fans proud in the world cup, bringing home the bronze medal after narrowly missing out on the gold medal match. The USA claimed their third championship on the bounce but there was another winner out of the competition and that was the success of the sound on, vertical format video in our creative campaign, something that Now We Collide has been championing for a while now - Vertical video keeps soaring.

Sound on environments such as TikTok and Instagram Reels proved to be a great format to drive reach and engagement where we used the celebrity and inspiration of the Opals players to deliver piece-to-camera with a more ‘native’ feel to the TikTok/Reels world during the campaign. Also, because people tend to actively scroll TikTok and Reels as opposed to the more passive scrolling provided by other formats, audio becomes more relevant and powerful when making creative choices on these platforms. The TikTok campaign also included some tactical enhancements such as premium placement in feed and Super Like interactive add on.

The campaign reached over 2.5 million viewers across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok while engagement and 100% video views performance achieved was significantly above benchmarks and KPIs set. Not only that, and most importantly, the event has become one of the most successful for ESPN Australia in terms of audience numbers and viewing figures.

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Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: content production, Content strategy, Mobile-First Video, social media, social media marketing, social media strategy, Video Content Marketing, video production

November 11, 2022

Vertical video keeps soaring

Just over 2 years ago we wrote about the “Rise of Vertical Video” and how we saw it as “one of the biggest opportunities for brands” at the time. Shift forward 2 years and it's clear that the prediction has become a reality. During that time we have seen the exponential growth of Instagram Reels, in 2021 Adam Mosseri, the Head of Instagram announced a focus on video and the tripling of Reels maximum running length to 90 seconds (while ads have a maximum running length of 60 seconds) – with over 1 billion active Instagram users every month the move into vertical mobile video has been one of the driving forces behind the success. Reels has now been expanded to Facebook as well which in turn increases the views and discoverability of Reels across both platforms.

Ultimately though, Reels was a response to the growth of what was then a new-comer to the vertical video scene – TikTok. TikTok has grown rapidly and whilst we recognised 2 years ago that they were a serious competitor to the incumbent leaders in social video at the time (Facebook and YouTube) we didn’t foresee quite how big they would get. In fact, data from the recent Hootsuite / We Are Social report shows that TikTok now leads in average time per month spent in app across Android devices globally:

TikTok’s undoubted success has been driven by their AI algorithm and the ability to curate and recommend the most relevant content to keep viewers hooked and scrolling for more. In this sense, TikTok has become a quasi social media and entertainment platform in one. TikTok now has over 1 billion monthly active users itself and is projected to reach somewhere between $8bn - $12bn in ad revenue in 2022.

Not to be out-done, in late 2020 YouTube launched their own YouTube Shorts vertical video and short-from platform for videos 60 seconds and less. YouTube Shorts is already driving 1.5bn monthly views and has in our eyes the advantage over both Instagram and TikTok in that it plugs into both the creator community of YouTube and the overall Google ecosystem, particularly search. Demand for YouTube Shorts has been soaring, in April this year Google CEO, Pichai announced that YouTube Shorts, is generating 30 billion views per day, which is four times more than the same time a year earlier.

So what does all this mean for brands and advertisers? In a word, plenty. There are the obvious creative ramifications we discussed in our original article – vertical video needs to be filmed or produced with the vertical 9:16 format front of mind mind – utilising all the available pixel space to maximise engagement with a feeling that is native to viewing and platform experience. With videos across all vertical platforms primarily watched with sound-on, this means that dialogue, sound and sound design has become more important than ever and revokes many of the previous recommendations around creating for a sound-off viewing experience.

This also means that video content including people and dialogue directly to camera within the creative has become more important than ever – driven by the success of a plethora of content creators – and for advertisers this is an important consideration. We have run a number of organic and paid campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube in which we have A/B tested different creative and we have interesting findings where for certain categories and demographics, people speaking directly to camera and engaging with audience one-to-one, have significantly out-performed all other creative.

One thing we have also been working on as an agency is optimising video creative for 95%+ or 100% video completions. This is because the video platforms are often optimised to reporting on a 3 second or up to 6 second video view and while this might be relevant for the platforms themselves to report on, this isn't necessarily a true gauge of how consumers are interacting with a brands content or ads. While there has been lots written on the demise of the average attention span there is also plenty of evidence available to confirm that if you reach the right people, at the right time with content that is relevant and of interest/engaging, they will dedicate as much time as needed. So we believe a truer reflection of campaign success is to understand and report on those higher video completion rates and optimise the creative and media strategy accordingly.

