The world of marketing and advertising is ever changing, and those in the game must stay relevant to both the pressures at brand and the insatiable desire to be first and the best in one’s category. Content marketing, brand-funded content and the seven thousand other adaptations of the title, is experiencing huge patronage by the brands and sold by all those creative marketing gurus who want to drive consumer loyalty in a new and interesting way. But is it just an advertising buzzword? Or is it answering a brief that many of us thought existed behind the veil of ‘contemporary media’?
Content marketing is by no means the answer to every brand’s prayers. Done badly without any strategic context, content marketing can indeed cause more harm than good. So what makes a successful content marketing strategy and why are we all so excited about this not so ‘new’ form of communication? In my opinion the key is emotion. People want to have an emotional connection to brands, it is a cornerstone of contemporary marketing that has been reaffirmed through the evolution of social media. You need only look to Facebook or YouTube to realise the actuality. People want to be connected and they want to share stories… ideally, their own. Arguably, there is little more that excites a consumer than a brand message that they can relate too.
This being true, then the activation proposition is to make the content emotionally compelling in a context that the target consumer can understand and cognitively evaluate. If you get the formula right then you have a chance to transcend the mundane ordinariness of today’s media fall back… the 30-second TVC that has everyone searching for the next channel.
What makes content an emotive source? In my opinion that something lies in the need for human beings to make an emotional connection with the content, whether it be a TV program, a book, or a silly video on YouTube of a child biting another’s finger (and oh how I do love Charlie!) But why do we love Charlie? It’s simple. We relate to the content.
So why shouldn’t brands want a new way in which to connect with their consumer?
There are great examples where brands locally and globally have taken the emotional leap of faith, and have connected with their consumers through content-driven activation strategies. Take Pringles ‘Over-sharers’ campaign; like Charlie, Pringles has engaged the consumer emotionally and forced them to be entertained but, more importantly, to engage and therefore relate. I know people who ‘Over-share’ in social media and, better yet, I can share free content with my ‘over-sharing’ friends.
To entertain and connect in this way breaks through the 30-second TVC, the half page print campaign and news stings on radio – it has done the job good content should – it’s engaged without promise, promotion or purchase and the consumer has now had an emotionally rewarding experience thanks to the brand.
Kate Edwards
Founder & Managing Director
Kontented
SOAPBOX: Content Marketing - is it just a 'buzz word'?
2 November 2011