Just finished reading through an excellent article from Folio (a magazine/web site about the magazine industry) about their predictions for 2008.
Most of the predictions were on budgets (some good ones), recession, the economy, print vs. online, integrated media…blah, blah, blah. And then I come to my friend Simon Kelly’s (Story Worldwide) predictions, which after reading, am now considering starting the Simon Kelly fan club (wait, he already won an award for that). Here are a few of Simon’s gems:
“1. Brands will stop dipping their toes in the water and jump in with both feet, realizing they can turn themselves into fully-fledged media channels, supported by an ‘Authority to Publish’ that is rock-solid.
6. The penny will drop that technology-based digital solutions are not the answer. We’ve been to this dance before—CRM was supposed to be the new nirvana but only resulted in enabling marketers to slice and dice to the Nth degree but delivering nothing of value to the customer. Web whatever is in danger of repeating the same mistake. Brands need to step up and own this transition otherwise Microsoft/Yahoo/Google et al will convince everyone there’s no alternative to the latest technology solutions, forgetting the customer’s information needs in the process. Publishers can help. Brands need to publish.”
Simon makes some excellent points – and here is the key: If your brand is your relationship with your customer, how else can the brand/relationship survive without constant communication? Think about your own relationships. How can you get a friend, loved one, spouse to get more involved in a relationship? Easy. Talk about them, what interests them, what’s important to them…their lives and jobs.
Call it whatever you want, content marketing, custom publishing, custom media, corporate media, branded content…whatever. The key is to tell the story not that you want to tell, but the story that your customers need to hear. That’s how brands are created and built today. Ads can no longer to this by themselves. Our customers and prospects are too smart for that now.
Want to make a New Year’s Resolution for 2008?
Take your brand back. Tell your customers not your story, but their story. If they are truly your customers, that story will be one in the same. Carpe Diem!
A 2008 Marketing Prediction to Bank On: Why Simon Kelly and Content Marketing Rule!
Just finished reading through an excellent article from Folio (a magazine/web site about the magazine industry) about their predictions for 2008.
Most of the predictions were on budgets (some good ones), recession, the economy, print vs. online, integrated media…blah, blah, blah. And then I come to my friend Simon Kelly’s (Story Worldwide) predictions, which after reading, am now considering starting the Simon Kelly fan club (wait, he already won an award for that). Here are a few of Simon’s gems:
“1. Brands will stop dipping their toes in the water and jump in with both feet, realizing they can turn themselves into fully-fledged media channels, supported by an ‘Authority to Publish’ that is rock-solid.
6. The penny will drop that technology-based digital solutions are not the answer. We’ve been to this dance before—CRM was supposed to be the new nirvana but only resulted in enabling marketers to slice and dice to the Nth degree but delivering nothing of value to the customer. Web whatever is in danger of repeating the same mistake. Brands need to step up and own this transition otherwise Microsoft/Yahoo/Google et al will convince everyone there’s no alternative to the latest technology solutions, forgetting the customer’s information needs in the process. Publishers can help. Brands need to publish.”
Simon makes some excellent points – and here is the key: If your brand is your relationship with your customer, how else can the brand/relationship survive without constant communication? Think about your own relationships. How can you get a friend, loved one, spouse to get more involved in a relationship? Easy. Talk about them, what interests them, what’s important to them…their lives and jobs.
Call it whatever you want, content marketing, custom publishing, custom media, corporate media, branded content…whatever. The key is to tell the story not that you want to tell, but the story that your customers need to hear. That’s how brands are created and built today. Ads can no longer to this by themselves. Our customers and prospects are too smart for that now.
Want to make a New Year’s Resolution for 2008?
Take your brand back. Tell your customers not your story, but their story. If they are truly your customers, that story will be one in the same. Carpe Diem!