CONTENT ADVERTISING AS AN ECOSYSTEM
“Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day; but teach a man to fish, and he’ll never go hungry.” Curiously, this entreaty - a motto typically applied to the importance of acquiring long-term skills and investments - couldn’t ring any truer to the operation of marketing today. Drew Neisser from AdAge.com explains the gravity of establishing an ongoing source of sustenance for a business’s marketing ploys in his article “Why Marriott is a Content Marketing Mecca.” Meeting the minimum line with a few entertaining pieces of content here and there no longer cuts it. David Beebe, VP global and creative content marketing at Marriott International, conveys why.
Roles have shifted in the marketplace. Consumers are now in charge. This is why Beebe has created a never-ending story about the lifestyle offered by Marriott, focusing on the audience first. It’s about what they want, not what the company wants. That’s how you get their attention, Beebe explains.
Beebe joined Marriott at the prime time. The company was evolving from it’s roots and the marketing landscape was shifting along with it - transforming into a storytelling sphere. Following the revolution, Beebe established Marriott as a connoisseur of travel lifestyle content. Producing short films that fixated on the story, he accented the importance of the brand culture above the selling proposition.
“But not all content worked equally, and Beebe learned that the why behind the content was ultimately more important that the what,” Neisser relays. It’s about putting the purpose before the process. Too many businesses today are negligent in how they conduct their marketing - scattering content without a plan. Neisser believes that content marketing - if the why is accurately answered - can drive sustainability and profitability. “‘Brands are storytellers and media companies now,” Beebe explains in the article. ‘It may not be their core business, but the opportunity exists, and that’s just exciting itself.’”
If the why is prioritized, Beebe says brands can properly execute content marketing strategies. This involves knowing the difference between fundamental storytelling vs. campaigns, dedicating a budget specifically to content marketing, crafting in-house materials and instituting internal buy-ins. Content advertising is an ecosystem, not just a bunch of solo, unrelated campaigns.
At Black Oak Creative, we approach every piece of content with the lifestyle in mind, especially for our client, MasterCraft Boats. We aim to portray the culture of life-on-the-water by emitting the sensations associated with soaking in the sun rays, laughing with friends as someone does a face-plant wake-surfing or the rush of landing a new trick as the spectators go crazy cheering. We don’t help our client sell their product, we help sell unforgettable moments and joy on the water. Our why is to tug on the heartstrings, to evoke emotion and capture hearts through an ecosystem of cultural content.
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/marriott-a-content-marketing-mecca/308365/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social
Roles have shifted in the marketplace. Consumers are now in charge. This is why Beebe has created a never-ending story about the lifestyle offered by Marriott, focusing on the audience first. It’s about what they want, not what the company wants. That’s how you get their attention, Beebe explains.
Beebe joined Marriott at the prime time. The company was evolving from it’s roots and the marketing landscape was shifting along with it - transforming into a storytelling sphere. Following the revolution, Beebe established Marriott as a connoisseur of travel lifestyle content. Producing short films that fixated on the story, he accented the importance of the brand culture above the selling proposition.
“But not all content worked equally, and Beebe learned that the why behind the content was ultimately more important that the what,” Neisser relays. It’s about putting the purpose before the process. Too many businesses today are negligent in how they conduct their marketing - scattering content without a plan. Neisser believes that content marketing - if the why is accurately answered - can drive sustainability and profitability. “‘Brands are storytellers and media companies now,” Beebe explains in the article. ‘It may not be their core business, but the opportunity exists, and that’s just exciting itself.’”
If the why is prioritized, Beebe says brands can properly execute content marketing strategies. This involves knowing the difference between fundamental storytelling vs. campaigns, dedicating a budget specifically to content marketing, crafting in-house materials and instituting internal buy-ins. Content advertising is an ecosystem, not just a bunch of solo, unrelated campaigns.
At Black Oak Creative, we approach every piece of content with the lifestyle in mind, especially for our client, MasterCraft Boats. We aim to portray the culture of life-on-the-water by emitting the sensations associated with soaking in the sun rays, laughing with friends as someone does a face-plant wake-surfing or the rush of landing a new trick as the spectators go crazy cheering. We don’t help our client sell their product, we help sell unforgettable moments and joy on the water. Our why is to tug on the heartstrings, to evoke emotion and capture hearts through an ecosystem of cultural content.
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/marriott-a-content-marketing-mecca/308365/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social
