FEBRUARY 2013
ALSO INSIDE: Content Discovery Special Section
Coca-Cola’s Jonathan Mildenhall CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY FOR EXECUTIVES
NARROW CASTING Mark Wilson from Avaya explains why going bigger isn’t better. ALSO INSIDE: BRAND BROADCASTERS: Meet the new media moguls.
The Official Magazine of the Content Marketing Institute FEBRUARY 2013 www.ContentMarketingInstitute.com @juntajoe Joe Pulizzi Throw another blog on the barbie, ’cause CMW’s going Down Under to Sydney this March. All you Aussie CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY FOR EXECUTIVES marketers should come say g’day!
16 NARROWCASTING Mark Wilson from Avaya explains why going bigger isn’t better. Cover and interior photos by Douglas Zimmerman
Making of a Modern SPECIAL SECTION: BRAND CMO BROADCASTERS: A serial Chief Marketer Content Meet the new (brand) shares lessons from media moguls. the journey. Discovery 22 19 27
CCO DEPARTMENTS
What’s Online...... 6 Social Web...... 25 Idea Garage...... 36 Talking Innovation.....8 Vertical View...... 30 Marketoonist...... 38 Tactician...... 12 Tech Tools...... 34
4 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER CCO STAFF Founder Joe Pulizzi • [email protected] Vice President & Publisher PETER LOIBL • [email protected] Vice President of Operations Chief Content Officer magazine Pam Kozelka • [email protected] is for YOU, the content marketer. Marketing Director Cathy mcphillips • [email protected] Editor Clare McDermott • [email protected] Content Development Director Michele Linn • [email protected] CReative Director Joseph Kalinowski • [email protected] Project Director Angela Vannucci • [email protected] Proofreader Ann Gynn • [email protected]
International Editors Sarah Mitchell, Australian Editor We don’t like long-winded and boring. Our goal is NENAD SENIC, European Editor to give you practical strategies and tips that keep Advertising Inquiries Peter Loibl you on the leading edge of content marketing. (347) 725-3565 • [email protected] If you like what you read in the pages ahead go to http://bit.ly/CCOmagazine and subscribe.
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CCO CONTRIBUTORS Jonathan Crossfield @kimota Ann Gynn @anngynn CMI BENEFACTORS Natalya MiNkovsky @hejhejnatalya CMI is partially funded by our benefactors, which include: Roanne Neuwirth @roanneneuwirth Tom Fishburne @tomfishburne Robert Rose @Robert_Rose Rachel foster @CopywriterTO brian kardon @bkardon carla johnson @CarlaJohnson kevin cain @kevinrcain rob ciampa @robciampa
CMI has more than 150 of the leading content experts. Check them all out at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com.
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 5 WHAT’S Online www.contentmarketinginstitute.com PRINT STUDY: What are your peers doing with content? Find out how other companies are using content from the Content Marketing Institute’s 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends report, available for both B2B and B2C marketers. You’ll learn: B2C marketers use 12 tactics to achieve their content goals. The most DIGITAL SOLUTIONS popular of these tactics include social media (84%), articles on a company’s website (84%), and e-newsletters (78%). B2B marketers spend 33 percent of their marketing budgets on content marketing, up from 26 percent last year. The majority (54%) will increase
No time to read the report? Check out our video roundtable discussion with contentmarketing experts: http://bit.ly/b2b_round • Multi-channel digital editions viewable on PCs, Read the reports: smart phones and tablets http://bit.ly/b2b2013report • ContentXpress to http://bit.ly/b2c2013research semantically tag, text mine, store, search, republish and share content dynamically Reasons To How Global Brands • E-mail marketing solutions Be Better Use Content 42 In an ongoing interview series, • PICA to create electronic Need some content inspiration? Check Lessons from Brand Marketers, job instructions, plan ad out Joe Pulizzi’s 42 Content Marketing and editorial placements, we ask top marketers how they Ideas for 2013 for a keep-it-simple generate estimates and use content, what they struggle approach to improving your content in manage budgets with and how their strategies are 2013. Here’s a preview: evolving over time. The series #11: Stop one content initiative in 2013. includes Sandra Zoratti from , Leslie Reiser from #17: Start a podcast series for executives. Ricoh IBM and Alan Belniak from PTC. It’s your business, #37: For every story idea in 2013, plan but it’s our passion. on developing 10 pieces of content http://bit.ly/BrandMktr from it. #41: Ask whoever is in charge of customer service what their top 10 complaints were in 2012. Build a content program to help with answers. http://bit.ly/42_Ideas www.pubpress.com
6 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER
cco12.12.indd 1 12/18/12 9:51 AM FL_purposefire_resized.indd 1 1/11/13 3:49 PM TALKING INNOVATION
Brand Storytelling Lessons from Coca-Cola’s Content 2020 Project
f you haven’t already seen the Robert Rose: Tell us about the birth together again. Monday through Ioverview of Coca Cola’s Content of the Content 2020 idea? Thursday, my role was simply to 2020 Project on YouTube, stop be disruptive and ask questions. reading this right now, and go Jonathan Mildenhall: First of Then, on Thursday night of that spend the 18 minutes. If you’re all, as a company, the Coca-Cola week, I took what we’d come up at all interested in how content brand has constantly defined its with and I stayed up all night and is going to reshape the strategic own benchmarks in marketing. basically wrote the words to the marketing process, this is a We were the first brand to do manifesto you see in the video. manifesto. sampling. We were the first brand The next morning, I came in and The architect of the Content to do coupons. We were the first presented this to the room, and 2020 Project is Jonathan to depict women in the workplace. when we were done, everybody Mildenhall — the Coca- Coca-Cola is a history of firsts. And, put their signatures on it. Cola Co.’s vice president of we found ourselves facing such We knew immediately that we global advertising strategy massive change in terms of both had created something significant. and creative excellence. the distribution of technology and That’s a mouthful of a title to the distribution of creativity. Rose: How did you decide to “give be sure, but put quite simply, We are lucky enough that it away”—that is, give away a core Mildenhall is the chief storyteller millions of consumers now want to piece of your marketing strategy? for Coca-Cola, and Content 2020 is produce content and be a driving a bold move to create emotionally part of our conversation. This gave Mildenhall: The answer is very connected brand stories that us the opportunity to take time simple. Coca-Cola is the biggest are shared in a much more out and really think about how purchaser of marketing services (ahem) fluid way. (See what I to articulate our evolved creative in the world. There is no way we did there?) agenda for our key global and can have a quiet conversation When I first came local brands. about this. I told my CMO that across the Content 2020 in order to put this into place, I Project, I was immediately Rose: So, how did you could spend the next two years struck by the business goal actually create the initiative? briefing every agency that we it presents at the very outset: deal with on how to do this, or “We intend to double the size of Mildenhall: We pulled 40 people we can simply give it away and I our business,” Mildenhall says in from around the company—all can get straight to work. the video. And, as he points out, of whom worked in the Creative We chose the latter, and it’s they plan to do this while realizing Excellence group. We gave been extraordinarily successful. that, “Consumer-generated stories ourselves a five-day period where We’ve been blogged about and outnumber their stories on most of we would collectively write a talked about in innumerable their brands.” content manifesto. We broke it publications across the globe. Have you told your boss that down into subjects and allocated And, most importantly, the you want to double the size of one subject area per mini group. advertising industry has really your business? Oh, and that you’re Executives would then present responded. The Coca-Cola Co. going to use brand storytelling as their thinking, and the rest of is enjoying our most successful a primary driver to get there? So, the room would rip the points of year ever in terms of volume and yeah, I became a fan right then. view apart and put them back creative awards this year.
