Content. It’s a small word for a massively important element of marketing that has been embraced by advertisers and publishers alike.
Read the full article by Belinda Baker, outlining the key points of how to create award-winning content campaigns.
Belinda is owner of BSB Media and director of the World Media Group, which is currently running the World Media Awards for international content-driven advertising campaigns.
As a journalist and marketer Niki, with 20 years’ branded content experience and as a frequent media commentator she brings her skills to the new emerging world of branded content and has also worked with brands which include HSBC, Zurich and RAC.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Niki: Client spend is increasing in paid as they can see clear ROI and brand-building plus through content marketing, the creative solutions are themselves interesting and exciting.
Q: What is different about these awards?
Niki: These awards capture the momentum and vibrancy in global media. They will create a showcase of world-leading examples and innovation.
Q: Are content-driven communications, customised content, native advertising, sponsored content, brand journalism, owned media and branded content the same thing?
Niki: No. Put simply, content marketing, like paid media, is a science and an art with many areas of specialism. Content driven communications or branded content is insight-driven, strategic… planned pieces that have at their heart an authenticity in storytelling. Brand journalists are the people that craft it. Native and sponsored are both ways to amplify and monetise content.
Q: What does good native content look like?
Niki: It feels right and true for both the brand and in its connection to the audience. A good example of what it looks like can be seen here with the RAC’s online magazine.
Q: Why should brands use native content – what is it best suited to achieve?
Niki: Native solutions are an elegant way to amplify good content. It works well where there is a healthy, specialised inventory and a natural fit between the publisher and branded content. I’m seeing some real added value to the audience experience in enterprise b2b and c-suite targeting.
Q: Why are consumers embracing branded content?
Niki: Consumers naturally turn to brands for expertise – there’s nothing new there. What they appreciate is content that clearly has value and relevance to their lives and to their curiosity.
Q: Are there any pitfalls to avoid in content-driven marketing?
Niki: Many. But you can avoid most of them by ensuring your senior counsel is with agencies that are pure play content agencies with a credible team of brand journalists in-house.
Q: How do you measure the impact of content-driven communications?
Niki: We have developed a fusion model that captures brand impact, traffic, value and influence. There’s no single product that can do this, it’s intensive measurement by specialists.
Q: What are the key differences in planning a ‘multi-national’ (different campaigns for different countries) versus ‘international’ campaign? (one campaign that works across several countries)?
Niki: For global campaigns the brand story has to be the absolute core. There is a tendency to use more local tactical approaches so it’s best to work through these in the planning phases and use brand journalists to create the outline narrative first. Localisation is a fine art but is easier if there is a shared narrative.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
Sonia is responsible for Mindshare’s entire strategic product across the region. In this role her primary function is the development and implementation of agency products and services that enable Mindshare’s clients to get a jump on their competitors. She has more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning and communications development across Europe and Latin America, in both agency and client-side roles.
Q:Are there any pitfalls to avoid in content-driven marketing?
Sonia: Starting devising your content strategy from the brand perspective is the main pitfall to avoid. Find out first what your target audience likes and why and then fit the brand around these insights; Of course without losing your attributes, values and key message on the way.
Q: And what is the single biggest challenge facing media strategists when planning an international campaign?
Sonia: Make sure your insight resonates across countries without any doubt so that you can influence positive behaviour change and in turn meet your business targets in all geographies.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
Alex has over 20 years’ media experience having worked at some of the industry’s biggest and most successful agencies. At MEC Global Solutions he heads up a 150 strong team responsible for managing its multi-national clients across the EMEA region along with new business opportunities. Alex joined from Initiative where he was UK CEO and has previously worked at Carat, Mediacom, Mindshare and MEC UK. He has been part of many award winning teams, including Agency of the Year 7 times and 3 times M&M Global Winner. He has judged a range of Domestic and International awards including Cannes, M&M Global, Media Week and Campaign.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Alex: Brands and agencies are establishing increasingly smart and effective ways to develop content based solutions in pursuit of their marketing goals. The World Media Group Publishers offer some of the best delivery mechanisms for these ideas and it seems entirely appropriate that they would introduce these awards.
