Junta42 Content Marketing blog

Where's the Branded Content? Why OPA Research Falls Short

Jason Fell from Folio: Magazine was nice enough to send me some new research from the Online Publishers Association.

The goal of the OPA research was to help brand marketers understand the value of placing advertising of branded media sites (like WSJonline.com or ESPN.com - not AOL or Yahoo! which are portal sites). Here's what they found:

• Consumers are more likely to trust content from media sites (72%) as opposed to portal sites (60%) and social media sites Facebook (23%).
• Consumers are more likely to purchase products from brands advertising on media sites (8%) versus portal channels (5%) or social media (3%).

This is all fine and good, and probably makes OPA members (which are big media sites) very happy.  

But (here's a very big but), the OPA research misses the big question on the minds of marketers we talk with on a daily basis.  Here's what I told Jason who reported this in Folio:

If the goal of the research was to help brand marketers understand the value of placing advertising on branded media sites, the research still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The challenge for brand marketers is not necessarily whether they should advertise on a media site versus a portal versus a social network.  They are trying to decide whether they should advertise, or whether they should invest more of their marketing dollars into their own engaging content.

"Why and how do I (the brand) develop my own engaging content to my customers that will grow my business?" That's the question.

I would have loved to see the OPA include content from brands as well...brands like P&G or Eaton Corp. or General Electric or Motorola. More and more consumers are relying on brands and bloggers for their information and education.  If that is the case, and more consumers are trusting (as well as expecting) brands to deliver expert information to them, then if I'm a brand, I have some serious choices to make.

What if the study said that consumers trust brands close to as much as media or portal sites (when compared together - apples to apples)?  For example, if you are looking for information on energy saving tips for the home, would you go to a manufacturer like Lennox for information?  I sure would (and have).

Advertising, done right, is a very effective part of the marketing mix.  The big question is, do you allocate more money and resources to content marketing and branded content instead of advertising, sponsorship and other marketing initiatives.  According to Junta42's recent content marketing research, this is happening, where 33% of budgets are now dedicated to the creation and distribution of content, and that six in 10 marketers are increasing their budgets for the third year in the row.

If I'm OPA and have the interests of media sites at heart, I probably wouldn't be thinking this way (so we'll give them a free pass). But if I'm a marketer, I want to know this information. Do I "rent" the message by advertising around good content that's not mine, or do I "own" the content and position my brand as a trusted industry expert? Should I create valuable, relevant content that can be found on search engines, spread through social media, and work to attract and retain customers?

Rethinking Print as Part of the Content Strategy: Fortune, APA Proving Print is Not Dead

I just took three flights to get to Slovenia. 

On each flight and in all the waiting areas, I saw people holding, reading and engaging in print magazines.  

Then, I spent the day listening to the state of content marketing in Europe at POMP Forum 2010 conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Here's what I learned from the Julia Hutchison and Patrick Fuller from the APA (the association of branded editorial content in the UK).

• The average time a reader spends with a custom print magazine is 25 minutes.
• Custom print magazines get an average 44% response rate.
• On average, custom print magazines see an 8% increase in sales (as opposed to those who don't receive the magazine).
• 18-24 year-old men and women who receive custom magazines from a corporation are the most engaged of any age group (yes, really!).

Surprising, huh?

Then, I see this Fortune interview where they are investing heavily in the print magazine...including higher quality paper and significant design/font changes.

What does this tell me? When we develop a content marketing strategy, we need to look at all possible tactics to get the best return for our investment. While digital is hot, print may still be a key component to your strategy. It might be worth revisiting.

Does Branded Integration Really Work?

hanks to Randall Beard, EVP and General Manager - Nielsen, for sharing this week's guest post...

Instead of using your own content marketing to surround and reinforce your brand, what if you put someone else’s TV program content around it instead? Branded Integrations, done right, use TV program content to drive your brand. The problem, though, is that most Branded Integrations come about by happenstance and not by use of proven tools and techniques. Here's how to successfully use Branded Integrations as part of your Content Marketing portfolio.

Branded Integration – A Short History

Branded Integration has a long history, arguably as old as publishing itself.  The Lifesavers brand was integrated into the 1932 Groucho Marx movie “Horsefeathers,” and Spielberg's "E.T." featured the first paid candy integration: Reese's Pieces. National Geographic had a starring role in the 1946 movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

Procter & Gamble and Unilever sponsored soap operas continued the trend. More recently, companies have taken branded integrations even further with video games and even programs designed around TV commercial characters (Geico Cavemen).

Given this long history, it should come as no surprise that Branded Integration is big business: PQ Media estimated 2006 product placement spending at $3.1B.

Is This A Good Idea ?