8 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Rose: How do you envision Content 2020 being integrated into traditional marketing and advertising? Is it infused into, additive to or does it ultimately replace what you’re doing from a traditional advertising and promotions perspective?
Mildenhall: It’s additive for sure. We fully understand that we are still going to have to do Coca-Cola’s Content 2020 video explains how the brand is remaking itself, moving promotions, price messaging, from a traditional ad model to new media storytelling and customer-created shopper bundles, traditional content. Jonathan Mildenhall, Coca-Cola Co.’s vice president of global advertising advertising, etc.—that isn’t going strategy and creative excellence, believes “every contact point with a customer away. But content is the way should tell an emotional story.” Check out the video here: http://bit.ly/coke_2020 consumers understand the role and relevance of the Coca-Cola Co. brands. We have to make sure among product marketing, brand cheaper to produce the 10 that those “immediate stories” are marketing, PR and other teams percent. But, it takes much more part of the larger brand stories. so that everyone speaks with one creative time to actually come up But, for the more financially voice? with. This is where I, admittedly, minded of the organization I say have a bit of an advantage. The this: If I can fill up the emotional Mildenhall: We have a number of Coca-Cola brand is one that any level of the brand, then I have to disciplines of course—and they number of other brands has a trade on it less and less. Believe each have their own mandates. desire to align themselves with— it or not, we’re still engaging That said, we have horizontal from other consumer brands to with new consumers that don’t strategies from creative technology providers who want have their emotional well filled. development, idea development to innovate and explore new New consumers enter the middle and production. So, everyone’s frontiers. classes all over the world every remit is to be horizontal or We are increasingly open to day. So from a global perspective, integrated in thinking. We’re as these ideas. If you think about we must deliver solutions for the siloed as any large organization. it, Coca-Cola can be viewed as a first-time consumers—and of But in the end, you may be huge media brand with amazing course, keep those who know and heading up social or PR or reach and frequency. If there are love our brands wanting to come production, but your solutions, pitches out there from people back for more. your team solutions, must work who want to provide content horizontally across every function and experiences, we are open to Rose: I love the idea in the in the marketing world. hearing from them. The question Content 2020 piece where you talk we ask ourselves is, “Can we use about different models requiring Rose: In the video you talk about our assets as content, and can we different processes under the same the 70/20/10 investment model. create content out of our assets?” principles. This was music to my You say 70 percent of the budget ears. It’s often a struggle that I find goes to the content that you “must Rose: Where do you see the future that larger organizations I work produce,” 20 percent goes to of content and marketing? with are trying to manage. They content that is slightly out of the struggle with one process across box and 10 percent goes to “high- Mildenhall: Well, the big Holy multiple silos (brand marketing, risk” creative content. Do you find Grail right now is how we get product marketing, PR, etc.) and you spend an outsize amount on into real-time marketing. I’ve one source of content (e.g., should the high-risk, super-cool content? got to make sure that I’m taking we outsource or internalize it?). content, news and everything How have you de-siloed (or Mildenhall: Actually it’s quite that’s going on around the have you?) the political battles the opposite. It’s actually much world and transforming it into
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 9 a big move to brand curation, where brands can help to Coca-Cola can be leverage each other; for example, viewed as a huge our Super Bowl commercial media brand with where we had the polar bears amazing reach and commenting on other ads. This, frequency. If there again, is a real trend, but most are pitches out there large organizations will have to from people who want get over the nervousness of the to provide content legal challenges of this. But that’s really our goal. We and experiences, want to give the audience the we are open to most compelling content—and hearing from them. earn that disproportionate share of popular culture. That’s the power of content. marketing communications. I getting in the way right now. I could really do believe that technology literally be producing fresh content If you want to hear more and consumer engagement are every single day of the week. from Coca-Cola’s Jonathan creating the opportunity for real- However, with a real-time agenda Mildenhall, sign up to attend time marketing. But things like you get a lot of legal challenges. Content Marketing World 2013. usage rights, IP rights, etc., are I also think we’re going to see http://bit.ly/cmw_jmildenhall
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VIDEO: Stuck at 200 Views? By Rob Ciampa
Video may be among the fastest-growing content including Coca-Cola and Toyota—are not just creating effective YouTube marketing tactics, but even the top 100 brands get stuck channels, they’re also embedding at just dozens of views per video. Take a look at how to YouTube videos on their own websites. In fact, 61 of the Top 100 brands now juice your video content marketing strategy. embed YouTube videos on their websites (further blurring the lines between digital channels). We’re also noticing usinesses are flocking to video as an we discovered more than 50 percent had more diverse video methods and styles. Befficient and wickedly effective content fewer than 1,000 views. ROI fail. Intel, for one, effectively combines both tactic. But the focus on making the video professionally produced content with often overshadows the marketing of it. And Enter YouTube Nation user-generated content. winning followers on YouTube is different First, let’s look at the facts. Our study So how is it that brands are investing from other types of content marketing. of Interbrand’s Top 100 shows YouTube so much in online video, but reaching so We conducted a YouTube video study video production in that cohort increased few? Is it a content issue? Maybe, but after of the Top 100 brands from Interbrand’s from 4,760 videos per month to 7,175 per analyzing millions of videos, we think it’s 2012 Best Global Brands; after analyzing month, with an aggregate production a content marketing issue. Specifically, 200,000 business videos across 1,270 value of more than $4.3 billion. the top 100 brands—along with the YouTube channels for the top 100 brands, The research also shows brands— rest of the YouTube ecosystem—are Continued on page 14.
12 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER In today’s world, digital content has to work harder to connect with consumers and attract an audience
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©2012 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Continued from page 12.
Engage your community Cmi’s 10 Video Technologies To Consider 3 with YouTube. Audiences are about 10 times more likely Brightcove – Video-hosting platform for media and marketing to engage, embed, share and comment Cisco Show and Share – Webcasting & video-sharing application on video content than blogs or related KnowledgeVision – Online video presentation software social posts. Understand that YouTube Limelight Networks – Video distribution & tracking platform is not just an online video repository; it’s also a powerful social media platform. – Video curation Magnify Engagement is a critical part of earned Me!Box Media – Video lead generation media that allows brands to engage back, Ooyala – Cross-device video analytics & monetization a critical method for driving views and Pixability – Video & YouTube marketing company action. Vimeo – Video-based social networking Embrace YouTube VMIX – Video content management system 4 advertising. Paid media is a critical part of effective video content marketing. YouTube burning their online video budgets on videos, while the bottom had 29. Equally TrueView ads are not the same as video production while ignoring an equally interesting, better marketers produced traditional Google AdWords. Our important element: video content marketing. assets with a far broader distribution of experience demonstrates YouTube video lengths, ranging from 30 seconds to advertising can deliver 10 times the YouTube and Online Video Content 20 minutes, on average. click-through rates when compared Marketing with traditional AdWords and video Assigning a few tags and a brief Integrate YouTube ad networks. It delivers results through description to a YouTube video does not 2 and web. diverse hypertargeting options: allow you to say, “we do video content The most effective video marketing contextual, behavioral, geo, retargeting marketing.” The truth is, marketing your programs create a symbiotic relationship and search. online videos takes as much effort and between their two owned media YouTube is no longer a nice-to-have finesse as making them. We’ve discovered platforms: YouTube channel and website. marketing platform. It’s a must-have four critical elements of an effective online Consistent branding and YouTube channel video content marketing engine. More marketing strategy on YouTube. customization occur in 63 percent of the importantly, YouTube and online video most effective business-oriented YouTube respond very positively to effective, Produce lots of diverse channels. Furthermore, 61 percent actionable and well-targeted video 1content on YouTube. also embed their YouTube content on content marketing. The best YouTube content marketers their website. Keep in mind, YouTube produce more content. Using our online automatically compensates for diverse Rob Ciampa is executive vice president video grader, we found the top quartile of devices, especially important for mobile of sales and marketing for Pixability, a YouTube marketers had an average of 181 and tablet viewing. YouTube marketing company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is also an award-winning marketer who has used video to help bring 75 innovative products and services to global markets, generating more than $1 billion in sales.
