It’s All That and More…

With the ever-increasing number of channels from which to choose, increasingly the consumer is in control, especially when it comes through the web. Yet, television still reigns as consumer mistrust of online advertising continues. According to the Council for Research Excellence, time spent watching TV programs on live TV for 18-24 years old is 20 times more than DVRs and Tivos for 18-24 years, and 30 more times for 45-54 years old. That’s a huge difference, even with the ever-increasing fragmentation and clutter that exists today.

What advertisers need to look at is to embed their products in truly compelling content, where the creativity of the ad is based on creating a common human motivation between the brand and the general public. Companies are wasting their time with the commercials we see now. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal recently declared that the future of the 30-second spot is in doubt.

Short films simply present an alternative way to execute an advertising message. Not only can they be formatted to suit any type of media, but they have also been able to attract an increasing number of celebrities. Additionally, the feel of clutter in the messaging environment will be dramatically reduced, providing the brand’s message with standout placement that has a better chance of influencing the consumer. Multiple-media campaigns are what marketers need. Campaigns where traditional media create the need awareness and interest for the advertised product, and new media to reach specific targets to facilitate purchase.

Do you remember this?

How about BMW’s with Clive Owen?

Whether you watched them on TV or online, I am pretty sure that those ads kept you glued to the very last second. That how brands can stand out, engage any viewer to make use of the natural social networking instinct and more importantly be innovative and different from your competitor.

Consumers Free to Speak Their Mind Online – eMarketer

Brand marketers know the Internet can be a dangerous place, where they lose control of the message and consumer-created content reigns. That is partly because Internet users now have the ability to cr

via Consumers Free to Speak Their Mind Online – eMarketer.

 

The Case of Content Marketing

Doug Kessler on Content Marketing

When you think about it, emerging media has provided us with limitless tools to attract consumers.  We may have been using them without fully understanding their extent.  Look at Content Marketing for example, as marketers we need to gather necessary information to be able to deliver information that is relevant to both our target audience and our overall business strategy.  Any good marketer does that without thought, but not all can take it a step further.

The beauty of Content Marketing is that You get to be your own media- no more low quality because of limited budgets, with the advantage of providing credible information that are essential to a customer’s buying decision. In turn, you get to reach you customer better because you have better and more in-depth information about them.

 Content Marketing can be provided offline and online.  But let’s focus on online as we become more customer-centric. I recently came across Bloomstein’s ‘The Case for Content Strategy-Motown Style’, which focuses on how to create effective content for measurable ROI. The article pays particular tribute to achieving communications objectives through the process of content strategy.

This cost effective approach primarily requires a clear understanding of what a company wants to communicate to its clients, and what clients are expecting from a company. A content strategist allows a company to bring together an effective website. By focusing on the three important factors of website creation, the process includes:

1- Reviewing all existing documents that have been prepared for the website. This ensures that the information the company is planning to upload is relevant to what their target is looking for. Additionally, it would also help assess what other tools (blogs, videos, testimonials, etc.) can be used to make the site more attractive. With the understanding of the brand goals, the qualitative content inventory audit characterizes each every piece of content based on the following: Will it be current and accurate upon launch? Will it be on brand for the client’s message hierarchy and evolving look and feel? Is the content useful and relevant for the context and audience goals at each point in the experience?

2- Knowing what’s out there about the brand. Researching brand traits and its audience through both the company’s marketing and existing search engines, then integrating them, allows a company to design a website that generates more traffic from the relevant target.

3- Understanding the company’s communication goals. This guarantees that the creative concept is on target in terms of key messages and overall design, tone and feel of the website.

4- Correlating content to communication goals and brand strategy. Assessing what exists and what needs to be generated in terms of content from an objective perspective strengthens reach to the target audience.

Bloomstein concludes that having a content strategist improves user experiences, as they contribute to design, brand development, information architecture, search engine marketing, and writing.

And Finally…. Power to the People

From digital media, the birth of social networks, blogs, forums, mobile and e-marketing, have revolutionalized our utilization of technology to share information and shape our views. Looking back, not so long ago, my perceptions towards certain services or products were limited to what I can see, and what corporations communicate. I often wondered if there are others out there that may feel the same or this is some mad vision that only I have. Then enlightenment dawned upon me, as the realization that this technology has empowered us to speak our minds, pulling together networks of people, eliminating time and distance, through tools that challenge us to speak out, share and make a difference, regardless of which generation we belong to.

We became the masters of mobilizing and disseminating information about anything and everything. Whether we are shopping, at home, commuting, or working, our technology- savy, multitasking skills have risen to the next level, taking advantage of emerging media. And with this power, we are now forcing corporations everywhere to reinvent their marketing techniques and strategies to capture our loyalty towards their brands.

The consumer is now empowered, interacting in fundamentally different ways with their brands. The stronger awareness and brand formation, involvement and interaction, and ultimately consumer actions related to purchasing has forced marketers to aggressively pursue their targets by effectively integrating new media tools to the more traditional ones in their campaigns. No more one-way communications. While corporations are still trying to measure the effectiveness of new media, consumers are becoming more interested in corporate values, culture and image. And what better way to share this, than the use of new media!