According to the latest Amazon Ads analysis, 72% of monthly viewers want to see more genuine and cross-cultural stories in media. This study, titled “Ads to the Zeitgeist,” examines why streaming is at the forefront of the globalization of storytelling.
“It’s an interesting time in the world of television and content creation,” said Nick Pepper, head of wholly owned content at Amazon MGM Studios, sitting down to discuss the trend toward globalization at Choice’s Entertainment and Technology Summit, presented by Metropolis National Financial Institution. The printed dummy – which was centered on the US market and therefore the US-centric narrative – is not king.
Now, with streaming services like Amazon’s Prime Video in 240 countries and territories, “there’s a strategy for telling stories to our customers or our audience that basically explores and exposes a lot of alternative cultures,” Pepper said. But there is also a duty there: “Now we have to look at things through a genuine lens. You want to find the filmmaker or storyteller who has the ability to speak to an audience on a global scale, but to tell a genuine story that is truly deeply meaningful.
Pepper pointed to Prime Video shows like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” or “Hazbin Resort” as examples of culturally related narratives done properly. Donald Glover created and co-starred in the first (reverse Maya Erskine), reacquainting himself with the IP and reshaping it for a new audience.
“Donald is known for being able to take an idea and give it an extremely new and unique perspective, but still tell an entertaining story,” Pepper said. “So he, I think, brilliantly created a nuanced drama that paid attention and paid true homage to the original, but still explored something that was really socially relevant: looking at the differences in romantic relationships between people of different backgrounds. And the gift resonated.” (The show debuted at No. 4 on the Nielsen charts, with nearly 1 billion minutes watched in its first three days on Prime Video.)
In the case of “Hazbin Resort,” creator Vivienne Medrano’s animated show was already a huge hit on YouTube before Amazon licensed it to Prime Video and then ordered more episodes. “There will always be a huge need for YA viewers,” Pepper said. “What we saw was a migration of their viewers from their YouTube platform to ours – which is quite unusual for this demographic, especially for young women who have come to Prime Video in droves.”
What the success of exhibits like these shows, Pepper explained, is that “there is a desire for food, a need to get into the cultural narrative, and we are seeing it all over the world.”
Globalization is not just about greenlighting or purchasing culturally related content; the very nature of streaming also makes a difference. Take FireTV for example: The report confirmed what Charlotte Maines, director of device business and promotion at Hearth TV, learned about what drives the consumer experience on that device (of which more than 200 million have been sold, over 85 countries). in its historical past of 10 years).
“I’ve been looking forward to increasing our international penetration for years… and never, surprisingly, what you see is that it’s not limited,” said Maines, explaining that customers from one country or culture still want to see stories from another. “My job is to make sure a buyer can watch whatever they want, whenever they want. As we invest in and prioritize this technique, we see that the borders are melting.”
Maines said streaming allowed his team to be agile in creating better experiences for its customers because there was so much more information available about what the user wants. For example, she said: “We have an app called Hearth TV Channels, which is effectively short, super-topic content that you can access directly, for free, within the Hearth TV interface (user interface). ”
Maines explained that the channels started with a focus on news and sports highlights, since those categories are traditionally underserved on streaming compared to conventional linear and cable. However, what the Hearth TV team quickly discovered was that users would follow a story down a rabbit hole of related content. So they used this insight – that is, a broad swath of consumers enjoying Spanish-language content – to create dedicated channels like Hearth TV En Español, which has 40 providers including Univision, Climate Channel en Español and more. .
“Instead of a Spanish-speaking customer having to hunt and peck and explore the content, it’s great,” Maines explained. “In streaming, you have a lot more data. You know who’s watching, for how long, why, and then you’re able to easily respond to that, rather than pushing content at prime time and hoping for the best (no) feedback loop.
Spanish speakers are also a growing audience on Twitch, said Rachel Delphin, director of advertising for the live streaming service. From 2019 to 2022, the number of viewers of Spanish-language live streams increased sixfold.
“It’s our second most spoken language,” said Delphin. “Our biggest streams and events are happening in Spanish, so we’ve created more programming,” like the Spanish-language panels at TwitchCon San Diego, as well as a dedicated live stream called “ Vamos! ” designed to connect, chat, and share Twitch information with the community. Another growing market is Japan, where Twitch has seen a 46% increase in viewership, so they are also looking to incorporate more anime and manga content.
Although Twitch is primarily known for gaming, the service has a broader and more diverse audience than one might imagine, giving it a natural advantage in the cultural exchange conversation.
“When people are fans of ‘Fallout’ or ‘League of Legends,’ what unites them is their love, their passion for that game. If they have a shared language, then they can experience something they both love, but you are bonding more over sameness than the things that make you unique.
Another theme of the study is the importance of “cultural dialogue”, and Twitch also has a bonus in this. “Because we’re live, there’s a lot of interaction,” Delphin said. “That’s certainly the hallmark of live streaming – you can have that interaction live. It allows for nuanced dialogue and actually rewards curiosity.”
Watch the full conversation in the video above.