Content

The last trend in a 5 part series following Marketing Goes Real Time, The Web Leans Back, Brands Take User Generated Data Seriously and The Conversation Changes From Mobile to Mobility

5. CONTENT MANAGEMENT BECOMES A BUSINESS PRIORITY

The last trend is that of content management becoming a business priority.  As the ‘community’ fascination and like race that burned through our industry 12 months ago continues to calm we’ll see more brands begin to realize just how valuable fresh and timely content is.  That realization though will extend beyond the walled garden of the Facebook page and confines of the company blog and begin to permeate the entire business.

That said the primary driver of this shift will still be social.  As social customer service continues to flap in the wind, a recent study illustrated that only 3% of customers prefer to use social media as a service channel¹⁶, brands will need to change the conversation from one of ‘if you DM me your details I can help’ to one of brand interest and engagement.

We’ll also see the current search vacuum of decreasing CPC’s driven by mobile collapse courtesy of Google’s Enhanced Campaigns.  This will again force brands to invest in content to build out their organic presence in a drive to better balance their paid and owned programs.

The growing importance of prospect and customer comms, a hot topic in many boardrooms will further accelerate the branded content need.  As marketers look to personalize content and communication, agencies will be forced to supply a steady stream of fresh and relevant content.

This will bring changes to the way content is viewed within the campaign mix;

Content will infiltrate campaign planning as the conversation shifts from one of ‘content is king’ to that of ‘content is currency’.  As a result campaigns will include their own content long tail to help extend the life and depth of the message(s) in market.

As a result there will need to be a re-evaluation of the current content production model.  Campaign shoots, client commercial arrangements, talent contracts, post process and delivery methods will all need to be rethought.  A process of optimization will need to be agreed that embraces flexibility and feedback that allows for inefficient creative to be altered mid campaign.

So there we are.  My 2 cents on what will affect our industry in the coming year or years.  The final point I’ll leave you with is that these trends rarely happen in isolation so if one begins to accelerate the others are likely to follow.

Thank you

Sources:

• 16 – Emarketer & TNS Omnibus Social Customer Service Survey 2012

Trend #2 in a 5 part series following Marketing Goes Real Time

2. THE WEB LEANS BACK

The second trend is that of a more relaxed web audience.  Since Apple launched the first iPad in 2010 internet behaviour and consumption has changed dramatically.

In fact tablets are the main driver of this trend.  In Q4 2012 tablet sales accounted for 35% of all PC shipments worldwide⁴ and are predicted to overtake PC volumes this year.  A quite staggering statistic considering the market is less than 3 years old.  Australian tablet penetration is also predicted to grow to as much as 48%⁵ by the end of the year, certainly scale enough to push the digital marketing industry in a new direction.

That said tablets are also by and large an inert device with 79%⁶ of usage occurring in the home and on the couch.  This leant back consumption is predominantly a new usage occasion and not a cannibalization of another screen.  This is an important distinction to make and one that has driven tablet households to spend an additional 1 ¾  hours online⁷.

The impact of these contextual and behavioural changes are likely to be more profound then many are anticipating;

Firstly there is what I call a growing gesture gap.  The vast majority of brand and campaign experiences are built with mouse based navigation in mind.  Point, click and consume.  It’s treated us all well for many years.  However more and more Australians are accessing the web via touch screens devices, using their finger to navigate and interact with those same brand and campaign experiences.  At what point do we flip the paradigm and stop offering a sub standard touch experience because of our focus on the mouse and shift perspective toward creating a gesture optimized experience?

Secondly brands and agencies need to think harder about the content need that sits behind each device, and not just treat each screen simply as a gateway to a standardized web.  If tablets drive a lean back, desktops a lean forward and mobiles a lean free experience then how does the content need to differ to deliver the most relevant experience.

Lastly since tablet growth is driving incremental usage and not necessarily cannibalizing desktop/laptop activity the cross device measurement conundrum only grows in importance.  Without a single user view the idea of true omni-screen marketing remains just out of reach.  Until this puzzle is cracked brands and agencies will still feel a sense of insecurity when it comes to managing campaign activity, frequency and investment.

Sources:

• 4 – Canalys market analysis February 2013
• 5 – Bohemia extrapolated Nielsen Data 2012
• 6 – Google Global Multi Screen Research 2012
• 7 – Google UK Multi Screen Research 2012

Content needs to be fresh, timely and relevant if it is going to succeed in todays cluttered digital world.  Some brands get this, many many brands don’t.  One that does is Oreo’s, we saw that during the Superdomes blackout at the Super Bowl and we see it here with this awesome casestudy called The Oreo Daily Twist.  I urge any marketer involved in content to watch this immediately.

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Well plans to, I don’t believe this has actually been attempted yet.  This ‘Search Engine Ad’ is an interesting concept that would take some serious SEO skills to deliver, even just for an hour and likely only for a few people.  That said it’s a truly VW idea, some of the work coming from the auto maker in its partner agencies has been top shelf.  There is the awesome Smileage App which will hopefully become a reality, the VW Street Quest campaign from South Africa and these mad voice activated banners to promote safe driving!

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Here’s a nice little synopsis of the most viral video’s of 2012. Although there seems to be one massively obvious omission, PSY & Gangnam Style which is tracking at over 1.2 billion view now, a closer look shows this is brand related content only. The most interesting part of the infographic though centers around the twitter vs Facebook virality ratio. Apparently video content was shared 85% more on Facebook than twitter and the average viral video has a 1:53 share/view ratio.

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It’s worth pointing out that I am unofficially the greatest Goldeneye multiplayer player in the world.  Put an N64 trident pad thing in my hand, suit me up as a Moonraker Elite trooper, select one shot kills and drop me in the temple map and I’m highly likely to emerge victorious!  Aside from that here’s a funky little video charting the history of Nintendo.

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Here’s a great little summary of remarkable marketing from HubSpots Director of Brand & Buzz, Marta Kagan.  It’s easy to forget some of the exceptional work that has happened in our (advertising) industry.  We are always so focussed on whats next that we miss the opportunity to learn from our past.  My pick is #2, imagine if a client came to you with a budget of $22,000.  What would you do?  Scoff?  Laugh at them? Or go and produce a piece of content that changed popular culture, film making and generated $250,000,000 in revenue?  Yea, exactly, you’d laugh at them!

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Absolutely love this.  For me this embodies the power of the web.  The simple ability to have a voice, connect with likeminded souls around the world and have a hell of a lot of fun in the process!  The video below is YouTubes Rewind masterpiece, a collaboration meets mash-up of the years most culturally profound content.  If the film leaves you wanting more, do not worry, there area series of hidden links to additional footage and the original material scattered though out the 4.15s of footage, plus I’ve dropped a ton of link for you below.  Enjoy YouTubers!

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More fun facts from Socialnomics author Erik Qualman.  I’m sure these stats get more and more fantastical each and ever year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see 314% of the worlds population on Facebook next time round!  Still, its an enjoyable 4 minutes, although a change in soundtrack would be appreciated for version 5!

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Who would have thought that a safety campaign from Melbournes Metro Trains could become one of the hottest pieces of content this side of Gangnam Style?!  The 4 minute animated musical featuring little monsters that get sliced and diced in rediculous and down right stupid ways has amassed 12.5 million views and counting with no paid media support.  It’s a great story for strong content, that even in a world where 72 hours of new material is uploaded to YouTube every minute the cream still rises to the top.  Enjoy it, and don’t come back here complaining if you find your self humming the tune for the rest of the say!

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