The Festival of Marketing returns to Tobacco Dock on 4 – 5 October 2017 for ambitious professionals to discover, learn, celebrate and shape the future of marketing together.
From hard-to-reach CMOs to industry pioneers and digital specialists at the top of their field, the Festival boasts more leading marketing minds than anywhere else on the planet, all coming together to share the secrets of their success.
And as a member of the BCMA, you have an exclusive 10% discount on Festival passes!
Here are just a handful of brands who’ll be taking the stage at the Festival in October:
And did you hear about the incredible headliners announced so far?
Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp, two of the world’s most prominent, celebrated and colourful voices in marketing will offer their bold visions for the future of our industry in the most important debate you will witness this year.
Entrepreneur Jo Malone, founder and creative director of Jo Loves. The English scent maverick and creator of some of the world’s most-loved fragrances will share her brand building expertise, her entrepreneurial journey and her triumphs over adversity.
So, what are you waiting for? Check out our speaker line-up and buy a Festival Pass* today using the 10% discount code for BCMA members: PRBCMA10.
Every year, the Festival of Marketing partners with the most trusted industry bodies to bring together the elite of the marketing world in a unique experience where ambitious marketers can discover, learn, celebrate and shape the future of marketing together.
We are very pleased to announce our partnership with BCMA – the Branded Content Marketing Association – bringing the best of the content marketing industry to the Festival.
Festival of Marketing, the largest global event for brand marketers, will return to Tobacco Dock, London, on 4 -5 October 2017. It may only last two days, but you’ll reap the rewards of attending for months to come. Think of the Festival as a jumping-off point for your career: leave with first-hand insights from some of the industry’s biggest power players, as well as countless new connections.
With more than 200 speakers, workshops, awards, experience rooms and training, it is the only event that truly reflects the creative, strategic and tactical job that marketers do.
And as a member of BCMA, get 10% off your Festival Pass using the discount code: PRBCMA10
Find out more – www.festivalofmarketing.com
Enquiries: info@festivalofmarketing.com
The Festival of Marketing returns to Tobacco Dock on 4 – 5 October 2017 for ambitious marketers to discover, learn, celebrate and shape the future of marketing together. As the largest global event for brand marketers, the Festival reflects the very nature of marketing – seamlessly blending inspiration and application.
This is a place to experience everything you need to find success – the ideas, the connections and the practical skills. It is both inspiring and hands on learning. Marketing is creative, strategic and tactical and the Festival is built in this spirit.
The expert content programme across 12 stages boasts more leading marketing minds than anywhere else on the planet, along with workshops, training, awards and networking opportunities.
Whether you’re attending the conference at the Festival, celebrating your successes at the Masters of Marketing Awards or joining our partners in the Festival City or at Festival After Dark, you’ll be part of an experience like no other.
Get 10% off your Festival Pass as a member of BCMA by using the promo code: PRBCMA10
We all love a great story. The Zurich start-up company Werenbach has been making watches since 2013 out of material from spaceborn Russian Soyuz rockets. Up to now the watches have been produced in very limited editions and sold directly to clients. Three watches have already been unofficially tested by astronauts in space. Patrick Hohmann is the owner and CEO of Werenbach. He has written about his entrepreneurial beginnings in the adventure novel ‘Werenbachs Uhr’ (Bilgerverlag, 2015).
To produce watches which are more inspiring and emotional than any others” – Werenbach vision
We are delighted to bring you an insight into what drives Patrick and motivated him to embark on his epic journey to build watches from space rockets and why he believes content is a key element to the success of the brand.
Watches from space rockets – are you serious?
How is business?
PH: I am very satisfied. We reached our funding goal at Kickstarter within one hour. After one month we have raised over 500’000 CHF. Today we are about to become the most funded Kickstarter project from Switzerland ever! This proves that there is a market demand for our watches.
What are you currently working on?
PH: I see the chance to move from a local oriented watch atelier to a watch company that sells its watches to an international market. This is a huge and very delicate step since it requires a lot of changes to the team and in the business setup. We are also planning our next trip to the Steppes and are hoping to make a new film about this adventure.
High demand for ‘Model 5′
Tell us something we don’t know about Werenbach Watches?
PH: The most interesting material parts of the rockets are not processed yet. It’s the material above the engine. This material is totally burned and has very interesting structures. Now we cannot build this material into the watches because the variation of the material is too big. Therefore, we need to build a configurator with which our customers can choose their dial. The result will be unique watches configured to the individual taste of the owner. This is a great story within its own right!
The burned engine has very interesting structures
What do you like best about the Watch business?
PH: It’s all about emotion and striving for perfection – a great story helps. To create a watch which is worn with pride fascinates me. It’s also the process between an idea and the realisation of a timepiece. This process is very complex and multi-faceted.
What don’t you like about the Watch business?
PH: The market is saturated. The competition is huge. To build up brand visibility is very expensive. This is a huge challenge for ‘Microbrands’ such as Werenbach. This is why we are focusing on branded content as a critical element of our marketing strategy.
What is next on the horizon for you?
