Existing marketing trends are changing with the escalation of millennial viewing culture. This proved to be a reoccurring theme throughout the two days at Cable Congress 2017. Debate on best marketing practice for the investment in the future consumer was prevalent.

Interactive content finds users

The transformation in the way marketing is delivered is directly shaped by consumer needs and expectations. Karin Heijink, Vice President for Channels and Product at Viasat World, said “the marketing four Ps of yesteryear have now become SAVE: Solution, Access, Value and Experience/Engagement.”

Reflecting the changing world, Liberty Global is “moving from a product-driven company to a company that is consumer-centric and focused on the experience,” said Inge Smidts, CMO of Liberty Global.

Consumers are connecting content across multiple screens, and marketing delivery must reflect this change in habitual viewing behaviours.

Jonas De Cooman of Appiness said: “The time of push marketing is over, brands cannot buy media and push it onto the audience anymore. Now we are evolving to full marketing, and giving the keys to the consumer who decides if they want to engage with those products.”

Industry leaders at Cable Congress predicted a strong future for cable.

Clif Marriott, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, said that investment priorities in cable should focus on “network capacity to become a broadband leader, mobile in selected markets, content to futureproof the business, and cable expansion.”

Andrew Barron, Chairman of Com Hem, pledged to use his company’s strong performance to invest for the long term.

Manuel Kohnstamm, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Liberty Global, stressed the importance of “improving the customer experience and the technology around it.”

Discussions forecast there would be further consolidation in the European cable sector, which currently has more than 5,000 operators.

Awards

Unitymedia won the Cable Europe Fellow Award for 2017, for its initiative that enabled more than 10,000 refugees in Germany to keep in touch with their families.

Unitymedia connected 140 refugee hostels for free for one year after considering how it could play a role in the refugee crisis.

Claire Bromiley, Corporate Responsibility Manager at Unitymedia said: “We believed in the strong power of connectivity in inclusion and long term integration.”

Cable Congress 2017 took place in Brussels on Wednesday 8 March and Thursday 9 March. 

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