article - mobile content

Early in 2006, I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting where a determined twenty something boy was pitching his business idea for a mobile application to a bunch of ‘suits’ (Funder types).

When one of the suits asked him why he wanted to wait for an year to launch his product, he replied “What’s an year? It passes in a day!”

It does and it did. 2006 whizzed by.

The saliency of 2006 for the mobile sector lay in the twin mantras that I observed in the meeting mentioned above – innovation and persistence.

Mobile Application Developers, Telcos, Aggregators, Content owners and all the other parties of this myriad circus showed tremendous aggression in launching cutting edge applications and content. From booking Cinema tickets on the mobile (PVR Cinemas) to selling branded games, Fun cards (Hutch) to Songcatcher (Airtel) the year saw one cool application after the other. VAS revenues soared as TV programming seamlessly integrated SMS as the tool of choice to involve viewers in the numerous reality shows and contests. Almost all of these were well thought out and well executed products. Considering that SMS is still the largest component of Value Added Services the marriage of text Message and Reality Television was the biggest money spinner of 2006.

With Millions of direct investment by Venture capitalists, Foreign Equity Funds and other investors in the sector, 2006 was a good year.

A ‘hit’ or what is known as the ‘killer app’ (the suits!!) however, remained elusive in 2006. No game, application or content type achieved a cult status to match, leave alone outsell mobile versions of Cinema or cricket content. In fact a marketing manager (another suit!!) with a Telco recently put Dhoom 2 as the biggest mobile downloads blockbuster ever.

The Terrapinn Mobile Content Forum (2006) Singapore was attended by companies from across the world. This is the Asia forum, I thought, what the hell are all these Americans and Australians and Canadians and Mayans (not really, but perhaps the only ones missing) doing here? Over the next few days I realized that they wanted to sell or buy in Asia because it boosted not just the bottomlines but also (and more importantly) their content libraries back home. With a huge migrant population, Asians represents a sizeable chunk of the consumers in almost every developed nation across the world. Even though everyone cribbed about the shoddy margins and lack of transparency amongst the Telocs in Asia, it didn’t stop them from acquiring more Videos, Animations, Ringtones and Wallpapers in 14 different languages.

Apart from their worldwide presence what makes these guys successful is that they have redefined the words ‘Mobile content’. They sell to any Device that’s mobile. To the device not the medium.

In 2007, Mobile content will mean not just content on the Mobile phone but content that’s Portable, Personal, and available on the move on the device of your choice. This means more power to the copyright holders of original content. Increased distribution and non-exclusive rights sharing allow a creator to make money many times over from a single product.

Let’s connect some crucial dots between the Mobile Phone and Portable Content.

In 2007:

1. This will be the biggest mobile news of 2007 – Money on Mobile.

Payment gateways on Mobiles and Payment facilitation applications are currently being tested and deployed in a phased manner. Trials at restaurants and cinema halls have shown encouraging response from the consumers.

2. Ad on mobile. Traditional media guys in T.V and Advertising have begun using short codes (SMS) for marketing as a regular and natural extension of branding activity. Though tentative this acceptance and embracing of this nascent sector bodes well for the more adventurous stuff to follow.
3. 3G remained a puzzle and a prayer for most of 2006, so my money is on a good if not very good 2.5G application that will bring all manners of content to GPRS enabled phones.
4. Over the counter content will appear as the portable devices become more sophisticated and affordable. Bluetooth, USB, MMC and SD cards will become the delivery mechanisms of choice.
5. Content companies looking at regional content will mushroom and flourish though watch out for some serious mobile gaming and content action from Bollywood guys plush with the 2006 loot.
6. Learning, Travel and Healthcare will see some of the coolest content and applications. Peer 2 Application (P2A) solutions from hospitals, hotels, hostels and your neighbourhood doctor.
7. As people grow familiar with the capability of the funky tech gadgets they own, they are going to devise ingenious ways to use the tech at their disposal to Create, Share and Store. Combine this with connectivity and we should expect another Youtube if not Google.