PH: I have three big targets: 1) Generate a sustainable cash-flow which enables us to build up the brand; 2) Realise the configurator which I mentioned above; 3) To acquire rocket material from another space nation to create the next collection.
Marco & Patrick after the rocket rescue (Soyuz MS-02)
The moment it struck its first second was magical. There were thousands of thoughts running through our heads – thousands of memories of good and bad moments and times when we had thought about giving up. Finally we were able to hold it in our hands with pride: the first watch made from a rocket which had flown up into space”.
In the entertainment market where digital continues to rapidly evolve and develop with a myriad of opportunities, Sony DADC is well positioned to be an essential partner of the digital distribution channel for brands and platforms. They have developed a new D2C platform, Monetiser, that not only enables publishers and rights holders to promote their physical content but also their archive content directly to consumers.
Mikado, a brand of Mondelez International, recently partnered with Canal+ to launch a new communication and promotion operation, called Mikado Séries. The objective was to install the famous chocolate sticks brand into the world of the TV-series. For a period of 6 months (March to August 2017), Mikado invited consumers to participate in a major competition for a chance to win 1,000 full-length Canal VOD seasons from a selection of 10 TV-series (Baron Noir, Braquo, Gears, Les Revenants, Borgia or Le Bureau des Légendes) to watch on a platform specifically created for the occasion accessible on the web, mobiles and tablets.
During this time, each month between 100 and 200 unique activation codes are thus to be won. Relayed on the Mikado product packaging via a sticker, the operation was also supported on television and on the internet via a TV spot and 6 short-form videos demonstrating why Mikado is the biscuit bring customers this unique experience. This was further supported by animations in stores and through of their CRM program.
Mikado chose Sony DADC as their technical service provider as they were deemed to be best placed to deliver the solution seamlessly for this branded content initiative. To do this, Sony DADC worked closely with Canal VOD as their chosen technical service provider.
We managed the entire technical aspect: from the encoding of the TV series to the distribution, through the storage of programmes, the implementation of the code activation system, but also the custom creation of the Mikadoseries.com site as a ‘white label’ as well as the development of Android and IoS applications for smartphones and tablets for viewing content”
Bertrand Levavasseur, Head of Business Development, Sony DADC (France)
This initiative forms part of the new innovative services that Sony DADC are now able to provide that are evolving all the time. This is in response to the increasing market demand for the huge increase in branded content promotional operations. They are working on many other projects of this type that are being prepared and will be launching in the coming months.
Sony DADC is also able to develop sales sites and ‘white label’ applications in optimised times and at a lower cost. They are open to develop any other types of requests on the subject of integrating content for brands. They are always aiming to optimise and deliver the best solutions to help brands and platforms promote their products and maximise their income.
We are excited to announce that our latest Chapter, BCMA Canada is now officially launched. It will be headed up by Kaaren Whitney-Vernon who is the Founder and CEO shift2 Inc. – one of Canada’s leading branded entertainment agency who will become President of BCMA Canada.
shift2 has previously worked on projects including Carmilla with U by Kotex, which has extended beyond its web series roots to include a future film. Working with sister company Smokebomb, shift2 also partnered with RBC on V Morgan is Dead, which aimed to reach millennials in a new way for the bank.
They are now turning the lens on themselves for its next project. It’s producing a show all about working at a company that creates branded entertainment and is looking for brands to partner with.
Called Branded, the 12-part digital series follows the staff of fictional shop Kapow Media, with a focus on co-workers and best friends Cassandra and Jamie.
There are opportunities for brands to be built into the series, said Kaaren Whitney-Vernon, founder and CEO of shift2, with the money they pay for placement going towards promoting Branded to the brand’s intended audience. For instance, if a brand wanted to focus on YouTube, then the dollars would go there.
Whitney-Vernon said the idea to produce a branded show that so closely mirrors itself was born out of a desire to reach millennials in the marketing industry that tune out when presented with more traditional white papers and research about the benefits of branded entertainment.
“Millennials are now the largest working group, but we are still using old methods to reach the audience,” she said. “So we thought, we are selling the idea of branded entertainment to brands, why aren’t we doing it ourselves?”
The goal around Branded is to have brands signed on in the next couple months and have the series go live in September.
Our first Back to the Future of Branded Content panel session at the inaugural Lions Entertainment Festival in 2016 told the incredible story of BMW Films. We were delighted to have the opportunity to ask the client (now retired), ‘Mr BMW’, Jim McDowell exactly how they came into being – basically he kept it a secret from the big bosses until he was certain they were on to a winner!
We also heard from Bruce Bildsten, Creative Director, Writer, Dave Carter and Executive Producer, Brian DiLorenzo who took us on that fascinating journey from inception to execution. It didn’t stop there, as they recently released a new ‘BMW Film’ The Escape, 15-years after the original series.
Due to overwhelmingly positive feedback following the panel session we are continuing the series for this year’s Lions Entertainment Festival featuring Mattel.
