TheGrill 2016: How Marketing Is Adapting to Mobile-First Consumers

As mobile marketing currently enjoys a period of exponential growth, the new name of the game is engagement — deep engagement — executives in the field said on Tuesday at the 2016 edition of TheGrill, TheWrap’s annual entertainment and media conference at the Montage Beverly Hills.

“React” video series creators Benny and Rafi Fine (a.k.a. The Fine Brothers), VoteBlast CEO Ardy Falaki, YouNow CEO Adi Sideman and Seriously CEO Andrew Stalbow appeared on a panel where they discussed this brave new world.

The ability to gain and interpret real-time metrics, they agreed, gives mobile marketers a massive edge over traditional television and movie marketers.

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“Fox doesn’t know who saw ‘Avatar,'” Stalbow said of the highest-grossing movie of all time. “Being directly connected to our audience is an amazing position to be in.”

“It helps us figure out how to make content people want to consume on their devices,” added Rafi Fine, who recalled observing user behavior shift dramatically over the past few years. “It’s amazing to literally see the ratio swap over time — now 70 percent of our users are on mobile and 30 percent are on laptops/desktops.”

The ad spend on mobile marketing is expected to grow to 32 percent of the global ad pie, or $84 billion, by 2020, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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One way the Fine Brothers engage audiences is to let fans choose an ending to a show. “We shot two different endings,” explained Rafi Fine about one project.

The Fine Brothers have also cultivated 175 of their show stars through the popularity of their franchise. “Every one of them literally are fans … 4,000 submissions to audition for a part came from the Los Angeles area alone — from millennials, teen fans. They come in crying and shaking,” he said of their excitement level.

“We transitioned to mobile in 2012, 2013 and saw traffic grow literally overnight,” said YouNow’s Sideman, who said added that consumption of his company’s live stream video chat product among teenage users is now 70 percent mobile. He argued that the prerequisite for creating a mobile company is first putting “strong social ecosystems” in place — for example, ones that “the broadcaster can push out with push notifications.”

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“It’s about the power of being engaged anywhere you are,” said Falaki. “The quality is good now — audio, visual and also from a content perspective. There’s so much out there a typical TV doesn’t give you.”

As Sideman noted of YouNow’s user-incentive campaign, which has consumers vying to get on air as guest broadcasters, “People were leaning back, they were leaning forward, and now they literally want to jump in.”

The Scene at TheGrill 2016: TheWrap's Media Leadership Conference (Photos)

TheWrap's seventh annual media, tech and entertainment conference TheGrill kicks off at the Montage Beverly Hills.
TheWrap's Sharon Waxman introduces TheGrill 2016.
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Redef CEO Jason Hirschhorn speaks to TheWrap's Sharon Waxman.
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Redef CEO Jason Hirschhorn speaks on stage at the Montage Beverly Hills.
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Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe and Niantic CTO Phil Keslin discuss the wild success of "Pokemon Go."
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YouTuber and professional gamer Adande Thorne, a.k.a. sWooZie, discusses gaming at TheGrill.
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Chris DeWolfe, Phil Keslin and Adande Thorne speak to TheWrap's Tim Molloy.
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PWC's Derek Smith presents exclusive research on the rise of Hispanic media consumption.
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Virtual reality execs Peter Girardi, Nonny de la Peña, Anthony Batt, Clint Kisker and Ted Schilowitz speak to TheWrap's Sharon Waxman.
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Vertebrae founder and CEO Vince Cacace discusses VR marketing.
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LiveLike co-founder and chief technology officer Saswat Panda presents his live sports VR platform.
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Azoff MSG Entertainment Chairman and CEO Irving Azoff discusses YouTube streaming with TheWrap's Sharon Waxman.
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The audience at the Montage Beverly Hills for TheGrill 2016
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Filmmaker Cameron Crowe interviews legendary rock photographers Joel Bernstein and Neal Preston.
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Sony Entertainment's CEO Michael Lynton speaks to TheWrap's Sharon Waxman in a keynote conversation.
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IMAX Entertainment's CEO Greg Foster speaks on the future of moviegoing in theaters, online and overseas.
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Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, joins IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster and STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group Chairman Adam Fogelson to discuss the future of moviegoing.
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Adam Fogelson, Chairman of STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group, Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, and Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment, speak with TheWrap's Thom Geier.
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Will Palmer, co-founder and CEO of Movio, and Luke Xiang, Vice President of Beijing Weying Technology speak to TheWrap's Matt Pressberg about online movie ticketing in China.
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Media and guests at the Montage Beverly Hills for TheGrill 2016.
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President and General Manager of BBC America, Sarah Barnett discusses the state of TV.
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David Nevins, the CEO of Showtime Networks, Sarah Barnett, the President and General Manager of BBC America, and John Landgraf, the CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, join TheWrap's Scott Collins to discuss the state of TV.
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John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, speaks during TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at Montage Beverly Hills.
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Guests enjoy the Virtual Reality Open Demos at TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at Montage Beverly Hills.
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Lawyer Nina Shaw, partner at Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein and Lezcano, discusses dealmaking in the digital age.
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Schuyler Moore, partner at Stroock and Stroock and Lavan LLP, joins Nina Shaw on stage to speak on deal making in the digital age.
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Bonnie Eskenazi, Entertainment Partner at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman and Machtinger LLP, and Susan Zuckerman Williams, Partner at Loeb and Loeb, also speak on dealmaking in the digital age.
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Sharon Waxman speaks with Rafi and Benny Fine during lunch TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
Andy Howard, partner at Shamrock Capital Advisors, Carlos Jimenez, Managing Partner at Moelis and Company, Andrew Siegel, Executive Vice President at Advance Publications, and Dan Schechter, Managing Director L.E.K Consulting, discuss "What Lies Beyond the $4 Billion Media M&A Move."
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Aric Ackerman, COO of The Cavalry Productions, and Brenda Robinson, partner at Greenburg Glusker, at lunch during TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
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VoteBlast's Ardy Falaki speaks during TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
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Van Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky, and Charlie Corwin, CEO of Endemol Shine, speak to Sharon Waxman about the magic of story development.
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Instagram star Chantel Jeffries speaks during the Innovators Panel at TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
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Rob Goldberg, CEO and founder of Fresno Inc, speaks at the Innovators Panel.
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Tim Staples, CEO of Shareability, Mark Popkiewicz CEO of Mirriad, internet personality Chantel Jeffries, Mike Hopkins, CEO of Hulu, Rob Goldberg, CEO and founder of Fresno Inc. all speak at the Innovators Panel.
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