14 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER
Tighten, Tone and Trim Through NARROW Mark Wilson, CMO of Avaya, explains why slimming down your sales funnel is the smartest move to boost ROI in complex B2B sales. By Carla Johnson
amed one of the top round number and it’s cost efficient. electronic panels in the elevator marketers by B2B You can physically and digitally banks and in the publications inside Magazine in 2011, 2010 communicate with them. You can their offices. We also integrated this and 2009, Mark Wilson target with them on platforms, with online and digital content, Nhas made content marketing a and still have the beginnings of an search, newsletters targeted cornerstone of how he connects intimate conversation through social specifically for this group, annual with a sophisticated audience media, over the phone or through an guides and e-books that focused on and business decision-makers. In online community—as long as they’re thought leadership. recent years, Wilson has realized passionate about the topic you’re We essentially did a full-court press success by flipping the focus of his talking to them about. for three years, and the results were content marketing program from Before I came to Avaya, I did a lot of phenomenal. We started this around reaching the masses to more intimate work in software and one of the sectors a product launch, and it became the conversations with small audiences. we targeted was the financial industry. fastest growing and biggest market Something he calls narrowcasting. We began to slice this group by type of segment in the company’s portfolio. CCO spoke with Wilson about why financial institution, size, role within This product launch was the most narrowcasting works in the noisy the organization and location. When successful in the company’s history. environment, what it takes to create a it came to location, a light bulb went We knew we really “made it” when successful content marketing program off, and we realized we could target in we started to get a second round for the complex B2B sales cycle and cool ways. There are three geographic of pickup. Our ads appeared in the why quality matters. centers globally for the financial background of other people’s ads. industry—New York, London and There was an ad for the TV series CCO: Tell me about Tokyo. We focused on New York. Weeds. It shows a woman walking narrowcasting and how it Our approach was to blanket this down the street in New York City, relates to content marketing. group from the time they rolled and in the background was one of MW: Narrowcasting is about out of bed until the end of the day. our ads. narrowly defining an audience and We had articles in the magazines engaging them in a discussion with and papers they read while they What made you head which they can emotionally and drank their morning coffee. As they down this road? emotively connect. For complex B2B commuted to work, we had ads at the In the 1990s there was a lot of talk sales, you want to target decision- station and on the specific platforms about database marketing and makers and their influencers, and that had trains to the financial one-to-one marketing. There was create a self-referring community. district. We had ads inside the train a promise made at the time that we, With narrowcasting, my rule of cars and on the urban panels in the as marketing professionals, didn’t thumb is to narrow the audience subway when they left the station. deliver on. As automation and digital to about 10,000 people who look We knew what buildings they platforms improved, we could engage similar. Ten thousand is a nice worked in and we had ads on the in a fundamentally different way. We
16 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER CASTING
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 17 How to Build a Content Team Mark Wilson’s success with content strategy and development proves he’s been around the block. Here’s his three-dimensional approach for building a successful content team: Structure—Define your audience, then establish the logistics for the medium and frequency of your content strategy. Tools—Measure the success of discussions, what’s happening, what people care about and their tone in conversations. Editorial—Draw a line in the sand. What nonstandard point of view can you add to the conversation?
could also measure how a broadcasting How does this affect primary research and not marketing-speak. message didn’t work, and the effectiveness content strategy? It’s a unique point of view with data that of narrowcasting became clear. It boils down to segment, segment, backs up a well-made argument. Marketers began making the shift once segment. You have to think about your they looked at the quality of leads they were audience, and narrowly define and What do you say to the marketer getting from “spray-and-pray” broadcast- understand them. Sometimes marketers who thinks technology and data can type programs. Initially, things looked don’t invest enough time getting to overcome hurdles you think can be good. But when they followed leads into know their audience and they should. answered with narrowcasting? the sales funnel, what looked good at first You have to understand them more to Technology and data can help in glance didn’t produce results. target them well. building and executing a program. That In the classic marketing funnel, At Avaya, for example, one of groups said, the most important step does not we’ve gotten better at the top with we target is contact center businesses. We involve technology or data. It’s about narrowcasting. And at each level down, know who these customers are, down to understanding a unique market segment we keep getting better and better at their job titles. To build our audience, we that is self-referencing. The second most making investments and getting better get lists of people with these titles using important step is having something returns. In the end, narrowcasting helps LinkedIn or Dunn & Bradstreet. Once compelling to say to this segment. Once marketers get rid of content spillage. we know our audience, we know what you have these first two steps solidified, Money that used to be spent reaching drives them. Then it’s time to research then technology and data can help. a broad audience is now better spent and create a thoughtful, provocative We use Compile because it monitors communicating more frequently with point of view that they’ll understand and the discussions in the audiences we care a narrow target audience. You have the that sounds credible coming from us. about (e.g. what people like, what don’t opportunity to really engage with the I think marketers skimp on they like). It allows us to be smarter with right group of people. segmenting because there’s a focus on our editorial calendar, the types of media generating activity; you don’t get credit we use and for what channels. for something that’s well thought. There’s Marketing technologies are great a perverse incentive to reward people for and have been around long enough to Good Read activity rather than the right answer. If have a tested, standardized way of using (The Minto Pyramid Principle): you show a good segmentation strategy, them. For content marketing, I like What’s the best marketing book Mark Wilson it gets underappreciated for what that more flexible tools that drive informed ever read? Oddly enough, it’s not about means for a marketing strategy. It’s hard creativity, because when it comes to analytics, ROI or other revenue-generating to segment a market well. content, you want a message that’s topics that many CMOs hold dearly. interesting. It’s about how you tell a story. What’s another B2B brand The Minto Pyramid Principle drives home the that does narrowcasting well? Carla Johnson, principal, Type A importance of the basics: communication. IBM and Symantec. Symantec is good Communications, helps companies tell When it comes to content, Wilson notes quality about having a steady communication better stories to build stronger brand is sadly underrated. He first read this book in around webcasts, forums and 1995, and still applies the principles about and customer engagement. Her clients communities to engage and other assets communicating in an organized, logical way— include Motorola Solutions, Sybase, they’ve created. They are like a machine, über important for the complex B2B sales VMware, Encana Oil & Gas and the creating high-quality content and cycle. “You can see people who have great U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Carla’s minds who have a challenge communicating,” proactively engaging with an audience a consultant to the Content Marketing he explains. “This book is about how you use that self-selects to receive it. Institute and a frequent speaker for high- business communications to tell a story.” IBM creates high-quality assets too. The tech, industry and business audiences. IBM Global CMO Study was excellent. It’s Follow her on Twitter @carlajohnson.