Mattel was founded on creativity and innovation. Started in a garage, Mattel’s founders, Ruth and Elliot Handler, were visionaries who understood that in a world where kids were surrounded by media, toys would have to tell engaging stories. The Handlers were inspired by their friend Walt Disney, who was creating a new kind of character-based family entertainment company and bet the entire company on advertising in Disney’s new and unproven TV shows.
Mattel created the first television advertising for kids, rooted in kid-targeted stories that brought their toys to life. In fact, Barbie came to life on TV in 1959 with a TVC that aired within the Mickey Mouse Club.
Elliot and Ruth Handler with their great friend Walt Disney
Continuing their commitment to content, Mattel has now formed Mattel Creations, the original name of the Handlers Company, putting content innovation back at the forefront of everything we do, with a mission to reinvent Mattel’s consumer engagement model. Ruth and Elliot’s original belief in creativity and innovation is as prevalent now as it was when Mattel was founded.
They are looking to the future of consumer-focused storytelling, and creating a new foundation of relevance for their brands and the core mission the same – keep story at the center of the experience. What has changed, as they’ve seen with the shifting of media consumption to mobile and digital, is to create stories that allow kids to engage, participate, and live these experiences across a multitude of platforms.
Re-inventing an Icon: Barbie now has various different versions
Today content and story no longer come from a singular source; the arrival of the digital age has launched a universe of disruptive platforms. They are creating adaptive content and leveraging technology platforms to connect with kids who have become both the consumer and creator. Toys are no longer merely being toys; they must be part of a larger world of stories and ideas.
To connect with Barbie’s multifaceted fan and consumer base, they launched several campaigns: Imagine the Possibilities – to connect with mums, Dreamtopia – for younger girls, Vlogger & YouTube- for older girls and continue to expand this strategy with more to come.
Barbie by Warhol (1985)
Mattel and their family of brands are pioneering the connection with their consumer through content, digital and media to bring the wonder of childhood to life.
It’s a coincidence that I am writing about the idea of light becoming sound, while traveling in Northern Italy. Here, the natural light of the sky was the stepping-stone of many classical painters, particularly Caravaggio, known as the Godfather of Cinematography. But, I am not here to talk to you about that. This is about the light of sound…Let me explain.
I have been studying sound – soundscapes, opera, music, particularly soul, funk and rock – intensively. By studying sound, I want to be able to marry music with filming. What I strive for, as an artist, is to create something visually that you can watch over and over, like music.
At the start of this, I met up with Bob Beemer, the sound mixer for the “Bourne” movies and “Gladiator” – some of my favorites! I told him I loved the “Tangier Fight” in “The Bourne Ultimatum”– running on roofs ending in an epic fight sequence. Without a beat, he suggested I re-watch “The Bourne Identity” car chase and listen for certain things.
The Bourne Identity car chase is one of the best
This was my starting point for hearing textures.
Sound Studies Part I: Art
I was interested in studying everything, so I attended various workshops in L.A. & Toronto for audio hacks, electronica, etc. One of those nights I heard something that had never graced my ears before. It was an opera performed on a lake, in the Rockies. These artists created a 5.1 sound system using the lake itself. Like a surround sound system, with a center channel BUT they used rocks and trees as deflectors and absorption materials.
The opera performance was to start at sunrise. As soon as the sun appeared over the rocks, this piercing voice would start to sing. It was Angelic! The hair on the back of my neck stood up. The loneliness of her voice was gripping. I was enthralled by the creativity.
After this, I started to frequent the Lisbon Philharmonic Orchestra (where seats cost just €22). As I watch the musicians in the orchestra, I’m enjoying the sounds, but I’m looking at their movements – the conductor, the mechanics and seeing how I can translate that to other mediums.
As a director, I see stunt performers as instruments for the creation of movements. Similar to how a symphony orchestra creates sound and harmony, the stunt performers tell a physical story. Each involves fine-tuned instruments and skilled craftsmen.
One of the most amazing things I “experienced” was in Rome, in an old palazzo (palace), where each room contained art of that time, accompanied by musicians playing Arabic instruments from that time, and an opera soprano singer performing librettos from that same era.
Further south, in Pompeii, I went to the Amphitheatre where Pink Floyd played (“Pink Floyd in Pompeii”) as well as where Roman gladiators fought back in the day. I came as close as I could to “experiencing” this historic concert, by viewing the images of the concert, listening to the music playing in the Roman corridors of the stadium, and standing in that arena. That experience must have had a quite effect on Pink Floyd as 6 months later they created the longest running number 1 album in history – 11 years – with “Dark Side Of The Moon”.
Pink Floyd performed at Pompeii in 1971
Earlier, in Germany, I went to visit Salzburg – the birth town of Mozart. It happened to be around Christmas so it was very festive, and you get a sense of how Mozart lived and what he saw each day.
In Nuremburg I visited the rally grounds where Hitler held his rallies. It was a dark and dismal day and what I saw that day was certainly not for the faint hearted. As I left, the building/museum there was a vista point that looks down into a holding area shaped like a horseshoe; it was a holding tank for the unwanted. At that very moment, on that ugly day, there were two huge black ravens fighting in the air. Because of the way the building was designed, as a horseshoe, there was a haunting reverb and echo from the fighting ravens. Of course my mind had been amplified with images the previous couple of hours.
