Sweet Nothings

When we think “content,” we may envision weighty discourse on important subjects. Sometimes, though, it’s how we say the little things that makes the biggest difference.

 

Just this week, for example, I received a communication from my credit card company. The letter stated that “due to significant changes challenging the economy,” the interest rate on my card would double effective immediately. As it happens, I’ve never been late with a payment, I carry minimal balances, and I have excellent credit. Since the cost of borrowing has actually gone down due to the state of the economy, the only conclusion I could reach is that the bank is trying to recoup the cost of their bad credit decisions at the expense of their good customers.

 

What really irked me, though, is the disingenuous way they communicated their action. Instead of being transparent and telling me that they’re increasing my rate because my account isn’t generating breakeven interest payments, or whatever the real rationale is, they chose to blame generic economic conditions. As a result, they forfeited my trust and lost a customer.

 

As I struggle on behalf of our clients over wording for seemingly mundane communications, I put myself in the recipient’s shoes. How do I convey the message, especially if it’s bad news, in a way that respects a customer’s right to honesty while reflecting necessary brand and legal requirements? It’s not glamorous as content goes, but it is essential. The customer relationship depends on it.

Creativity on the Rise.

It’s interesting to speculate on how human consciousness evolves as the result of technology. When the printing press was invented, people began to read more. Eventually, consciousness shifted and become more knowledge based and “interiorized.” What effect is the Internnet having?

 

In his book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, best-selling author Daniel Pink argues that today's workplace has shifted from an "Information Age" of knowledge to a "Conceptual Age" of creativity and right-brained aptitudes.

 

Who knows where this will lead. One thing we do know. Right-brained attributes like design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning connect with people. By developing and cultivating these six "senses, workers can increase their value in today's workplace. In other words, creators and empathizers have the competitive advantage in today's economy.

 

One of the most right-brained creatives I’ve met is a guy named Mark Fenske. I heard him speak at the Creative Summit held in Minneapolis back in the late 1990s. An ad god from Weiden Kennedy, he had big-time credentials. He founded the Bomb Factory, created the “Right Now” music video for Van Halen and became the voice of Subaru telling car buyers not to be snobs — to name a few. Yet he took the stage with humility, wearing jeans, a flannel shirt and work boots. His slide show about the creative process blew me away.

Here’s a sample slide: “When you walk, things move toward you.”

 

What he meant was pretty simple, yet the way he put it was completely original. Taking steps to solve a creative problem — doodling, flipping through a magazine, thinking, brainstorming, researching, engaging in word associations — eventually puts us in a right-brained state of mind and creates the conditions for insight.

 

Creativity is a meandering process. Doing the work teaches us how to do the work. I looked Fenske up on the web recently. He’s teaching creative thinking at Virginia Commonwealth University. Here’s another quote: “Great work in advertising isn't about making people feel bad about who they are. Great work points at value. It finds people at their most human and says, there, like that. You must be as human as you can be to generate connections between products and living/breathing/thinking people.”

 

A good rule of thumb when creating branded content.

Content + Software = Branded Experience

Hillel Cooperman knows a thing or two about software. After all, he formerly directed the Windows user interface team at Microsoft.

During last month's Custom Content Conference in Miami, Cooperman spoke about what he sees as the next generation of online brand advertising: the Branded Software Experience. His main point:

Software and content are becoming so intertwined,
there's no longer much point in drawing any distinction.

"The line between content and software is no longer relevant," Cooperman said. "Branded software is already the new branded content. Brands will be in the software business."

Indeed, a broader takeaway to be drawn from Cooperman's comments is this: Content is more than articles. More than Web copy. More than words.

For the record, a working definition of content that we use here at Hanley Wood Marketing (one that's served us and our clients fairly well for a few years now) is this:

Value-adding information, interactions and experiences
by which brands engage and build affinity
with the audiences vital to their success.

Picture content as encompassing -- but also going well beyond -- words and articles, and suddenly all sorts of possibilities emerge for adding value and sparking engagement. 

