Quibi
Brand Audit | Co-strategist with Astha Avinash, Hannah Korn, Alison Mansfield | SVA Student Project taught by Nucleus Group
Context: Quibi was an American short-form streaming platform that launched in 2020. It generated 10-minute bite-sized content for viewing on mobile devices and despite its initial promise, was forced to shut down in 6 months. Challenge: How can Quibi’s value proposition be updated to meet opportunities in a post-COVID world? How would we align Quibi’s offering to the specific needs of an audience? Insight: Demand for content is often looked at as a binary: fast or slow, long or short, but in actuality, we find ourselves regularly caught between the extremities of choice. Solution: Quibi has the potential to be as dynamic as its audience, adapting to their needs to be an anti-attention economy streamer.
Role & Skillset | Cultural Audit, Trend Analysis, Implications, Consumer Interviews & Insights, Audience Definition, Opportunities
Research Question
Does the demand for content need to be a choice between two extremes?
Hypothesis
Demand isn’t binary.
We find ourselves regularly caught between the extremities of choice.
A limbo is an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition.
Most of us assume being in limbo means being stuck.
Source: Write with Lightning
But even Dante looked at the Purgatory as a designated space for change.
“...perhaps the most original aspect of Dante’s version of Purgatory is that the souls in Purgatory are in the process of change. They suffer, but not simply in order to repay a debt: they are suffering in order to become good.”
Source: Leeds
Source: Hypebeast
Experience
We observed a pattern of multi-utility products that afford people the space to be more than just one thing, and the ability to circumvent any necessity of choice.
Limbo in Culture
Source: WSJ
Emotion
The resurgence of tried and true objects and trends breathes fresh air into classics and makes the present more familiar and comfortable.
Source: Forbes
Narrative
The space between fan-favorite shows is often filled with user-generated secondary content that allows people to create the worlds they want to see.
The world is embracing this flexibility and ambiguity now more than ever.
Identity
People no longer accept their identities as prescribed or assigned. They desire the freedom of exploration beyond the binaries.
Work
The fundamental format of work has changed and it is now neither fully at home nor fully at work; it lies somewhere in between.
Key Findings
Experiencee
People want their experience to be dynamic and ever-evolving.
Emotion
People turn toward the familiar to generate a sense of comfort in the face of the unfamiliar.
Narrative
People don’t let what they love die and they create the things they love that don’t yet exist.
Opportunities
What if
Quibi changed every day so it’s never the same?
What if
people could align Quibi to their sentiment in the moment?
What if
Quibi’s world is built with its people?
“Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”
It’s something Picasso said.
But most of us have said it to ourselves too.
As we peer over book collections with uncracked spines.
As we watch our records collect dust.
As we think “I should really start painting again” and never pick up the brush.
We’ll always say we’ll do it someday… someday...someday…
But somewhere, life gets in the way.