Data from numerous campaigns we have run here at Now We Collide over the last 2 years has shown that the growth in vertical video has been accompanied by much higher video viewing completion rates and the associated cost efficiencies which can be achieved and by optimising video to the vertical format, even higher engagement and efficiencies can be achieved.

So for now at least the rise of vertical video continues and is now an essential part of any digital and social media strategy and should be integrated into the channel mix accordingly.

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: advertising, content production, Content strategy, Mobile-First Video, social media, social media advertising, social media marketing, social media strategy, Video Content Marketing, video production

October 17, 2022

ESPN on Foxtel – Sport Never Ends

US sports have continued their growth trajectory in Australia with numerous studies showing both participation and viewership have increased markedly. While demographics of fans skew younger than the average Aussie sports fan, the growth in US sports has been driven by both younger fans entering the market and existing sports fans being attracted from other codes.

Beginning in September with the NFL, and followed closely by the NBA & NHL, ESPN gives sports fans access to some of the world’s most prestigious leagues. Combine that with the MLB playoffs and the ever present UFC and you have all the drama, action and intrigue that sport fans know and love. So, while Aussie football codes such as the AFL and NRL finish up their respective seasons, sports fans from across all codes are safe in the knowledge that “Sport Never Ends”.

Targeting Foxtel subscribers, Now We Collide produced a campaign to show Australian sports fans the common ground amongst all sporting codes - although the games might differ in style, they’re packed with emotional storylines. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows, fans return each season to right the wrongs from seasons past or to witness teams build on the dynasties that will be remembered forever. This is the same for every sport, everywhere and with ESPN on Foxtel, this can be done anytime.

The integrated campaign features 3 broadcast TV commercials run across the Foxtel platform to retain existing subscribers and this was supported by print, digital display, and social media, with all creative, design and assets produced by the team at Now We Collide. The team took inspiration from recent US sporting events, and used game footage supplied by ESPN to create a narrative campaign that all sports fans can relate to. The creative is held together with motion graphics that combined elements from both the ESPN and Foxtel brand to create a familiar but unique art direction.

Services

Creative Development
Campaign strategy
Art Direction
Copywriting
Production / post-production
Motion Graphics

Credits

Marketing Mgr Au/NZ ESPN - Mark Porter
Sports Marketing Manager - Foxtel - Emily Peake
Executive Producer - Keir Maher
Chief Creative Officer - Ryan Bodger
Producer - Shayne Carter
Art Director - Tim Prosser
Editor - Josh Groom

Check our integrated social media campaign for ESPN on Kayo here.

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: advertising, content production, Content strategy

August 10, 2022

AdNews Industry Profile: Ryan Bodger our CCO at Now We Collide

AdNews Industry Profile

Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.

Ryan Bodger: Chief creative officer at Now We Collide

Time in current role/time at the company:
Now We Collide was founded in 2015 by CEO and Managing Partner, Keir Maher, and myself, Ryan Bodger, chief creative officer and managing partner.

How would you describe what the company does?
Most of the time we are helping our client partners realise the potential of the new digital economy. This means coming up with creative ways to intersect and engage with audiences, customers and consumers on a myriad of platforms, channels and digital ecosystems. Every business we work with has different goals and objectives, so we uniquely tailor our approach to each of them and build teams to support their business for successful outcomes.

What do you do day-to-day?
Problem solving, ideation, creative execution, research, strategy, production, client and stakeholder management and team building. Sometimes I might even fix a broken cupboard in the studio - I like to get hands on with everything I do. Each day presents a new set of challenges and often I lean on our great team, resources and mentors - both internal and external - to get the job done. I’m blessed to work with such a talented and clever group of people.

Define your job in one word:
Adaptation.

I got into digital market industry because:
It was where the ad industry was heading. It was a natural progression from working in television early on, through the dot.com boom running a digital agency, to the fragmented, decentralised digital landscape we are now in. It’s been a wild ride and it’s ever changing - but that’s why I like it.ADVERTISING

What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Helping clients realise the potential of the ever-changing media and digital landscape. I think a lot of the time we are comfortable in the day-to-day and find it difficult to adapt and change. Often people resist change, because it’s hard and it makes them feel uncomfortable.

