Video Strategy 2019

1. Why virality can’t be your
strategy
Noah Keil, SVP of Strategic Insights & Growth
(@noahkeil09), Group Nine Media

2. WHOWEARE
a family
of brands
— Brands that spark action, prioritize
positivity & create community
Group
Nine
Media

4. BRANDREFRESH
we were
founded on
these
beliefs…
Video will win
Social will mimic cable
Consolidation will happen
Scale matters
WHOWEARE

5. Group Nine consistently ranks as #1 in Nielsen’s digital top 100.
This report measures consumption of digital content with dynamic or no ads, ranks the top digital brands
based on Unique Audience. This is inclusive of both video and static content as well as tagged (census)
and panel measurement.
WHOWEARE

6. 80% of Americans in their 20’s and over
73% of U.S. millennials are part of
our communities each month

7. We’re a
daily habit
We reach
Americans each month
Of them, nearly
WHOWEARE

8. PEOPLE.PLATFORMS.PURPOSE
HOW
GROUP NINE
IS WINNING

9. at group nine
context
is king.CONTEXT
IS KING
at Group Nine

10. PEOPLE.PLATFORMS.PURPOSE
THINK
LIKE
USERS
Would i share this story on my feed?
Do i actually care about this story?
What’s the most compelling part?
What emotion am i trying to convey?
Why would i finish and share this?

11. OBSESSEDAUDIENCE our optimization process - virality is not a
strategy: raise the floor
CREATE
DISTRIBUTE
MEASURE
OPTIMIZE

12. TOP TIER
MEDIAN TIER
BOTTOM TIER
LOWERMID25%HIGHERMID25%TOPTIER25%BOTTOM25%
RAISETHEFLOOR
virality is not a strategy

13. the strategy
is to test
everything
The creative on the
bottom performed 24%
higher than the one on
the top.
F I N D I N G S
NEWMEDIAREALITY

14. MAY NOT WORK TOMORROW
yesterday today tomorrow
?
what works today

15. Evolving the way we think about formats
- SHORT VIDEOS/GIFS
- ANIMATIONS OR STATIC IMAGES
- GENERALLY <1 MINUTE
- “NEWS FEED VIDEO"
- 3-4 MINUTE MARK FOR EDIT
- SHORTER FOR BRANDED
- ENSURE AUDIO AGNOSTIC
VIEWERSHIP
- “LONG(ER) FORM"
EPISODIC VIDEO
- 5-6M+
- LIVE
- 360/VR
- IRL
STORIE
S
IN-FEED SERIES IMMERSIVE

16. A static snapshot of what happened
A backwards looking descriptive process meant
to raise questions but doesn’t provide context or
what to do in and of itself.
Analytics Insight Research
A hypothesis on why something
happened and what to do next
Surfacing insights is primarily a forward looking
process trying to interpret what happened and
create strategies to drive growth. This process in
more so focused on leveraging our owned
consumption data.
Understanding our universe and
measuring the effects of our
strategies.
An outward looking process - our research
efforts will focus on understanding our universe,
our audience, our competition, and how well our
hypotheses are performing.
what our team does

17. Access to Data
• Building data connections to a variety of platforms to
centralize access of data
• Custom dashboard creation dependent on user
• Guidance on KPIs to monitor dependent on use case
• Develop standards that measure success
• Reporting and one-off data collection for producers,
management, board, press, sales
Analytics Insight Research
New Strategies
• Platform-level trends / verification & validation if trends
are brand or platform specific
• Surfacing best practices and working with brands on
rolling them out
• Identifying optimal workflows and leveraging for new
brands
• Anticipating trends and creating frameworks to
experiment and analyze
Audience Profiling + Brand Studies
• Demographic and psychographic audience
breakdowns against our brands, brand targets, or
interests
• Brand studies
• Market research and intel
• Opportunity Assessment
• Pre-campaign/development creative/audience Insight
what we provide

18. a duel
approach to
staffing this
muscle
HOWWESTAFF
C E N T R A L I Z E D I N S I G H T S
T E A M T H A T F O C U S E S O N
F O U R C O R E A R E A S
* Audience Development: Content and Platform
Insights for editorial
* Branded Content Insights: Translating best-in-class
practices for our branded content partners
* Research & Measurement: A research team that is
focusing on utilizing first and third party data to
enhance our understanding of our audience and key
platforms
* Data & Analytics: Focusing on weekly and monthly
reporting, as well as deep dive audits that are used
for everyone from CEO to entry-level producers
B R A N D - F O C U S E D L E A D S
* Audience Development & Insights Leads at each
brand: Focusing on translating all incoming data to fit
the tone, output, strategy and content focus for the
brand. Also lead point on tapping into the central
services team for ad hoc deep dives and research
studies.
a duel
approach to
staffing this
muscle

19. Central Insights
Lead
Research Lead Branded Content
Insights Lead
Brand Leads
Sales Insights OrgResearch Org
Audience Development
Content & Platform
Insights Lead
Audience Development Org
Data & Analytics Lead
Data & Analytics Org
Brand Expert
Social & Platforms Lead
Brand Org
H O W W E S T A F F T H I S M U S C L E