18 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Serial Chief Marketer shares five lessons from the journey.
BRIAN KARDON
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 19 “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw
am a seasoned chief marketing down. I really didn’t understand SEO, were happening so much faster than I officer. I went to an Ivy League linking strategies, web analytics or ever thought possible. college, have an MBA from blogging. My marketing team was As the changes in marketing IWharton and serv ed for many years beginning to speak a language I emerged and accelerated, I saw the as CMO of a billion-dollar publisher, didn’t understand. I could feel myself analogy to publishing. Marketing was and most recently, as CMO of a ma- becoming less relevant, being lapped also “going digital.” People who were jor technology consultancy. by younger digital natives. unable to evolve were disappearing. Yet just a few years ago, I was well Even more fascinating: Content on my way to becoming obsolete. I Needed To Get Out Of was becoming the fuel of marketing’s You see, nearly everything I My Comfort Zone. shiny new engine. All the lessons I learned, did and experienced as a I spent six years in the publishing learned in publishing—foremost, the marketer was wrong. I was analog in business, leaving in 2000 just as critical value of great content—were a digital world. I tended to be more digital began to supplant print. In suddenly relevant to marketing as a creative than analytical. Content mar- publishing, I had seen my share of whole. ”Think like a publisher” was keting was barely on my radar screen. ad sales guys—the Willy Lomans becoming the next new thing for Perhaps I had become what Brian of publishing, carrying around the marketers. Halligan, HubSpot’s CEO, calls a most recent issues of their treasured In my journey from mossy marketer “press release CMO”—pedigreed, magazines. I knew that these guys to modern marketer, I learned five gray hair and no longer relevant in were dinosaurs. Extinction was only a big lessons I’d like to share. a marketing world turned upside few years away. But of course changes
There is no substitute Li and Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter), his iPhone. David’s ideas and passion for doing. David Meerman Scott, Ann Handley for real-time marketing and content 1 and CC Chapman (authors), David touch everything I do as a marketer. The only way to become a modern Reibstein (The Wharton School) and I want to thank each of them, and marketer is to do. I write my own blog Joe Chernov (Kinvey), among others. many others, for showing me the path posts and presentations. I am active My “teachers” share two important to modern marketing. Now go find on Twitter. I try new apps and tools qualities: your own teachers. all the time. I am engaged in all of our They are risk takers. For example, content decisions and lead nurturing I started working with Josh and Char- programs. Trust me—I’m no geek. Get- Don’t fear mistakes—they lene on what would later become the are chances to learn. ting comfortable with new technolo- 3 best-selling book Groundswell back gies, sites, apps and behaviors did not I remember George Colony asking in 2006, when few people thought come naturally to me. But, the more me if he should blog. This was 2007. social media was more than a passing you do it, the better you get. After a My answer haunts me to this day. breeze of hype. These guys put a big certain point, it becomes part of who I said, “George, you are the CEO of stake in the ground in the very early you are. Forrester. You should be running the days of social media. They developed There are lots of CMOs with slick company, not blogging. It’s a distrac- compelling frameworks and case stud- PowerPoint presentations talking tion.” In retrospect, this is among the ies to prove its value. about new marketing. Far fewer are worst advice I have ever given. Fortu- Their passion is contagious. doing. Doers rule. nately, George had the wisdom to They love what they do and bring start a blog right after I left Forrester. extraordinary energy to it. I recall one Learn from the best—the It’s a great blog, particularly memorable lunch with people out in front. too—and blogging is part of his job. 2 David Meerman Scott at an Indian It is from this mistake that I came to I have met some amazing people on restaurant. David managed to simul- realize the power of individual voices, my journey—Josh Bernoff and George taneously educate me about Indian and that a blog is central to your con- Colony (Forrester Research), Charlene cuisine and location-based apps on tent and search strategy. 20 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER “There are lots of CMOs with slick PowerPoint presentations talking about new marketing. Get Access Now to Far fewer are doing. All Sessions from Doers rule.” Content Marketing World 2012!
Content Marketing I am fortunate, too, to have worked Get out of the ’hood. for CEOs who are cool with my 5Earlier in my career, I wanted to rep- World 2012 brought mistakes—those who understand licate past successes by hiring people I risk-taking is essential and not all risks had worked with successfully in previous 1,000 marketers from pay off. I produced a video holiday card jobs. I don’t do that anymore. I am less over 20 countries to last year that was so bad I pulled it after interested in replicating past success we had pushed it to just 10 percent of than in finding new success. I like to hire learn and network about our database. I hired a creative agency digital natives and people with diverse the growing practice that could only create clichés. When I backgrounds. I like to try new technol- make mistakes, I don’t bury them. I bring ogies and agencies that are less proven of content marketing. them to my team, tell them “I messed than many CMOs would find acceptable. Couldn’t make it? up” (they love that part!) and we discuss You see, the things that made me suc- what happened and what we learned. cessful in the past are not necessarily the No problem. We also analyze our successes in things that will keep me successful. You great detail: Why was this so successful? need to find new ideas, people, technolo- How can we do more of this? gies and partners that can take you to the next level. To do that, you have to explore “When you go to a pizza outside the comfort of your ’hood. 4place, don’t order a bagel.” My transition is not over. I recently A modern marketer lets go of some became CMO of another technology control. When I work with a new company and I’m sure I will make plenty agency or partner, I don’t micromanage of new mistakes—and continue to grow like I used to. Each brings a unique as a marketer. perspective. I want to celebrate that As marketing evolves, so too must the perspective, not dilute it. The best CMO. I hope you approach your own jour- example is Eloqua’s partnership with ney with the open eyes and enthusiasm 70+ speakers creative agency, JESS3. The people at of a child. It’s a lot more fun that way. JESS3 are masters at data visualiza- 40+ Sessions tion and interactive experiences, and Brian Kardon is the CMO of Lattice ONE LOW PRICE! Eloqua chooses projects in that sweet Engines, a company that applies Big Data spot. My kids once told me, “When to sales and marketing. He is responsible you go to a pizza place, don’t order a for the company’s market positioning, bagel.” The pizza place is passionate demand generation, thought leader- about pizza and is highly experienced ship and integrated marketing. Prior to Lattice, Brian was a driving force behind in making it. Sure, it could make you a REGISTER TODAY! Eloqua’s explosive growth and leadership bagel. But why would you want one? in the revenue performance management http://bit.ly/cmwondemand Get the most out of your partners sector. Before Eloqua, Brian was chief by trusting their instincts and learning strategy and marketing officer at Forrest- from them. er Research. WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 21 SPECIAL SECTION: CONTENT DISCOVERY
What is Content Discovery and Why Should You Care?