But that is exactly what we all do as audiences or consumers. We constantly shift our gaze to the next exciting thing that interests us, solves a problem or entertains us. Think the iphone, Netflix, Reddit, TikTok, Discord, Blockchain, AI - it’s always changing. We’re here to help businesses embrace these changes.

What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
Getting people to value creativity in our industry and the ‘idea’ as currency. While the digital age has caused a paradigm shift in our ability to scrutinise data, and rightly so, the value of creativity has been diminished by some.

I think the ‘idea’ is seen as something floating in thin air, waiting to be plucked. Sometimes that can happen, but very rarely. I believe those that harness the power of data, draw valuable insights and drive quicker creative thinking and effective strategy to market will win. Those ideas and that thinking needs to be worth more and valued more.

What are you most excited about in the next 12 months?
Seeing Now We Collide go from strength to strength in delivering some of our best work, while continuing to build and support an incredible team of people that all love working together.

Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
My Dad. As a kid I saw him go from working in the backyard shed in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, as a sole trader Signwriter (back when they used paint and brushes), to running a sign factory with around 20 people working for him.

I have good memories of spending time with his apprentices, learning how signs were made, mixing paints, screen printing, and seeing how business was done. He didn't always have to give me great advice, but his work ethic and commitment to making a better life for his family has given me a great lens through which to see the world.

Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Nothing ever stays the same, so be ready to adapt to change, constantly. Don't be precious when things don't go your way.

If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
As a kid, my dream was to be playing alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls… that didn't quite work out. But if I wasn't running a Creative Agency right now, I would probably be helping my wife more with her new venture, Alba Atelier (plug!).

My mantra is:
Time is running.

My favourite advert is:
The original Apple iPod Ad - design, simplicity, fun. RIP the iPod

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: content production, social media, social media advertising, social media strategy, Video Content Marketing, video production

August 2, 2022

Cross-border creativity and the landscape for content production has shifted.

Appearing in Mumbrella

Five years ago, if you’d suggested to your boss that all staff should work half their week at home, I reckon you’d have been met with raised eyebrows.

But things have changed fast and employers have come to see hybrid work not just as something that’s viable – they’re now viewing it as genuinely advantageous.

This shift in how many in our industry are operating is just one reason why indie agencies have shone so brightly over the past few years.

We are now increasingly seeing how important agility is to powering innovation and delivering results. Speed to insight plus the ability to adapt and move quickly has become critical, and smaller agencies typically work without the legacy baggage of larger, traditional agencies.

The playing field has levelled between indies and larger global agency networks. Why? Technology improvements, shifts in the way we work, and access to global resources such as talent, research, software, hardware – you name it – mean clients no longer need to rely on big players to coordinate international creative ad campaigns.

The game has changed, permanently

The events of the last two years years caused a seismic shift in the way agencies needed to support their clients and this has continued into 2022. Indie agencies with a willingness to adapt have been able to thrive throughout thanks to a number of factors which were already in play, but have now become even more significant.

The first is their ability to leverage a satellite network of talented experts. These highly skilled and experienced professionals provide invaluable support, with small agencies better placed to flexibly choose who they engage for appropriate projects.

Additionally, with the advent of more advanced virtual work technologies, smaller, unencumbered agencies can more easily bring these experts into the fold to work in a more mutually productive way.

Secondly, I believe indies are uniquely positioned to deliver work remotely. In the past, large international agency networks had a monopoly on global client relationships, and great emphasis was placed on having many important people in rooms together.

But the game has changed. Now, a client in the UK typically cares a lot less if the agency they’re working with is in London or Sydney. And that’s a good thing, as it makes operations more efficient, opens up avenues to new talent, and drastically lowers overheads.

In this evolving context, we’ve seen a stack of indies doing great things lately. There’s a genuine ability to develop ideas and create content that is entirely market-specific, even when produced remotely.

A great example of this model succeeding is the ‘Checkout Catch’ campaign from Catch Group, supported by AJF GrowthOps. With both the agency’s creative team and Catch Group headquartered in Melbourne, they were faced with a challenge when a second lockdown was imposed. Ultimately, the campaign was shot in Queensland, but directed via real-time feedback from interstate – and the results didn’t suffer an iota.

Overseas examples are plentiful too. Remote filming worked a treat for US-based creative agency Mischief @ No Fixed Address. It produced terrific ads including Miller Genuine Draft’s ‘Unapologetically Beer’ and Shutterfly’s ‘Make it a Thing’ – both are well worth a look.

