AMC 

Cable station AMC has announced a new slogan -- "Story matters here" -- and plans to market new original programming and themed movie nights. I'm intrigued by the idea that the station could give itself an identity, of sorts, perhaps in the spirit (if not the exact execution) of a Disney and its kid movies. 

It makes sense as a branding strategy, especially when you consider the wash of cable programming, and how tough it is to make money in the content distribution business. 

Endless choice has made content effectively worthless, as you can pretty much watch anything, any time. I can find reruns when I want to find them, whether on my TV, or on a cable station. Some distributors, like HBO, Sci-Fi, and Showtime (and AMC) have embraced exclusive, custom series as a way to engage and differentiate with viewers, but it's a pricey, and potentially dicey strategy: for all the fans won over by HBO's "Sopranos," I suspect an equal number were disgusted, and never again tuned in. Comedy Central has built its reputation on bold, original stuff.

But for most stations, producing new content could be seen as swapping the problems of the distribution business for the curse of the creative business, right? You can't please everybody all of the time, yet you've got to take risks when you're selecting what to put through the pipe that you own. What's the right balance?

AMC plans to mitigate this conundrum (well, after making it worse, as it has promised to air a remake of "The Prisoner," which is a deep-dive into TV obscurity that will sure to deliver all of 12 viewers, myself included) by organizing "themed movie nights." This got me to thinking about how it could really make its content, and the resulting marketing, really unique and valuable:

  • Lead with the movies: AMC was originally called "American Movie Classics," wasn't it? In a world wherein content is endless and thus pretty cheap, the need is for new authority and credibility; organizing and broadcasting movies by theme is a nice start, but it's nowhere near what it could be. Why not dedicate creativity and budget to developing programs for, around, and because of the movies?  Dare to be insightful and/or funny, so produce a "Godfather Flicks for Beginners" program, followed with a "Spaghetti Westerns as Post-WWII Italian Narrative" show.  Add value to the reruns and re-establish AMC as the movie channel...with more.
  • Engage community on it: People care about movies, so what a great excuse to get people talking! Why couldn't AMC be the place where actors respond to viewer tweets while their work gets aired (or the conversation is somehow time-shifted)? Couldn’t experts "host" conversations... think "Mystery Science Theater 3000" meets those sonorous actor interviews you can catch now and then on PBS? Think less movie nights that are basically scheduling exercises, and more events that drive viewer interactivity.
  • Develop original programming based on community involvement: Sure, it's cool if you chance upon a "Mad Men," but you still risk leaving lots of your viewers behind. Why not become the first cable network to crowdsource research on original content? Think of it as UGC-flavored development, and find ways to involve the AMC viewer community in choosing program topics, themes, and/or even enlisting them in envisioning characters and plot lines. Why not invent mechanisms for enlisting their commitment to viewing programs (or buying merchandise schwag, or whatever) before putting the program(s) into development, and then involving them via a variety of tools during the creative process (video blog on creation, various polls to help get feedback on character or plot ideas)?

The branding slogan "Story matters here" is rich with possibilities, most of which need to be realized via programming and scheduling. AMC doesn't have to (and perhaps can't) try to pick and choose which stories matter, as much as find creative ways to institutionalize the activities... and then involve its viewers in the processes. 

Hey, doing that might make for an interesting story!