Placing yourself as an artist in a different environment, locale, or arrangement WILL create a different final product.
In the middle of the medina in Fes, Morocco, I heard sounds so unique and so melodic, and there was an abundance of sound as I would hear this particular sound 5 times a day. It was a “Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore” moment. My mind would wander…Those layered sounds formed the visual kernel for my speed bike chase shoot.
Sound Studies Part II: Led Zeppelin
In the late 60s and early 70s, music was becoming increasingly creative on a technical level in the States and the U.K.
Listen to the production value of this cartoon of Spiderman- Jazz based:
The skill level was so high, that in these times, even in cartoons, music was used as resource for enhancement for the viewer – like how we use CGI now.
There was a lot of experimentation going on, and there’s lot of folklore around this time, but it was the technical prowess that came to play. Phil Specter revolutionised production and post-production of audio recording with the Righteous Brothers, Beach Boys, etc. Drugs altered the culture…and those bowl cuts became long hair and shaggy. Long solos and musicians like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Beatles changed music.
Music started to evolve almost annually. WHOs Quadrephenia was sort of the pinnacle of soundscape, in my opinion, was a type of a surround sound back then called – Quadraphonic. That was the virtual reality of its time.
Which brings to me Led Zeppelin.
Jimmy Page was one of most sought after session guitarists at this time, and he spent a lot of time in the studio watching the engineering and producing process. To make a long story short he got into the Yardbirds. When Jeff Beck left, he filled the shoes but eventually the band disbanded. That was a starting point for a magical time. During his session time, Jimmy had these “ideas” and basically what you hear on Led Zeppelin 1 and 2 is from his time as a session musician in the studio.
But it was Led Zeppelin 3, IV and Physical Graffiti where he evolved. He created a “studio” at Headley grange – an old manor house in the British countryside. You’ll find that a lot of musicians followed suit with this concept afterwards. What he did, was to duplicate what musicians did for Chamber music in the Renaissance period. He had a foundation with sound principles and maxims that he explored.
Jimmy Page was a musical trailblazer
I listened to, read, and viewed everything I could on Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin, including Peter Grant (their manager) who gave him the freedom to become the artists they were. His motto to them and to upcoming managers was “Believe in them.” As I continued to dig I found revelatory statements by Mr. Page. After such, I reviewed their entire library including recording sessions, bootlegs, LPs, twice.
In the end, what Jimmy was trying to achieve was a sonic experience, a soundscape, musical landscape – essentially “creating shades of light and darkness.” When light becomes sound.
Every true artist is trying to enlighten and imbue life.
You see each musician, “album”, recording may have a tone, message, etc. Listening to Edith Piaf you get this deep melancholy, Ravel’s Bolero with his playful but sensual undertones, Joni Mitchell’s soothing and warm voice or N.W.A with an angry tone. Combining harmonics is the name of the game like “beautiful sadness”. However, this is more easily attained with a visual medium.
I want to create an experience for the viewer as back in the day they did with music.
As I wrote in a previous article on branded content, what I’m trying to achieve is Branded Art. People are numb from being inundated with “content”! It’s important to get to the core, and not rely on gimmicks, analytics, the latest trends or opinion leaders.
The written word has an effect in how it is duplicated and absorbed. Essentially, words are symbols like the peace symbol or the swastika…each are completely different and evoke different responses. The font itself could create an effect.
Coming in with the right wavelength will penetrate the soul despite the medium or genre and is much more senior than any analytic you’ll ever find!
Science, music, sound, can all be avenues to creating a better product.
It was shortly after these studies where I searched for a sound designer and was fortunate to land the creative genius from the famed Formosa Group. Chris Smith was just coming off “The Revenant” and was recommended from Glenn T. Morgan, another veteran in the sound world.
This isn’t about winning an Oscar, Clio, or Grammy, though of course, these will certainly help your career. It’s about creating! This kind of work is a pretty easy sell to superstars IF it’s a true collaboration, as they too want to create amazing things.
I am very fortunate to have the very best artists to collaborate with on my upcoming projects. This will be the ultimate collaboration combining mediums, fields and eras.
Dig deep…and make something special!
Lawrence Ribeiro is a Director who specializes in combining stunts, culture, movement and aesthetics forming Action Design. Lawrence has directed and shot well over 100 action sequences, from car chases and motorcycle stunts to fight sequences and has been mentored by the top stunt coordinators in the industry – Garrett Warren, Gary Powell and Andy Armstrong. His recent collaborations include editor extraordinaire Rick Pearson and Hollywood legend Doug Trumbull. Earlier in his career, Lawrence trained classically under well-known cinematographer Howard Wexler and Lane Leavitt, a top innovator in the stunt world.
Lawrence’s love for action and the arts was fused in his unique upbringing. His father was a Navy frogman, professional rally driver and robotic engineer and his mother was a lover of all art forms. By the age of 21, Lawrence had traveled over 60,000 miles around the globe. His curiousity and sense for adventure led him to some of the most dangerous environments and jobs in the world, from heli-logging to mountain search and rescue to conflict zones.
