Paramount Studios Anti-Piracy Co-Op Initiative -- Strategic Document

“Just because you could, doesn’t mean you should.”

A NEW, IMMERSIVE ANTI-PIRACY INITIATIVEA PARAMOUNT CO-OP PROJECT

Strategic Document 10.12.2011

CREATIVE LEAD: BILL BRUCESTRATEGIC LEAD: GUNTHER SONNENFELDPRODUCTION LEAD: STEFAN SONNENFELD

Guess what?

You just participated in digital piracy.

This document was illegally encrypted,

and the software used to create it was illegally downloaded.

Yeah, it’s that easy. It can happen to anyone.

It’s ok. Keep reading. Just don’t share this

material with anyone.

Does that make you angry?

It should.

SO, WHAT THE F*#% IS DIGITAL PIRACY?

In the simplest of terms, piracy is the act of obtaining materials without the proper rights of legal ownership. (Such as this photo.)

It’s a pretty sophisticated $75B global business. Just ask these guys.

Digital piracy is bigger than the drug trade in many cities (like Los Angeles), and is the biggest subsidy for terrorist activity in those areas.

Unfortunately, for the movie industry, technology can only do so much. It boils down to simple Internet economics, really.

THE BACKSTORY:Nearly 25% of all global internet traffic is dedicated to digital theft. The cost of global digital piracy is conservatively estimated at $75 billion. Faster broadband speeds, greater storage capacity and an abundance of illegal sites— which appear on search engines -- accept US credit cards, complete with advertising to masquerade as legitimate sites. These sites get over 50 billion visits annually. So it’s entirely possible some may not even know they are downloading illegally. Others know exactly what they are doing. For those who knowingly download illegal content, the psychology is one of entitlement. They’re not stealing. It’s all free anyway, or at least it should be. Beyond that, they are viewing something they wouldn’t go out and buy anyway. Then there’s the belief that Hollywood is full of objectively rich people who aren’t going to be hurt if Tom Peterson doesn’t give them his $15 for the latest Netflick.

“Nearly 25% of all global Internet traffic is dedicated to digital theft. The psychology is one of entitlement.”

The visionaries have spoken. But they don’t play in the spaces where pirates play.

This is a social issue. A cultural edict.

Actually, things have gotten a lot worse.

As evidence, not much has changed over the last several years.

... And law enforcement is only one part of the solution.

The first part of the problem: We’re not actually dealing with theft.

The second part of the problem: Sharing has many faces.

Remember Napster? It redefined the notion of the “copycat”.

It also turned sharing into personalization. In a big way.

It also challenged the notions of “legal” & “illegal”.

The third part of the problem:

Advocacy is not nearly enough.

Piracy, downloading and sharing are

strongly attitudinal, and ethically-driven.

Source: Emerald Research

Caveat: Digital citizens or “netizens” have developed their own systems of ethics.

They’ve had no choice.

“The important thing to remember is that there’s no such thing as copyright that has remained fixed and constant over the last 200 years.”

- Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law Professor

COPYRIGHT IS AN ARTIFICIAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN CREATOR AND CONSUMER.

[C.K. Prahalad at the 2008 World Economic Forum]

To (re)boot, our views of media change when they go “digital”.

MUSIC CONTENT

Bent: songs as social currency

“I only want one song off of the album.”

“I want to show people how cool I am in what I

listen to.”

“I don’t really care about the record companies, I

have a right to own my own music library, on my own

terms.”

VIDEO CONTENT

Bent: movies as a shared story

“I want to explore my own version of the story.”

“I’ve already seen the movie in the theater, so why can’t

I keep a few clips?”

“The studios make a ton of money -- why can’t I share

this content, especially when I’m promoting it?”

APPLICATIONS

Bent: utilities as community property

“Why should I share the app, when I can’t share the

content?”

“Am I paying for access for free stuff, or am I paying for access to buy more

stuff?”

“I’m going to create my own app and allow my

friends to access cool stuff for free.”

Compounding the problem is the fact that digital literacy - especially among our youth - is trying to catch up with the rate of usage.

Usage is also problematic for the industry in general because the most active users of “free” are those with the highest discretionary incomes.

Profile of a digital pirate.

Gunther Sonnenfeld 2011

The digital pirate is a chameleon. A hacker. An unknown. His rationale: Catch me if you can.

Our rationale: Let’s be a part of the chase. And then make it our own.

Pirates don’t have real profiles.They exhibit characteristics without a distinct social identity.

Piracy is a self-organizing movement.

Arguably, one of innovation.

