branding and content marketing

8112019 Branding and Content Marketing

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullbranding-and-content-marketing 110

BRANDING AND

CONTENTFINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE

gt

PROPERTY OF STUDIO ONE 991251 METHODOLOGIES ARE PROPRIETRY AND CONFIDENTIAL TO STUDIO ON

A CONTENT MARKETING WHITE PAPER

WRITTEN BY TIM DUNCAN COMMISSIONED BY STUDIO ONE

Content Marketing is a powerful tool for marketers to engage

consumers who are increasingly overwhelmed by and cynical about

straightforward advertising



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Content Marketing is a powerful tool for marketers to engage consumers who are increasingly over-whelmed by and cynical about straightforward advertising It is a broad term which encompasses a

wide range of online and offline strategies ndash from social media to annual reports - and smart market-

ers are utilizing many of them simultaneously

Branded Content is one such strategy While this term also covers a very wide range of specific strat-

egies it always involves giving consumers compelling informationentertainment which is tied in

some way back to the brand

Vital to Branded Content is the balance between its two fundamental elements branding the iden-

tification of my brand up to and including a ldquocall to actionrdquo - and content - the presentation of infor-

mation and entertainment that provides the consumer with a positive experience Marketers must

determine this balance to effectively implement the strategy

There is no single answer to this question as it depends on many factors specific to the brandrsquos situa-

tion However it is a decision which is made explicitly or implicitly every time a marketer chooses to

employ some form of Branded Content

The purpose of this White Paper is to provide a brief overview of Content Marketing with a specific

focus on Branded Content It looks at some of the considerations which should go into this decision

in order to help marketers make the best use of this important tool in order to achieve their objectives



I WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING

Content Marketing is a new term for a long-established technique for influencing a target market

While there are a number of definitons the basic premise involves providing some valuable informa-tion or entertainment ndash ldquocontentrdquo ndash that stops short of a direct sales pitch or call to action but which

seeks to positively influence a customer in some way

A venerable example is The Merck Index Chemistryrsquos Constant Companionreg an authoritative multi-

disciplinary reference handbook published by The Merck Corporation for over a century Now in its

fourteenth edition and published online as well as in print it provides ldquoquick and reliable answers to

questions arising in the course of the scientistrsquos workrdquo2

There are many Content Marketing techniques It can be employed in a wide range of offline and

online media including Facebook pages in-person events such as conferences newsletters ndash even a

companyrsquos annual report depending on how broadly the term is defined [See Appendix I for one listof B2C techniques]

Its use is also widespread by one estimate over 90 of Business-to-Business (B2B) and 86 of Busi-

ness-to-Consumer (B2C) marketers use one or more of them

Why has Content Marketing become so popular among marketers Itrsquos because they are finding it a

very effective way to engage and influence consumers at a time when their traditional ldquopaid-mediardquo

techniques are losing effectiveness

bull Among oine media print media (magazines and newspapers) are losing audiences to the

superior efficiency and timeliness of online ndash typified by the morphing of Newsweek into an online

magazine alongside its sister publication The Daily Beast

bull Television many marketerrsquos primary reach instrument is suering from increased audience

fragmentation caused by an explosion of available channels the increasing penetration of DVRs

and of course the nearly-universal use of the remote to mute or avoid commercials

bull As for online users are much less passive than TV viewers (who still sit through commercials) and

impatient with anything that interferes with their restless surfing for engaging content That is why

Display advertising (eg banners) though still a leading marketing tool has such a low effective-

ness as measured by click-through rates (CTR) According to one source a CTR of 003 - 005 is

considered ldquotypicalrdquo for display

In brief consumers are being overwhelmed by exposure to marketing messages Empowered by

access to a wide variety of media and culturally conditioned from a young age to be cynical about

commercial messages they have become increasingly resistant to standard forms of marketing such

as traditional sell-oriented advertising

1

3

4



Content Marketing is one way to overcome this resistance and enhance consumersrsquo perception of a

brand By providing them something of value ndash whether entertainment or information ndash marketers

can engage and persuade them to invest their time and attention in relevant content And by tying

the content to their brand in some way (see further discussion below) they create a positive associa-tion for it in consumersrsquo minds

