WANT A CONTENTED CLIENT?

WISDOM OF THE PROPHET

And One More Prophet, FOR GOOD MEASURE.

Before we get into it: hi, i'm graham.

BRANDED content.

HERE'S HOW MY JOB IN BRANDED CONTENT BREAKS DOWN:

YOU MAY HEAR ME TALK ABOUT "NATIVE ADVERTISING." NATIVE IS JUST CUSTOM BRANDED CONTENT PUBLISHED ON AND ENDEMIC TO A PARTICULAR PUBLISHER OR PLATFORM.

I"M FROM VIRGINIA

...AND TOKYO.

I'VE BEEN A TEACHER.

A LAWYER.

AND A JAPANESE TV REPORTER. (SERIOUSLY.)

CROSSROADS.

ON ONE HAND:

... ON THE OTHER HAND

OGILVY TO THE RESCUE!

Part 1: STORYTELLING CREATURES.

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON CONTENT.

ACCORDING TO SCIENCE, STORIES MAKE OUR BRAINS RELEASE OXYTOCIN, THE EMPATHY CHEMICAL. (WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS OPEN PRESENTATIONS WITH A STORY.)

STUDIES SHOW OXYTOCIN MAKES HUMANS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ADVERTISEMENTS AND CALLS TO ACTION. (56% MORE SUSCEPTIBLE!)

YES, (BRANDED) CONTENT IS BEAUTIFUL.

• FOR BRANDS: INCREASES INTERACTION, DEFINES AND ENHANCES BRAND NARRATIVE, DEFEATS READER ENNUI
• FOR PUBLISHERS: CAN SUPPORT EDITORIAL IN TIME OF CHANGING USERBASE, BECOMES VALUABLE SOURCE OF CONTENT IN ITSELF
• FOR READERS: PROVIDES ENTERTAINMENT, INFORMATION AND INSPIRATION.

WHICH MAY BE WHY IT'S SO POPULAR LATELY.

IT'S POPULAR WITH BUSINESS TEAMS, TOO.

"TRADITIONAL" DIGITAL ADVERTISING FACES A FEW CHALLENGES. SO DOES DIGITAL PUBLISHING.

LUCKILY, WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER.

BUT! BRANDED CONTENT SOLVES FOR:

• AD-BLOCKERS, WHICH (MOSTLY) DON'T BLOCK CONTENT.
• MOBILE USERS, SINCE CONTENT WORKS PRETTY GREAT ON PHONES.
• DISPLAY AD WOES, AS BRANDED CONTENT AND DISPLAY ACTUALLY HELP THE OTHER'S PERFORMANCE.

HOW BRANDED CONTENT AND DISPLAY ADS HELP EACH OTHER:

INNER PEACE.

Part 2: YOUR CUSTOM CONTENT JOURNEY.

WAIT...

ONE BIG ANSWER IS TO LEVERAGE A PUBLISHER'S SCALE AND EXPERTISE. LET'S LOOK AT HUFFPOST.

HERE'S THAT SCALE AND EXPERTISE PUT TO WORK FOR BRANDS.

AND BECAUSE I CAN NEVER RESIST SHARING THIS COMPARISON OF PV NUMBERS...

OR THIS COMPARISON OF SOCIAL ACTIONS...

WE SERVICE THESE O&Os.

BUT NOT THIS. (RIGHT NOW.)

THE (IDEALIZED) PROCESS:

STEP ONE: SELLER/AM SUBMITS DETAILED AND COGENT REQUEST WELL BEFORE DEADLINE, GIVING PARTNER STUDIO AMPLE IDEATION TIME.

STEP TWO: USING GREAT WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE PROVIDED, ROGER CAREFULLY WEIGHS ASK, EXPERTISE AND BANDWIDTH TO ASSIGN TO AN AUDIENCE/SUBJECT POD .

STEP THREE: WITH BENEFIT OF TIME, A CONTENT STRATEGIST (PICTURED) MIXES DATA AND CREATIVE INSTINCT TO BRAINSTORM WINNING IDEAS.

STEP THREE POINT FIVE: THE CONTENT STRATEGIST UTILIZES SPECIALISTS TO HONE DESIGN, VIDEO AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS.

STEP FOUR: A CREATIVE FOLIO, STUNNING IN ITS INGENUITY, IS DELIVERED TO SALES.

THE (REAL) PROCESS.

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HOW CAN YOU HELP US MAKE A GREAT PITCH?

• GIVE US THE BASICS: BUDGET, PROPOSED LAUNCH, TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC, BRAND GOALS, ETC.
• TELL US WHO THE BRAND IS, WHAT IS THEIR CURRENT CAMPAIGN IS, AND THE ADS FOR THAT CAMPAIGN, WHO THEIR COMPETITORS ARE, AND WHAT CONTENT THEY'VE LIKE, BRANDED OR OTHERWISE
• USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND CONTACTS TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK THEY MIGHT LIKE. IT MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE, BUT IT WILL HELP.
• TRY TO CUT THROUGH BUZZWORDS AND GENERALITIES. (EVERYONE HAS "TECH" AS A PILLAR.)