Lawrence has written the book, The Unknown Art of Driving, and is releasing his second book, Action 101 – A Guide to 2nd Unit/Action and the Arts. He has written for ICG, MovieMaker and Filmmaker Magazines. Lawrence has given talks at the Art Center College of Design and at Film Independent, and currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Previsualization Society. Lawrence is honored to be a finalist judge for the Emmys. In his free time, Lawrence enjoys treasure hunting, Native American mythology/culture, 1960s-1970s African-American culture, art appreciation, hiking and hockey.
A firm understanding of the marketplace should be a prerequisite for any successful content marketing strategy, but it amazes me how little research many companies seemingly conduct before designing their content calendar, and how misguided their output is as a result.
Long gone are the deluded days of “if we blog it, they will come” – a short sighted tactic that infected the minds of online marketers in the mid-to-late noughties, whereupon businesses were encouraged to hop aboard the blogging bandwagon with scant regard for clearly defined strategies.
“Just write something, and it’ll boost your SEO,” was the muddled mind-set, which led to a ‘slurry’ of posts covering everything from the latest goings-on at office HQ, to thinly veiled advertorials dressed up as informative blog posts.
While there’s a time and place for sharing company news, celebrating success and promoting your wares, such approaches should not be central to your content strategy, as they’re unlikely to ever make an impression in organic search listings.
What is essential is that you undertake a thorough analysis of your target audience, find out what they’re actively searching for, what they’re interested in, and then provide genuine value through your content. With that in mind, here’s my three-step process for quality content marketing that promises to make an impact:
1. Answer The Public
I’m sure you can talk about your product, service, niche and ‘area of expertise’ – however, you want to frame it – until the ‘cows come home’, but if you fail to directly tailor your messaging to meet the intent of searchers, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever find you online.
Thankfully, Answer The Public makes it easy for you to create targeted content that does ‘exactly what it says on the tin’, i.e. answers the very questions that people are asking in relation to your business.
This handy, free-to-use tool invites you to input keywords pertinent to your business, and then displays a neat spider graph of relevant, recent, real Google searches. For example, here are the results for the phrase ‘keyword research’:
Clicking on the green dots on the live document takes you to the search results page for each particular term, allowing you to judge how popular the individual queries are.
Seeing as I run an SEO and Content Marketing agency, keyword research forms the basis of much of the work I do, so I’d like to think I’ve got a fair amount of expertise on the matter, knowledge that I can share with potential clients.
As you can see to the right of the graph, ‘keyword research with Google keyword planner’ [sic] is one of the topics people are regularly typing in, which inspired me to write How to Use Google’s AdWords Keyword Planner in 5 Simple Steps – an instructive guide, packed with practical tips.
Instead of blindly guessing what my target audience (those in need of SEO and online marketing advice) are looking for, this quick and easy research informs my content strategy, allowing me to publish material that is virtually guaranteed to be useful.
The more useful it is, and the more questions it answers, the more people will share and reference it, hopefully linking back to my website – the healthiest, most natural, Google-friendly form of link-building, which will give my website a sustained boost in the search rankings.
Try it for yourself, and prepare to be beguiled by the bearded ‘searcher’ and his infinite source of inspiration.
2. Analyse The Competition
Competitor analysis has always been a building block of business success, and there’s much to be learnt from weighing up your rivals – taking encouragement from what they do well, and seeing gaps in how they could improve.
Social media has a huge part to play here, with competitor LinkedIn and Twitter accounts forming virtual address books of potential clients. Look at how your contemporaries engage audiences, and consider how you might be able to do things better.
Aside from reviewing their updates, you should also look at the type of content they’re sharing or re-tweeting. You don’t have to always be creating new content (blogs, how-to guides, white papers, etc.) you can also comment on or share third-party posts that are relevant to your business, demonstrating that you’re active in the wider conversation and up-to-date with emerging trends.
As such, you shouldn’t really treat competitors as the competition, as they’re simply other players on the same pitch; there’s plenty of space to pass the ball around between you. If they’re publishing content that is valuable, insightful and pertinent to your target audience, go ahead and share it, because you’ll still benefit by amplifying the conversation, extending your reach and raising your authority as a result.
It goes without saying that you’ll have to treat this approach with some caution, as it could be an embarrassing own goal if you go overboard promoting direct competitors, but there’s certainly much to be gained by following your foes and, potentially, even befriending them. Who knows, you might even score yourself some white label work. It happens!
3. Contact Industry Publications
It saddens me that, in 2017, the majority of content marketers stay locked within their own websites (or their client sites) without putting any serious effort into publishing elsewhere. This blinkered approach is terribly inefficient.
In my experience, many marketers seem fearful of search engine optimisation, viewing it as a mysterious beast that’s impossible to master, some form of magical dark art that allows you to trick search engines. However, at its core, SEO is pretty straightforward.
