Content Marketing Today

1990s icons talk about nothing in a meaningless way.

If you're old enough, you may remember the deeply flawed introduction of the Infinity luxury car from Nissan which was all about flowers and trees and nothing about a high performance high-end car.  Since the new brand entered the market at the same time as Toyota's Lexus, goofing up at the beginning was pretty unfortunate.

The Bill Gates--Jerry Seinfeld adver-tale is equally oblique.  The first in the series also misfires in its effort to lay the groundwork for positioning Microsoft as a leader once more. The campaign launch pairs a retired Microsoft CEO and a rarely seen Seinfeld both of whom flourished in the 90s and have floundered in more recent years (apologies to fans of Windows Vista and the lamentable Bee Movie).

More proof that companies need to be thinking and acting like publishers online.

In the world of print advertising, it has always been true the ads placed within very well read publications will outperform ads placed in also-rans.  There is a reason for this.  Great magazines and newspapers engage their readers and engender a level of trust that carries over to the ads running within their pages. 

Now, according to an article in the Online Media Daily, the same applies to online advertising.  This reinforces the importance of content marketing in building trust that can transform Web visitors into buyers.

Why the Internet takes the wind out of print advertising sails--and sales.

Dawn's high impact print advertising in the 1970s and 80s can be done much better on the web in a 21st-century. I believe this change is a sad metaphor for the likely future of much of the trade publishing universe.

Recently the Washington Post wrote about how slowly major brands are moving ad $$ to the Internet.  The real story for me is the growing deployment of content marketing strategies by these same major brands.  This IAM's puppy video offers a glimpse of what the Post is missing. 

What's Going On?

We all know that Procter & Gamble is the biggest television advertising spender.  So it wouldn't be an incredible leap to assume they are the biggest online spender as well.  Not so!

In the age of the Internet, the answer is a resounding, Yes!

Our Australian content marketing colleague, Bret Gilbertson, is a great one for shattering marketing myths.  Everything that he does on behalf of clients is aimed at generating measurable results.  The vast majority of his work is online, either with websites, blogs or eNewsletters.

In a recent post he shares a frighteningly amusing and instructive video from an Australian TV show that is dedicated to, believe it or not, advertising.  In a June 2008 broadcast, the host, Will Anderson, got the panel to talk about advertising that backfired.  He managed to elicit a quote from the managing director of an Australian subsidiary of global giant Y&R:

All advertising works. It's just a matter of how much.

Brett notes that advertising is the biggest marketing expense for many companies for both good advertising and bad.  He makes an interesting, indirect prediction, "Maybe Russell Howcroft's statement that all advertising works is true in an advertising agency sort of way... but maybe not for long."

Be sure to check out this video excerpt from the Aussie advertising show.  You'll be amused and simultaneously appalled.

Whether out of inspiration or desperation, struggling newspapers are trying to find ways to develop targeted content that, in turn, attracts targeted advertising dollars.

We all know that our local newspapers are suffering grievous losses of advertising revenue that is translating into fewer editorial pages and less coverage of important topics. Typically, that also means fewer dedicated sections that are conducive to focused advertising aimed at business owners or moms, for example.

Most local newspapers have virtual monopolies in their markets and have therefore been cash cows, sucking in ad dollars from local small businesses. When those businesses could also place their ads inside a section that had a strong probability of being read by their target buyers, local newspaper advertising made good sense. And, besides, there were rarely any other good choices.

In the past, advertisers would hope to be included in a section that was relevant to their buyers.  Frequently, however, they had no choice because it was the luck of the draw.  Today with fewer editorial pages, the likelihood of being in the right spot is even less probable. What is a small business to do?

He thinks a rising Tide lifts all brand advertising, but ignores how content marketing works for P&G on the web.

Jim Spanfeller, Forbes CEO, was quoted in the Media Post Raw blog on why traditional brand advertising will not be displaced by Internet efforts.

“Brand advertising is the most efficient allocation of big marketer dollars...The Internet has not fundamentally altered how consumers respond to advertising.”

Spanfeller chose Proctor & Gamble’s Tide as his example. “There aren’t enough clicks on the planet to move 500 million boxes of tide.” Finally, as the blog framed it, 'he proclaimed hopefully': “The biggest irony that will come from the Internet is it will restore the luster of brand marketing.” 

Clearly, Spanfeller is missing the point.  The real power of the Internet for Procter & Gamble--and for the rest of us--lies in our ability to create compelling content online.