By Rachel Foster
sk 10 marketers what “content For some marketers, content discovery Facebook is not a strategy. SEO is not a Adiscovery” is, and you’ll most likely is synonymous with recommendation strategy. Twitter is not a strategy. All of get 10 different answers. With all this engines—those platforms that use your these are tactics that can be part of your variation, it can be hard to determine if online behavior and social network to overall content engagement strategy. In- content discovery is just a buzzword or predict what type of content you’ll want stead of allocating dollars to individual something that can add significant ROI to look at next, and serve it up. tactics, de Vries recommends putting to your marketing. “Content discovery became important all your dollars in a single content Content discovery has two sides … with the rise of social media,” says Boštjan engagement pool. From there, you can 1. Customer’s perspective: Finding Špetič, CEO, Zemanta. “Suddenly, determine how much each tactic is great content when you either know or marketers didn’t understand how to contributing to your overall content don’t know what you’re looking for. reach customers because customers were engagement success. 2. Marketer’s perspective: The pro- bypassing traditional marketing channels cess of getting your content in front of and referring each other to content. Tools “Content marketing the right audience at the right time in the and analytics then tried to make this right channels. referral process predictable.” is more like a marathon Here are five tips on how to use than a sprint.” content discovery to connect with - Gilad de Vries, SVP, Strategy, In a sign of how important customers and increase your ROI: content discovery is for content Outbrain marketers, consider how the You don’t need to go big Don’t just focus on sharing biggest players are serving up or go home. 1 your own content. Many marketers think that they need 3 recommended content. While it’s great to share your own to come up with a single, amazing piece content, you must also link to content of content that will go viral and bring from trusted third parties. “A major them instant fame. However, Gilad de mistake that newcomers make is A social plug-in for Vries, SVP, Strategy, Outbrain, advises linking just to themselves,” says Špetič. publishers, Facebook’s not to over-think your content discovery “However, if you want to increase your Recommendations Bar strategy and, “try to get to that ultimate reach, you must link to other content highlights recommended piece of content. Instead, you should focus marketers and interact with them via on providing a lot of great information, articles based on your social media.” The more you help other because different types of content will friends’ activities. marketers by sharing their content, appeal to different audiences.” Providing the more they will recommend your your audience with content that they find content in return. entertaining or useful can increase your Twitter’s Discovery Tab lets ROI more than creating one “magic” piece you uncover relevant tweets Optimize your content for of content that appeals to a mass audience. based on what’s popular 4 engagement first and lead among the people you follow, conversion second. Stop thinking about individual A big content marketing mistake is as well as people they follow. 2 channels as a strategy. optimizing content for lead conversion When it comes to content marketing, rather than customer engagement. Continued on page 24. 22 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER eCommerce Content Solutions
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articles $ Continued from page 22 . Q: What’s the next evolution in content discovery? Rather than produce more content, the secret may be to make your current content work harder. “Some of our large online retailer clients like Overstock.com and Staples.com are shifting marketing spend to support unique product pages optimized to rank highly in search,” says Sue-Ellen Speight, vice president of marketing, Servio, a company that produces web-optimized content at scale for major e-commerce brands.
“Content marketing is more like a time spent on each page and the number Share a variety of content. marathon than a sprint,” says de Vries. of page views per session can help you 5A big content discovery mistake is You should develop a long-term con- determine how well your content is sharing only one type of content, such as tent discovery strategy that focuses on engaging your audience. From there, all reports or all videos. However, David delighting your audience with great you can move to optimizing content for Fleck, GM, Disqus, recommends sharing content. Analytics such as bounce rates, conversion. a mix of content in your feed. “Videos, articles and slideshows all perform differently depending on the audience you are trying to reach,” he says. “Mix it up to ensure you reach them and keep 5 Questions to Ask When Selecting them interested along the way.” When it comes to getting started with a Content Discovery Platform content discovery, many marketers get overwhelmed because they don’t feel as 1. Does it reach my audience? though they have enough to share. “Many Your content discovery platform should help you find your audience— brands don’t realize they already have whether it frequents the major social networks or smaller niche sites. content that they can leverage right from the start,” says Fleck. You can take stock 2. How seamlessly does it integrate with my content of all of your existing content—from marketing strategy? blog posts to case studies to videos—and Look for a platform that integrates with all of your marketing channels, create an editorial calendar that identifies so you can easily push your content out to multiple platforms. when you will share this content with your audience. 3. Is it easy to use? Needless to say, you don’t want a complicated platform that makes Rachel Foster is an award- it difficult for your team to engage with your audience or analyze winning B2B copywriter who your results. helps technology marketers create content that drives 4. Will it let me know if my content is relevant? action. She works with clients to increase Your platform should provide analytics to show you how well their online conversion rates, shorten their your content is performing. sales cycles and fill their events. Follow her on Twitter @CopywriterTO. 5. Does it go beyond bringing me traffic? In addition to bringing more visitors to your website, your content Want to learn more about content discovery platform should increase your audience engagement and discovery vendors? Check out website conversions. expanded content online: http://bit.ly/contentdiscovery
24 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER SOCIAL WEB
Fight or Flight? Responding to Social Media Threats.
Spectacular social media flameouts over the last year bad for you? Horizon Realty thinks should teach companies to curb impulsive reactions it’s ok.” Thing is, at the time, Bonnen to social media threats. Let’s review this one more time. only had 20 followers. Left alone, the comment would have passed unnoticed in the Twitter stream, e all fear that which we don’t seen by no more than a handful of W understand. It’s just human people, with minimal (if any) brand nature. And when we fear something, reputational damage at best. the fight-or-flight response kicks in. But by suing for libel, Horizon Many businesses completely avoid inadvertently highlighted the very social media out of fear of what people comment it objected. Global media might say or do to their brand. We’ve coverage, countless blog posts and all heard the stories of big brand fails widespread social media discussion on Twitter and Facebook. Best to not meant this argument over 140 touch it for fear of being burned, right? characters reached millions of A typical flight response. people, worldwide. But then others prefer to fight And a judge eventually ruled that the misunderstood threat with the the tweet did not meet the definition of iron fist of corporate might: “Social libel. So Horizon endured a huge brand media should behave the way we say it reputational hit for nothing. should—and here is our legal team to Horizon is not alone. Social media make sure of it with harshly worded has repeatedly made a mockery of policies, rapid-fire cease-and-desist celebrity super-injunctions, embargoes notices and aggressive lawsuits.” and censorship. It’s human nature. Tell Take care! The power of social people not to look at something and media isn’t the technology, but the everybody will. And if they disagree human behavior that underpins it. with your motives for trying to hide it, And trying to control natural behavior you’re pretty much screwed. through force to suit your business can This phenomenon even has potentially create the very threat you a name—the Streisand Effect— hoped to avoid. memorializing the singer’s spectacular failure to suppress images of her home Pouring Oil on the Fire from appearing online. Remember when, in 2009, Jeffrey Naturally, I’m not advising you to Michaels of the Chicago-based ignore all negative comments for fear Horizon Realty Group famously said, of highlighting them. Brands can be “We’re a ‘sue first, ask questions later’ victims of social media trolling or kind of an organization?” libel