via AdAge
I have admired the guts of Jesse Redniss and his team at USA Networks for being some of the first to look into the future of Social TV. They are constantly seeking new and better ways to engage their audience while other networks have stood and watched. Well done guys.
Obviously we don’t want to position our loyal fans as just an area that we want to monetize. Our main goal first and foremost is to entertain as well as to help create brand ambassadors so they spread the word, so we can get more viewership of our shows.
When we approach marketers and brands, we want to find partners that want to create content experiences with us, so that in partnering with a brand such as Ford or Hyundai or Toyota orVerizon Communications, the consumer experience is going to be additive — having the ad or the brand in there won’t just be an ad distraction.
So we really take careful steps to make sure that when we’re presenting this with our sales team to possible brands, we really stress the idea of infusing their brand and their brand philosophy into our content experiences organically rather than creating an intrusion on the consumer.
-Jesse Redniss (USA Networks)