Staying creative and embracing adaptability

One of the reasons I chose this industry is because it is a ‘people’ industry – collaboration and human interaction are at the heart and that will always be the case.

However, now clients have more options than ever before to engage the right agency, they no longer have to hire the global agency group to get the best results. The playing field has been levelled and smaller agencies now have access to the same networks of expertise and resources.

The lesson of the last few years is that the old rules really no longer apply. Technology has shown us that businesses can thrive when their employees predominantly work from the comfort of their homes. Similarly, creative businesses don’t need to be leviathans to deliver brilliant results for their clients.

So if you don’t think you need a room full of VIPs to shoot the lights out with your next campaign, then consider what a smaller agency partner has to offer.

Published by Keir Maher in News

Tags: advertising, content production, Content strategy, social media marketing, Video Content Marketing, video production

September 20, 2016

Branded VR Video & 360 Video ‘Experience Is Believing’

We used to say seeing is believing. Now we have to say ‘experiencing is believing’.

It seems about 1 in 5 briefs we work on at the moment have a VR video component as brands and agencies look to explore the possibilities of the immersive and engaging world of 360 video and virtual reality.

The next 18 months will be a telling time. Let's see how audiences transition from standard video viewing to embrace VR and invest in a personal headset, closing themselves off from the real world to engage with the most immersive form of video content.

For anyone that has put on the Samsung Gear VR, Vive or Oculus, there is usually a wow moment when you realise just how immersive and engaging the VR video world can be. One thing is for certain we are just at the beginning of where the technology will lead us. It will be exciting to see what other AR/VR players like Magic Leap, Sony and Microsoft can bring to the table.

We know that premium publishers and tech giants are getting on board with big investments. Google is working on a VR version of Chrome. NBC and Samsung broadcasted the summer Olympics in VR. Hulu, Crackle, Jaunt, and Within already have dedicated apps, or “theatres,” where viewers can consume massive amounts of VR content.

The NBA (National Basketball Association) has also started creating longer form VR experiences with its mind-blowing VR production ‘Follow My Lead’ which tells the story of the 2016 NBA finals, taking audiences behind the scenes for an experience like no other.

Content innovation can lead to commercial investment

Now more than ever we are seeing significant brand dollars being spent on VR experiences that prove that content innovation can lead to commercial investment, leaving audiences feeling inspired by the bravery and courage of a brand to do something different in the VR space.

A great example of a brand investing in VR

One thing we know for sure is that when you are inside a VR experience you are the most captive audience a brand can have and the experience you create needs to be compelling. There is no other form of media right now that is as immersive as a branded VR video experience and brands need to take advantage.

The Numbers

Greenlight Insights released results this week from its survey of 1,300 adults that found the majority of consumers, 71% of them, feel that VR makes brands seem “forward-thinking and modern.” However, there’s even better news for brands’ bottom lines: 53% of respondents said they’d be more likely to purchase from a brand that uses VR than from one that doesn’t.

“We’re seeing specific VR activities have unique emotional footprints, offering fascinating insights for those who are considering their VR strategies,” Steve Marshall, SVP of Research and Consulting for Greenlight VR, said in a statement announcing the findings.

What is the perfect branded VR video experience?

It comes down to the brand objectives and how people will contextually be viewing the experience. When people are in groups with one person viewing a VR experience the viewer doesn’t want to feel trapped inside for too long (4-5mins max). They will want to share or talk about their experience soon after. When a viewer is alone with VR, the sky’s the limit, a viewer will stay engaged for longer and want to stay immersed.

‘Virtual reality by definition intensifies the impression of reality. All the viewer’s senses are heightened including sight, sound, and motion; content that delivers fully immersive experiences will be in high demand.’

Content that delivers a fully immersive experience will be in high demand

This potential for VR storytelling will take branded entertainment to a whole new level. Imagine Apple showcasing its VR capable iPhone 8 (yet to be released) where viewers can take part in a Mars landing and film the experience in first person using features on the iPhone 8. Viewers could zoom into the phone to play with a realistic, 360-degree model of the device or even watch a video shot with that new device, thereby zooming into an entirely new storyline set on Mars.

The Production Value

There are a number of aspects when considering the production value of producing VR or 360 video content.

VR is not the same as 360 Video.

While the two can be packaged up as a VR experience, there is a difference between the two. 360 video is effectively filming a real-world environment with a 360 camera, which can be produced in 2D using a whole range of cameras from consumer to prosumer or in stereoscopic 3D using more high-end professional-grade equipment.

