Improving “quality” with “intelligence”, Mango creates dual engines of “culture + technology”
On March 28, the 11th China Internet Audiovisual Conference opened in Chengdu. In recent years, with the increasing application of generative artificial intelligence in the content industry, especially breakthroughs in technologies such as Vincent Video, the online audio-visual industry is in a critical window period for independently embracing technology and accelerating the cultivation of new productive forces. AI-related issues have therefore It has become the focus of the entire industry’s pursuit of transformation and leapfrog development.
On the afternoon of the 28th, Cai Huaijun, member of the Party Committee, Deputy General Manager and Deputy Director of Hunan Radio, Film and Television Group Co., Ltd. (Hunan Radio and Television) attended the main forum of the conference and delivered a keynote speech “Improving “Quality” with “Intelligence”, Mango Integrated with Culture and Technology” think”.
Cai Huaijun emphasized that culture + technology is not only a difficult lens on the stage, not only a small innovation in one link, but should run through the entire link of creative planning, implementation, data analysis, commercialization, etc., in order to affect the entire industrial structure. , can bring huge industrial value and imagination space. In the process of exploring the integration of culture and technology, Hunan Radio and Television has always maintained confidence and independence, made good use of technology as a sharp tool, created more value, and turned crises into vitality.
The following is the full text of Cai Huaijun’s speech:
The AI director “Aimang” you just saw is the first domestic variety show director we created. Behind him is a group of very powerful teachers. He is the content production super team of Hunan Radio and Television, and he is training and growing at a geometric speed.
The birth of “Aimang” is the combination of Hunan Radio and Television’s content and technology, and it is also a new productive force for our transformation and leapfrog. Just this month, President Xi Jinping came to Hunan again and proposed to “explore effective mechanisms for the integration of culture and science and technology, accelerate the development of new cultural formats, and form more new growth points for the cultural industry.” He proposed to us how to better It points the way for the country to take on new cultural missions.
1. Find a need: the integration of culture and technology to serve the people
Party media and state-owned enterprises are the fundamental attributes of Hunan Radio and Television. In the process of the main force seizing the main position, wherever the users are, the touch points for the integration of culture and technology should be there.
In recent years, we have paid more attention to “using technology to drive innovation and using innovation to amplify communication” to create mainstream products that are more popular among young users. Whether it is the multi-location multi-screen variety show “Continuous Sound·Treasure Island Season” or the “painting + CG” in the third season of the documentary “China”, the historical restoration of “Time and Space Search” has made the “beauty of technology” It highlights the “style of Chinese culture”, and this beauty has fully resonated in the hearts of users. At the end of last year, the number of effective members of Mango TV exceeded 66 million, and the core users of the platform have maintained a growth rate of more than 20% in the past three years.
In 2024, Hunan Radio and Television will create a call sign with the theme of “Chinese-style Modernization and Bright Journey” and launch 15 key projects. The new season of “Singer” will create 12 interactive super live broadcasts on large and small screens. The documentary “Mawangdui·Immortal Time” will bring ancient objects to life. It will also launch “Chengfeng 2024”, “Chinese Village Flower”, “Another Kind of Blue” and “Stars”. “Shining Time”, “City of Sunshine”, etc., present the ultimate integration and exploration of culture and technology, making the mainstream become the top stream, allowing positive energy to surge into large flows.
2. Anchoring a strategy: building a mainstream new media group that integrates culture and technology
In recent years, Hunan Radio and Television has been committed to building a mainstream new media group and building a state-owned digital intelligence super platform. It is to be “the cultural company that understands technology best and the technology company that understands culture best” and to create a “dual engine” of content and technology.
We attach great importance to the exploration of new technologies such as large models and AIGC. We have built the “Mango Big Model” very early. This large model is industry-specific, application-focused, highly professional, manageable, and controllable. At present, thousands of new technologies are widely used in Hunan Radio and Television’s variety shows, documentaries, TV series, evening parties, etc., and the use of new technologies accounts for more than 90%;
We have held four “International Audio and Video Algorithm Competitions”, attracting the participation of 30,000 teams from around the world and recruiting more than 100 algorithm talents. In the process of exploring the integration of culture and technology, Hunan Radio and Television has always maintained confidence and independence, making good use of technology as a sharp tool to create more value and turn crises into vitality.