THINGS TO AVOID

• THE DREADED 8-HOUR TURNAROUND. GOOD CONTENT TAKES TIME.
• AS WRITERS AND DESIGNERS, WE DO NOT PROVIDE MEDIA PLANS. PLEASE DON'T ASK ON ROUTINE REQUESTS.
• "PRICING TIERS" NEED TO BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM.
• WE ARE BUSY WORKING ON YOUR REQUEST. ASKING WHETHER WE'LL HAVE IT ON TIME SLOWS US DOWN.
• CUSTOM CONTENT IS *NOT* DISTRIBUTING YOUR CLIENT'S CONTENT.

THIS REQUEST STOOD OUT.

Part 2.

WHAT WE'LL GIVE YOU

• A GOAL OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH TELLS YOU AND YOUR CLIENT WHAT GOOD WE THINK THIS WILL DO.
• AN OVERARCHING IDEA: THE BIG NARRATIVE OR THEME WHICH CAN HOUSE ALL THE INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF CONTENT
• DEPENDING ON THE BUDGET, 3-6 THOUGHT-STARTERS W/PRODUCTION COSTS, IF ANY, LISTED
• SOCIAL ACTIVATION IDEAS
• "INTEGRATION STATEMENTS"

WHAT MAKES FOR GOOD NATIVE CONTENT?

• IT'S TRANSPARENT.
• IT"S AUTHENTIC TO THE PUBLICATION.
• IT'S EDITORIALLY SOUND.
• IT'S EITHER TIMELY OR TIMELESS.
• IT'S DISTRIBUTED AT SCALE.
• IT'S TIED TO THE BRAND STORY, BUT NOT CHAINED TO IT.

RESOURCES

• IN SALES FORCE: CHECK OUT HUFFPOST NATIVE 101, HUFFPOST NATIVE PRICING GUIDE, HUFFPOST NATIVE BENCHMARKS ...
• HUFFPOST PARTNER STUDIO WEBSITE HAS ALL OUR LATEST PIECES.
• WE PUT OUT A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER WITH ALL NATIVE AND SPONSORSHIP LAUNCHES.
• ME AND ROGER!

CASE STUDY: HOLOGIC

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WE ALSO SAW MUCH BETTER AD PERFORMANCE IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONTENT.

WHY DID THESE PERFORM?

FIRST, WE KNOW THAT HUFFPOST IS A DESTINATION FOR WOMEN'S CONTENT.

BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT SOME MONTHS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS FOR CONTENT ABOUT WOMEN.

AND WE KNOW THAT CONTENT ON WOMEN'S BODIES TOPS CHARTS.

BAD NATIVE CONTENT = ADVERTORIAL.

• NO INHERENT VALUE TO READERS
• NOT SPECIFIC TO THE PLATFORM OR AN AUDIENCE
• ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF ONE-WAY CONVERSATION

IN OTHER WORDS, AVOID BEING THIS GUY.

EXAMPLE: NOT GOOD.

TO BE FAIR, WE'VE DONE SOME BAD STUFF, TOO...

CASE STUDY: DISNEY

AH, DISNEY: MY WHITE WHALE.

OVER THE COURSE OF A CAMPAIGN FOR DISNEY PARKS, THE RESULTS WERE BELOW BENCHMARKS.

IT'S ESPECIALLY BAD BECAUSE DISNEY CONTENT KILLS IT ON HUFFPOST.

AT LEAST ONE PIECE DID WELL, THOUGH, RIGHT?

WITH HORRENDOUS NEGATIVE SOCIAL ATTENTION, MAYBE NOT.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM: WE WROTE PIECES IN A CONTENT AREA WITH LITTLE TRAFFIC.

TAKEAWAYS FROM DISNEY

• BE FLEXIBLE WITH CAMPAIGNS. LISTEN TO WHAT CONTENT IS ACTUALLY THERE.
• BE COGNIZANT OF THE PLATFORM'S ECOSYSTEM.
• BELOVED BRANDS MAY ENCOUNTER THE "DISNEY PARADOX," WHERE BRAND-CENTRIC CONTENT MAKES SENSE BUT WILL BACKFIRE.
• SOLUTION ONE: GO BROADER. DISNEY IS ABOUT FAMILY.
• SOLUTION TWO: CONSIDER TARGETED CURATION.

SOME SUPER FRIENDLY ADVICE FOR BRANDS WHO WANT TO TRY NATIVE ADVERTISING:

THIS WON'T BE EASY AT FIRST. BRACE YOURSELF.

• KNOW THYSELF.
• STORY COMES FIRST. THEN FORMAT.
• DON'T GET HUNG UP ON NUMBERS.
• DON"T BE TOO GREEDY.
• REMEMBER: THIS IS A LONG-TERM THING.

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