As briefly outlined in ‘Step One’, naturally-earned links are the best way to boost your search results, as Google views these as a form of recommendation. In layman’s terms, the more ‘recommendations’ you have, the more appreciated your content obviously is, and the better regarded your website will become in the eyes of search engine bots.
However, another way to raise your authority is to offer exclusive content to high-quality websites within your sector, whereby, in most cases, you’ll still be allowed to link back to your own site.
In the background, this will be aiding your search rankings in much the same way as described above, but there are two additional benefits:
1) You’ll have a platform to put yourself front-and-centre in the mind of potential customers.
2) Getting published on industry-leading websites gives you great material to share on social media, boosting PR and adding credibility to your brand.
So, if you’re able to write exciting thought leadership pieces on industry developments, or provide genuine, actionable advice for your peers and prospects, you should make outreach a key part of your content plan.
Popular, high profile websites are always on the lookout for unique, non-advertorial content, so as long as you’ve got something meaningful to say, getting your guest articles published shouldn’t be a problem.
Catering Your Content To The Customer
Ultimately, in the Internet Age, customers – whether B2C or B2B – are considerably more astute, conducting detailed research before making decisions, viewing a wide range of content along the way. Thus, it’s imperative that you make your material as practical and helpful as possible, efficiently highlighting your credentials as a quality provider.
According to Beckon’s extensive Marketing Truth or Marketing Hype report: “19 out of 20 pieces of content get little to no engagement.”
Following my three-step process will help you produce content that rises to the top of search engine results, and is guaranteed to be seen by the right people, giving you the very best chance of producing that one in 20 pieces that succeeds.
Study your sector, and the rewards are bound to come your way.
With very few exceptions, everyone we meet connected to the exciting world of branded content is deeply passionate about their craft. In recent times, we have witnessed tumultuous change within the content landscape that leads to even greater creativity and the pushing of the boundaries of possibilities. Through it’s membership of world leading brands, agencies, producers, media owners and platforms, the BCMA is in a privileged position to have access to the leading experts and pioneers of the branded content industry.
Our For The Love of Branded Content series, brings together those ‘thought-leaders’ from across the globe to share their ‘love’ and advice on what it takes to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of branded content. This is the third part of our thought-provoking series of essays written by experts from all around the world, who all share one thing in common – the love of branded content.
This latest edition includes the views of Abby Carvosso, Group Managing Director, Bauer Media who explains that ‘effective content partnerships have to be authentic’. We also hear from the USA with Bruce Bilsten, Creative Director of the legendary BMW Film Series, saying he loves branded content that entertains or enriches him. Our newest Chapter Head from BCMA Hungary, Andras Furak, tells us to remember that it isn’t ‘classic advertising’.
From Portugal, we feature Joao Belmar from Bro Cinema who simply states that ‘people love it!’. From the UK, Luke Southern, Managing Director at Drum, says that people don’t read ads, they read what interests them. We hear from Patricia Weiss, Chairwoman of BCMA South America, who tells us it is a ‘new way for brands to connect with people’s hearts’. Back to the UK and Laura Wade, Head of Chorus, says we should ‘connect with audiences and perform for brands’.
Finally, we go back to the USA to share the views of PJ Pereira, Founder/Chief Officer at Pereira O’Dell, BCMA USA Advisory Board member and Jury President at this year’s Lions Entertainment Festival in Cannes, saying that branded content is ‘the new frontier’.
We hope you find them a fascinating, insightful, engaging and above all enjoyable – just like any great branded content campaign.
At the BCMA we love branded content with a passion.
In less than two weeks, BCMA Partners, Lions Entertainment will bring together forward-thinking people from across the entertainment, commercial and creative communities to discuss new ways to leverage the power of popular culture to build brands.
There are more than 100 creative stars confirmed including Run the Jewels, Steven Gerrard, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Russell Simmons, Ellie Goulding, Jamal Edwards, Ryan Tedder, Susan Credle, Wyclef Jean, Zai Bennett, Karin Timpone and a whole host of talent from across the worlds of entertainment and brands.
We have partnered with “Think Asia, Think Hong Kong” (TATHK) which is a mega promotional campaign organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) to attract overseas companies to use Hong Kong’s service platform to tap into the Chinese mainland and other Asian markets. TATHK brings together business communities from Hong Kong and different economies to discuss developments and trends in the dynamic global market and highlight Hong Kong’s key advantages in:-
Chinese Outbound Investment
Creative Industries (Design, Digital Entertainment, Content)
Film
Finance (RMB Business and Fundraising)
Hong Kong plus Pearl River Delta Collaboration
Infrastructure Development & Real Estate-Related Services
Logistics & Maritime Services
Professional Services (Accountancy, Legal, Consultancy, etc)
Technology Collaboration (Including Bio, Green and Manufacturing Tech)
Selling to China and throughout Asia
The event takes place on the 21st September in London. The full programme is now available and for more information please visit here
We are delighted to continue our partnership with the PPA Product Placement and Branded Entertainment Award taking place on October 16, 2017, in the course of the PROPKO – Branded Entertainment Summit, in the Stuttgart city hall.