Being big and being good aren’t always the same thing. Does Branded Integration really work? Certainly, the large spending would lead you to think so. However, the usual process for developing branded entertainment – haphazard and creative driven -- often leaves something to be desired. A branded entertainment company executive once explained the process something like this:

“The studio sends us a script. We break it down. We look for our clients demographics and then we tell our client this movie is available with this actor, with this director, with this producer, do you want it?”

Is this really the way companies should be deciding to spend $3.1B a year?

What Really Drives Branded Integration Results?

There are four keys to making Branded Integration work as Content Marketing for your brand:

1.  Choose the Right TV Shows – The best way to get high brand recall and brand opinion shift from your Branded Integration is to pick a show that fits with your brand and has high scores historically for Branded Integrations. Predictive models which isolate the factors most impacting brand recall, opinion shift, and fit with brand generally show that over 50% of the models’ variation are driven by TV show selection. Fortunately for Marketers, there are now syndicated panels which measure TV program Branded Integration effectiveness – so you can know a program's track record ahead of time.

2. Design the Most Impactful Integration – Having selected the right genre and program for your integration, don’t just rely on the network and agency to tell you what the integration will look like. You need to negotiate for what really works. And what works, based on predictive modeling, is the following:

• Involve Your Brand Longer – The duration of the integration makes a big difference; longer is better
• Visualize Your Brand Icon – Don’t accept just an audio appearance; your brand needs to be visualized
• Have Your Product Touched or Worn – It’s key to have characters physically interact with your product
• Connect Your Brand to a Main Character – Physical interaction is good, but interaction with the main star is even better

These factors have been proven through research to be the most important creative factors in determining brand integration recall and positive brand opinion shift. Make sure that your execution includes them.

3.  Advertise Your Brand During the Program – This seems obvious but is often overlooked. Nielsen IAG research shows that ads aired during a program with the same brand integration generally score better for recall, branding and likeability than the same ads aired outside the Branded Integration program. Said simply, there really is “synergy” between your Branded Integration and your ad in the same program.

4.  Execute Branded Integrations in Multiple Shows in a Season – Continuity is key. If possible, negotiate for a series based branded integration, instead of an episode. Why? Having a Branded Integration in previous episodes of the same series raises brand recall and brand opinion by about 1% per previous episode -- for example, take Subway's series integration in NBC's "Chuck." 

Subway's integration in NBC's "Chuck" not only increased sales, but saved the series.

Where Should Marketers Focus?

Adding Branded Integrations to your content marketing portfolio provides another way to drive engagement with your brand (for more see "Build Your Brand with Content Marketing"). But, don’t just walk blindly into it. Choose the right programs, design the integration for greatest impact, advertise during the program and deliver integrations consistently for maximum impact.

So the next time your Agency calls with their next "BIG" branded integration idea, do your brand a favor. Ask the tough questions: Why is this the right show? How will the execution optimize impact? What's the proposal for integrating my ads? Is this part of a longer deal? Most importantly, negotiate from a position of strength: use historical data and learnings about what really drives Branded Integration success to add another powerful element to your Content Marketing mix.

Follow Randall Beard on Twitter, or get Randall's blog on a regular basis by subscribing here.

The New CMO.com - A Helpful Resource that Could Be So Much More

  My friend and former Penton colleague Tony D'Avino alerted me to the new CMO.com - "a new Web site conceived by Omniture and championed by leading marketing agencies, technology providers and industry experts" (according to an Omniture email).

The website, focused on the digital marketer, takes syndicated content from over 40 sources that are searchable in 30 categories.

Here's my take: It's pretty. It's a great aggregated resource of marketing content (similar to what we've done for a few years with our community site around content marketing).  If I'm part of the syndicated content pool like BtoB or AdAge, I'm loving it.

I've looked at the site several times, and I keep coming up with the same question: What's the goal?

Is it for Omniture to be viewed as a thought leader in digital marketing? Is it for this group of leading agencies and technology providers to get into the publishing business? Is it just a helpful tool, from your friends like Compete.com and Outrider? Maybe it's to showcase the Omniture product in action (a working case study)?

Look, I'm not putting them down at all.  It looks like a helpful resource.  Heck, I used to pitch sites like this three years ago to my clients.

But if Omniture's goal is to become an authority on digital marketing, I don't believe it can be done with other people's content. We've struggled with that ourselves, which is why we are ramping up our original content creation (stay tuned).

Fusionspark talks about this concept as being the definitive resource. Brian Clark calls this authority. You may call it thought leadership or even content marketing.

I clicked about 15 times into and out of content on CMO.com and couldn't find any content from Omniture. Shouldn't Omniture be leading this conversation? I guess it depends on their goals, but I say yes.

Here's the deal: If Omniture (et al) wants to be considered the expert resource on digital marketing, and ultimately be the place that people want to go to solve their marketing challenges, then they need to tell the story in unique, relevant and compelling ways - themselves. Their own video, blogging, white papers, ebooks, articles...not just BtoB's and AdAge's.

