Ten Predictions (Hopes) for Branded Content in 2020

I’ve been writing top-ten prediction lists for film and media since 2006 – yes, back when my predictions included the final end of VHS (!) and what Google buying Youtube (Oct. 2006) would mean for indies. Last year’s predictions included Netflix buying a theater (pretty much), more brand studios (yes, again), and that Amazon would buy MoviePass and merge it with Prime (nope). Ok, sometimes I strike out, but my list is as much a wish-list as a prediction, so without further ado, here’s my inaugural Top Ten Predictions (and Hopes) for Branded Content in 2020.
This full article is running on the BrandStorytelling Newsletter as a Guest Post – read the full post there. Here’s prediction number one:

1. More brand docs will qualify for the Oscars in 2020, and one will make the short list –

Stuff I’m Reading

Film

Didn’t get into Sundance? Filmmaker Magazine’s Scott Macaulay has an OpEd for that, and he’s updated it a bit, and it has lots of good advice for surviving the let-down and what to do next.

The Best Undistributed Films of 2019 – Including the Grand Prix winner of SXSW 2019. Indiewire reports on the other issue in indie film – even getting into a festival and winning is still not a guarantee of distribution. Some great films here (and some meh, but hey…).

Netflix’s speed-watching trial joins a long history of content cramming, but may be bad for artists and viewers – Speed reading for the new decade. Here’s a quote from Woody Allen,  “I was able to go through ‘War and Peace’ in 20 minutes. It’s about Russia.” Once again, artists are up in arms, but let’s face it -people will watch things how they want to watch them. Heck, I remember speed watching two Kurosawa films at the same time on an old fashioned VHS edit system back in film school when I was on a time crunch for an exam. 

More than Half of 2020’s Sundance Dramatic Competition Films Directed by People of Color – Change is happening (slowly). Maybe the Golden Globes could follow suit and nominate some women directors??

Watching The Irishman on Netflix Is the Best Way to See It – No less a critic than Richard Brody chimes in to defend watching The Irishman on Netflix – he liked it better than in the theater. Good article in defense of home viewing (but not opposed to theatrical).

Doc Orgs Sue the US Gov’t over Visa Rules that hurt filmmakers – The Doc Society (Good Pitch) and International Documentary Association are doing some heavy lifting, along with help from some Academic centers – and suing the US Government over Visa rules that are hindering and potentially endangering visiting filmmakers. The short of it is – the State Dept and DHS are requiring filmmakers to give access to their social media accounts – over 20 of them, potentially – to visit the US. This is bad for privacy, but could be bad for some people’s lives –  these are doc filmmakers who take great risks daily, and many of their home governments aren’t exactly friendly t critique. Read IDA’s Simon Kilmurry’s Op-Ed in the LAT explaining this in full. As he says: “So where does that leave our filmmakers? Either they stifle their speech online or they choose not to come to the U.S. to share their work. Either choice deprives American audiences the opportunity to hear new ideas and engage with original contributions to artistic and political discourse.”
And if you need to still make a year-end gift…IDA is a nonprofit that needs/accepts donations.

Branded Content

PYPO Tries Twist on Branded Content With Frederick’s of Hollywood – Smart marketing from a lingerie brand to create content that puts female creators front and center.

That $120,000 banana taped to a wall shows the limitations of zeitgeist-y advertising – further showing how fickle the zeitgeist wave can be for your brand (You either come off as clever and ‘with it, or lame and behind). However, brands attempting to capitalize off the popularity of the art piece might be the entire point and intention of its creator, as the New York Times outlines.