Why see an action movie when you can watch a Livestream of a stranger eating broccoli? Turns out this is a valid question in times of isolation & social distancing. Its effects seem to change our content preferences. But why?
It might have something to do without dominant feelings (and mood) over this period. While the start of the quarantine was about fast adjustments and fearfulness, the current stage (1 month +) seems to be dominated by feelings of loneliness & boredom. In turn, these get reflected in the types of con-tent we are beginning to seek. And it seems the big winner is live content form real people. But with a twist.
It’s no surprise that all streaming platforms are witnessing growth, however, on a closer look, we can see that the growth is coming from a particular area. Case in point: Twitch. The time on the platform grew by an impressive 23% in March, but what is more interesting is where the numbers came from - the #JustChatting channel.
It’s a channel where people can “hang out” with their favorite streamers while they eat & drink. It’s a way to discover who the person is in his day-to-day life vs what he does. This is beginning to feel as more engaging & entertaining than just passively watching the content. It might be because it’s more relatable.
This new behavior is also reflected in a new “prime-time” window for video streaming. Noon. Peak content is now reached somewhere between 11 a.m and 2 p.m.
Another side-effect of this pattern is people discovering artists from areas where they had limited interest before COVID 19. Like classical music. Here, the artists themselves have seen the benefits of livestreams and began broadcast “confinement concertos” and even started creating specific pieces based on their new audience’s request.
Is this the (new) digital communal living? How can brand fit in?
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Author: Stefan Georgescu
Stefan Georgescu is Senior Strategist at MRM Romania
These are the times when people need to learn from each other more than ever. Times when sharing knowledge is a practice everyone must embrace for the sake of better tomorrows to come. That’s why at McCann Romania, we decided to create a platform where everyone can share their pieces of advice for the industry in different formats. Strategic Hack is the format where experts prove through different perspectives that pretty much anything can be hacked with strategy.