20. GIA
Group Nine’s proprietary AI
data & audience insights engine.
our insights engine gia analyzes
115k video views per minute, giving
us deep editorial insights
INTRODUCING
MEETGIA
Evolving our Insights Capabilities

21. Informing Creative Improving Retention Identifying
audience cohorts
The depth and breadth of our data set is
incomparable in the media industry. We know
your target, what they consume, and where they
congregate. GIA helps us to use those signals to
create content that is most likely to engage them.
We’re able to predict points of drop-off and optimize for
retention before we publish. For Grey Goose, episode 1
we featured a branded intro within the first 10 seconds.
GIA revealed that including a key moment featuring Jamie
and the guest within the first 10 seconds followed by a
branded treatment would increase retention.
GIA helps us to identify the audience segments that are
most likely to drive your business goals forward. You
give us a target, we’ll hit it, but we’ll also bring you new
audiences that you should consider.
In 2018, GIA informed 50%+ of
campaigns.
We have proprietary data on 40+
cohorts.
The ways we can leverage GIA
This insight increased viewer retention
rate by 50%.
MEETGIA

22. Group Nine, in partnership with Vision Critical,
launched Laboratory Nine to meet our custom
research needs. Our proprietary audience
insights panel of 10,000 users helps measure
key brand health & impact metrics, content
preference, consumption habits, and qualitative
feedback.
LABORATORY NINE IS THE OFFICIAL
AUDIENCE AND INSIDERS COMMUNITY OF
GROUP NINE MEDIA.
WHOWEARE

23. WE HAVE SOME MASSIVE numbers.
We identify an
emerging trend.
We go deeper to
understand the trend
and its implications.
We triple check.
GIA
GIA is G9’s in-house tool. It digests 115,000
video views every minute, surfacing top-
performing content. This allows us to reveal
micro and macro trends in content and culture.
To understand content that’s resonating across
categories, audiences and seasons, as well as
identify trends that audiences are engaging with and
best practices for creative, formats, and timing.
Lab 9
G9’s proprietary audience panel of 10,000
people A13-64 (US).
We ask our panel detailed questions about each
identified trend and then collect the qualitative feedback.
This yields highly specific, actionable insights related to
each trend.
Verify with outside resources
We reference IAB, Google Trends, Nielsen,
social platform insights, and white papers from
Bain, Deloitte, and Kantar Millward Brown.
We use third-party resources to verify that what we’re
seeing has greater marketplace implications.
HOW WHYWHAT
Here’s how we make sense of it all…

24. Making a splash, everywhere.
G9 videos featuring isolated destinations and
unique vacation getaways have seen a 72%
increase in views from Q1 ’18 to Q1 ’19
Travel content has exploded on Instagram
from 2018-2019, 56% growth in monthly
video views — 374M in January 2019
SEPTEMBER 2019
traveling
off
the beaten
path
… Because no one wants to feel like a
tourist.
Gone are the days of cookie-cutter vacations, powered by travel
guide books, crowded resorts, and disappointingly inauthentic dining
tips.
Audiences want new and unusual experiences in faraway places —
quite simply, they’re traveling off the beaten path to discover their
own hidden gems. From hole-in-the-wall restaurants to cliff jumping
adventures, audiences are becoming tour guides in their own right,
using social media to tout their adventures and discover their next
great getaway.
SOURCE: GIA, Q1 2018-2019. Group Nine channels include O&O. YT, FB and IG; Tubular Labs

25. 111
Lowest because this audience
segment is less active on social
media and the “off the beaten path”
trend is inherently driven by social
discovery and social sharing.
Source: Facebook audience insightsNorm = General population on Facebook and Instagram (US only).
The highlighted portion represents those who like or interact with things associated with travel
A G E 1 8 - 2 4
124
A G E 2 5 - 3 4
115
A G E 3 5 - 4 4
109
A G E 4 5 - 5 4
95
A G E 5 5 +
NORM
This trend is particularly pronounced with A25-44 because these adults
have completed their bucket list trips and are craving something new and
unusual. Furthermore, they want to pursue thrilling experiences before
they settle down with a family.
G9 reaches
67% of A25-44
in the US.
Source: Nielsen DCR
We see a slightly lower index for
A18-24 because they are still
working through their mainstream
bucket list trips, which tend to be
“on the paved path” (ex. Visiting
the Eiffel Tower in Paris)
Age breakdown

26. How to apply this trend
Mainstream vacation destinations and
activities are losing steam. Travelers under
35 seek adventure and novelty in their travel
experiences. 82% mainly travel in order to
see new cities or towns, and 73% do so to
explore different parts of the world.
Bye bye, white sandy
beaches and
snorkeling tours.
Source: Laboratory Nine audience panel.
Of course, the vast majority of our users -
80% under 35 - rely on internet research for
new vacation ideas. And, there is a special
place in our heart for the 20% who pick up a
travel book. But, we all still trust our friends to
send us on our way, with 70% of people
relying on recommendations from "friends of
friends who know someone who knew
someone who went to that remote island you
just read about on Thrillist!"
34% of consumers have admitted to posting
vacation photos just to “show off” where they
visited. Consumers want to be seen as
adventurous, creative, and trendy in their
representation on social.
If it makes for a good
photo, it makes for a
good trip.
Source: Alamo Vacation Survey 2019Source: Laboratory Nine audience panel.
Friend-orsements go
a long way.

