While keeping warm in Miami at NATPE this week, we thought we'd share a quick interview with Wayne Scholes, CEO and Chairman of Red Touch Media. He's a panelist on the Platforms Accelerated track at NATPE, titled "Let’s Make a Deal: Trading Premium Content for User Data," a topic he can delve into deeply, in addition to talking about his insight/outlook on the digital content industry.
Get insight on the entertainment and technology industries, recent content distribution deals & more.
Why are you attending NATPE this year?
Red Touch Media's business model is simple: We partner with content creators to both supply premium content to our platform as well as help them manage and distribute their content. NATPE is a great event for us. It gathers all of the biggest brands in the U.S. into one location and creates a great networking opportunity for us.
What can attendees and press expect to see during the session "Let’s Make a Deal: Trading Premium Content for User Data"?
Content platforms and distribution technology are constantly evolving. As a result, content creators need to get creative on how they monetize and promote their material. Content doesn't always have to be sold for you to generate ROI. One of the things that Red Touch Media's technology platform enables is the ability for brands to offer content in exchange for a desired action. That action can be anything from purchasing a certain amount of content, to signing up for a mailing list, or upgrading your cable TV service.
Audiences are already used to "trading" for content. If you consume any kind of streaming internet music or video, you are already trading your exposure to advertising for the ability to enjoy this content without "paying" for it. Our platform just makes it easier for brands who want more than just ad exposure. Measurable consumer actions that benefit your brand can be instantly rewarded using our platform.
These are just a few examples. The panel will also address how TV industry professionals and content creators can use new tools for content sampling, sales, and analytics.
With some of the biggest names in the industry, Frank Radice (Expert In Residence, Definition 6), Jesse Redniss (Chief Strategy Officer, Mass Relevance) and Peter E. Blacker (EVP, Digital Media & Emerging Business, Telemundo Media), it's sure to be an entertaining and informative panel. Maybe we can even come up with some great new ways to help members of the audience.
How were you able to gain heavy hitting clients like Sony Pictures, Paramount and Disney Interactive Studios? What is the process like gaining and keeping your clients happy?
That's easy. Our platform both removes pain points and generates new revenue. We've been in the digital content management for a long time, over a decade. People are shocked when they find out that we manage 2 billion files a month. It's a massive amount of data, and a lot of it is very sensitive. You'd be surprised how many major content creators are still passing out DVDs with unreleased material on them. All it takes is for one person to forget one DVD at a restaurant or hotel room and millions of dollars in revenue can be lost. We seen it happen all of the time. The studio like our platform because it's secure, easy to use, flexible and saves them money and headaches. But we've worked hard all of these years and earned the trust of both independent filmmakers and Hollywood studios.
What trends do you see in the content and distribution world?
The old models for content creation, consumption, distribution, sharing and monetization are over. New technology including Social Media, mobile and time-shifting have forever changed how content creators can effectively monetize and distribute their products. As a result, we are seeing content creators becoming more clever and thinking differently on what they do with their content. Using content as a commodity is just one example.
What are you most excited to see at NATPE this year? What is it about this conference that you believe makes it worth the trip?
Our platform wouldn't be so exciting without great content. NATPE is an opportunity for Red Touch Media to discuss content acquisitions that might benefit our retail or service partners as well as talk to content creators about their pain points. Some of the best features in our platform have come from simple discussions with content managers and distributors.
What was your main objective in attending CES 2014 and partnering up with Skullcandy while in attendance?
We had a great time with Skullcandy at CES. Skullcandy is one of the most well known brands in the world. It's really quite impressive how fast their company has grown. It's hard to walk into any retail environment without seeing their products. But they are also one of the most innovative audio technology companies in the industry. Their new Crusher headphones… I mean, wow. You have to hear it to believe it. So for our CES execution with Skullcandy, we decided to enhance two core elements of their brand: innovation and audio.
What good is a new pair of headphones or speakers without something to listen to?
To help showoff some of Skullcandy's hardware, we brought some custom Skullcandy branded download stations to Vegas loaded with music for CES attendees to sample or enjoy on Skullcandy hardware. Although they were originally designed for retail environments, our download stations are always a huge hit at conferences and events.
And then to help showcase Skullcandy's innovation, we brought our popular video interview series, The Future of Content, to their booth. The "Future of Content" is a video interview series where professionals who manage, produce, market and create technology to distribute content share what their individual organizations are doing and what they have planned for the future. We've published 200 videos with top executives from some of the industry's biggest brands including TiVo, Turner, Star Wars, NBC, The New York Times, and AOL.
The series is part of a brilliant brand journalism strategy by our marketing team and it has been an eye-opening experience. In just a year, we've heard some amazing insights from everyone from Star Wars creator George Lucas, to NATPE president, Rod Perth. And at CES we had the opportunity to interview some of the biggest influencers in the consumer electronics industry and ask them how they are using content to connect with their target audiences and amplify brand messaging. Skullcandy was the perfect host and we hope to work with them again.
Anything else you’d like to add? Where do you see Red Touch Media going in the future?
The week before NATPE at Sundance, we announced a new partnership with Sound City, the largest international music, digital and film festival and conference in the UK. At Sundance we debuted both Sound City music download kiosks and a Sound City webstore. The systems enable fans and event attendees to easily access content that they are experiencing in a relevant and familiar environment both online and in person. Sound City has already announced two festivals for 2014 so far, New York City and Liverpool. We hope to take the audience experience to the next level with each event. It's a very exciting international partnership for us.
Below: Wayne Scholes, CEO and Chairman, Red Touch Media
In the last 3 years Wayne helped set up a CNN Affiliate news channel in Africa and founded the Red Touch Media Group with operations in Africa, Europe and North America where he acquired Mediaport. He is currently serving as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Board Member for Red Touch Media.
images courtesy of Red Touch Media & Google
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