The countdown for the prestigious Product Placement and Branded Entertainment Award PPA 2017 has begun. Advertising companies, agencies, broadcasters and producers can submit their innovative entries in the field of Product Placement and Branded Entertainment until September 22nd. Outstanding projects with a convincing strategy will be honored. A first prize will be awarded in each of the categories cinema, TV and online/game/content respectively. The creativity shown through the dramaturgic integration and the audiovisual implementation of a product i.e. brand is decisive.
The Jury with top-ranking industry experts:
The submitted entries will be evaluated by well-known producers and marketing managers of productions, agencies and companies. Members of the jury are Matthias M. Alefeld (MA Media), Matthias Dietrich (Dietrich Film), Sandra Freisinger-Heinl (BEO Branded Entertainment Online), Dr. Ferdinand Froning (LOCAVI), Doris Haller (Haller & Kocherhans), Björn Hoven (Leuchtstoff.Media), Jörn Illing (Initiative Media), Dominik Kuhn (STARPATROL Entertainment), Kai Mensing (Audi), Prof. Tac Romey (Phantomfilm).
The application documents for the PP-Award are now downloadable here
We are delighted to announce that the BCMA are once again partnering with The Drum Content Awards. Now in their third year, The Drum Content Awards honour the best in modern marketing. Content marketing & branded entertainment focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.
The Drum recognises that more and more brands are looking for creative content in order to engage with their consumers and those who are producing this content should be recognised and rewarded.
These awards will recognise agencies, brands, publishers and platforms who are showing excellence and innovation.
The 2017 Content Awards are open for entry. Please register for exclusive access to our awards guru service….
It was a packed session at today’s panel on the Inspiration Stage at Lions Entertainment as we took our audience on an incredible journey with Mattel. A company founded in a garage in Southern California, 72 years ago, founded on ‘innovation and creativity’.
Lions Entertainment: Great stories are told
It is an incredible story of a company that is still pushing the boundaries of Branded Content today.
With more than 200 speakers, workshops, awards, experience rooms and immersive training sessions, the Festival of Marketing is the only event this year that truly reflects the creative, strategic and tactical job that marketers do.
Buy your pass today using your 10% discount code PRBCMA10 and gain access to:
The Festival City: A hub of interactive experiences, where you can network, connect and refresh in-between sessions. See brands come to life and follow the latest digital and tech trends. You will no doubt leave with food for thought.
The Masters Gallery: Don’t miss your chance to view, touch and experience true mastery at the Masters of Marketing Awards Gallery, an interactive video installation showcasing the remarkable work of our shortlist and winners.
The Festival After Dark: After a busy day of immersing yourself in the array of amazing speakers and sessions, carry on the conversation over dinner and drinks at St Katharine Docks, just around the corner from Tobacco Dock.
That’s not all though! There is an incredible line-up of hard-to-reach CMOs, industry pioneers and digital specialists at the top their field, coming together to share the secrets of their success.
The second of BCMA’s Back to the Future of Branded Content series took place at Lions Entertainment part of Cannes festival and featured Mattel Inc. It took the audience on a fantastic journey spanning 70-years sharing the incredible story of how a toy company started in a garage workshop in Southern California became one of the biggest and well known brands in the world.
Mattel was a company founded on creativity and innovation by Ruth and Elliot Handler. They were visionaries who understood that in a world where kids were surrounded by media, toys would have to tell engaging stories. Ruth watched her daughter Barbara at play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children’s toy dolls were representations of infants.
Realising that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot. Sparked by this, Ruth wanted to create a doll that would show little girls they could be anything they wanted to be and that a ‘woman has choices’.
My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” Ruth Handler, President, Mattel Inc
On a trip to Europe in 1956, Ruth saw a doll that looked like an adult woman, vastly different from the baby dolls most little girls owned, including Barbara. Ruth was inspired. Three years later, on March 9, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair, Mattel’s version, Barbie Millicent Roberts, was born. Barbie quickly became a global icon and consistently remains among the most recognizable personas in the world.
Innovation became a hallmark of Mattel operations. We were unorthodox, venturesome—our people were willing to try new things. This quality, more than any other, has been the key to the company’s progress.” Elliot Handler, Co-Founder, Mattel (1968)
The Handlers were particularly inspired by how their friend, Walt Disney, was creating a new kind of character-based family entertainment and bet their entire company on advertising in Disney’s new and unproven TV shows. Mattel created the first television advertising for kids, rooted in kid-targeted stories that brought their toys to life. In 1959, Barbie made her first TV appearance in a commercial within an episode of the Mickey Mouse Club.
The Session Was Extremely Well Attended
Today, Barbie is still a reflection of culture by representing diversity in skin, body and shape girls see in the world around them. Through endless reinvention and cultural shifts, Barbie continues to be a girl’s first advocate for empowerment and a steady reminder that ‘You Can Be Anything’, a campaign that kept the original Barbie message at its core in 2015, but modernised the storytelling and delivery by launching digitally first and television second garnering more organic views than paid. The ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ campaign, created by BBDO, is a great example of how Mattel is approaching branded content.