Furthermore Content Marketing has another advantage over other forms of online marketing in that

it is a form of ldquoContextual Targetingrdquo -- branding messages are targeted only in the sense that they are

embedded in content that is relevant to a specific type of consumer ndash eg pet lovers Thus it is far

more acceptable to consumers than ads which are ldquoBehaviorally Targetedrdquo - that is delivered to con-

sumers whose behavior has been tracked identifying them has high-value targets Many consumers

find these ads ldquocreepyrdquo since they seem to be following them as they surf which is why there are a

number of ldquoDo-Not-Trackrdquo legislative initiatives currently pending

II BRANDED CONTENT

A Definition and Purpose

As noted the term ldquoContent Marketingrdquo is an extremely broad one since it can be used to encom-

pass so many types of communications (onlineoffline in-person events etc) ndash pretty much anything

short of a traditional advertisement ldquoBranded Contentrdquo is another broad term According to some

definitions it can be used as one of many synonyms for Content Marketing On the other hand ac-

cording to the Content Marketing Institute ldquoBranded Content Toolsrdquo are currently used by about 40

of B2C marketers

For purposes of this discussion the term ldquoBranded Contentrdquo will be defined as a subset of Content

Marketing specifically referring to

bull Informationalentertainment content that has intrinsic value

bull Digitally delivered

bull Associated in some way with a brand but

bull Without a specic call to actionsales pitch

A reasonable question if there is no direct selling message what is the point of investing resources

in this form of marketing

The purpose of Branded Content (as with Content Marketing generally) is to provide a specific tar-get audience with some useful or entertaining content that will attract and engage their attention

thereby evading their resistance to commercial messages The belief is that a positive experience with

the content will engender positive feelings toward the brand which provided it This can range from

simply increasing awarenessfamiliarity to in the ideal case a feeling that ldquothe brand lsquogets mersquo rdquo ndash ie

the brand understands the consumerrsquos needs and can satisfy them

5



Thus Branded Content can be used to enhance the brandrsquos ldquopersonardquo as a trusted authority in the

consumer rsquos need-space This will ideally make the consumer more receptive to further communica-

tions from the brand including more direct sales pitches leading ultimately to a sale In fact if the

consumerrsquos experience with the content is sufficiently positive there is some evidence that he or shemay be motivated to reciprocate with increased purchase intent ndash a ldquogratitude effectrdquo

B KEY ISSUE Balancing ldquoBrandingrdquo and ldquoContentrdquo

To use Branded Content effectively a marketer needs make a key decision for each communication

What is the right balance between branding ndash the identification of my brand up to and even includ-

ing a ldquocall to actionrdquo ndash and content ndash the presentation of information and entertainment that provides

the consumer with a positive experience

Inherent in this decision is an assumption that these two elements are to some extent in conflict

Since consumers are resistant to outright commercial messages a high degree of branding maycause them to reject or avoid the content ndash eg assuming that it is in some way biased or skewed or

perhaps (in the case of entertainment) merely ldquouncoolrdquo This may not be true in all situations to some

extent it may depend on the type of product and the kind of content being offered However since

consumer resistance to commercial messages is well documented the degree to which a branded-

content message approaches a hard-selling advertisement is likely to turn off many consumers

Conversely if the branding is overly subtle andor bears very little relationship to the content itself

(eg if the content is pure entertainment) then the desired association of the brand with a positive

experience in the consumerrsquos mind may be only weakly established if at all

Establishing the appropriate balance between branding and content depends first on the marketerrsquos

objective For example if it is to provide product information to consumers who are already familiarwith the brand ndash current customers -- then a high degree of branding is essential One example

would be a product catalog with individual brand specifications such as Ikearsquos Itrsquos highly informative

ndash but is likely to appeal to those who already know and like the brand

If on the other hand a marketer is trying to attract entirely new customers then he will seek to reach

a broad audience who may be unfamiliar with the brand (or even the product category) In that case

it may be appropriate to reduce the level of branding while creating content that is broadly appealing

to a wide audience An example of this is Campbellrsquos Soup which is publishing amusing pictures (eg

ldquo17 Animals who were totally prepared for Halloweenrdquo ) on social websites with minimal branding

This dynamic is summarized in the following diagram

6

7



In practice most marketers will probably want to have a level of branding somewhere between these

two extremes An example of high branding with moderate content would be a typical advertorial

which is defined as ldquoan advertisement in the form of an editorialrdquo ndash the online equivalent of a TV

infomercial An example would be Hydroxytonecomrsquos ldquoErase Wrinklesrdquo It is meant to appeal to con-

sumers who are clearly interested in the product category and are willing to receive an in-depth

brand pitch

Note that a full-fledged advertorial if it has a strong ldquocall to actionrdquo goes beyond the definition ofBranded Content Also with this format care must be taken to clearly identify the brand and avoid

the impression that the content is merely advertising disguised in any way

A broader approach is to attract consumers with a specific interest whether or not they are product