Q: What is different about these awards?
Alex: They focus on two critical areas: cross border and content – there are no other awards that have such a focus.
Q: What does good native content look like
Alex: It looks like anything that engages and entertains the consumer. It will come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but it is crucial that it is authentic to the brand, it must have a point and we need to be clear what consumer need it is meeting.
Q: Why are consumers embracing branded content?
Alex: Because it is useful or because it is entertaining. They then share the content because it makes a statement about them – I am connected, I am clever, I am funny.
Q: Are there any pitfalls to avoid in content-driven marketing?
Alex: Be authentic – do not try to be something you are not – a bandwagon approach will almost certainly lead to disaster. As is said of comedians – tell me a joke, don’t tell me you’re funny.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
As the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of London and Partners, Chris has a remit to promote London globally to attract tourists, foreign direct investment, students and events & conferences and has generated over £250 million of positive publicity for London. Prior to this Chris was the Director of Communications at Oxfam, spent nine years at the BBC as Director of Marketing, Communications and Audiences where he led the re-design of BBC News and headed up the advertising for Tui UK.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Chris: As the reach of communication channels and content gets ever more global, the inaugural World Media Awards are very timely.
Celebrating and sharing the learnings of successful case studies will be massively beneficial for any practitioners in the communications industry, so I urge you to participate in the event.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
The World Media Awards is incredibly privileged to have a panel of judges at the top of their game and from an enviable array of advertisers, agencies and media owners. Every one of them has extensive experience and knowledge into what can make an international content-driven ad campaign rise from good to world-beating – and all are passionate about why these campaigns are such an important part of the mix for many international brands. Hence why they have agreed to be a part of the Awards this year. We have therefore asked them to give us their personal insight into why they feel these campaigns deserve recognition, and their tips for lifting them to the next level.
We have an exciting bank of interviews – both long and short – which we will be posting regularly so keep checking for new content. You may just get a nugget that could help you write a winning entry!
Damien Marchi, Global Head of Content at Havas Media Group
Kaylee King-Balentine, Director at TBrand Studio International, The New York Times
Chris Gottlieb, CMO at London and Partners
Alex Altman, Managing Director, MEC Global Solutions – London
Jane Grenier, Executive Director of Client Services at Quartz
Aaron Robinson, Director, Custom Content at The Wall Street Journal
At The New York Times Kaylee leads the editorial, creative and video direction on all international Paid Posts and works alongside the international sales teams to develop new global business for the Studio. Previously she headed up branded entertainment at The Weather Channel and was director of program-ming at Aol.com. She is also an Emmy Award-winning producer and OMMA and Digiday award-winning director.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Kaylee It’s exciting to see native advertising and content getting its day in the sun on the awards circuit.
Q: What is different about these awards?
Kaylee: Often times the creative that gets recognized in advertising awards are for direct marketing campaigns and TVCs, the World Media Awards are a great step in the right direction for recognizing powerful storytelling in the branded content space.
Q: Are content-driven communications, customised content, native advertising, sponsored content, brand journalism, owned media and branded content the same thing?
Kaylee: Native advertising is really about where the ad unit is placed within a web page, branded content/brand journalism/customized content is what those units are filled with.
Q: What does good native content look like?
Kaylee: From a publisher’s perspective, good native content should first and foremost be relevant for the audience coming to the site every day. It should also be of the quality the audience is expecting of your publication.
Q: Why should brands use native content – what is it best suited to achieve?
Kaylee: Custom content is a great opportunity for brands to build loyalty and sentiment from their audience. Through great storytelling, a brand can humanize itself and become more relatable.
Q: Why are consumers embracing branded content?
Consumers are tired of ads screaming in their face. Great branded content serves as insight and entertainment rather than an annoyance.
Q: Are there any pitfalls to avoid in content-driven marketing?
Kaylee: Don’t be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In order to do truly remarkable branded content, a brand needs to jump in with both feet. A brand should become part of the conversation rather than try to force it. This can be achieved through relevant and timely content and also by letting the hard sell brand message sit in the backseat while the storytelling drives the car.
