CONTENT MARKETING SUMMARY
New topics headings are underlined
Subtopics and emphasized terms are italicized
Key terms and list items are in bold
Examples and addi onal notes are indicated by an arrow
Week 1
Lecture
Before: Media scarcity, access to media limited
Brands had a ‘’monopoly’’ on exposure, one simple message could have great
in uence
Now: Media abundance, info overload, ‘’democra zing’’ media (with rise of social media)
Companies lost knowledge of their story among the public
Drivers of inven on content marke ng:
- Increasing avoidance and resistance to adver sing
- Costs/e ects of adver sing (media satura on is high, ads are not as e ec ve)
- Desire for reliable, trustworthy, relevant info
- Individuals manage their own media use (and what they wish to consume)
The idea subsequent to this was: ‘’We shouldn’t push/chase people, people
should chase us: We share our story in an amusing and engaging way’’. This is the
start of content marke ng!
Na ve adver sing
- Na ve adver sing = Paid adver sing that takes the form and appearance of content
from the publisher itself
- Transi on zone between content marke ng and adver sing
- Always some disclosure of commercial objec ves, consumers should know how to
deal with the persuasive informa on (if they recognize it is persuasive)
!!!! How to organize content marke ng?
- Manage our sources
- Who is in charge (corporate communica on, marke ng…. Think about the
consequences; How will each department a ect content marke ng)
- How do we plan it? Should we use…
o Sta c planning: Calendar with themes/content events
o Dynamic: Flexible calendar based on trending topics/social issues
- What should we invest in to reach our CM goals?
1
,2
,Chapter 2
Note: I’m not wri ng anything about Chapter 1, because it is a one-page prologue to the
book. I did not nd any relevant informa on to include there.
The History of Content Marke ng: Custom publishing
Custom publishing= The predecessor of content marke ng, with the same idea. Brands try to
strengthen their posi oning and marke ng objec ves by providing their (poten al) rela onships
with informa ve, interes ng or ac va ng editorial content that supports the posi on and
proposi on of the brand.
E.g. 19th century French bookshop: Brought out their own booklet with exclusive pieces
from famous authors to draw (poten al) customers’ a en on to their store.
Steps in custom publishing
1. De ne a target group not yet saturated by content from other companies (If there were
1000 other bookshop booklet sellers out there, the whole thing would not be very
successful)
2. Create content channel to engage consumers with the brand (that is the goal; the primary
goal of custom publishing is not to acquire direct subscrip on or ad fees – Although
adver sers and subscriber-models may provide addi onal income)
Di erence classic and custom media publishing:
- Classic (what brands used to do more) PAID MEDIA
Brands pay to have their media featured in a desired external publishing domain (no means to gain
exposure otherwise)
- Custom OWNED MEDIA,
Brands own an internal publishing domain, hence do not pay to be featured in it (exposure is enough
through their own channel)
Content marke ng
Content marke ng = Marke ng and business process of crea ng and distribu ng your own valuable,
relevant and consistent content to a ract and acquire a clearly de ned audience – With the aim of
a rac ng and binding a target group, driving pro table customer ac on
A brand becoming a media company for itself. Basically, an on-steroids version of custom publishing:
You do not have just one (periodic) owned channel for content, you have a full-on owned cross-
media content network to engage people with your brand
E.g. AH Allerhande! Started as just a magazine (custom publishing),
now has an App + Website + Facebook + Twi er + Forum + YouTube channel + Fes val…. Etc.
(Content marke ng)
Key points:
- Consumer focus.
It should seem like you are invested in the consumer, want to help/serve them. Content
marke ng is like a mix between PR and Marke ng.
- Owned media.
You own the media.
- Goal-Oriented.
3
, Clear objec ves that guide organiza on-wide ac on perspec ve
- Consistent, successful formats.
Think Allerhande. You need to have consistent content to that works to hook people
and keep people hooked
- Tech-savviness.
