I like to hit MIPTV with a beat in mind, and this year I’m paying special attention to branded entertainment; more specifically, the way storytelling evolves as it slips from medium to medium. In the last few years, production companies have done a better job of tightening this experience, keeping their threads consistent even as they flow through multiple and mutable streams.
But it’s not all! Here’s what I look forward to most, and why (they’re all in the full programme, right here):
The Pitch Doctor’s Guide to Making it at MIP. If this is your first time at MIPTV, you need to stop here first thing Monday. It’s where you learn to make the most of your experience: what potential partners are looking for this season, and how to package your goods the most presentable way. It never hurts to know what the lions want before walking into the den!
MIPTV World Premiere TV Screenings. This year we kick off with the international debut of Camelot, well before it hits non-US audiences. Followed by The MIPTV Opening Cocktail, with its ever-glam red carpet, at the Carlton. Tomorrow’s stars, today. But mostly I’m excited about seeing Eva Green. Because seriously? She is probably the most beautiful woman in all the world. And I need to know which one of us is taller.
Ogilvy Lab: Elevator Pitches with the World’s Greatest Brands. You think you get nervous over an elevator pitch? Imagine finally pitching the megabrands whose wares your mother served you for breakfast. To get a brief and test your fragile self-worth, contact Ogilvy’s Olivia Rzepczynski.
Branded Content Solutions. We all love case studies, and this session’s nothing but. Naked Communications and ETV Media Group will be present to talk about what’s worked, and what doesn’t, in our brave new world of flagrantly intermingled church and state. The only thing that would make this better would be a workshop on Monocle.
The Best Branded Content in the World. This series of screenings should be self explanatory.
(In short, don’t miss Tuesday, which encompasses all I’ve just listed after the Opening Cocktail on Monday night. Most everything worth eating, knowledge-wise, happens then. If you’re not too winded around 16h45, you’ll also want to catch the Branded Entertainment Keynote, featuring Miles Young of Ogilvy & Mather. You’ll also be privy to who receives the Brand of the Year award.
Branded Content: Data is Fuel. The last two years have hosed us with data visualisations and new forms of data mapping. As more becomes available, and the public becomes savvier at manipulating it, brands are putting serious fuel behind keeping this mass audience of artists entertained. (And informed.) Christophe Aguiton of Orange put it best last year: “A map is a dream engine. People dream on maps.” But the more information you expose to the open air, the more problems you create, problems that didn’t exist before but will, in many ways, reshape our society.
3D Overview: Update on the Latest 3D Technologies & Applications. Everybody should be paying attention to what’s happening in 3D technologies. In the past few months alone we’ve seen the advent of holograms that anybody can project from an iPad 2 (seriously, look!):
Then there’s the open-source revolution in printers that will literally enable you to print three-dimensional plastic prototypes from your home desktop: marketbot. A couple of years ago, a device like the latter was worth in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Today you can score one for a couple thousand, and that figure is rapidly dwindling.
Creative Commons Workshop. Journalist Donatella Della Ratta will be moderating alongside speaker Henry Oh of Socialutions. In particular you’ll learn about the different types of Creative Commons licenses specific to publishing audiovisual content. You’ll also see how creators of this content are changing their relationships with end users, who are increasingly involved in production and hardcore marketing. My favourite example of this is Sita Sings the Blues. If you haven’t watched it, you must. (Preferably on a big screen, in the dark, with friends.)
I leave you with the usual pre-show refrain: If this is your first time, hold down 0 on your phone to make the ( + ) before international numbers. (You’ll be doing a lot of drive-by texting, and explaining this grows tiresome.) See you there!
Angela Natividad is Executive Editor at TagaroDDB. She blogs for liveanduncensored.com, the DDB Blog and is co-hostess of the AdVerve podcast (advervecast.com).