just like any of us. But not all Michaels was defending Horizon’s negative comments are libelous and lawsuit against a resident for an not all unhappy customers are trolls. allegedly libelous tweet. Amanda Always respond to legitimate Bonnen had tweeted, “Who said complaints and attempt to resolve sleeping in a moldy apartment was them amicably. And always be WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 25 “All Your Facebook Are Belong To Us” a comment to your Facebook page that This External threats are one thing, but what the bank considered “inappropriate,” the phenomenon about your employees? Organizations go staff member would be held responsible. even has to incredible lengths to control official Disciplinary action could be taken, a name—the corporate communications. But every including termination of employment. employee now has the power to broadcast The union got involved and the story Streisand Effect unauthorized messages to hundreds or made it into the national newspapers. —memorializing thousands of people. From there, social media took over. Again, the singer’s Every company should have a social an attempt to control and crush negative media policy to make clear what is discussion of the brand had achieved the spectacular considered acceptable to all employees. But exact opposite. failure to resist the temptation to extend your powers There are many great examples of suppress images beyond what is necessary. corporate social media policies designed In 2010, a major Australian bank was so to protect both the brand and employees of her home concerned about the risk of reputational through clear guidelines. But occasionally from appearing damage from social media that it launched an organization sees a social media policy online. an employee policy so draconian that the as a tool to stamp out criticism and exert unions got involved. unreasonable controls over personal The policy required all staff to report accounts. any “inappropriate or disparaging content Employees are not the enemy. Social media proportional in your response. and information stored or posted by is not the enemy. Treat them like they are In social media, offense is very rarely the others,” including friends and members of and it will only lead to resentment. best defense. their personal networks. If a friend posted
Sandra Zoratti, Ricoh Doug Kessler, Velocity Partners to remember these are our customers. We @sandraz @dougkessler want to make friends with them, not be Magnitude, visibility and Legal is the very last resort adversarial. reach make social media for trying to protect Whether criticisms, protests or social networks laden with yourself from social media media attacks, these issues are best risk. Extreme risks like threats—unless they’re managed through social media best malware attacks, spamming/ death threats (then call 911 practices. Your actions should be phishing and confidentiality breaches straight away). designed to defuse or even embrace the warrant more extreme reactions, such Most so-called threats on social are subject matter, and in turn support your as legal intervention. But in handling really opportunities: to deflect, diffuse, brand’s marketing and goals. Legal actions negative online postings or employee disarm and win over. Keep a sense of usually run counter to that. transparency, businesses need to humor and perspective. Your brand Of course sometimes issues are of a learn new ways to respond. More and should be big and ugly enough to take all nature that warrant legal action (e.g. a more, online voices—not our business manner of criticism (and the “attacker” trademark violation). If the offender simply messages—determine a company’s may have a point.) refuses to cease and desist, legal action image, and peer-to-peer assessments In short: man up before you lawyer up. is appropriate here as it would be in any can have significant impact on revenue. media form. Think about whether legal Taking legal action to refute online Peter Friedman, LiveWorld action would be appropriate if the event assessments should be an “almost- @PeterFriedman took place outside of the social realm (i.e. never” reaction as legal action may fuel Generally we view social in a different media format or just offline). the visible, vocal online fire instead of media issues as business If legal action wouldn’t be advised there, it extinguishing it. issues, addressed through probably isn’t best choice in social. business practices rather than legal actions. We have
26 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER BRAND BROADCASTING
While some marketers tinker with 30-second YouTube videos that look a lot like commercials, others think bigger. Much bigger. Meet the new (brand) media moguls.
BY CLARE McDERMOTT
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 27 n an up-and-coming neighborhood a half dozen other highly recognized Krause says when he began this on Chicago’s north side, you’ll see traditional ad campaigns. journey into live branded content, he was a storefront filled with top-of- At the time, Krause was wrestling experimenting like every other advertiser Ithe-line Sears brand products— with how brands behave in a digital and marketer, trying to understand the from gourmet Kenmore ranges to social world, and had recently formed difference between good-but-forgettable frontloading washers and Craftsman Suite Partners as a content marketing content and the great content users want tools. But don’t take out your wallet resource for major brands. to share with friends. And he wasn’t because this space is unique. You Krause told Sears there was just one totally sure how great content would can’t buy anything here. The space answer: “Show up live.” translate to sales. What he and Kenmore is Sears brands’ Kenmore Craftsman He felt the Kenmore line offered a executives knew, however, was they Brand Live Experience, essentially a unique opportunity to serve up fresh, wanted to create content that would get recording and production studio hip content in a live studio format. The them closer to their customers—both for capturing live, streaming appliances would take a supporting online and in the real world. video content, hosting DIY radio role to the star: high-quality content. The magic of live, says Krause, shows and capturing building and Explains Krause, “We all know happens in unexpected, unscripted cooking demos. advertising and marketing are no moments. “We hosted a big fashion You know all those people talking longer about interrupting what people design contest and show in the about big brands becoming media are interested in. It’s about being what Kenmore Live Studio. At 1 a.m., the companies? Kenmore Live Experience is people are interested in.” night before judging day, a contestant that transformation. And it’s quite a leap. Using the storefront studio, Sears’ accidentally spilled red Gatorade on Kenmore brand executives put together a competitor’s dress. We could not a lineup of live streaming shows five have scripted that. We put this ornate nights per week, plus programming dress into the state-of-the-art Kenmore for children on Sundays. The studio washers and dryers. I have footage of hosted everything from famous chefs, the designer crying and someone else fashion shows and a bridal contest— putting the gown in the washer. Son literally hundreds of live episodes. Then of a gun if that dress didn’t come out a technical team edits the live feeds to perfectly. You just can’t buy that.” repackage the videos for YouTube. Over time, Sears has adjusted its
How to be hip and classy Ryan Ostrum on Merging Video, on the Internet Social and Live Content Back in 2009, Sears was on a mission Our entire social platform now drives off the content we to have customers take a fresh look produce out of our content studios. Some of it is live, but at Kenmore products. The company these studios also allow us to react quickly to questions faced strong competition from brands from our social media platforms. Someone may say, “Hey I’m like Electrolux, Samsung and LG, and building a fire pit. Can you help me out?” We then quickly get Sears asked a short list of agencies to in the studio and film a project that answers that individual’s question. come up with a plan to breathe new We’ve seen that type of quick-turnaround, one-to-one interaction really life into the its flagship home appliance drives engagement through our social channels, as well as our email brand. How could Sears act young again communities. and drive more authentic engagement Making your own content will be a key driver in every brand’s arsenal in the without resorting to Internet slapstick? future. It has to be. Think about all the various digital touch points a brand The company approached Barry Krause now owns: ecommerce, online experiences, mobile, tablets, in-store kiosks for advice. and digital displays. Because we have a studio that builds original digital Krause had a distinguished career content, we’re able to touch all these different formats in one consistent at Publicis Groupe and Leo Burnett, brand voice instead of going off in 20 directions with 20 different voices. among others. He directed the agency team responsible for McDonald’s Burger Ryan Ostrom Wars, masterminded Subway’s Jared CMO of Craftsman, divisional vice president blockbuster and was the architect for of digital for Kenmore & Craftsman.