Contemporary media landscape relies greatly on technology, so your strategy should
too.
Problems:
- Non-integrated communica on departments Bad content marke ng. In prac ce,
organiza ons structure their communica on departments in non-integrated silos (sales,
marke ng, and customer rela ons), resul ng in incoherent content marke ng.
Content marke ng strategy should be company-wide, and the departments concerned with
communica on should be integrated.
Why do marke ng, sales, and service not integrate easily?:
▪ Sales: Focuses on genera ng maximum revenue. Cri cize the quality of
marke ng leads for sales e orts.
▪ Marke ng: Focuses on crea ng a strategy that evokes posi ve a tudes and
popularity among public. Cri cize salespeople’s poor follow-up skills of their
leads
▪ Service: Focuses on cost reduc on and sa sfying consumers
These are in con ict! As a result, non-integra on will result in the fact that
consumer interac on with the product is inconsistent throughout the
‘’customer’s journey’’, selec on and whole consump on process.
- Non-focus on the receiver, content too clearly oriented towards selling. Content marke ng
is not pushy in any way, should not make the consumer feel like they are consuming
adver sements. It should be useful/entertaining to them in some way, the company should
not communicate overly explicit sales objec ve if they want to make it work.
Brand management
Brand management = The marke ng discipline that controls the brand iden ty, image and
proposi on. This is highly important, as it determines the value of the brand as perceived by
(poten al) rela ons.
What stayed the same over the years?
- Brand management focuses on communica ng three basic principles: Brand archetype,
brand values, brand story.
What has changed over the years?
- Brands need to communicate to their consumers constantly, rapidly and with radical
transparency to keep their customers coming. Companies are no longer the only mass
channel to communicate about their brand and lost their self-evident acceptance in the
market. This is where content marke ng can be essen al.
- There is an increased need for brands to have a highly exible, an -silo approach to brand
management.
5 ac vi es to pursue managing your brand in the modern corporate landscape:
4
New topics headings are underlined
Subtopics and emphasized terms are italicized
Key terms and list items are in bold
Examples and addi onal notes are indicated by an arrow
Week 1
Lecture
Before: Media scarcity, access to media limited
Brands had a ‘’monopoly’’ on exposure, one simple message could have great
in uence
Now: Media abundance, info overload, ‘’democra zing’’ media (with rise of social media)
Companies lost knowledge of their story among the public
Drivers of inven on content marke ng:
- Increasing avoidance and resistance to adver sing
- Costs/e ects of adver sing (media satura on is high, ads are not as e ec ve)
- Desire for reliable, trustworthy, relevant info
- Individuals manage their own media use (and what they wish to consume)
The idea subsequent to this was: ‘’We shouldn’t push/chase people, people
should chase us: We share our story in an amusing and engaging way’’. This is the
start of content marke ng!
Na ve adver sing
- Na ve adver sing = Paid adver sing that takes the form and appearance of content
from the publisher itself
- Transi on zone between content marke ng and adver sing
- Always some disclosure of commercial objec ves, consumers should know how to
deal with the persuasive informa on (if they recognize it is persuasive)
!!!! How to organize content marke ng?
- Manage our sources
- Who is in charge (corporate communica on, marke ng…. Think about the
consequences; How will each department a ect content marke ng)
- How do we plan it? Should we use…
o Sta c planning: Calendar with themes/content events
o Dynamic: Flexible calendar based on trending topics/social issues
- What should we invest in to reach our CM goals?
1
,2
,Chapter 2
Note: I’m not wri ng anything about Chapter 1, because it is a one-page prologue to the
book. I did not nd any relevant informa on to include there.
The History of Content Marke ng: Custom publishing
Custom publishing= The predecessor of content marke ng, with the same idea. Brands try to
strengthen their posi oning and marke ng objec ves by providing their (poten al) rela onships
with informa ve, interes ng or ac va ng editorial content that supports the posi on and
proposi on of the brand.
