Thursday, June 11, 2015

#NextGreatIdea To: Twitter CEO Dorsey cc: Anthony Noto CFO, CMO re TWTR TV

The next great idea from The JLC Group goes to Twitter CEO Dorsey and Anthony Noto, CFO and CMO: “TwitterTV” (or similar phrase) can be a bolt-on broadcast network to burnish the TWTR brand and keep you relevant. Before you go the way of MySpace. Keep reading.


In connection with Twitter Inc. CEO Dick Costello’s resignation today and the return of co-founder Jack Dorsey who will serve as Interim CEO, suffice to suggest that TWTR has been challenged of late and is in need of fresh ideas (as opposed to scatter shot) that will re-invigorate a brand whose name has become ubiquitous.


For social media-centric corporate branders who remember the evolution and ultimate rapid decay of “MySpace”, one could argue that Twitter has perhaps gotten fat (thanks to having a oversized treasury) and even slightly sloppy in the course strategy execution. Therefore, one could posit that Twitter is in need of fresh and proven strategies that will extend brand engagement across all relevant media platforms.


To: Twitter Inc. (Interim) CEO Jack Dorsey, CFO/CMO Anthony Noto (and resigned CEO Dick Costello)


From: The JLC Group


re: Twitter Inc. Brand Burnishing/Rejuvenation #NextGreatIdea: TWTR TV aka TwitterTV aka other permutations that would reside within the goalposts of the below copyright-able idea


Gentlemen:


The following ‘idea’ is necessarily proffered based on the above thesis. With that in mind, Anthony should welcome this simply because he serves as CFO and for all practical purposes, he also serves as Chief Marketing Officer. As such, Anthony of all people (and if not a creative  brand marketing guy by training) will appreciate the notion of “connecting the tag line to the bottom line.”


I respectfully submit that as part of your looking back and looking forward, among other steps, you want to create a Twitter TV show that takes the format of a broadcast news platform akin to the professional style employed by CNN, CNBC, ESPN.


This platform will secure cable network air time within the same block of channels that viewers surf to watch the primary talking head/news programs, such as above-noted.


Concurrently, your 24/7 programming will broadcast via live stream over the web, so that viewers using mobile devices, or those who are moving away from cable TV due to cost, can watch the broadcast. TMZ does this, so it can’t be hard.


Your broadcast studio(s) will necessarily be out-fitted such that primary and/or regional studios in various parts of the globe will be no less professional than what viewers of of major news networks have come to expect.


Your programming schedule will include ongoing commentary of real-time top trending topics and you will have professional talking head commentators who, throughout the day will be highlighting top trends across category (politics, finance, weather, entertainment, health, and of course..’breaking news’ based on twitter data.


Let’s face, Twitter is not only disseminating breaking news in every corner and crevice on Planet Earth, Twitter is making the news in just about any single square mile that has digital access to the Internet. Remember “Arab Spring”? That historic event powered by Twitter (and Facebook) that upended dictators in nearly a dozen Arab countries and has since led to mass chaos throughout the region and morphed into something now known as ISIS (or is it ITSUCKS)?


So, consistent with launching a broadcast news/entertainment platform that will be as recognized across the globe as CNN, BBC, Telemundo, CNBC (ok, throw in FOX too), you will have a team of professional “broadcast journlists”, each being a known quantity to one extent or another. Some will be generalists, others (guest commentator) will be making frequent expert guess appearances to speak to a particular trending topic and to offer analysis accordingly. Your guests will include recognized neuroscientists, data analysis wonks. political commentators, celebrity-followers and financial market geeks who can offer a plain speak interpretation of the metadata being captured by your servers


You will have remote journalists who will be reporting from actual ‘global hot spots’ that your data has determined to be the epicenter of the story itself. They can broadcast via iPhone to add some gritty-ness to the broadcast quality.


This platform will necessarily be upselling advertiser content beyond the current offering embedding ads within simple tweeting. The advertisers that you have since onboarded will have to embrace the notion of knowing you can extend their brand message via the still most popular way to consume content: motion picture. And (obviously) any ad salesperson above the age of 14 could fill the ad slots for a professionally-produced and programmed reality-real-time-news-broadcast-entertainment show that captures the most sought after DMAs.


With regard to the proprietary nature of the above idea, we are well aware that sometime in 2009 or 2010, Twitter Inc. engaged in some type of wacky arrangement with a local production company in Spain that produced something known as  “Twittervision” within the local market. The programming ‘content’ for this ‘show’ was news broadcast-flavored and had two guys sitting in front of a backdrop and discussing trending tweets–which presumably your company was curating and delivering via a dedicated feed. Point being, a similar but much less grand idea was tested in a local market whose audience could barely move a needle within the context of the then aspiring Twitter brand. It died on the vine quickly and the strategy might even have been expunged from your marketing department’s files.


Yes, it will require a first year capital investment of as much as $25 million, when including staff payroll, facilities, blah blah blah. Promotion of the broadcast network shouldn’t cost more than another $5mil, although if the budgeted ‘set up’ and overhead costs don’t provide a healthy cushion, you folks need to have your heads examined. By the way, ring up Jeff Zuckerman if you need to find out how much cash you can generate by selling advertising and how much that cash revenue can add to your enterprise value. I’m thinking $1bil in added market value when you simply announce the strategy. The rest is in the hands of the gods, as they say.


You can presume that our firm has underwritten the production of a ‘treatment’ re: programming content and business plan for this bolt-on broadcast network notion. We are happy to engage in a friendly dialogue that would further your execution of this idea with speed and stealth.


As an aside, above should necessarily be complemented with other easy-to-integrate and fast to market schemes that should include widgets that enable digital payments, peer-to-peer lending, donations and other financial transactions. Inside of the respective user’s Twitter functionality. Figure it out. It’s not that hard these days. While you’re at it, think “co-opetition” the next time you sit down with the folks at GOOG and Facebook. You actually can come up with strategic deals that won’t have FTC wonks knocking on your doors.


Contacting our Chief Rainmaker is easy. It’s me.


Jay


 


 


 


 



#NextGreatIdea To: Twitter CEO Dorsey cc: Anthony Noto CFO, CMO re TWTR TV

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