3. Open up a path: integration is not point-like, but full-link
When creating programs, culture + technology is not only a difficult shot on the stage, not only a small innovation in one link, it should run through the entire link of creativity, planning, implementation, data analysis, commercialization, etc., in order to Only by affecting the entire industrial structure can it bring huge industrial value and imagination.
Three years ago, we realized that long-form video advertising had reached its peak, and the business model was in urgent need of transformation. Based on new technologies, we incubated the content e-commerce platform Xiaomang APP and created integrated innovative products such as immersive shopping, super live broadcast rooms, and digital shopping guides. Xiaomang e-commerce GMV achieved three consecutive jumps, exceeding 10 billion yuan last year. .
Two years ago, we captured the changes in user needs and consumer sentiment and discovered the trend of micro-short dramas. Combining new technologies, we independently developed “AI Intelligent Selection of Scripts” and other technologies. Damang micro-short dramas have improved in quantity and quality, doubled the number of script evaluations, and increased creative efficiency by 40%.
A year ago, we set out to build a “digital cultural and expo platform”. The inspiration came from when we were researching the target audience, we found that more and more young people are keen on national customs and trends, and their cultural confidence is growing stronger. We have self-developed 3D modeling technology to solve the problem of stuck efficiency in the digitalization of antiquities; at the same time, we have developed an “intelligent toolbox” to encourage global users to create together and help antiquities truly come alive and go global.
At the same time, we also use new technologies to promote in-depth interaction between Golden Eagle Cartoon and Xiaomang e-commerce, create “online and offline real-life entertainment bases” and “virtual reality concerts”, upgrade the “Malanshan Mango Festival”, and create The most popular and trendy stage among young people, accelerating the development of more prosperous new cultural formats.
4. Create a mechanism to allow the soil of integrated innovation to flourish
At present, Hunan Radio and Television’s content + technology talents account for 80%, and technical talents born in the 1990s account for 70%. Over the years, Hunan Radio and Television’s technical talents have experienced three growth stages: “operation and maintenance” to “equal emphasis on operation and maintenance and R&D”, and then to “technology-led”. In Mango’s territory, they are not just technical workers who do base work and operation and maintenance, but “creative engineers” who solve content needs and lead the direction of content.
Their growth in Mango is a complete ecology. This soil has sunshine, rain and dew, thunder and lightning, and fruits.
With sunshine, we have established a series of innovative mechanisms such as “joint mechanisms, dynamic virtual groups, and super studios” to provide talents with a broader innovation environment;
With Yulu, we have innovatively established the “Special Incentives for the Integration of Culture and Technology, and the Major Technology Innovation Breakthrough Award” to further improve the evaluation system for the contribution of composite talents, so that the content technology team can open up minds, join forces to create, and share innovation results;
With Leiden, we have established a unique market-based assessment mechanism so that all employees can move up or down;
It is fruitful and results-oriented, cultivating more practical and application-oriented innovative talents so that they can produce greater value in Mango’s prosperous industrial ecology.
It is on this soil that we have created the “Mango New Culture” that is passionate about innovation, loves learning, supports reform, and cherishes talents, so that the integration and innovation of culture and technology can continue to flourish in Mango.
“Today, when we hold the pen of technology, how can we make the articles we write not to be empty because of the addition of technology, but to truly get closer to readers? To spread further? We believe that simple stories should be Belong to the people, let sincere emotions infect the people, make it easier for culture to touch the hearts of the audience, and let Chinese culture be conveyed to the wider world.”
I asked our love to write the ending of this paragraph just now, and I give it to you here. This is the voice of Mango and the call for our future cultural and technological integration and innovation.