(or even category) users by providing content that directly speaks to their interests As discussed

the level of branding will need to be sensitive to their expected resistance level ndash and this is likely to

vary depending on the product category itself For example ldquoThe Dog Dailyrdquo provides a great deal of

content for dog lovers (whether owners or not) The sponsor (PampGrsquos IAMs) limits branding mainly to

banners and billboards

Receptivitiy to Communication

8



DECISION FACTORS

The appropriate balance between branding and content must therefore be determined by a number

of factors including the brandrsquos characteristics the nature of the chosen content the target audi-

ence and the planned distribution

1 Brand Factors

1 What is the brandrsquos situation

bull Is it established and well-known or relatively newunknown

2 What is the marketing objective

bull eg increase awareness improvechange perception or increase sales

3 What is the communication objective

bull eg reinforce brand image or communicate product benets

For example a familiar brand that is seeking to reinforce its brand image can get considerable benefitfrom minimal brand mention helping to maximize the consumerrsquos experience with the content A

brand that requires more exposition may need to discuss its product benefits more fully especially

within content that is product-relevant

2 Content Factors

1 Is the purpose of the content to inform or primarily to entertain

2 What format ndash text video audio

Branding should probably be on the low side in content that is primarily entertainment-oriented

(which is probably most appropriate for audiences that are hard to attract and retain) If the content

must be experienced in real time (ie audio or video) the brand may not want to take up too much

of the audiencersquos time with extensive brand mentions Printtext-based content allows for more ex-pansiveness without diminishing the user experience

3 Target Audience Factors

1 What are their characteristics ndash ie younger older

2 How familiar are they with the brand

3 Where will they experience it ndash at home business or mobile

Younger people may be more time-sensitive than older adults as well as more skeptical about com-

mercial messages If the audience is very familiar with the brand then a brief mention may suffice to

associate it with the content Mobile users ndash famously anti-advertising ndash will likely be impatient with

heavily branded content



4 Distribution Factors

1 Will the content be only on the company website

2 Is it designed to appear on multiple destinations bull If so will the publishers be paid or treated as partners

Well-crafted branded content has the ability to appear on multiple destinations with an affinity for

the brandcategory or target audience Consideration will need to be given to the degree of branding

that will make the content maximally acceptable to the targeted publishers It may even be possible

to vary the amount of branding within the content depending on publisher preferences

III OTHER CONSIDERATIONS IN USING BRANDED CONTENT

1 Content Curation or Creation

In deciding upon a Branded Content strategy marketers need to determine how they will source

their content ndash curate existing content or create original content

bull Curation is the process of ldquonding organizing and sharing contentrdquo according to one

definition It means searching for existing content that would be appropriate to associate

with the marketerrsquos brand and putting it into a format for republishingsharing

bull Original Content must be created by the marketer or a designated supplier

Curation has the advantage of being relatively less expensive and time consuming than creation

However it is not easy finding content that is brand appropriate ndash 43 of B2B marketers who ldquocuraterdquo

content report that ldquofinding high-quality contentrdquo was one of their biggest challenges An additional

consideration is that the curated content will not be unique since it is taken from already-published

sources giving users less reason to engage with it

On the other hand the same report says that ldquocreating original contentrdquo is an even bigger challenge

(69 of respondents) The advantage in overcoming this challenge lies both in the freshness of origi-

nal content and the ability to custom-tailor it to the brandrsquos needs

2 Content Creation In-house vs Outsourced

Once a marketer decides to add Branded Content to the marketing mix he needs to decide whether

to produce the content in-house or outsource it This is only partly a resource allocation decision

bull In-house content creation has the advantage of flexibility since at the most minimal level

existing staff can be delegated to create it They will presumably have a high degree of

familiarity with the brand and its needs

9

10



However there is probably a strong correlation between resources allocated and the quality of the

output For example it may be desired to refresh the content frequently (one source cites an 18

higher click-through rate in content refreshed daily vs weekly) If the Branded Content strategy is tobe a significant part of the brandrsquos marketing effort the marketer may need to create a department

specifically devoted to updating the content regularly - or consider using an outside source

bull Outsourcing content to a content creator and distributor puts the content creation task in the

hands of individuals who are entirely dedicated to the process and who are experts in crafting

indirect branding messages a skill that takes time to master Among other time consuming

tasks they can vet the credentials of experts who can add 3rd-party credibility to the content

The outside source may also have expertise in multiplatform distribution which can

increase the potential reach of the content

Content creation and distribution expertise can be readily obtained on either basis It is up to the

marketer to determine the level of effort to give to the program and then decide whether he wantsthe control of in-house creation or prefers to seek the needed expertise elsewhere