27. What’s driving this trend?
Platforms like Instagram make it extremely
easy for people to discover and share “off the
beaten path” travel ideas. Monthly video
consumption of travel content has grown 56%
on IG, and aggregate views of travel content
reached 374MM on the platform in Jan '19.
YouTube and Facebook have both driven
billions of monthly views against travel content
for years, but YouTube saw real growth (17%)
in viewership from Q1-18 to Q1-19, largely
driven by the emergence of web series,
hosted programming, and digital extensions of
legacy linear programming.
When in doubt, blame
it on Social Media
Source: global stats, Facebook Quarterly Earnings Report Q2 2019).
Millennials agree that they feel overworked,
47% wish their companies had policies in
place to prevent nighttime and weekend
emails, or work communications to
employees on PTO. This may contribute to
the value attributed to “unplugging” while on
vacation because people don’t feel like it’s
an option.
It’s impossible
to unplug.
98% of travelers feel that their smartphone
makes travel more comfortable.
78% feel that their smartphone makes
travel feel safer.
Technology is creating
fearless travelers.
Source: UMass Amherst Scholarworks ResearchSource: Harris Polls.

28. This trend works all year long. How do we know?
People never stop daydreaming about vacation,
duh! Studies show searches for travel-related
content are pretty consistent from month to month.
With that said, we do notice soft peaks from March-
July and Oct-Jan. That means there are slight
increases in volume and interest for travel content,
influenced by cultural and seasonal moments.
Timing
GIA, Google Trends, searches for travel and flight details peak times. comScore, site traffic to
major travel booking websites and apps.
Quick pacing, 1 - 3 minutes is optimal.
(Except on YT, longer-form will work well there.)
1:1 aspect ratio for feed-based environments.
16:9 aspect ratio for more cinematic content as well
as easy streamability on larger screens.
Use the most unique, unusual features as the still
for the video thumbnail. If it’s the location, use an
aerial shot.
Content should be eye-catching and highly
immersive. People want a peak behind the curtain —
or cave, if you will.
Technical
Based on GIA insights
YouTube
This highly immersive environment is perfect for posting
guided tours and revealing unknown local
hot spots.
Instagram
Leverage this highly visual platform to foster FOMO
amongst users. Capture the most adventurous,
appetizing or breathtaking parts of a trip through short-
form stories, photos, and video content.
Facebook
Users come here to get tips from their friends and share
detailed recaps of their latest trips. Still highly visual, but
more of a resource than soundbite.
O&O
A highly functional and search-driven resource. Think
“how-to” stories and popular keywords like “cities”.
Media Mix
Source: GIA
Creative
Source: GIA, Google Trends, searches for travel and flight details peak times. comScore, site
traffic to major travel booking websites and apps.
Food
“Off the beaten path" posts featuring drool-worthy
foods won't disappoint. Use content with a vibrant
color palette and leverage slow-mo to hone in the
most indulgent aspects of your meal (like cheese
pulls!). Enticing fusion dishes are frequent hits too.
Accommodation & Activities
Videos highlighting brag-worthy lodging and extreme
activities perform very well. Open with a long,
establishing shot, then zoom out with a full 360-view.
To further engage your audience, include a photo
album or slideshow of the experience to maximize
interest and… well, envy. Heh.
Local Guides
People don't want a tourist trap, but they trust a local
expert. If you fall into that category, showcase hidden
gem restaurants with behind-the-scenes footage and
lesser-known attractions and locations (like secret
waterfalls).
How to apply this trend
Here are a few tips and tricks that have worked well for us…

29. Try this messaging
These are the leading subcategories
related to the "off the beaten path” trend
VIDEO VIEWS
Methodology: 365 compared to previous 365 days / YOY growth 2018-2019 Bubble width based on estimated audience
sizeThese are some of our biggest categories in regards to total consumption related to off-the-beaten-path.
%GROWTHYOY
BEACH DESTINATIONS
41mm
UNTRADITIONAL
LODGING
109mm
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
TRAVEL ACTIVITIES
37mm
ISLAND DESTINATIONS
29mm
INDEPENDENT
RESTAURANTS
245mm
• HOLES-IN-THE-WALL
• LOCAL SPOTS
• HIDDEN GEMS
• CAMPING
• ROADTRIP
• OFF-THE-GRID
• EXOTIC
• VIEWS
• CLIFF DIVING
• SKY DIVING
• BACKPACKING
• HIKING TRAILS
• RV CAMPING
• PRIVATE
• REMOTE
• WILDERNESS
50%
300mm

30. questions?