If the strategy is to launch a website where they can attract enough readers to sell sponsorships and then other media products, then I think it's a good start.  But the strategy to be a true expert resource...I don't think it hits the mark.

Attracting and retaining customers through content means you need to tell your own story.  Depending on Omniture's marketing objective, I believe they need to move in this direction.

Your Content, Their Content & the Brand

Thanks to Kenneth Weiss, author of the new book, Slightware – The Next Great Threat to Brands, for this guest Junta42 blog post. Ken offers some interesting thoughts on content and the customer conversation.  Take a read!

Companies have traditionally attempted to control the dialogue and vernacular around their brands. The correct words, and the specific tonality were carefully chosen to explain, position and differentiate brands. Packaging, advertising, public relations and all types of customer communications were continuously reviewed. Being “on brand” was paramount. Being “slightly off brand” was never allowed. While this is still the intent, it is not always possible. Why?  Because too many people have too much to say about the brand and they have the tools to do it!

So how do companies leverage the power of content while continuing to be a steward of the brand? It’s not easy.

Your Content

Almost everyone within an organization is creating content these days. Sales people make PowerPoints. Marketers write posts for company bogs. Customer service teams publish documents to the web. The CEO gives speeches to local organizations. Human resource teams write company overviews for job boards. Engineers create white papers. Other employees post videos and images. Is it possible to route all of these pieces of communication through a central brand manager? Obviously, no. Does this mean that they can all put their own spin on the brand? Yes, they can. No, they shouldn’t.

How to make it work:
Brand guidelines and brand training need to be pushed beyond the walls of the marketing department to every corner of the organization. Documentation needs to include more than just logo guidelines. It needs to be a complete, holistic explanation of the total brand. Living and delivering the brand needs to be an ongoing activity. Not something that happens once a year or during orientation.

Their Content

Customers, writers, editors and experts are talking about your brand.  This can include reviews on other sites, or reviews on your own site. But the content goes far beyond these simple sentences and paragraphs.  Brand mentions will turn up in Tweets, comments on posts, YouTube videos and even in the content of other sites. Do you think all of this dialogue is using the endorsed, approved words and tonality? No, of course not. Is it all positive? No, again. It is IMPORTANT because it shows that people are engaged and compelled even if it is not always HELPFUL.

How to make it work:
Develop your editorial and legal process around content monitoring and participation. How will the company react if a person discusses using the product incorrectly versus using the product in a way that could be dangerous? How will the company react if the person is using the product in the proper way, but just doesn’t like it? 

Be ready to offer content. If a person has a question, needs a how-to, or wants to move from being a novice user to an advanced user, what content do you have to offer?

Respect the balance of power. Brands need to show more respect to the customer than ever. The old adage “The customer is always right” needs to be changed to: “The customer is always heard.” Not heard and dismissed – heard and listened to.

Getting it Right

Strong brands will always have an advantage when it comes to awareness, consideration and purchase intent. Content, both company generated and community generated is an asset to any business.  It can be an invaluable part of building a brand through two-way discussion rather than traditional one-way delivery.

Kenneth J. Weiss is Director of E-Commerce for Hoover and author of the new book, Slightware – The Next Great Threat to Brands.  Download the first chapter for free at www.Slightware.com.

Why You Need a Branded Content Tool of Your Own

I love branded content tools and applications.

If you aren't thinking about creating one, you need to be...now!

What is a branded content tool? Simply put, it's an online application that comes from a brand (i.e., Kraft) that solves a very simple problem or is incredibly helpful.  Most times, it's free as well.

Why create a branded content tool/app? Similar to content marketing, where a company delivers valuable, relevant and compelling information in order to position that company as a trusted expert, a branded tool uses data content to do the same thing.

What are some branded content application examples? Here are a few of my favorites.

• Website Grader from Hubspot. Free and easy-to-use tool that measures how well a website is doing in terms of search engine optimization. Website grader has been so successful for Hubspot (over 1 million websites to date), that they launched a number of other graders, including my new favorite, the Gobbledygook grader. 
• The Webbed-O-Meter from Webbed Marketing. Free tool to analyze your "buzz" effect over 16 different social media sources.
• iFood Assistant from Kraft. Recipes on the go via your iPhone.
• Personal Budget Planner from Mint.com. Easy-to-use online tool that helps you create a financial budget.
• Nike Plus from Nike. Track your running and training. Also, check out the Perfect Shoe Finder from Nike.  Very cool. 

How to start? Think of this...what's something very simple, and very helpful you could be providing to your customers for free, that ultimately positions you as an expert related to the products/services you sell.  The alignment of those two things could make for a killer app.