Q: What should clients look for in a native advertising/branded content proposal? And what should they look for in the team who will be delivering it?
Kaylee: A content proposal should answer three questions for clients: 1) Is it interesting? 2) Is it entertaining? 3) Is it on brand? There are many players in this space, but the most successful ones are the teams who can tell great stories, entertain their audiences and still maintain the brand’s ethos.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
Aaron leads the development of innovative cross-platform solutions and engaging, influential content for the global blue-chip client base at the Wall Street Journal having previously been part of the strategic mar-keting and client solutions teams at both Bloomberg Media and The Economist.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Aaron: Content creation is proving to be a powerful tool for brands to deliver deeper engagement with consumers and global publishers are really starting to push the boundaries of how great stories can be told via content. There has never been a better time to highlight the best in content creation worldwide and showcase the ways in which brands publishers and agencies can unite to tell original stories that resonate with readers.
Q: What is different about these awards?
Aaron: The World Media Awards have been launched specifically to celebrate the best in international, cross-platform, content-driven campaigns.
Q: What does good native content look like?
Aaron: Great native campaigns leverage powerful content with the trust of a publishers’ audience. There must be a genuine connection between the two brands and the campaign must be executed in a way that is not seen to deceive the user. The best campaigns are those that have been both timely as well as delivered real substance that the audience can use. Above all ‘native’ must feel like it’s delivered in the voice of the platform it appears on.
Q: Why should brands use native content – what is it best suited to achieve?
Aaron: Content is a powerful tool for brands to deliver more than just product messaging. Content can allow the brand to own certain stories or themes and profit from that association. It also gives access to loyal audiences within trusted editorial environments. It has great potential to extend reach and deliver high levels of engagement that traditional advertisements sometimes cannot.
Q: Why are consumers embracing branded content?
Aaron: Done well, branded content can provide useful and insightful content that adds real value to the audience but the key word here is relevance. The piece must apply to the audience in question or it could be overlooked by the user – which is why the right partnerships between brands and publishers can be so powerful.
Q: What should clients look for in a native advertising/branded content proposal? And what should they look for in the team who will be delivering it?
Aaron: The most important aspect of any proposal is always the idea – the concept, hook or story you are trying to tell. The pitch needs to show how the publisher can help you tell the stories that matter to your specific audience, why it’s a unique and effective idea, and above all directly addresses both the business and communication goals of the client and helps solve their challenges. It’s also all too easy to overcomplicate things and throw the kitchen sink at briefs. Most times, the simpler the idea, the more impact it will have.
Q: How do you measure the impact of content-driven communications?
Aaron: Marketers are bombarded with a huge number of metrics they could use to measure campaign effectiveness, but the important thing here is that before you can assess how effective you have been, you need to be clear on what you are trying to achieve. And these objectives need to be smart, measurable and achievable. You can then use reach, engagement or conversion metrics based on these. I think the movement towards using engagement (dwell, interactions etc) over just pageviews and clickthroughs makes a lot of sense. Quality over quantity.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
Q: Are content-driven communications, customised content, native advertising, sponsored content, brand journalism, owned media and branded content the same thing?
Jane: No—but they can all be part of a well-rounded and nutritious content diet!
Q:Why should brands use native content – what is it best suited to achieve?
Jane: Native content that speaks the language of the platform that serves it is more likely to attract organically engaged prospects and to reinforce or shift brand perception.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.
Q: Why is now a relevant time to be launching these awards?
Chris: Now is the perfect time to launch these awards. Advances in technology continue inexorably, and this creates homogeneous media behaviours. And whilst local nuances remain and remain important, at a macro level the marketing challenges faced by brands are universal. Recognising brands that navigate this complex landscape successfully seems only right!
Q: What is different about these awards?
Chris: The World Media Awards are different in that they place a premium on collaboration. Successful marketing across borders cannot be done in isolation, and the winners of the WMA’s will all have demonstrated an unparalleled ability to collaborate effectively.
See more interviews / Judges’ views on what makes great, content-led, international advertising.