(HOWEVER) “INNOVATION” CAN MEAN:

HACKINGPARTICIPATORY STORYTELLING

MEME CREATIONPRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

APP DEVELOPMENTENCODING APPROACHESPOLICY CO-CREATION

MOBILITY

So, if ideas can’t always be owned...

... Then we’re solving an IP challenge.With our fan bases.

In other words...We have a chance to remake digital history.

How cool is that?

Key insights:Piracy is presented as a false dichotomy between theft & copying; it’s actually about the desire for connection, not ownership.

Once people connect, they’re compelled to co-create, share, mix, or remix. The remix culture is very real, and very active.

This culture begs for structure - not so much of the legal or corporate sort, but towards social rules. Game dynamics.

Anti-piracy, in and of itself, is an

emerging market.

Do what remixers do. Find something to remix.

Cool examples of remixes...

Best in class.

A remixing phenomenon that Warner Bros. supported to generate fan activity around the franchise, around the release of “The Dark Knight.”

It became a viral meme that generated 10M downloads, and produced hundreds of remixes, even across other media franchises. Awareness around the movie and

its licensed properties was unprecedented (even if some of the material was “lifted”... But you get the point).

Lance Weiler’s “Pandemic 1.0”- Sundance 2011

[a phenomenal participatory storytelling, social experiment]

Best in class. [Tim Kring’s “Conspiracy For Good” - 500K+ downloads, 5K dedicated participants, unlimited spread]

This was a Nokia-supported initiative that had people becoming

activists around a conspiracy to do good. It was by far the most

successful mobile “marketing campaign”

ever.

In paid media.

STORYCONSPIRACYDISCOVERYDEADLINES

ELITE MEMBERSHIPACCREDITATION

A HIGHER PURPOSESOCIAL REWARD

Key components.

THE POSITIONING:

The best way to influence thinking and change future behavior is exactly the same: to not scold, wag a finger or talk down to the remix set. Rather, it’s best to sway educate and connect with a confident sense of right over wrong and with a bold sense of humor. But just as importantly, we must offer a solution -- something that will inform people where to go and enable them to do the right thing. To go from being entitled, to being enlightened. It’s not enough to simply tell people what not to do; we need to ask them to do something different. For this, the simplest, most cost-effective solution is to create an immersive experience. This experience would offer not only a list of the legal sites to download and stream, but also: engaging answers to questions, an open forum to exchange thoughts and ideas, interactive games, plus other shareable content. So the “platform” would be cool, fun to navigate and not seemingly self-serving and dry. It should be accessible through any device someone wants to use.

“We must offer a solution - something that will inform people where to go and enable them to do the right thing. To go from being entitled, to being enlightened.”

1. Inform people on what piracy actually is, or could be.

2. Introduce them to, and immerse them in, the associated behaviors.

3. Change their attitudes & behaviors such that they become anti-piracy advocates... For the long haul.

GOALS

Think of this ‘platform’ as a grand social experiment that gives us purview into user behavior. Ideally, new audiences will emerge from our communication touch-points, and those created through the ‘earning’ of the media on offer.

Segmentation opportunities abound: fan types, niche communities, captive audiences, etc.

Money that’s been left on the table for years will now be recaptured.

Let’s tap into online movements.

MOVIE COMMUNITIESMovie aficionados have a decent digital literacy; they can share, and in some cases, remix content. Many them are aspiring filmmakers, so they also produce a fair amount of original content.

Their opinions have a sweeping network effect - in fact, most movie reviewers defer to the forums where these folks are having lengthy exchanges.

Subgroups, or “tribes”, are widely varied but also very interconnected. Most important, they are all affected by, or contributing to, pirated activities.

TRIBES:GENRE

PARANORMALPRODUCTION

DESIGNWRITER[source: eCairn Conversation - a unique social media mining tool;

sample set: 400 interconnected influencer groups & several hundred thousand conversations]

They’re everywhere. And active.

MUSIC COMMUNITIESMusic users also have a decent digital literacy; they also can share, and in some cases, remix content. The main distinction here is that they tend to use downloadable music as a “badge”, a statement of identity.

Their opinions also have a sweeping network effect - and a direct correlation to potential sales. That said, the copycat rule applies: they’re mostly only willing to pay once.

TRIBES:GENREINDY

PRODUCTIONCOMPOSERS

THIRD PARTIES

They’re ready to play.

GAMING COMMUNITIES

Gamers, as a whole, are by far the most digitally literate. They pride themselves on their knowledge, and are constantly trying to reinvent ways to hack systems - consoles, apps, web platforms, etc.

Their opinions also have a sweeping network effect specifically on the ways games are conceived and developed. Most important, they are very influential in film and music communities.

