Marine Gombart, Manager of Media Content Acquisition at Moment, shares insights into the process of curating content catalogs and the challenges facing the transport entertainment industry.
Today, the digitalization of the passenger experience is no longer a luxury but a must-have. To be competitive, airlines need to stand out from the crowd with premium customer services that provide an unparalleled onboard experience.
The content offered on board is a key element in creating a memorable and engaging experience for their passengers.
What is a Good Content Catalog?
A good content catalog has to be both tailor-made and in line with the codes of in-flight entertainment and the values that the airline wishes to share. Basically, onboard entertainment avoids divisive and/or stressful thematics such as religion, war, politics, and accidents. The subjects must be light and positive, conducive to peaceful and inspiring travel.
“First of all, what is important to know is the language requested on board. Also, it is necessary to be interested in the culture of the customer’s country, the trending content, and what works best in the travel destinations.”
To develop a successful content strategy, Marine and her team look for popular content that appeals in the regions served by the company, as well as the languages that correspond to the country of origin and the tourists it welcomes on board. In some cases, films are chosen in the edited version to respect the traditions and values of passengers, ensuring a comfortable viewing experience for all. By considering these factors, they aim to provide a catalog that is both culturally relevant and universally engaging.
The content team collaborates with a wide range of production houses, including major studios such as Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount, and Sony, as well as independent distributors and local producers. The goal is to provide a diverse and attractive entertainment selection, featuring blockbuster films, award-winning independent content, and region-specific productions that immerse passengers in the destination’s environment.
The catalog is updated regularly to keep the entertainment offer fresh and engaging. The frequency of renewal depends on the client and contract, ranging from monthly to quarterly or bi-annually. Press content is updated separately. The automatic renewal of titles aligns with the frequency of the press releases, ensuring passengers always have access to the latest and most exciting news.
What are the Content Trends?
Marine highlighted the influence of new movie releases, significant anniversaries, events, and film festivals. New content trends are emerging in 2023, in particular Asian culture, with the craze for manga and Korean cinema, but also the young audio format that is exploding, podcasts. Games have also become a must-have content loved by passengers of all ages.
“Today, we can talk about the advent of Asian culture thanks to mangas and Korean content, such as Squid Game and the movie Parasite. We are also witnessing the rise of the podcast with an increasingly large offer on the market.”
How does it work?
The construction of a content catalog generally takes around two months. This period includes placing the order, receiving the content, integrating the files, and securing the source, as well as validation by the customer. Marine highlights the importance of anticipating! Anticipate new releases, upcoming major events… to avoid missing the boat.
The biggest challenge lies in offering a rich catalog at a reasonable price, taking into account the varying costs associated with different types of content. Tracking and analyzing results are integral to improving the catalog’s performance. By leveraging internal audience analysis tools, Marine ensures that the content proposition aligns with current trends.
“We’ve developed an analysis tool, enabling us to access the performance of our content.”
God works in mysterious ways
Time for an anecdote. To tease the Rugby World Cup, which will be held in Toulouse at the end of 2023, one of our clients wanted to offer some exclusive content on the sport.
Here come the problems… there is very little content on the subject (at least on the French market).
We had to think of new opportunities to get content. Good news: Marine’s media partner put her in touch with a professional rugby player. Not just any rugby player, but a former French pro D2 champion!
« What I like about this job is the surprising encounters I make ».
Thanks to his influence and knowledge, he opens the door to new resources and enables Marine to broaden the scope of potential content.
« Sometimes it’s amazing intermediaries that allow us to find great opportunities. »