3 Distribution Identifying Affinity Partners

As noted above one aspect of Branded Content is its ability to find placement on numerous plat-

forms and Internet destinations The marketer can choose to pay for placement or offer it for free to

other publishers Paid distribution is not only more costly but may result in undesirable page place-

ment On the other hand if the content is sufficiently compelling in and of itself it will have value to

publishers beyond the companyrsquos own website

In offering content to other publishers a marketer will want to ensure that they are desirable desti-

nations Rather than offering it to ldquoall comersrdquo it is important to have quality-control filters in placeto ensure that the content is in a high-quality environment which has the ability to attract potential

customers

4 Measurement

Branded Content like other digital marketing lends itself to some easily quantifiable measures in-

cluding audience (views) engagement (duration) sharing and clicking Careful attention to these

measures allows the content to be optimized by reinforcing those elements that seem to be most

attractive to customers

SUMMARY

Content Marketing is growing in importance because it provides marketers with a way to overcome

the increasing resistance to commercial messages of overwhelmed consumers Branded Content is

an important Content Marketing tool which can enhance a brandrsquos image by associating it with at-

tractive and engaging content To use it most effectively a marketer needs to pay careful attention

to the best balance between getting his message (branding) delivered and providing the consumer

with attractive engaging and relevant content

11



SOURCES

1 See for example ldquoSix Useful Content Marketing Definitionsrdquo

httpcontentmarketinginstitutecom201206content-marketing-definition

2 Themerckindexcom

httpthemerckindexchemfindercomTheMerckIndexFormsPublicContentAreaAboutaspx

3 Content Marketing Institute 2013 B2C Content Marketing Research Benchmarks Budgets and

Trends

httpcontentmarketinginstitutecom2012112013-b2c-consumer-content-marketing

4 ClickZcom What Is a Good Click-Through Rate for PPC

httpwwwclickzcomclickzcolumn2186867click-rate-ppc

5For example from ldquoWhat is Content Marketingrdquo httpcontentmarketinginstitutecomwhat-is-

content-marketing

ldquoIt goes by many nameshellipletrsquos try to name them all Custom publishing custom media customer

media customer publishing member media private media branded content corporate media cor-

porate publishing corporate journalism and branded mediardquo

6 Harvey Gray and Despain Journal of Advertising Research 2006

7 Buzzfeedcom 17 Animals who were totally prepared for Haloweenrdquo

httpwwwbuzzfeedcomcampbellsgo17-animals-who-are-already-prepared-for-halloweenb=1

8 Wikipedia

httpenwikipediaorgwikiAdvertorial

9 Emarketercom ldquoOriginality is Marketersrsquo Biggest Challengerdquo Nov 20 2012

httpwwwemarketercomArticleaspxR=1009495

10 Emarketer Ibid


11 Curatacom ldquoContent Curation Continues to Gain Momentum Amongst Marketersrdquo May 52012

httpwwwcuratacompresspress-releasearticle=101



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Content Marketing is a powerful tool for marketers to engage consumers who are increasingly over-whelmed by and cynical about straightforward advertising It is a broad term which encompasses a

wide range of online and offline strategies ndash from social media to annual reports - and smart market-

ers are utilizing many of them simultaneously

Branded Content is one such strategy While this term also covers a very wide range of specific strat-

egies it always involves giving consumers compelling informationentertainment which is tied in

some way back to the brand

Vital to Branded Content is the balance between its two fundamental elements branding the iden-

tification of my brand up to and including a ldquocall to actionrdquo - and content - the presentation of infor-

mation and entertainment that provides the consumer with a positive experience Marketers must

determine this balance to effectively implement the strategy

There is no single answer to this question as it depends on many factors specific to the brandrsquos situa-

tion However it is a decision which is made explicitly or implicitly every time a marketer chooses to

employ some form of Branded Content

The purpose of this White Paper is to provide a brief overview of Content Marketing with a specific

focus on Branded Content It looks at some of the considerations which should go into this decision

in order to help marketers make the best use of this important tool in order to achieve their objectives


































1

3

4














II BRANDED CONTENT







of B2C marketers














5































6

7








brand pitch










8



DECISION FACTORS




1 Brand Factors










2 Content Factors














































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid





































1

3

4














II BRANDED CONTENT







of B2C marketers














5































6

7








brand pitch










8



DECISION FACTORS




1 Brand Factors










2 Content Factors














































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid

















II BRANDED CONTENT







of B2C marketers














5































6

7








brand pitch










8



DECISION FACTORS




1 Brand Factors










2 Content Factors














































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid


































6

7








brand pitch










8



DECISION FACTORS




1 Brand Factors










2 Content Factors














































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid











brand pitch










8



DECISION FACTORS




1 Brand Factors










2 Content Factors














































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid






DECISION FACTORS




1 Brand Factors










2 Content Factors














































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid



































9

10























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid


























customers

4 Measurement





SUMMARY







11



SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid






SOURCES



2 Themerckindexcom



Trends





content-marketing







8 Wikipedia




10 Emarketer Ibid




branding and content marketing

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