Vodafone Passes: Evolution of Content

From Vodafone's "FORO" theory to Netflix's "binge racing" phenomenon, Vodafone Passes partners commented on how consumers are experiencing content in the here and now and what the future will bring.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8221551-vodafone-passes-evolution-content/

The London event marked the launch of Vodafone Passes: new Chat, Music, Video, Social and Combo Passes designed to cater for customers' specific content passions - providing freedom to enjoy endless monthly data on what matters to them most.

Vodafone UK hosted speakers from Vodafone Passes partners Netflix, Twitter, Vevo and Amazon Music to discuss the future of content and the way tech will shape how it is consumed.

Speakers included:

• Vodafone UK: David James, Marketing Director 
• Amazon Music: Paul Firth, Director of Music   
• Netflix: Christopher Whiteley, Director of Business Development, EMEA 
• Twitter: David Wilding, Director of Planning 
• Vevo: Jim Sanders, Director of International Business Development 
• Inma Martinez, Future Insights Specialist 

David James, Vodafone Marketing Director, said:   

"FOMO - fear of missing out - is something that's really important in our category, particularly amongst the young. As we develop mobile plans and services there's an opposite and equal effect that's coming from fear of running out - or FORO. The fear of running out of data and running up big bills is creating this tension for customers. They really like to do more of the stuff they enjoy - music, social, video chat - however they are constraining themselves as they are worried that they are running up big bills.

"That tension is something were trying to unlock with the services we are doing here. The Vodafone Group has done a lot of work, basically trying to understand how customers feel about the digitally connected future. We believe we've now got a network that's really strong. Our customer services have improved dramatically and we are able to serve people in the right way with the right services.

"The gigabit society worldwide is going to happen. Unfortunately, it's happening way too slow in the UK and we really believe it needs to move a lot faster with 5G networks and fibre to the home."

Christopher Whiteley, Netflix Director of Business Development, EMEA, said:   

"You can start something, and if you don't like it? You stop and you watch something else, and it costs you nothing. So, you take that friction away, and what that means is that the bar gets set really, really high for what is a compelling TV programme. And there may be vast quantities of programmes being made now in more volume than ever, but I think we're going to see more and more concentration and fewer and fewer things really cutting through."

"We have 8 million members globally who have what we call 'binge raced', so they've watched an entire series within 24 hours. And then we see the binge cheating. Just under half the people who watch have admitted to watching ahead and they'll watch the next episode because their partner isn't around to watch it with them and they can't wait.

David Wilding, Twitter Director of Planning, said:   

"The viewing behaviours around things like Netflix, we're seeing a new behaviour where people are tweeting about the fact that they're watching it but they're not tweeting about the content, so actually it's about the viewing occasion."

Jim Sanders, Vevo Director of International Business Development, said:  

"The talent, they now see their artform as a visual artform. People like Beyoncé create whole visual albums, which you couldn't do previously because the cost barriers were too high and there's a lot more platforms for the content to be distributed and viewed by fans."

Inma Martinez, Future Insights Specialist, said:   

"Previous generations were about radio, listening to music… and now, if you can't watch it, it doesn't exist. Where are the people watching? […] Who's going to be creative enough to then say 'we're just going to do a show that's going to be 8 minutes'?"

Paul Firth, Director of Music, Amazon Music, said:   

"Alexa is changing the way people listen to music, and Alexa has brought music listening back into the home. Earlier this year we had our first month where we had more listening hours on Alexa than we had on mobile."

"In the US we now have a series of NFL football games we're showing live on Thursday nights as part of Prime Video. Likewise, in Germany, we are producing live audio commentary on Bundesliga games which you can access through Echo; so we're experimenting and we'll see."

Notes to editors:  

More on Vodafone Passes  

Passes are a new way to enjoy more of the video, music, social and chat apps you love, without using up your monthly data allowance. Passes zero rate the data costs associated with the apps in the 'category' of the Pass chosen - offering endless data on a wide range of apps.

Video Pass £7/month  

(intro offer, normally £9/month)  

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, DisneyLife, Vevo, My5, YouTube, UKTV Play and TVPlayer, which includes channels like HISTORY, Lifetime, MTV & Comedy Central

Music Pass £5/month  

Spotify, Deezer, Napster, SoundCloud, TIDAL, Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music

Social Pass £5/month  

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter

Chat Pass £3/month  

Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber

Combo Pass £15/month  

All the passes in one

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/602729/Vodafone_Passes.jpg )

Video: 
     https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8221551-vodafone-passes-evolution-content/