Ruth and Elliot’s original belief in creativity and innovation is as prevalent now as it was when Mattel was founded. The Barbie doll has become one of the world’s most recognisable brands and shaped the future for the company. Continuing their commitment to content, Mattel has now formed Mattel Creations (the original name of the Handlers Company) putting content innovation back at the forefront of everything they do, with a mission to reinvent Mattel’s consumer engagement model.
Mattel is firmly committed to consumer-focused storytelling, and creating a new foundation of relevance for their brands whilst retaining the original mission – keeping story at the center of the experience.
Makeover: Barbie was ‘re-imagined’ in 2016
What has changed, with the inexorable shift of media consumption to mobile and digital, is to create stories that allow kids to engage, participate, and live these experiences across a multitude of platforms and in particular, social media.
Today content and story no longer come from a singular source; the arrival of the digital age has launched a universe of disruptive platforms. Mattel are creating adaptive content – short and long-form – leveraging technology platforms to connect with kids who have become both the consumer and creator. Toys are no longer merely being toys; they must be part of a larger world of stories and ideas. Barbie Dreamhouse has seen the brand evolve into long form branded content.
And so to the future. What is the future of Barbie and branded content for Mattel – where and how do you go next?
The ‘Dad’s Who Play Barbie’ was a campaign created by BBDO, and kicked off during the NFL playoffs. The campaign was based on key insights showing the reality of good parenting in a fascinating and innovative way. Dads might like to indulge in ‘macho’ activities in their free time, but they’re also happy to play with dolls with their daughters.
Barbie will now be featured in a live-action feature film produced by Sony Pictures. Relevance must be cultivated daily, the immediacy of social media and content will play an even greater role for this iconic brand going forward.
We do hope you have been inspired by the amazing story of a company that was founded on ‘creativity and innovation’ through incredibly powerful and entertaining branded content and continues to push the boundaries today.
A huge thank you to all the panel members and the team ‘behind the scenes’ that helped to tell such a great story.
This is a representation of the BCMA Panel: Back to the Future of Branded Content With Mattel that took place on the Inspiration Stage at Lions Entertainment, part of the Cannes Festival.
BCMA Members and Global video production marketplace Genero has been confirmed as a Facebook Marketing Partner in the Content Marketing specialty.
Genero connects brands looking to scale their video production with a global creative community of 300,000+ production companies, directors, editors and animators. Clients post creative briefs, video creators pitch their ideas and the client selects the filmmaker and manages the entire production process on Genero’s cloud-hosted software platform.
Co-founder and CEO Mick Entwisle said “We’re so excited to be recognised as an official Facebook Marketing Partner and to be working with the Facebook team to provide a fast and affordable video production solution to their advertising clients.”
Facebook has been clear on the importance of video to their future strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors during its fourth quarter earnings announcement in February, “I see video as a megatrend. That’s why I’m going to keep putting video first across our family of apps.”
Entwisle added: “We definitely have a shared vision about the importance of video. On the consumer side it’s the most engaging form of content so brands understand they need to be producing more video to keep people engaged as they spend more time on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The challenge for most is working out how to produce enough of it through the traditional ad agency model, which many are finding too slow and expensive to use at scale. That’s the big problem we’re solving for brands.”
Facebook Partner Development Manager APAC Philip Hur said, “Genero’s platform is at the forefront of video production on demand, setting a new bar for what it means to produce video at scale. In the age of mobile, capturing people’s attention requires moving fast, but not at the expense of quality.
Genero has proven quality measures in place to ensure that efficiency does not sacrifice effectiveness.”
Genero has their headquarters in Melbourne where their product and development team is located, with offices in London, Singapore and Sydney, with its US expansion planned for later in 2017. Their clients include Unilever, Diageo, Trivago, HP, Universal Music, Sony, Mediacom, William Grant & Sons and Saatchi & Saatchi.
We are delighted to share with you great business stories, insights and tips from BCMA members, Dropbox for Business. As part of their focus on branded content they have invested in producing engaging and relevant content for businesses.
A couple of years ago, a courier invoice for all the shipping we did over a four-month period would be hundreds of thousands of yen. With Dropbox Business, those costs are drastically minimized.” Dentsu, Tokyo, Japan
In a recent Gartner report, Dropbox was named as a ‘Leader’ and firmly in the ‘Magic Quadrant’ for Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS). The report spells out how EFSS was once thought of as a consumer-grade solution, however, it is now a critical part of how businesses run.
Dropbox Business allows our fulltime staff to work and collaborate seamlessly with upwards of a hundred outside contributors.” Valiant Entertainment, New York City, USA
There are currently over 200,000 companies that trust Dropbox Business with their work, helping teams do more together.
For more information about how your company could benefit from Dropbox for Business please contact Kate Kiely at kkiely@dropbox.com
With our attention span decreasing rapidly, especially amongst younger audiences, Adam Harris from digital gaming platform, Twitch, explains that branded content must be captivating. The popular gamer on the channel, Spamfish, agrees and says that new platforms allow creators to experiment and give them freedom to express themselves.