Once captured 360 videos can have 3d, overlay graphic elements or interactive hotspots added to make the experience more engaging. A great example of a mixed live-action 360 video shoot and 3D environment can be seen here with Google Spotlight Story Help.

Help uses a mix of studio, 3D and real-world 360 videos. This is, of course, a pretty amazing experience best viewed in VR and not desktop. VR environments, games and stories that are completely virtual are created in 3D and compiled using software like Unity 3D or Unreal Engine .

2D vs 3D

If done right, VR created as a 3D experience is always going to be more compelling. 2D is a great way to create a high-resolution experience and keep production costs down. Poorly implemented 3D and 360 video footage can cause a great deal of discomfort to the viewer including headaches, eye strain or nausea. With a 2D video, you’re getting more resolution out of the device because you’re not having to stack the left and right channels (or top and bottom channels) within the phone’s limited resolution. Oculus CTO John Carmack explains, “People that are resolution-picky will probably prefer monoscopic videos, which can have twice the resolution of stereo videos. The stereo effect may not be worth anything to you if you can't get past the blurring.”

How To Get Views?

Virtual reality viewing roughly falls into 3 categories. First are desktop and mobile video player with no headset (think Facebook or YouTube 360 native players). Next are expensive headsets tethered to a computer, aimed mostly at gamers, like the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive. Finally, there are mobile viewing experiences that combine with a smartphone, like Samsung's Gear VR or Google's Cardboard.

Marketers need to think about how and when audiences will be viewing their content and ensure they are driving people to experience branded VR through a quality headset. This should be coupled with the distribution of content to key VR publishers for optimal reach across platforms and devices. As with any type of video content distribution and seeding, a strategy is paramount.

Published by Ryan Bodger in News

Tags: 360 Video, 360 Video Production, content production, Content strategy, video content distribution, VR Video

November 8, 2015

Native Mobile Video Campaigns Best Practice

Here at Now We Collide we work with brands looking to engage with customers and build a broader fan base with meaningful and relevant content. Mobile video campaigns are often a great way to do this. Because we are consuming more and more video online via mobile through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other big native video players and publishers.

Mobile-First Video Campaign Best Practices

Here are the 5 summarised steps from a recent study from Comscore:

Hook the viewer quickly: You've got two or three seconds to grab the viewers attention before they scroll by.

Come in close: Engaging the viewer demands special video editing. Use close-ups, quick cuts, interesting imagery and strong point-of-view angles.

Go big: On-screen text showing product info needs to be clear and large enough to read on a tiny mobile screen.

The silent treatment: Viewers probably have their devices on mute. Therefore you need to develop creative content that works well with no sound too.

Tell them what to do: Include a simple call to action. Use the same message in the text around the native video ad unit to reinforce your message.

“Native mobile video campaigns not only work but can be especially effective when following creative best practices,” says Andrew Lipsman, vice president of marketing and insights at ComScore.

“It’s important for brands to make an impression quickly and engage with the consumer on a more visual level to drive campaign success.”

In conclusion, this is all true for native video formats, but of course the same can be said for mobile video campaigns too. They are good rules to follow no matter what video content you are producing. What do you think? Feel free to leave your comments below.

Published by Ryan Bodger in News

Tags: campaign success, content production, creative best practice, Mobile video, Mobile-First Video, Native Mobile Content

August 27, 2015

360 Video On The Rise Globally

360 video is quickly moving from niche to mainstream. YouTube and Facebook are taking it to the masses and it's catching on. Because 360 video is so immersive, it allows the viewer to explore outside the frame and experience each story in a different way. That could be different every time they view it.

You may have noticed that YouTube has added 360 videos as the main navigation in their Channels list. And Facebook has teamed up with the little company they bought for $2bn last year, Oculus Rift, to introduce 360 videos to the Facebook Newsfeed.

With the growing popularity of virtual reality (VR), the demand for 360 video production is also on the rise.

If you haven't seen some of the awesome recent examples check them out - Facebook: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Immersive 360 & GoPro Spherical: Sand Dune Jumping in VR with Ronnie Renner.

So if you are a marketer looking to create an experiential brand to engage your audience or you want to tap into the potential of VR for employee training for a global team, then now might be a good time to get the ball rolling on 360 video production.

More to come from the team at Now We Collide soon...

Published by Ryan Bodger in News

Tags: 360 Video, content production, Independent Creative Agency, video production