Some odd examples? If I'm a printer, I'd create a "design your own magazine cover" tool. If I'm an air-conditioning repair shop, I'd create an automated check up tool that emails key dates to tune-up the air conditioner. If I'm a dentist, I'd develop a teeth simulator that shows what happens to teeth if you eat certain foods for sustained periods.  You get the point.

What helpful tool should you be developing that your competition hasn't thought of...yet?

Relevant Resources:

• Is Data-Driven Marketing the Next Killer App?
• Brand Tools: The Future of Digital Branding

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Custom Content Experts  -  Get the Book

Five Content Marketing Ideas that Will Pay Dividends

Really cool eBook by Amplifier Content Marketing (full disclosure: Amplifier is a client of mine) called "Five Music Marketing Ideas that Could Pay Dividends Now".

Truthfully, the five ideas in this eBook could be applied to any industry, not just music.  Also includes some amazing examples and case studies.

Five Music Marketing Ideas That Could Pay Dividends Now

View more presentations from Glenn Sabin.

The five ideas to seriously consider now for your brand (according to the eBook) include:

1. The Content Filter - Be the "editor" in a market and present people the best content in that market or that topic. Be the enabler of the information they are looking for.
2. The Microsite - Become the trusted expert on a particular niche topic (on a different URL than your company URL, i.e., Mercedes Benz Online Magazine).
3. The Magalog - Combine that outdated catalog with the compelling content of a magazine and give your customers something to really engage in.
4. The Digital Magazine - Go no further than checking out what KLM is doing with their digital magazine, iFly.
5. The Tweeter - Same concept as the "content filter" or "microsite" model...just distribute the content through Twitter.

Download the full PDF of the eBook here. Thanks to Glenn Sabin from Amplifier for putting this together.

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Find Content Vendors  -  Get the Book

When BBC (Bad Branded Content) Strikes

I was on a Continental Airlines flight yesterday and starting leafing through their in-flight magazine, Continental. I may be the one person out there that actually seeks out and reads advertorials (ad placement in the form of content).

That's when I came to an advertorial from Valenti International, the upscale professional matchmaking service. First off, I have nothing against Valenti, but this was one of the best examples I've seen in a while of bad branded content.

Here is the first two sentences of the Valenti's advertorial story Ending the Endless Search.

Irene Valenti, the founder of professional matchmaking service Valenti International, is overflowing with insight about the ways of the world. A visionary and creative thinker, she is blessed with an amazing intuition that led her to found Valenti International nearly two decades ago.

To be honest, I stopped reading at that point. Unless the reader was Valenti's parents or husband, I'm not sure why you would read much further. This is the kind of branded content that gives branded content a bad name.

The lesson: all content, even paid advertorial, needs to focus on the needs and wants of the reader in order to be effective. It's that simple.

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Find Content Vendors  -  Get the Book

Attract and Retain Customers with Content NOW - A Complimentary White Paper

Today’s Internet-savvy buyers are hungry for content. And not just any content...valuable, relevant content that offers solutions to their problems and helps them lead successful, productive, enjoyable jobs and lives. However, they are also inundated by thousands of marketing messages every day, most of which they ignore. To get through, you need to communicate differently—you need to do more than just sell products and services. You need to provide information. Smart marketers know this and are creating strong brand relationships by providing good, authoritative, even leadership-type content.

For that very reason, Junta42 is offering this complimentary white paper entitled, "How to Attract and Retain Customers with Content NOW."

The majority of companies are set up to sell products and services, not to create valuable, relevant and compelling content on a consistent basis. To deliver content that has a chance to create long-term relationships with customers and prospects, businesses need to develop a new content mindset.  This free white paper will help you get there.

Here are just a few of the content marketing issues that are covered in this white paper:

• Content marketing defined
• Why companies have to "Be the Media"
• Six reasons why you need to begin today
• How to develop a content strategy
• Putting the plan in motion
• How to measure your success
• Content + Marketing = Customers

We also include a few case studies from leading brands that are making it work today.

If you are signed in as a Junta42 member, you'll go straight to the white paper.  If not, your name and email address will direct you to the white paper download.

Download your complimentary white paper now! For all you media types and publishers out there, make sure you check out the sister-white paper to this document - "The New Rules of Custom Publishing: Nine Strategies to Create a World-Class Content Marketing Organization." Enjoy.

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Find Content Vendors  -  Get the Book

The Traditional Advertiser/Customer Relationship

Here is an interesting video from Microsoft about everything that's wrong with traditional advertising (Thanks to Marketing Amnesia for bringing this to my attention). This provides a good explanation of what's wrong with traditional advertising and why methods such as content marketing are more important than ever.

Also note that the video itself is a content marketing/branded content piece from Microsoft. You can find more of this at bringtheloveback.com.

RSS Feed  -   Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Junta42 Match  -  Get the Book