While attending the 2016 Upfronts and NewFronts, the team at TruthCo. observed a few new approaches to the annual event as well as prescribed some new moves for networks to think about — such as being even more consumer-facing (consider that upfront trailers now go viral), talking more about networks as destinations instead of as individual shows, and thinking about millennials as people, not “some horrid invading species.”

Read on to hear all of the insights from CEO Linda Ong, who led the conversation with Rajiv Menon, cultural analyst; Emily Morris, director of cultural insights; Christina McCausland, assistant cultural analyst; and Alix Korn, cultural analyst.

Linda: While TV has been very defensive over the years, it felt like the industry got its swagger back this year at this year’s upfronts.

Rajiv: One of the big shifts I think is interesting right now is that upfronts feel much more consumer-facing than they ever have because of how much press coverage they’re getting, especially online. Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and really accessible publications are covering the upfronts minute-by-minute. I think there’s a burden for networks to move away from marketing-driven language, which can be off-putting for consumers, and instead embrace the fun. RELATED: Viceland Proves That It Gets Millennials

Linda: If you think about the fashion industry — the shows used to only be business-to-business (B2B). There was a very long tradition of keeping them closed. Then Burberry and other brands started opening up and creating direct-to-consumer [opportunities] where you could buy immediately. It would be interesting to see upfronts open it up to consumers more. Imagine if a network streamed its upfront and some of the stuff went viral. It could be an interesting consumer move.

Emily: Something I noticed is that everybody who presented at the upfronts had a shtick about how they were embarrassed to be presenting at the upfronts.

Christina: Even the newfronts made a big deal by essentially saying, “We’re cool, there isn’t going to be marketing lingo. We’re separate from that.” It made me wonder what it would be like to go to a newfront or an upfront where they were just playing it straight.

Linda: Another observation of mine is that The CW was the only presentation that I went to that did not say “millennials.” My note to the networks is to stop talking about millennials like they are this horrid invading species. RELATED: Going Native, Digitally

Christina: Awesomeness TV did an interesting thing. They weren’t even positioning themselves as experts on millennials. They were positioning themselves as experts on Gen Z. They had a 13-year-old give a presentation, who didn’t bother to connect with the audience, the whole point was for a Gen Zer to say, “You guys can’t connect with me, you don’t get me, and that’s why you need me.” Studio 71 did something similar with their social influencers. RELATED: Netflix and Chill Isn’t Just for TV Snobs

Rajiv: What was interesting about Lifetime, is that they really seem to be positioning themselves around the Fempire as a cultural institution and a destination for feminism. It was a cool opportunity for them to think of a new role that TV networks are playing in culture as opposed to just simply presenting their programming. There was a pronounced de-emphasis on their programming.

Linda: Another thing I noticed was there were some structural changes, because a lot of people did multi-network presentations. There was a lot of rolling up and selling the network as a portfolio. They used to slice and dice their audiences, but now they’re rolling them into one, saying things like “All of our audiences together at 10 p.m. are bigger than YouTube.”

Rajiv: I noticed there’s a huge time travel theme happening, especially on network TV. It’s happening across the board and on so many networks. Like we’ve been discussing, we’re in a reflective moment.

Alix: Culturally, that’s about taking stock. It’s about reassessing the past and wanting to figure out how and why we got to where we are today.

TruthCo. is an omnicultural branding and insights company that analyzes the current cultural landscape to deliver actionable recommendations that keep entertainment brands and their offerings relevant. Connect with TruthCo. at www.truthco.net or on Twitter @TeamTruthCo.

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