CONTENT MARKETING : A Formula for "Brand Love".

What exactly is content marketing?

Content Marketing is owning, as opposed to renting, media. It’s a marketing process to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating content in order to change or enhance a consumer behavior.

Consumers are generally more positive about content marketing than they are about traditional advertising, although marketers overestimate consumers' preference, new research reveals.
Just 10 per cent of people said they had a positive attitude towards advertising from brands, according to findings from the content marketing agency Seven. But more than half (57 per cent) of those surveyed said they "definitely" or "tend to" agree that they feel more positive towards brands that produce content for them. 

However, the research suggested senior marketers overestimated people’s preference for content. Seventy-seven per cent said they believed consumers prefer content to traditional advertising forms.

Robin Bonn, the business development director at Seven, said this overestimation of preference was due to "the general hype around content marketing" and brands moving to a "genuinely always-on" strategy from a campaign-based one.

What this means is, Content marketing isn't centered on a campaign, but a constant flow of engagement from a brand to its audience.

 

Clearly, these concepts are generally good for marketers, but agencies of all disciplines need to work harder to explain what we mean when we toss in these words like confetti.

On average, marketers said they allocated 20.6 per cent of a brand’s budget to owned media, 28.8 per cent to digital paid media and 50.6 per cent to traditional paid media.

Content marketing, in its many guises, is emerging as one of the hot topics in advertising. Increasingly, the gap between ‘owned’ and ‘paid for’ media is converging, fueled by both the rise of social media and the restrictions of mobile as a channel.

It is now the best possible way of not only finding customers, but retaining them, making them brand ambassadors. We have come to realize that consumers have simply shut off the traditional world of marketing. They now can own a DVR to skip television advertising, often ignore magazine advertising, and now have become so adept at online “surfing” that they can take in online information without a care for banners or buttons (making them irrelevant). Smart marketers understand that traditional marketing is becoming less and less effective by the minute, and that there has to be a better way. Thought leaders and marketing experts from around the world, including the likes of Seth Godin and hundreds of the leading thinkers in marketing, have concluded that content marketing isn’t just the future, it’s the present.

Some quick examples of excellent content marketing.

It is time for us in the Caribbean to do what we're great at; Creating Content. Our marketing of our brands such as our Islands, festivals, artists, etc can see a constant flow of traffic and engagement worldwide once we start producing and displaying the right content for the globe to see. With content marketing, we are all on the same scale, allowing Big brands to act small, and small brands to become big.

This is what we do at Creative Advertising Caribbean. Leading Caribbean brands towards a better way to connect with its audience. Make sure to check us out at www.cacaribbean.com

From "Super Star" to Modern-Day Mad Man.

Isn't it always fascinating to look back and see how we ended up where we are today? In fact, most people are working a job that is in no way related to their university degree. It is also quite amusing to look back at our early career goals from primary and secondary school and see how those led to our current passions and ambitions.

Today, we were discussing how many of us on our team had been in a band at some point in their life. Growing up, a large percentage of male teenagers develop unlikely aspirations to someday become super stars. Unfortunately, I was among that percentage.

From age 14-19 I would say that I made a substantial run at that dream, playing in four different bands on and off over that time span and logging countless hours practicing, traveling, and playing in obscure venues across the country. Although I never sold out a 30,000-seat venue, I would say that overall, that point in my life was still successful. I was able to record and perform with the likes of Clive Bradley, Robert Greenidge, Machel Montano, Len "boogsie" Sharpe,  one of my last live concerts I performed was opening for David Rudder,  and trying to be successful in the music industry established my deep-rooted passions for creativity, entrepreneurship, and branding.

When I started college, reality started to settle in like it does for the majority of those teenagers with aspirations to be the next Bono. I started college as a Motion Picture major. As I dived into my marketing studies, though, my aspirations drifted from one glamorous career (rock star) to another: advertising.

When I first became interested in advertising and branding, Mad Men was at the tipping point in its popularity. This glorified version of advertising and marketing, though, is not what caught my interest. What caught my interest was the significant shift and evolution that's been happening in marketing as a whole since the dawn of the Internet era. No longer are brands tied to loose calculations of "impressions" and "circulation" numbers. Digital marketing has revolutionized the industry and transformed the possibilities available to brands.

Many agencies I was looking at, though, were still hesitant to fully embrace digital trends and were, and in some cases, still are, focusing mostly on traditional marketing efforts. If a brand wanted to do something modern or digital, they would hire a separate firm to do their digital marketing. Beyond creative concepts, over the past five years I've fallen in love with this idea of creating Brand Love and recently interacting with ExactTarget and their philosophy of a "customer company." It envelopes something much bigger than simply "advertising." 

A quote they often use that we have embedded in our thinking from Sam Walton is that "There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everyone..." I now have this fascination of the customer, how he or she thinks, and how to market as a customer company.

From a super star to a modern-day Don Draper, it's inspiring to see my passions and aspirations evolve over time. Today, we sit at an unprecedented intersection of marketing and technology with our Data and Analytics Partner, ExactTarget leading the way as the 1:1 Customer Platform and I have the opportunity to be a part of that intersection and revolution. 