In India the mobile phone is definitely going to see the convergence of essential services like GPS, TV, BANKING within the same device sooner than later. The big ideas for this did not happen in 2006. There is no guarantee that they will in 2007.

But, then..

Tinfo Mobile developed an award winning application that teaches people how to read and write. The young boy (at the beginning of this piece) got the money he wanted. Probably the few things about 2006 that are likely to make 2007 interesting.

Portable content

Content Portability means purchase and consumption of media at a whim and the phone becomes an always On gateway to music, images, audio-video; fun. The key here is the exponential growth of consumers coming up the tech curve. Sumit Shaw, Writer, BBCwst mentioned “ the absence of basics like water and electricity but solid mobile users in the interiors of Bihar” while shooting a documentary there recently.

With voice revenues stabilizing the Telcos will likely emulate the NTTDoCoMo strategy and spawn ‘i-mode’ style content marries service plus communication mutants.

PICO p a projection company unveiled a small projector this year that fits into a mobile and projects the screen of the mobile over an area as large as a normal computer screen. Siemens has already unveiled prototype phones that can project images. It hopes to launch a full projection phone by 2008. The image will comprise 256 million colours. Good enough to watch a movie.

What does this have to do with movie business? Well only the business is going to change, you, the audience is not going to change habits. Hindi cinema will continue to be the most sought after and bought content over any device or disrtribution channel .

The biggest gain will be for original content producers companies that have libraries of copyright owned content that they can license.

WHY SHORT FORM CONTENT- a backgrounder
The most significant events in the Indian entertainment industry,
over the last few years, have been -
· Launch of satellite television
· Establishment of Multiscreen theatres
· Emergence of an international (primarily NRI!) audience
interested in Indian content
· Recognition of Cinema as an industry by Government of India
(FICCI FRAMES, 2002, Bombay)
These developments have shaped the style, approach and format adopted
by filmmakers as well as others assosciated with the audio-visual
media.
In theory it is more possible today, than ever, to find support for
producing and avenues for showcasing, strong, independent content
with an alternative theme.
While the avenues for showcasing intelligent and thought provoking
content have multiplied, in practice cinema has remained a business.
The sheer economics of producing a full-length feature film
often hinder the privilege of portrayal (of the subject, story,
truth) that the filmmaker enjoys. As a result Indian Cinema today
is more or less an audio-visual circus designed to entertain a
paying audience.
The surge in demand for new age content combined with the shift
taking place in the entertainment industry (emergence of new media
such as DVDs, gaming software, games and ring tones on cellular
phones etc.) signal the arrival of a discerning audience well
versed with technology. A consumer not interested in dumb soaps
broadcasted free but willing to pay to download a well designed
game on the mobile. Given the fast pace at which content delivery
systems are evolving it is not difficult to imagine a scenario
where short form entertainment is accessible ‘on demand’.
GET SHORTY
We believe that a film should entertain, inspire and amaze but also
probe, explore and mirror its audience.
Short films, a much ignored art house/student genre, present an
opportunity to free the process of filmmaking from the burden of
mammoth commercial considerations and represent an intriguing genre
to the viewer.
‘The first thing you need to ask yourself if you want to make a film is “Do I have anything to
say?”..’ - Martin Scorsese
The first films of Louis Lumière were also short.
And then came the feature film.
LIKE a VIRGIN
Over the last few years many Indian filmmakers have
adopted the short film as a viable way to tell a story.
Some [like Manish Jha - Matrubhoomi] have even won
international awards and recognition, though their films
remain confined to limited screenings at festivals and
inaccessible to the general consumer due to an absence of a formal marketing / acquisition
structure.
As the market for content delivery matures, short form
entertainment and integrated film promotions will be
as commonplace as the ring tone downloads today. A new
market place is evolving where the ultimate buyer and
the creator of content will interact in a space free
of conventional intermediaries.
content creators will have to collaborate with hardware and software producers
to introduce sustainable models of ‘direct to
viewer’, ‘single download’ or ‘pay per view’ audiovisual
entertainment.

Hello people
beginning again