Cooperman cited as a prime example of software/content convergence Nike+. If you haven't seen or heard of it, Nike+ is, well, I'm not sure there's a label for it. Yet. Let's call it a product-software-lifestyle mashup developed expressly for a target audience. In this case, runners.

Here's another example: A few years back, HWM had as a client a heavy-equipment manufacturer. This client had done extensive research on how its machines compared with competitors' on more than 40 performance factors of relevance to buyers and end users.

Unfortunately, that data sat in a three-ring binder at headquarters. Then, one day, the client asked us if there were a way to get the data into the hands of dealers. There was. We developed a piece of custom software -- a competitive-sell configurator -- that empowered dealers to instantly generate detailed, side-by-side performance comparisons among competing front-end loaders. Suddenly, they had a powerful new way to engage potential buyers in strategic sales conversations.

It's these sorts of tools, not only white papers and webinars, that are defining the edge of innovation in branded content. Widgets. Generators, Configurators. Calculators that let customers, prospects or stakeholders accomplish real work, or real lifestyle fulfillment.

Where in your business is there a junction where value-adding content and software can powerfully converge? On your Web site? An in-store kiosk? In the hands of the sales force? On your employee intranet?

When you find it, and make it happen, stand back: That explosion you're about to hear is a value-adding branded experience.

Got a favorite example of a content-software convergence that's driving your business? Your comments and case examples are welcomed.

Photo credit: Custom Publishing Council

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Butter

Now that we live in an era where Bob Dylan plugs Pepsi on TV and Ghandi's image is used to sell Apple computers, it's hard to be shocked when a cultural icon of any kind is appropriated for advertising purposes.

Or so I thought.

You'll do a double take, then you'll do a triple take: John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols, is a product spokesperson. He who once sang "Anarchy in the U.K." is now singing the praises of -- wait for it -- butter.

(Not incidentally, sales of Country Life butter jumped 85 percent in the quarter following the ad first airing last year.)

 

Tune Up

One of America's finest young poets, Ange Mlinko, is writing a new column on linguistics for The Nation. Uh oh, sounds highbrow -- and it is, a little -- but also entirely worth your time.

In her first piece, Mlinko reflects on new, conflicting studies on the origin of language. Did language, as one scientist believes, evolve from a mother's need to "extend" her arms when she can't physically comfort a child? Or did language, as another scientist believes, evolve out of humans' need to cooperate with abstract concepts during a hunt?

Most interesting for our business: the studies that show the profound influence "motherese" -- the maternal sing-song voice -- has on infants' willingness and ability to receive language. Could it be that effective business communication isn't just about brevity and clarity, but also about the ability to deliver sweet music?

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090330/mlinko

Quiz Your Audience with Content

As a fan of trivia games in general, I'm obsessed with the TV quiz show Jeopardy. On the road, when settling into a hotel room, if I come across an episode I'll drop everything and focus. Once I've sized up the categories and the competition, people in adjacent rooms might hear a series of staccato ehhh! sounds as I "ring in" and blurt answers (in question form, of course) before the real contestants beat me to the buzzer.

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this affinity for the test-your-knowledge format. In fact, trivia games and quiz shows might have something to teach us about content marketing. Consider:

• Simply being approached to participate in a test of knowledge gets some people's emotions, intellect, even adrenaline revved up. 
• There's an inherent promise of value and possibility in a quiz -- you're either going to learn (education), or have multiple opportunities to showcase and be affirmed in your knowledge (validation).
• Information, interaction, calls to action, feedback, measurement -- all occur in a steady stream of small increments, so there's a natural continuity and engagement to a Q&A "touch stream."
• Conceptually, the organization delivering the content is automatically coming at the audience in a value-add way. This is about information-sharing, learning, fun -- it's not a hard sell.

When deciding on a content marketing approach, perhaps as a change of pace or one engaging touch point within a broader campaign, consider the quiz format.

Identify subject matter around which the audience and the brand have shared interest. Then, parcel out relevant information in the form of test-your-knowledge quizzes, questions of the day or week, longer-form continuing ed courses, or your own, unique "did-you-know" execution.

