In 2013, clients were asking what is this new thing called content marketing. This year the question evolved from what to how. But as agencies, propositions and jargon continue to proliferate, what does 2015 hold for content marketing? Let’s look at the evidence.
Follow the talent
Last week saw two interesting moves in the content world. High-profile talent left established businesses for younger ones, swapping one discipline for another.
Against the more established flow of content people to ad agencies, Katie Lee left Leo Burnett to become managing director at Gravity Road. Similarly atypical was Conor McNicholas leaving Redwood for AllTogetherNow, a content start-up from The&Partnership, home of CHI&Partners. Senior editorial talent has been rare in adland content shops, so this will worry the big publishing agencies.
Who knows if these moves are about frustrations with existing models or excitement about new ones, but talent moving in new directions suggests the tectonic plates are shifting.
Follow the money
New-business wins are another sign that content marketing is growing up. Ebay have just appointed Naked to look after content and social media. Adam&Eve/DDB’s specialist content division Cain & Abel picked up Sony Mobile earlier this year. And Seven, where I work, have recently secured the content marketing business for Weight Watchers.
The diversity of winning agencies is striking. Businesses known for media and advertising are joining established content leaders in picking up briefs from major clients.
Exploiting the content opportunity
We’re also seeing lots of start-ups and new divisions. Engine has launched Moment Studio with Warburtons as a founding client, digital agency AnalogFolk have set up an editorial arm, Wunderman have set up a content studio as part of their recent restructure and search specialists iProspect have signalled a move into content creation. It’s also become rare to find a PR or social media agency not talking up content.
Production businesses are also realigning to make more of the branded content opportunity. Somethin’ Else made the news for hiring creative talent from Omnicom’s Drum and the highly regarded production company One Two Four has recently restructured to create a consolidated branded content firm and hired senior client-side talent to bolster its strategic credentials.
Let’s not forget media owners. Every week sees another publisher launching a native content division – the recently in-sourced Guardian Labs are making waves, most recently with their real-time content campaign for Baileys.
Marketing must become more generous
Content marketing is about helping people enjoy what they love. The best branded content credibly contributes to an audience’s passion for a subject – in essence, not making people like stuff, but making stuff people like. And this needs to happen when the consumer wants it, not just when the brand has something to sell.
In an increasingly busy and interruptive world, CMOs know their marketing needs to demonstrate this kind of generosity. That’s why 2015 will see more brands adopting and expanding their content marketing plans. In fact, I believe content will become a given in any modern marketing communications plan.
On the subject of predictions, here are six more.
Six content marketing predictions for 2015
1. Creativity will rise – with a record breaking 81 agencies from six continents submitting 450 entries at 2014’s International Content Marketing Awards – and the first Grand Prix given for video – the work will get richer and better (we may even see a Grand Prix for Branded Content at Cannes 2015).
2. Performance will come to the fore – as CMOs demand that content clearly drives the bottom line, we’ll move beyond intermediate metrics like shares and views.
3. Budgetary realignment – with no new money for content, we’ll see advertising, search and CRM budgets in particular being squeezed.
4. The IPA will continue to diversify – newly announced President-elect Tom Knox will pick up the baton from Ian Priest and keep pushing members to think beyond 30 second commercials.
5. Intermediaries will appoint content specialists – seeing the spiralling choice of agencies and approaches, the likes of Oystercatchers, AAR and Roth Observatory will formalise their interest in content marketing and bring in specialist consultants who truly understand it.
6. Consolidation will begin at pace – firstly, advertising and editorial will continue to come together. That might mean agencies merging within a holding company or it could be an ad agency buying an editorial specialist (or perhaps vice versa). Secondly, we will see a once-great name of traditional contract publishing either go under or be acquired by a nimbler rival.
Robin Bonn is business development director at Seven
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