28 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER The Lineup Check out a sample of the Kenmore/Craftsman video lineup. youtube .com/user/kenmore www.youtube.com/user/craftsman Frank Fontana builds a custom fire pit, garden swing and compost tumbler on Down & Dirty with Frank Fontana. Make an acoustic guitar on Craftsman Experience On Bridal Wave, experts talk about planning a green wedding. The slow cooker cocktail contest plays on CookMore.
strategy, using the studio space to customers, but it would take us a couple of record the live content as well as serial weeks to get content out to our customers. broadcast content. “The studio space Time was not in our favor. With the labs, gives us a chance to truly engage with we’re able to be on the pulse of what’s our customers,” says Ryan Ostrom, going on in our market, and turn things CMO of Craftsman and divisional around in 24 to 48 hours.” vice president of digital for Kenmore, Other big brands have also bought Craftsman and DieHard brands. into the concept. Krause’s Suite Partners “We are doing a lot of work with on- now offers brands the same live social demand video content. We go out to media and studio experience, called our communities and ask, ‘What do LiveLab. Nike used LiveLab to help build you want us to do?’ Then we make the Nike Field House, a studio to support that content and push it back the the launch of its Nike+ line, including The studio also offers something next day. (See sidebar, On-demand the new FuelBand. And beyond content creation, says Ostrum. Video Content) We are having a two- Cars.com uses LiveLab for salesforce “We organize events for the branding way dialogue. We’re not just asking training in social media and innovation. team to come in and get our hands questions on Facebook and saying ‘like Think a production studio is only for dirty building things. We get to live us if you like this item.’” consumer brands? Not quite. LiveLab and breathe the brand we represent, ComScore recently measured the worked with Accenture to build out and focus on the passion points. It’s an value of the Kenmore and Craftsman its Accenture Consumer Innovation unexpected but great benefit for us.” studio’s candid-capture content, and found Network, which includes small on-site What’s next for Kenmore and the format doubles social media reach and LiveLabs to keep clients abreast of the Craftsman? “We are ready to go increases engagement 50 percent. latest developments in the digital age. wherever our customers want us to Sears has now expanded the live The lab produces custom multi-media go with content,” Ostrum says. And studio concept to include the Craftsman shows for Accenture clients visiting judging by the most recent entries from tool brand. The studio space hosts DIY their innovation centers (think of a the lab (#cookingwithcraftsman), who demos (build a new deck or put up a case study through the lens of The knew your cordless drill could power a shelving unit), new product launches Matrix). whisk attachment? (Harley-Davidson used the studio to launch a new line from its Buell Motorcycle brand) and expert carpentry On-demand Video Content: How it works. classes (build an acoustic guitar). Having a hard time grasping what on-demand video looks like? Consider this Ostrom explains, “Before the studios, example: Craftsman asked its Twitter followers what they would like the team to we were stuck at a boundary. We build in the studio. A customer tweeted back, “A picnic table with a beer caddy would know of a concept that was new built in.” Within 48 hours, the video demo was complete and published on YouTube. and that we wanted to share with our Voila! On-demand video content.
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 29 VERTICAL VIEW
Content Shy: Will the Financial Services Industry Ever Step Up? By Kevin Cain
A look at why the industry still lags in content about the unknown that clearly stifles innovation and discourages a clear point marketing, and a few companies unafraid to speak up. of view. That’s in large part why so much financial content rides the fence, and s if the financial services industry marketing programs. Instead, they why so many companies are only just Ahasn’t been beat up enough over the frequently rely on tried-and-true but beginning to dip their toes into social past few years, it’s also gotten somewhat far less creative tactics. Cue the deluge media, a realm fraught with uncertainties: of a bad rap for its lackluster content of exceedingly dry white papers and what if no one responds to our tweets? Or marketing. webinars, and the direct mail magazines worse, what if they do? Let’s face it, while investment banks, that often just wind up in the trash. Fortunately, some companies are asset managers and other financial To be clear, the problem isn’t a lack forging ahead and beginning to take a service providers are ahead of the curve of effort and it’s certainly not a lack of more innovative approach to content. in some ways, when it comes to content high-quality content. Instead, it’s the Take Credit Suisse, for example. The marketing, that’s rarely the case. Not only way the industry seemingly operates bank’s digital magazine, The Financialist, is the industry dealing with such heady under the misconception that its heavy offers insights into breaking news as well topics as derivatives clearing and credit regulatory burdens both preclude and as in-depth reporting on the issues, trends default swaps, it’s also hemmed in by exempt it from taking a creative approach and ideas it sees driving the markets an overwhelming array of complex and to content. Remember, those regulations and the economy. The site provides a continuously evolving regulations. are predominantly focused on what’s combination of original feature stories, As a result of these and other factors, being said, not the style and delivery of informative visuals and carefully curated financial service providers often fail the message. third-party content. It works because it’s a to build and execute dynamic content Another problem is a palpable anxiety legitimate financial news site rather than a bank’s thinly veiled attempt to make its website look like one. Sunlife Financial’s Brighter Life serves as place to share ideas about money, health and family. Its financial content includes a variety of timely articles and videos with tips and tools for personal finance and retirement planning, among other topics. Sunlife has created a true community that’s targeted at families and, by wisely integrating a variety of other topics that families care about, makes the site a destination for a much broader audience. Bob Reynold’s blog, The Retirement Savings Challenge, is impressive because he is unafraid to tackle an array of complex issues. The CEO of Putnam Investments doesn’t simply articulate the challenges facing a graying population Continued on page 32.
30 CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER 200,000,000 ISSUES SERVED
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ONE COMPANY [email protected] Continued from page 30.
PAT ALLEN Principal Rock The Boat Marketing
Pat has worked in marketing leadership roles at big firms like Calamos Investments and Scudder Funds/Kemper Funds. Now she runs a content marketing shop for financial service firms. We asked her to talk to us about the evolution she’s witnessed in the industry.
CCO: Give us your impression of how the industry as a whole has of Baby Boomers, he actually takes on retirement policy adapted to digital and content marketing. as it comes down from Capitol Hill. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Reynolds offers up a definitive, and at times Allen: In financial services, before you post that first tweet controversial, point of view. there’s so much that has to happen internally related to policies, So the answer is yes, the financial services industry can and systems, approvals, buy-in, etc... Every contingency is weighed and buttoned up. The effect of all that? It can squash spontaneity eventually will measure up in content marketing if it thinks and instincts. In social media you need to have that improvisation and experimentation, yet in financial services there are systems Let’s face it, while in place to guarantee it won’t happen.
investment banks, Add to that, content that needs to go through rounds of approvals asset managers and other is rarely timely. You may produce great content, but it’s not as effective as it might be if it’s published two weeks after the online financial service providers conversation has peaked. And many financial service companies are ahead of the curve in don’t have integrated analytics in place to understand the impact some ways, when it comes of a piece of content, or to learn from the analytics to assure that each subsequent piece of content is incrementally better than the to content marketing, last. (Some may argue, “Of course we have analytics!” But they may that’s rarely the case. be in silos and by the time it’s reported and rolled up, it can be too late to make adjustments.) So while many firms want to create a content factory, it’s really challenging to achieve. outside of the regulatory box and reinvents the ways it delivers Which content marketing tactics work especially well its messages to resonate in the 21st century. Bring on the in this industry? infographics and viral videos, the social media campaigns and blogs. It may just be a matter of taking a few risks, which in an Blogging. If you look at communications from asset managers industry as skittish and scrutinized as financial services, is no pre-2008, there was a sense that their feet didn’t touch the ground. small feat. There was little effort to be part of a broader environment. Today, brands succeed based on how personable they are and blogging is Kevin Cain oversees content strategy at a great way to achieve that. OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston- based venture capital firm that invests in The channel I worry about due to its low return on the investment of talent and effort is . The number of views for videos expansion-stage technology companies. From YouTube by financial service brands is still really low—in many cases in its content site that publishes a steady stream of articles, the three digits. The risk is that asset managers will be tempted reports, podcasts, videos and more to a weekly newsletter to pull the plug on video. I hope financial firms don’t give up on distributed to more than 17,000 entrepreneurs, the firm has that channel. Keep in mind, when you add another tactic (e.g. embraced content marketing like virtually no other in the video) to your portfolio of content, you have to support it in every industry. Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevinrcain or check out publication you send out and through all your social channels. You his content marketing blog: also need to ensure there’s continuity rather than publishing one- http://blog.openviewpartners.com/author/kevin-cain/ off videos. Your audience may say, “this video is great,” but they’ll be looking for what you’re doing next. OpenView Venture Partners is a Content Marketing Institute benefactor.