E.g. 19th century French bookshop: Brought out their own booklet with exclusive pieces
from famous authors to draw (poten al) customers’ a en on to their store.
Steps in custom publishing
1. De ne a target group not yet saturated by content from other companies (If there were
1000 other bookshop booklet sellers out there, the whole thing would not be very
successful)
2. Create content channel to engage consumers with the brand (that is the goal; the primary
goal of custom publishing is not to acquire direct subscrip on or ad fees – Although
adver sers and subscriber-models may provide addi onal income)
Di erence classic and custom media publishing:
- Classic (what brands used to do more) PAID MEDIA
Brands pay to have their media featured in a desired external publishing domain (no means to gain
exposure otherwise)
- Custom OWNED MEDIA,
Brands own an internal publishing domain, hence do not pay to be featured in it (exposure is enough
through their own channel)
Content marke ng
Content marke ng = Marke ng and business process of crea ng and distribu ng your own valuable,
relevant and consistent content to a ract and acquire a clearly de ned audience – With the aim of
a rac ng and binding a target group, driving pro table customer ac on
A brand becoming a media company for itself. Basically, an on-steroids version of custom publishing:
You do not have just one (periodic) owned channel for content, you have a full-on owned cross-
media content network to engage people with your brand
E.g. AH Allerhande! Started as just a magazine (custom publishing),
now has an App + Website + Facebook + Twi er + Forum + YouTube channel + Fes val…. Etc.
(Content marke ng)
Key points:
- Consumer focus.
It should seem like you are invested in the consumer, want to help/serve them. Content
marke ng is like a mix between PR and Marke ng.
- Owned media.
You own the media.
- Goal-Oriented.
3
, Clear objec ves that guide organiza on-wide ac on perspec ve
- Consistent, successful formats.
Think Allerhande. You need to have consistent content to that works to hook people
and keep people hooked
- Tech-savviness.
Contemporary media landscape relies greatly on technology, so your strategy should
too.
Problems:
- Non-integrated communica on departments Bad content marke ng. In prac ce,
organiza ons structure their communica on departments in non-integrated silos (sales,
marke ng, and customer rela ons), resul ng in incoherent content marke ng.
Content marke ng strategy should be company-wide, and the departments concerned with
communica on should be integrated.
Why do marke ng, sales, and service not integrate easily?:
▪ Sales: Focuses on genera ng maximum revenue. Cri cize the quality of
marke ng leads for sales e orts.
▪ Marke ng: Focuses on crea ng a strategy that evokes posi ve a tudes and
popularity among public. Cri cize salespeople’s poor follow-up skills of their
leads
▪ Service: Focuses on cost reduc on and sa sfying consumers
These are in con ict! As a result, non-integra on will result in the fact that
consumer interac on with the product is inconsistent throughout the
‘’customer’s journey’’, selec on and whole consump on process.
- Non-focus on the receiver, content too clearly oriented towards selling. Content marke ng
is not pushy in any way, should not make the consumer feel like they are consuming
adver sements. It should be useful/entertaining to them in some way, the company should
not communicate overly explicit sales objec ve if they want to make it work.
Brand management
Brand management = The marke ng discipline that controls the brand iden ty, image and
proposi on. This is highly important, as it determines the value of the brand as perceived by
(poten al) rela ons.
What stayed the same over the years?
- Brand management focuses on communica ng three basic principles: Brand archetype,
brand values, brand story.
What has changed over the years?
- Brands need to communicate to their consumers constantly, rapidly and with radical
transparency to keep their customers coming. Companies are no longer the only mass
channel to communicate about their brand and lost their self-evident acceptance in the
market. This is where content marke ng can be essen al.
- There is an increased need for brands to have a highly exible, an -silo approach to brand
management.
5 ac vi es to pursue managing your brand in the modern corporate landscape:
4
