What are you most excited about in the digital marketing space at the moment?
The rapid change occurring in digital marketing today is really exciting. The rise of the smartphone has fundamentally changed the industry. With this disruption happening comes great opportunity for brands to understand and cater to their audiences’ evolving digital behaviours.
Now that mobile is the primary screen being looked at, we’re witnessing the arrival of many exciting new products, services and experiences which consumers are adopting in their masses.
What is your favourite example of innovative digital marketing?
I love seeing the convergence of different media in creating bespoke and unique experiences for brands. Innovation isn’t just about strapping some new VC funded technology or adding a cool hashtag to your campaign to force conversation. Innovation needs to be baked in, adding value to the overall experience.
For me, the best examples are simple campaign executions which you can explain in a sentence to anyone. I really like the recent Nivea ‘Sun Block Ad’ campaign from Brazil. It displays the right brand message at the perfect time and place.
What’s next for digital content?
I am really excited about the one-to-one content marketing opportunity. Mobile content consumption has grown massively over the last year with many traditional brands still playing catch-up to meet the rapid growth of the industry.
The ability now to truly understand user content consumption and sharing behaviours while integrating native mobile functionality to track in-store purchase behaviours through vouchers, mobile wallets and beacons is a game changer for many FMCG brands and retailers. Whilst limitations still exist, we can effectively measure the ROI of paid media activity right through the purchase funnel better than ever before.
I also predict a big rise in customisation and personalisation of content. Video now can be created in real-time adding in elements that are relevant to a particular user’s location, purchase history, personal tastes and preferences.
What defines good content?
The barriers to entry in creating content today are virtually zero. Anyone with even the most simplistic set up can become a content creator. However, creating good content that breaks through the noise is increasingly difficult.
I always bring it back to the end user. Think of that person as a spoiled child who is allowing you a fraction of their time. They don’t owe you anything. Good content needs to be something that captures their short attention span and then somehow makes them actually ‘give a damn’ about it.
I have seen my own browsing habits continuing to evolve. If content doesn’t grab me within seconds, I will tap away instantly.
What is the biggest myth about content marketing?
The biggest myth is that the ultimate goal is solely Facebook and Twitter likes, retweets and shares. Although these platforms are massive and boast captive audiences, there are a number of quickly growing mobile first platforms where the younger audiences are spending big chunks of their time.
Dark social sharing is a massive trend across the industry, with some publishers recording up to 70% of traffic through IM, email or chat clients.
Although sometimes difficult to track, content sharing behaviours are changing towards smaller, more intimate groups of friends rather than ‘all friends’ public updates. This new battleground is being fought by the likes of KIK, Line, Snapchat & WeChat; all jostling to become the go-to content distribution platform for these audiences.
How are you amplifying and maximising your content?
We work with a number of media partners who helps us deliver cost-effective content amplification for our clients.
For some brands we use a 70% (Tried and Tested), 20% (Tried but yet to be Proven), 10% (Test and Learn) strategy to ensure that we are always on the front foot with industry trends and user behaviours, allowing us to react accordingly.
We are also increasingly looking at innovative ways to stretch content so it lives in broader traditional and emerging media environments.
Where do you go for great content?
I absolutely love reddit. You will find me there every lunch time when I get a few spare minutes for my daily fix.
Also, I am a big fan of the app Digg. It is a really well designed app which very simply highlights interesting articles which don’t typically get mainstream news attention. Techmeme is also my first stop for tech news.
Please provide a link to great content you have discovered recently and tell us why you think it’s great?
Pepsi Max has been putting out some great original content and we’ve been doing some very exciting work with them. The brand has totally transformed over the last couple of years into a content creation powerhouse which really connects and understands their audience.
Our work this year with the Pepsi Max Unbelievable Bus Shelter is a great example of creating content which harnesses new innovative technology in a way that genuinely attracts and entertains its audience.
If appropriate, how do you work with Outbrain and what has been your experience thus far?
Outbrain have been an important partner for several of our clients in helping to amplify our content in trusted, premium environments.
Kane Reiken is mobile associate director at OMD UK. Follow him on Twitter @kaane
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