TRIBES:SOCIAL

PERVASIVEARG/LARP

CONSOLE/ APPCASUAL

THE TRIGGERS:When designing the experience, always ask: What would a pirate do? What would a victim feel? Who are the victims? How does this affect businesses? Industry? Society? What are some of the gray areas in between?

THE INTENT:The experience needs to stand for such common sense that it becomes the outing of irrational, unclear, unpopular thinking or behavior… across the board. We help create this zeitgeist. Which means that anytime someone in the world does something worthy of the phrase: “Just because you could, doesn’t mean you should”… We bring light to our cause. This is a behavioral imperative. In order for this to become possible, the platform needs to be worthy of being adopted and shared. It needs to have utility value - in other words, something that can be used with deep cultural, social and commercial impact. Ultimately, the message via the films/spots, needs to be propagated by many of the same people who are guilty of this behavior. Ironically, by sharing the films/spots with friends, they help spread the word. So it’s crucial that we are engaging and funny. All experiences and communications would ultimately drive home this idea with one final simple, straight forward thought and call to action: Internet theft is wrong. See movies the right way.

We help create this zeitgeist. Which means that anytime someone does something worthy of the phrase... We bring to light our cause. This is a behavioral imperative.

Hitting the areas where (anti)piracy affects us most...

PERVASIVE GAMINGsimulates behavior

IMMERSIVE MEDIArepresents action

SHAREABLE CONTENTextends conversation

addresses: a way to engage with others

satisfies: the need to understand motivations

inspires: achievement

addresses: a means to interact with a story

satisfies: the need for renewed context

inspires: interaction

addresses: an opportunity to connect with new ideas

satiates: the fear of isolation, jumping into the unknown

inspires: loyalty

Think about what this means in terms of loyalty, reward and recognition.

VIRALITY“I am going to share this because I think it’s provocative and I am curious to see what others think about it.” (unintentional spread)

PROPAGATION

BROADCAST IN

ACTIVATION

THE SOCIAL LEVERS:

“I am going to share this because I feel strongly about it & I want others to as well.” (intentional)

“I am aligning with this idea.”

BROADCAST OUT“I’m not sure, but I will test the waters.”

“I am going to invest in this idea by taking action (in the real world).”

videos

memes

games

curation

TV/IPTV

rich media

apps

events

[sentiment]

[sentiment]

[behaviors]

[behaviors]

[actions]

[actions]

AWARENESS

“Remixing is a great and creative alternative.”

ACTIONACTIVATION

STORY & MESSAGING EVOLUTION:

telling my story

connecting w/ others

sharing solutions

family is affected

business is changing

friends are asking

creating new stories

editing new content

designing new product

“Pirating takes away from my own best interests.”

“I am a reformed pirate.”

“I am a business leader.”

“I am an activist.”

“JUST BECAUSE YOU COULD, DOESN’T MEAN

YOU SHOULD.”

The meta-story. Digitally interconnected.

INTELLIGENT CONSUMPTIONP2P REVIEWS

FRIEND RECOMMENDATIONSCITIZEN ARTICLES

BUSINESS DRIVERS CONTENT DYNAMICS EVOLVING METRICS

CITIZEN ADVOCACY

AUDIENCE ACQUISITION & RETENTION

EMERGING MARKETS

FRIEND MOVEMENTS/MOBSSPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

CITIZEN REPORTING

3RD PARTY REVIEWSENGINEERING WIKIS

EDITORIALSsCRM CHANNELS

VIRTUAL CALL CENTERSREAL-TIME FORUMS

DEVELOPMENT FORUMSHACKER INNOVATIONS

CITIZEN DEMOS

INFLUENCER SCORES (NPS)SOCIAL VELOCITY

VIDEO/LINK SHARINGLBS CHECK-INS

PASS-ALONGS/REDEMPTIONNEWS MENTIONS/SEARCH

REGISTRATIONS/OPEN RATESSEMINAR REGS/VIDEO VIEWS

BLOG COMMENTS/FB UPDATESREFERRAL OFFERS

DM SURVEYSMENTIONS/ORGANIC SEARCH

CITIZEN FB/G+ PAGESG+ HANGOUTS

BRAND INQUIRIES

The measurement framework:

POLICYMAKING

“Return On Intention”

REMEMBER:

Design to measure.(And measure for design.)

Piracy is a mindset that operates in a continuum. How will we leverage technology, media and culture to adapt to shifts in behavior? To take complexity head on?

THE PEOPLE:

Gunther SonnenfeldCo-Founder & Managing Partner,

@ThinkState

(w) http://thinkstate.com[b] http://goonth.posterous.com

[t] @goonth

[email protected]

CONTACT: