ZaOza, il portale multimediale del gigante Vivendi
di CARTOON (European Association of Animation Film)
- Zaoza: il nuovo marchio di Vivendi Mobile. Questo nuovo servizio serve a far fronte ad un nuovo modello di consumo: distribuzione diretta al consumatore.
Questo articolo è disponibile in inglese.
Anne-Carole Nourisson leads the international Licensing
strategy for Vivendi Mobile Entertainment, a
new service platform for PCs and mobile devices
called «zaOza».
Anne Carole’s professional
background is international marketing and
sales, both in FMCG and Entertainment companies,
in the off, on-line and mobile world. She
started her marketing career at Unilever, then
joined Seagram for Tropicana European HQ
division, then she was UK & Ireland marketing
manager before moving into the Entertainment
industry as marketing director of 20th Century
Fox Home Entertainment France.
What it is ZaOza?
ZaOza (Chinese for «word of mouth») is the brand
name of the company called Vivendi Mobile
Entertainment which is a new and independent
company owned by Vivendi Group. ZaOza is a
global brand name. In the digital world there was
only one digital player and one brand, which was
iTunes. We are built around a concept to provide
top quality commitment. We propose to the end
user a care hotline open 24 hours, 7 days.
The consumer pays its content. The business model
is not advertising-driven.
Where do you think the business is today?
We have been testing new business models and
new ways of consuming content. In the last two
or three years, there were no real successful convergent
models.
Vivendi Mobile Entertainment is
trying to find alternative distribution models. The business we develop starts from the idea that
the consumer wants to consume entertainment
on mobile or PC devices. Whatever the brand,
mobile operator or Internet provider, the consumer
wants to be free. The approach we have
responds to this new consumption model: direct-to-
consumer distribution model. We are not married
to any telecommunication company, so we
can have the freedom to exploit our content in the
best possible manner.
How do you implement your strategy?
We follow some fundamental paths. We are a new
worldwide direct-to-consumer digital entertainment
service. We can offer to the end user music,
games, movies and T V properties.
The first element of our strategy is the fact that we
are mobile-centric. To be able to access ZaOza you
need a mobile phone and a number. The consumer
can access our services either via a mobile or via a
PC in an independent manner.
The second element is that we operate in a fully
controlled environment. We know where the content
is and how many times it has been watched. We work on a very strict technical environment.
Why did Vivendi decide
to enter this market?
We realised an extensive market research early
2007 in several European countries and in the US. In all the countries there were strong similarities
in the way consumers want to consume content.
The main result of the survey was that consumers
want to share the content. We hope to snag
customers not just with exclusive content but by
openly encouraging users to share content with
other subscribers.
For about €3/month, French users can download
as many DRMed music tracks, video clips, movies
and games as they want. The rotating catalogue
includes exclusive, non-commercial content from
Vivendi’s own Universal label, Sony BMG, E IDOS,
Aardman Animations, and plenty others, with
Warner Music Group soon to follow.
«Exclusive» is the name of the game here. Users won’t have access to any of the same content
found in retail stores or other digital outlets like
the iTunes S tore. Instead, ZaOza’s catalogue features
content that can only be found on ZaOza. The selection of available content will also rotate,
reportedly as quickly as every hour.
Once subscribers download a piece of content,
though, they more or less own it. The main appeal
of ZaOza is the fact that Vivendi encourages users
to share content with up to five others, which is
where the business model lies. Subscribers can
share an item via any of their device’s supported
services, and the recipient must subscribe to ZaOza
in order to actually view and save the content.
The service is only available in France right now,
with Germany coming in the second half of 2008,
and other countries following later. ZaOza has been in beta testing with a private
group of 100,000 «VIP members» since last
November 2007.
What is the difference between your
approach and the telecom companies?
The telecommunication companies are slowly
opening up the so called «walled garden». Until
now the telcos were closing the content environment. This strategy does not work any longer. Now
the telcos are opening room for true B2C players
like Vivendi, which are quality-driven.
Telecom operators are launching flat fee consumption
packages. This new approach is opening
big opportunities for content providers.
Digital entertainment consumption is very high,
but the sales are still very limited. The industry is
hit by piracy. Consumers do not have the feeling
they are pirating content, they think that the content
is accessible for free.
We are working on a convergent model, allowing
the consumer to use his piece of content whenever
he wants. The main element of our strategy is to
give this freedom to the consumer.
Which is your target audience?
Our premiere target audience is 15 to 25 years old
and the second one is 26 – 45 years old. This target
audience has buying power and performing
devices but no clue on how to download, buy and
store content.
Which kind of content are you looking for?
The content for mobile and PC is very different
from what we did for TV. We are an alternative
distribution avenue. The shows are very short for
mobile and PC usage (maximum two minutes). They can be existing concepts, exclusive new concepts
or co-production programmes.
What do independent production
companies get from Vivendi?
ZaOza is a super-viral discovery media for the producers’
properties. Thanks to sharing possibilities,
the consumer is going to be the producer’s spokes
person.
It is a very low risk testing platform. A 60-second
pilot is enough to decide to choose a show. It is a
highly reactive channel.
What is the business model and the
remuneration that producers can get from
ZaOza?
We work on dual model. When we place
content
on the store and the consumer buys the product, it
is a revenue share model. When we place content
on the flat fee service, we pre-buy the content
from the right owner.
For a video which is sold E UR 3 in ZaOza, the telcos
get between 40% to 55%. The remaining amount
(EUR 1.25) is shared between ZaOza and the producer. The share can vary according to the value
and quality of the content and its exclusivity.
Cartoon Master Murcia, Spain, April 2008
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