Contentology: The art and science of content

Contentology is a proprietary study into the arts and sciences of content, with the aim of demystifying commonly held beliefs, or myths, into the three major generations’ mindsets and behaviour regarding content consumption, scrutinising especially the differences separating each generation.
The research methodology was broken down into two phases. The first was a quantitative study of 400 consumers aged 12-64, covering three demographic generations (X, Y, Z). The second phase consisted of qualitative in-depth interviews with 10 famous content producers in the realms of drama, music, sports and food.
The study was conducted by “Strategy and Innovation”, IPG’s strategic planning and research arm, led by Sora Kaitkanarat, the department’s chief executive officer, in conjunction with Ensemble, led by its managing director Dew Intapanya.
Content marketing is not new. Since the proliferation of smartphones, tablet devices and high-speed Internet, advertisers and marketers have had to adjust their communication strategies to meet the changes in media consumption behaviour. Embracing content marketing has become a standard practice in the world of advertising, with brands hoping to penetrate into the hearts of their audiences.
However, IPG wanted to dig deeper into the apparent knowledge gaps surrounding content consumption, hoping to unlock the various myths identified by the team. Here are some of the key findings.

Drama: myth - TV is no longer relevant to Thai drama
Far from it. Gen X-ers are the true drama queens and still use TV as the primary medium for consuming drama. It is also assumed that Gen Y-ers don’t watch drama any more. They consume drama through other media. Through the fear of missing out on the social conversations of the previous night’s saucy topics, their fundamental motivation for watching drama stems from the need of being “in the know”. 
Having previously established that Gen Z-ers have the shortest attention span of the lot, they prefer to watch short snippets of Thai drama through YouTube.
Conclusion: Drama evokes a sense of belonging with a similar feeling to that of eating comfort food, relieving the viewer of any stress piled on throughout the day.

Music: myth - Music’s appeal is universal and success is guaranteed
The underlying motivations for each of the three generations for consuming music are starkly different. 
Gen X-ers listen to music to keep them company, to act as a friend, and still heavily rely on radio and TV, for that matter. 
Gen Y-ers consume music as the main vehicle for self-expression and their coping mechanisms involve generating a personalised playlist that speaks volumes about their personalities, keeping up with trends through hipster/indie magazines, and going to concerts.
When it comes to the number of platforms consumed, no one beats Gen Z-ers (five platforms on average). They go to YouTube for music streaming, follow favourite artists on Instagram and Facebook, share music videos through Line, and search for music through Google.
Conclusion: One size does not fit all. Music can easily act as a voice of consumers. The chosen genre must be able to represent a brand’s character. 

Sports: myth - Live sports is the climax
Not entirely true. For Gen Y-ers, the greatest social-media conversations hinged on sport occur directly after a match, where self-promoted analysis, commentary and trolling take precedence. We have seen the rise of “keyboard coaching” as a cultural phenomenon whenever a weekly game is played, and the conversation lasts a full 24 hours. 
Gen Y-ers banter with their respective groups on Line and Gen Z-ers are likely to jump to the results, as opposed to watching an event live (having a low attention span). Gen X-ers still watch live sports on TV, and love listening to expert pundits on TV, radio and print.
Conclusion: The viewing patterns and engagement behaviour is very different for each group. Brands must be responsive to those dissimilarities.

Food: myth - Food content is only applicable to food brands
Simply untrue. We have seen non-food brands migrate into food content over the years, and this is becoming more evident. Michelin and Shell are great examples of this. The cultural behaviour of foodies performing their ritual rites of taking photos of food before eating it brings about many opportunities for brands to come and own. For example, because foodies love to curate their photos on Instagram, mobile-phone brands can be present in restaurants to exhibit their superior camera functions to prospective customers.
Conclusion: Think beyond your brand’s most familiar territory. Anything is |possible.

PRADON SIRAKOVIT is associate director for corporate communications at IPG Mediabrands Thailand, and can be reached at [email protected].