As we explore the full potential of content marketing and we unwrap what it means to be a customer company, I'm excited to be sharing on emerging marketing and digital trends, how to become a customer company, my take on the digital marketing space, and my experiences of "Creating Love".

Long Term Relationships [Brand Love]: Five Tips for Lasting Connections With Customers

When i decided that we're going to start this blog, and the topic was love, i began thinking about my own experience. However, for the sake of the readers i will keep it about brands. Love is probably the most mis-understood emotion in the world, because most have never experienced it in its purest truest form. We start this blog embarking on a journey; a road trip on love, brands, customers, and bringing them all together. Enjoy.

The exhilarating rush of new love often feels like it will last forever. But anyone in a long-term relationship knows that love's initial flames often die down, replaced by a more stable bond that needs some juicing to stay healthy for the long haul.

Brand relationships are no different. Keeping a fiery connection takes some work.

To unlock long-term love for our brands and set the stage for strong lasting connections, one simply has to look at and apply basic human relationship principles. Some folks seem to think the Caribbean needs a different formula, but i believe love is universal. Here are five ways you can keep the spark alive and forge a devoted, lasting connection to consumers. 

1. Spend quality time together

Companies work really hard and spend a lot of time marketing brands. But you can also spend one-on-one active time with your own brand to understand and experience its core behaviors, benefits, and experiences. As a result, you'll truly feel its value and make sure it hasn't lost its way. Whether your category is technology, government, or retail, sit with your products, experiences, and expressions and bring an open, objective eye.Fast food giants are known for putting management boots on the ground. Domino's CEO and franchise leaders created major waves of change after eating a lot of pizza (and commercialized the transformation) while McDonald's regularly sends corporate staffers into the field to serve.

It's never a loss; the time you spend can reveal strengths and weaknesses you never new you had

2. Delight with novelty

Brands tend to have the same routines. Changing things up a bit and adding a little variety to your world can really spice things up: a seasonal play, a promotional "wow," an event that's out of the ordinary—what might seem like a gimmick is actually a good thing, as long as it's on brand—to make the bond even stronger.

Starbucks consistently takes the holiday season to a whole new level by creating expectations around an extended theme; everything from product offerings to design gets a merry lift.

Brillo recently went back in time and featured Warhol-inspired packaging to mark its 100th anniversary. The retro-cool design made a splash and reminded us that Brillo offers something beyond products for daily chores: post-modern art—and a connection to our own pasts.

3. Know when to over-communicate and when to listen (genuinely)

Brands believe they have an ear to ground via Facebook and Twitter, but successful engagement requires open, two-way communication. Have a robust, transparent dialogue with your consumers to showcase how good you are at listening and at being emotionally honest.

Tropicana's famous packaging redo a few years ago not only brought the power of the consumer voice front and center but also solidified the new two-way street in brand relationships.

Oreo's "Dunk in the dark" real-time response to the Super Bowl blackout, using social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, showed that it not only listens to culture but also has finely tuned brand behavior reflexes to prove it is present in and part of, the customer's life.

On the flip side, the owners of Amy's Baking Company in Arizona missed an opportunity to use constructive criticism to their benefit—and possibly led to the demise of their own company—when they engaged in a social media war with critics of the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.

Tuning in to your audience through modern marketing tools is more than a box to check in a media plan. It is a way to validate what consumers experience and to make a connection that much stronger.

4. Create surprise that's emotionally relevant

When is the last time your brand did something surprising that reactivated a relationship or brought consumers back into the franchise through emotional depth? An unexpected move can be disruptive, but it can also lengthen an emotional bond to become lasting.

Dove's recent beauty social experiment was a wow that hit an emotional cord and sealed the deal that Dove owns empathetic female empowerment.

Huggies has developed a sensor device called the Huggies Tweet Pee that attaches to baby's diaper to notify parents via text or Twitter that it's time for a change. It's an innovation that understands how 21st century parents relie on technology to connect them to parenting basics and creates all-too-real empathetic understanding of how busy parents are.

Let your brand surprise with product innovation or commercial ingenuity that keeps communication fresh, relevant and empathetic.

5. Embrace companion love

In brand love, there's nothing like true loyalists. They get deeply and emotionally involved with your brand, and they spread the word; and, even if passion dies, the promise of companionship remains.

Don't take loyalists for granted! Reward or harness that connection to further advance the bonds of love—and more deeply.

Maker's Mark created its famous brand ambassador program not to reward long-term companions with custom batch bourbon (which it does) but to keep positive vibes going strong.

Recently, Disney's Star Wars Weekends campaign used 3D printing so hardcore Star Wars fans can have their face on a life-size Stormtrooper figurine. It's a super-smart transfer of Star Wars loyalty to the Disney brand. These kinds of fans invest their time and energy and become deeply vested in the relationship. Focusing on those who love you deeply can grow more of those who love you deeply.

* * *

Nobody would possibly wish that their bond with consumers become fractured over time. But should your brand hit a bump in the road (as all good relationships do at some point), you can take a step back and look at it from a human perspective.

Making it work is work—but fun work. So crack open the bubbly, put on a little Marvin Gaye, and get ready to woo your consumers as if you were falling in love all over again.