Internet Killed the Video Stars ♫

Last night, I was reading news through my Flipboard when I came across an interesting article on BuzzFeed titled, "MTV Isn't What It Used To Be," written by Scaachi Koul an extraordinary BuzzFeed News Reporter. It's a profound analysis of how MTV has been losing its audience, shifting its programming, canceling shows, and facing an identity crisis to the point of no return. The author starts by citing some quotes from Billboard, New York Times and New York Post, judging MTV's efforts to keep afloat.  

It seems like the iconic music channel has lost its signature authenticity and originality and no longer sets a cultural trend. No blame! The millennial wave has made this impact on almost every industry.

"MTV’s president, Chris McCarthy, seems to be banking on previously successful unscripted content as he tries to reestablish the brand. Earlier this month, another Teen Mom offshoot premiered: Teen Mum, with the same premise but based in the UK. (Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2 — they even added a new mom! (...) This week, the network announced its summer reality slate, including a lot of familiar themes: Siesta Key, a docudrama made by the producers of Laguna Beach, follows hot, white, rich teens in Florida, and premieres on July 31. Catfish is spinning off into Catfish: Trolls, wherein participants confront their online aggressors instead of their online romances. In recent months, MTV has also revived old faithful like Fear Factor, My Super Sweet 16, and Cribs."

Teen Mom, Catfish, and Fear Factor are not the shows that shaped some of us to become the MTV generation. And as MTV has been trying to catch up with millennials, I think they got lost in translation.

Amy Doyle, the executive vice president and general manager of MTV, Logo, and VH1, told BuzzFeed News, “The goal is to pull in new audiences,” and she adds, “The audience that maybe years ago watched The Hills would see Siesta Key and draw probably a comparison to that". This is the part of the article that made me sit down here and write my thoughts today — so much hesitation on Ms. Doyle's words.

In all respects, I don't think MTV has to bring a new audience into its network. From my own perspective, there isn't a new audience to attract. I think it's a lot easier than that, and most importantly, it is right in front of our noses.

The MTV generation is and will forever be the MTV generation (I belong to this group). BUT, this doesn't mean that we want to live in the past. I mean, yes, we like some retro and remembrance, but we have also evolved. We like new things, and we live in the present. We are fast adapting to the new generations (our children), to new speed-of-light communications, new technology, new lifestyles, and even new diets. MTV knows us better than anyone else because our cultural trends are (were) strongly influenced by what we watched every day on the music channel.

Last night was one of those aha moments. I was watching a TV show I had previously recorded on my DVR, and once it ended, the TV went to live to program and landed on America's Funniest Videos. Since I was on the 80's vibes, I started noticing how AFV had evolved so well over the years.

They redesigned their logo into a fresher and modern look. They made a huge jump from "drop your VHS on the mail" to "upload now and win." Their host, since 2015, is Alfonso Ribeiro (who is age 45) — and sometimes, they still show some reruns with Tom Bergeron. This means that they never tried to reach millennials but rather keep and grow together with their already captured audience. Most importantly, they broaden the whole mobile technology by removing the word "Home" from their name.

"Reinvent Yourself or Die"

MTV needs a reversal conversion, a refinement that will take them back to innovation. Like Koul punctually concludes in her article, "[I]t’s going to take something new for MTV to regain control of the cultural conversation instead of merely chasing after it." And I would replace "new" with "drastic." 

As a bilingual marketer, I have learned that the best way to deliver a good product or service is always by consciously knowing who your audience is. In my scope, I am aware of the English speakers, Spanish speakers, and bilingual speakers as a third market to consider at all times. MTV has different audiences to reach, but they could expect to develop an innovative segment that would fit into their varied programming and media channels.

My Early Conclusion

In summary, I think that MTV inexcusably forgot about the Gen-X who is, in reality, the MTV generation; the ones who actually shaped the music network. MTV fully shifted into trying to entertain millennials who can't be more uninterested in MTV's mixed programming.  MTV might have to consider dividing its channel into two different segments and produce shows accordingly: something like MConnect for Millennials and Mx for Generation X. Innovation will come once they are able to reinvent their legacy — included removing the "TV" from their name. The first one managed by and for younger adults who now are revolutionizing the world in all aspects. And the second one with more soft topics about lifestyle, travel, pop music (not rap), and overall today's adaptation to the new world. I feel like everyone has forgotten about Gen-X and we are still present, being strong consumers. 

If these two options were to be developed and done under MTV's signature originality and creativity, 2020 could mark the rebirth of this network.  

MTV → MConnect for Younger Teens

Based on the 9 Must-Know Millennial Shopping Trends & Marketing Strategies of 2017 written by Daniel James, this is what we want to keep in mind regarding the millennial behavior: Millennials value authenticity, they expect a marketing experience, content sharing is crucial, they love consuming content, they get personal, they "go at their own pace" with adulthood milestones, price is critical but brands matter, mobile is everything and they use ad blockers everywhere.

This makes me think that MTV got millennials all wrong. The young audience may not invest time in watching TV, regardless of how much fear there is in the factor. Teen Mom is not a role model, and getting pregnant by accident is also out of fashion. Millennials are well educated. They attend college, and as previously mentioned, they consume a lot of information. They are go-getters. They care about brands. They work hard to pay an expensive lifestyle. They like Kylie and Kendall Jenner's lifestyle and aspire to it. They love Mr. Robot and Breaking Bad. They like seeing new artists flourish from the Internet. Success it's marked by likes, followers, and truthful reviews. This tells us enough about the type of shows that MConnect should be producing for Netflix or maybe a new online platform that even they could be invented in the near future.

MTV → Mx for Generation X

This generation still rocks! And I am not saying this only because I belong to this group. We are the ones with good-to-huge spending power. We are people who have already accomplished their dreams or at least, their goals. Some of us are business owners and feeling fulfilled. 

We enjoy seeing new things done by our old idols. That gives us hope! For example, seeing Steven Tyler on American Idol was a hit. But yet again, "new things" done by our legends. I personally use to watch VH1 until I started to feel stuck in the past. Then, I decided it was time to renew my tastes, but all I got was rap and hip hop and it made me feel completely old and out of time. 

It's very easy to understand what we consume. We watch TV, we do online purchasing, we drink Starbucks but in a moderate fashion because, c'mon, it's a luxury. We like to start-off our mid-life stage in a more healthy way of living that will help us feel younger — and who knows, maybe, we would enjoy doing early yoga with Madonna on TV. Still, we like Beyonce and Adele and some new pop sounds. We are open to new things but maybe, not that loud.

I know MTV still has it. 

I have personal beliefs that death results in rebirth. The end of this decade is around the corner and I know MTV can turn things around and start 2020 with a 20/20 vision 😁.

¡Exta Con Madre reinventar!