Last post got me thinking about a whole bunch of things, not the least of which is how content is valued once it's separated from a specific channel. And then I got distracted by the news of Les Paul's passing. Here was a man who not only created unique content, but he helped create new tools that would utterly transform that content.
Les Paul was a unique voice in jazz music. His style pushed guitar up from where it strummed quietly in the back of the orchestra, right up to the front with all the other soloists and showboats. And to keep up with the horns, he electrified it to make it louder, which changed the music world by opening the door for rock and roll. And if that wasn't enough, he went on to invent multi-track recording, which transformed music yet again. Sometimes the influence of a single great mind is truly remarkable.
On cue it seems, the Globe and Mail published a couple articles today about how well Cineplex is doing. The Canadian entertainment giant appears to be where laid off auto-workers and realtors are spending their EI cheques. Content and channel again. The public thinks movies and the cinema experience are worth paying for. You can download it from iTunes if you want. You can pick it up at Best Buy, but apparently suburbia is still piling the kids into the Aerostar and lugging them down to the bank-branded mega-entertainment complex to ooh and ahh at the exploding sphinx and frickin' laser beams before the film. Compelling content, sticky experience provide by the channel (not just the floors) and people are still willing to pay traditional prices, and extra for real butter -- digitally distributed competition be damned.
The best part is that Cineplex doesn't even need to market their channel. They don't run campaigns touting the benefits of the movie house experience. The don't have to 'connect consumers with the brand'. The movies do the blanket marketing for them and for every other channel. Cineplex just reaps the benefits and value-adds with popcorn.
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