Here's my current favorite example:

When parents register their high schoolers for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a key step toward college admission, the folks at SAT invite student and parent alike to receive The Official SAT Question of the Day via e-mail. 

This feature gives students a chance to practice (and parents the opportunity to feel humbled), thanks to a daily stream of multiple-choice math and language/grammar questions of the type students face on the SAT.

I registered my high school junior months ago. She tested weeks ago. Yet here I am, still eagerly awaiting and answering daily questions (all the while confirming what a smart move it was to choose journalism over math as my college major).

In other words, SAT has me engaged. And, when it comes to additional reseach and planning around college admissions, I'm likely to return to their Web site as a resource. No question about it.

How to Drive Branded Content

Bibendum

I first met Bibendum (aka the Michelin Man) in London, when I dined in the early 90s at the restaurant named for him in the wildly evocative Michelin House (1909) near Kensington Station. Gargantuan stained glass windows showcased his rotund figure rakishly pedaling a bicycle.

"Well," I thought, "there's a real travel role model." I decided that Bibendum's Michelin Guides and Michelin maps would from then on chart the course for our annual trips to Europe.

In those days, Michelin's restaurant guide was published only in French, but even I could make my way through its clever information architecture. As we traveled down autoroutes and remote country lanes, the guide sat between us and unfailingly pointed the way to large and small restaurants of incredible finesse.

A Content Pioneer

But I digress. I want to point out that the Michelin Guide is, in fact, one of the best and earliest examples of branded content. Like many of today's astute marketers, Andre Michelin, one of the founding brothers of the French tire company, realized that the best growth strategy was to provide the information and inspiration for French consumers to get out on the road. 

Michelin's Red Guide was born in 1900, and its lists of hotels, gas stations and mechanics did indeed popularize leisure travel in Europe until World War 1 interrupted. Restaurants were added after the war in 1920, but the famous star-based rating system did not debut until the 30s.

Michelin said in the introduction to his first guide: "This book was born with the century and will outlive it." What a branded-content visionary he was.

So if you are thinking about adding custom content to your marketing mix, consider the long-term success of content pioneers like Michelin and remember: When you begin to provide valued information to your customers, stay the course. Building a fan base for your brand is a long-term proposition.

Tips and Travel Resources

• If you're brave enough to drive GPS-free, travel through France the old-fashioned way, with a map. Michelin regional maps still set the standard. Or for the best European driving directions, consult www.viamichelin.com. The directions are precise, tell you when it's time to take a break and even give you the cost of the tolls you'll encounter along the way. Hint: get off the highways whenever you can to experience the real joys of the French countryside.
• In these lean times, skip the uber-expensive Michelin-starred restaurants except for very special occasions. Look within your GuideMichelin for a red symbol of Bibendum licking his lips. That "Bib Gourmand" sign means a great meal at a good value. www.michelin.com.
• If you find yourself in London on a sunny afternoon, it would be a shame not to check out my old favorite, restaurant Bibendum. The cafe and crustacean bar downstairs is lessexpensive than the restaurant upstairs, but make sure you see the stained glass windows before you leave. www.bibendum.co.uk
• Europe too expensive right now? The Bibendum Cookbook by Terence Conran, Simon Hopkinson and Matthew Harris will let you sample more than 40 of the restaurant's top dishes. Or try one of the engaging recipes in the best-selling Roast Chicken and Other Stories by founding executive chef Simon Hopkinson. www.amazon.com

 

Opt Out of Snail Mail

Gone are the days when you knew your mail carrier by name, or at least waved and said hello as he drove past. Now, not only do you have to worry about strangers coming into your neighborhood and rifling through your mail, you can’t trust the employees assigned to sort it and deliver it.

A Minneapolis mail handler was recently charged with stealing over $80,000 of Best Buy Reward Zone certificates, buying up lots of electronic goodies, and reselling the stuff to his co-workers. What was once a symbol of a civilized society is now an easy target for theft, identify fraud and waste.

Online recordkeeping may be a safer solution.