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PINTEREST MOVES IN ... TO 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. an’t get enough pictures of The White House kicked off its foray into Bo, the First Dog? Curious Pinterest with an in-person holiday social. Cabout what’s for dinner at Select pinners were invited to check out the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.? décor, meet with the people who helped Want the latest infographic transform the White House for the 2012 on health care policy? holidays, participate in a craft project—and You’re in luck. The White share their images on Pinterest, of course. House expanded its social No stranger to social media, the White media reach to include House also shares content across social Pinterest, where the Obama networks including Facebook, Twitter, administration “share(s) pins YouTube, SlideShare, Google+ and and boards that range from inspiring Flickr. The White House announced its new images and quotes to infographics Pinterest presence on its blog. that help explain key issues to details about the life inside the White House.”
GREY POUPON efore we pass you referenced the right the Grey Poupon ... books, movies and DEMONSTRATES Byou have to prove you’re restaurants.) sophisticated enough. While the “discerning ‘GOOD NETIQUETTE’ That was the concept Facebook society for behind the Society of those who spread good Good Taste, a digital taste” is no longer active, marketing campaign Kraft Foods, which owns that launched the Dijon the brand, continues to mustard into the spotlight deliver humorous content after a long absence from on Facebook and on mass advertising. Grey Poupon’s entirely Only the top 20 percent Pinterest-based official of applicants—who website. On Pinterest, allowed a Facebook app the content, organized to scan their profile— onto boards like “Refined earned entry into the Recipes” and “Tasteful society, with exclusive Tips,” is a mix of original content and opportunities branded content and to win prizes. (The elite curated content from 20 percent that made around the web. Thanks it into the Society of to Grey Poupon, we Good Taste were people finally know how to tie whose Facebook profiles a proper Windsor knot demonstrated proper and welcome a guest use of grammar and to our estate.
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Not content to rest on its “hippest-brand-on-the-Internet” laurels, Threadless is now the hippest content marketer in T-shirt land. From live events and etro Trains in click-happy viewers, the artist profiles, to a collection of Melbourne, Australia, question remains whether apps for Threadless devotees… Mhit the content marketing Dumb Ways to Die will this little T-shirt shop shows how to jackpot with its new achieve its primary goal. public safety campaign. Rail safety isn’t addressed build a following, one offbeat Dumb Ways to Die tested until the final quarter of design at a time. positive for a healthy strain the video. And while we of viral integrity with more can’t forget the warnings than 30 million views on about “poking a stick at a YouTube and chart-topping grizzly bear” or “using your downloads on iTunes—all private parts as piranha within the first 10 days of bait,” it’s hard to recall the the November release. three dumbest ways to die It’s not hard to see why. around trains. The hilarious video shows We applaud Metro Trains animated dancing “beans” for departing from the grim meeting untimely deaths reaper theme of modern while the infectious tune safety campaigns. (Let’s Bloomberg has named Louis Vuitton gets screwed tightly into face it; a catchy tune cycling the world’s most valuable luxury brand your brain socket. The through the noggin is more for seven consecutive years, and it’s Dumb Ways to Die website appealing than shocking not hard to see why. LV’s YouTube (http://dumbwaystodie. images of maimed bodies channel—offering behind-the-scenes com) continues the quirky and headstones on train tours at top fashion shows and ateliers, theme delivering a tough tracks.) We hope, however, visually decadent profiles of emerging message in a fun package. the safety content is sticky artists and seductive film shorts— Despite worldwide enough to actually improve boasts more than 26 million views. Plus approval ratings from rail safety in Australia. the brand’s stunning online magazine, New.Now, and its highly anticipated Department Editor film competition for amateurs and Natalya Minkovsky (@hejhejnatalya) is a writer professionals, the Journey Awards, and content strategist who lives and works in the Washington, DC, metro area. She spends a lot of time offer a peek of what’s possible in the thinking about grammar, plain language, open source rarefied world of luxury branding. technology, taxonomy and user-experience design.
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTE.COM 37 THE MARKETOONIST
Why Content Riches are in the Niches
most of the cartoons we’ve developed. But if you work in that industry, those cartoons are prized and highly shared. Last year, I traveled to the LegalTech e-discovery trade show and the Guidance Software booth was mobbed by fans who wanted cartoon prints to take to their offices and hang on their walls. That level of content engagement comes from the power of speaking to a niche audience. We’ve created cartoon campaigns for audiences as niche and varied as database administrators, certified public accountants, HR professionals, in-app media buyers and British secondary school teachers. Each campaign was deliberately exclusive. That’s what made it resonate. The same holds true for any form of content marketing. The more focused the content, the better it n marketing, one size does will stick. not fit all. One size fits I Your target Sailor Jerry gets this. The rum brand recently held none. Many brands try to market is not a marketing event in Brooklyn that was deliberately be all things to all people. the same as exclusive. If you were willing to get a Sailor Jerry General Mills CMO Mark anyone who could tattoo permanently tattooed on your skin, they Addicks once commented conceivably buy would reward you with … a shot of Sailor Jerry. that too many brands were your product. A While this campaign was clearly not for everyone, targeted to “women, ages 18- 200 people lined up at a tattoo parlor in the rain to 49, with a pulse.” target market take advantage of this offer. It can be tempting to aim is deliberately One Sailor Jerry fan named Sebastian said, “I’m in love for everybody, particularly for exclusive. with Sailor Jerry. All I drink is Sailor Jerry. You know mass-market brands. I’ve been what, a lot of people don’t really understand, and I don’t in brand discussions where the what gives you insight to speak expect them to because Sailor Jerry is mine.” target market was identified by to them so clearly. Sebastian’s comment is a wonderful articulation writing all possible prospects on At Marketoon Studios, of what a brand can mean to a true fan. These are a whiteboard as if we were cold- we develop cartoon series for the types of advocates we need to inspire. It is better calling customers rather than brands with hypertargeted to be deeply meaningful to a few than to aim for the trying to connect with them. audiences. For Guidance majority and get lost in the clutter. Yet that broad approach can Software, we create a weekly In content marketing, preach to the choir. The choir lead to a split personality that series for a market most will show up every Sunday, and will evangelize your appeals to no one. people have never even heard sermon to others. Your target market is not of: e-discovery professionals. the same as anyone who could E-discovery, an emerging Tom Fishburne is Marketoonist and conceivably buy your product. field within legal IT services, founder of Marketoon Studios, a cartoon A target market is deliberately describes how lawyers exchange studio that helps businesses like Kronos, exclusive. That niche focus is electronic files in litigation. If Baynote, Motista and the Wall Street what gives your message teeth. you’re not part of the e-discovery Journal reach their audiences with It is what compels consumers to community (and chance are, you’re not), cartoons. Follow his cartoons at his Marketoonist blog identify with your brand. It is you probably won’t understand or on Twitter @tomfishburne.
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