Every piece of interactive content is call to action in itself: Ravpreet Ganesh

It’s SCREENXX time again, Adgully’s premiere property for the Video-On-Demand and Digital Entertainment space. In the run-up to SCREENXX 2020, we are lining up a series of interesting interactions and stories on the OTT space and highlighting how this sector is evolving and the consumers’ engagement with the OTT platforms, as part of our ‘Show Time’ series.

Also read:  Show Time: “TV is fictional; Cinema is larger than life; OTT is in the realism space”

In conversation with Adgully, Ravpreet Ganesh, Chief Integration Officer, Publicis Groupe, gives her take on the digital trends impacting content consumption in these times, why OTT platforms need to invest in exclusive original content in regional languages and more.

What are the key digital trends that are bringing about a change in content consumption during COVID times?

Interactive content will be big. Every piece of interactive content is call to action in itself and provides great opportunity for brands to connect with consumers.

As consumers spend more time at home, “social commerce” will drive the brands, where they can find a sweet spot between e-commerce and social media. So, shoppable stories and posts, social commerce plugs ins and ads will rule as social networks become important to drive consumer choices.

How do you see OTT platforms changing consumers’ expectations around the scope and scale of content?

With binge-watching becoming a standard, content must be sticky. News will continue to remain the most-watched genre on OTT; kids’ content has become the second fastest-growing category, as the lockdown means kids are confined to their homes.

There is a huge window of opportunity to offer content that is well-packaged, hyper-personalised, relevant and engaging. Niche audiences will determine the various sub genres.

OTT platforms must invest in exclusive original content in regional languages that captures and reflects the nuances of the culture it is catering to. Consumers look forward to seeing far more innovative formats, consumer-driven sub-plots and twists to the stories. This will push content creators to be agile in their ideation and delivery.

How would you map the opportunity vis-a-vis consumer interest in the OTT video streaming market in India?

Indian consumers are spoilt for choice. With high bandwidth Internet, low mobile data tariffs, best smartphones, upcoming technologies and urge to consume content on the go has opened up an ever-rising opportunity for the OTT players. Given the pandemic and the new world we live in, where the Bollywood A listers are now looking at OTT seriously, it will only hot things up further.