E-delivery and online access to account information — including banking and investments, rebates, gift certificates and refunds — is safe, convenient and timely, not to mention environmentally-friendly. It's time to take advantage of this service, and in most cases, sign-up's a breeze. Then, proceed directly to:

1. Cleaning out those file cabinets stuffed with obsolete prospectuses, 10-year old account statements and receipts for things you don’t even own anymore.

2. Creating a new system for managing Web addresses, login IDs, and passwords (like a simple address book that you used to use for snail mail). Keep it in a safe place near your computer, check your accounts regularly, and print out only what you really need on paper.

Yes, even those Best Buy Reward Zone certificates are available online. They send you an email when your certificates are ready; then you just log in, print them out and run to the store (or better yet, shop online).

Computers and electronic recordkeeping aren’t going away. But maybe snail mail should. Or at least offer a choice to “opt out.”

Hollyapolis?

Content is everywhere.

It’s in the books we read, the music we hear, the radio programs we tune into, the magazines we browse, the blogs we visit, the news we watch, the programs we download, the entertainment we consume — well, you get the picture.

But the most densely compressed form of content is film — the quintessential American art form.

The distillation of lights, camera, action. The weaving of story, character and place. The compression of events that drive a story, called “beats” in the screenwriting world. The use of technology that makes the fabulous seem so real. All these come together to capture the imagination in a single aesthetic experience that transports the moviegoer beyond the everyday into a welcome moment of self forgetting.

But to produce a film you need a screenplay. No easy task. Although a great how-to book, "Save the Cat," will lay out the process if you’re so inclined.

Enter three unlikely screenwriters from Minneapolis:

Diablo Cody, Nick Schenk and Ken Rance. Other than the Coen brothers, originally from St. Louis Park, these three talented writers have put the Twin Cities on the map out West.

Last year Cody won an Oscar for “Juno,” her coming-of-age story about a quirky teenager who handles her pregnancy with humor and grace. Currently, another Cody script is in production: “Jennifer’s Body.”

After working as a stripper by night and blogging about it by day, Cody was an overnight success. She’s currently the creative force behind a new Showtime series, the “United States of Tara,” a comedy about a woman with multiple personalities (played by Toni Collette).

This year it’s Nick Schenk, a former fruit truck driver and store clerk who penned the screenplay for “Gran Torino.” Schenk, who did not own a laptop, wrote the script with pen, paper and a little help from his friends at Grumpy’s neighborhood bar in Minneapolis.

A feel-good film directed by Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino” has been snubbed at the Academy but is doing laps around the competition at the box office. In fact, it will probably be Eastwood’s largest grossing movie yet. Eastwood also plays Walt Kowalski, the protagonist, a crotchety and cantankerous Korean War vet — the character Dirty Harry might have become in his golden years.

Last but not least, Minneapolis-born Ken Rance is the screenwriter of “New in Town,” a romantic comedy about a hard-driving Miami businesswoman transferred from Florida to icebound New Ulm, Minnesota. Starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr., it’s a fish-out-of-water story that aims for simple emotions and big laughs — a few at the expense of those tortured Minnesota vowels — ya, you betcha, just like “Fargo.”

While content is everywhere, successful screenwriting isn’t. Yet it’s streaming from the Land of 10, 000 Lakes. Is there something in the water here?

Big Book Overhauls

If you want a quick barometer of the state of the economy, pick up a newsstand magazine. Two years ago, they were as thick as small-town phonebooks – you had to roll up your sleeves and WORK to find editorial content amid all the ads. Today, even the widest circulating brands feel closer to pamphlets than magazines. Ad pages have been slashed – and so has editorial staff.

But despite – or maybe because of – the economic pressure, there’s still exciting creative work being done in print. One of the most blogged-about magazine design shops right now is Pentagram. Pentagram is headed up by Luke Hayman, who has become the Timbalaland of major magazine design, working behind the scenes to give books like the Atlantic much-needed overhauls.

Here’s Hayman sharing a few thoughts on effective magazine design – thoughts which apply to custom publishing as well as newsstand publishing.