Contagious ideas is spotting trends. By Jeremy DUMONT, french strategic planner : interactive communications. Join PSST (opinion and trends) www.PSST.fr

Where’s the story in my company?

Over the past years one word kept popping up whenever people talked about advertising and marketing: ‘Storytelling’. And for anyone hoping this trend would one day fade away, we have some bad news. It’s not going anywhere.

We live in an age where traditional advertising is losing its power, where the younger generation is obsessed with sharing personal stories through social media, and all of us are addicted at some level to what the streaming giants have to offer. Obviously brands and companies want in on the action. Brand stories, brand narratives, purpose films, manifests, branded content, branded entertainment, viral marketing. All branches of the same tree, which trunk stems from the fundamental art of storytelling. 

Why do we even tell stories?

Most scientists will agree that life is essentially just a sequence of random moments. You are born, random stuff happens and then you die. But ever since the dawn of human intelligence we have tried to make sense of the meaninglessness of our lives. We’ve trained our brains to form patterns that connect random moments and inject meaning into them. That’s what storytelling is. It’s a way for us to get a grip on the endless chaos that would otherwise consume us. If you understand this, then you might also realize why storytelling is so much more than just entertainment. It’s an essential part of our survival, because without the ability to tell stories we would all be lost. 

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.

— Joan Didion

So how does this translate to selling a yoghurt drink? 

When Yakult asked us to help share their story to a larger audience they had no idea what that story really was. Neither did we. Because a story is not just a string of facts. We all learn at some point that “And then, and then” stories are boring and tedious. No matter how interesting the origin of your brand might be, that’s not a story in itself. The best way to find where the real gold is would be by reverse-engineering the storytelling mechanism. “Connecting dots gives meaning to life”. Find that “Meaning” and you’ll know where to look for the those dots. 

Wait, purpose?

It’s not easy to formulate your company’s or brand’s purpose, because let’s be honest nine out of ten times companies started because someone saw an opportunity to make a buck. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it’s not the stuff of stories. Purpose is often obscured and you’ll need to scrape away the bullshit to get to it. 

Almost a hundred years ago a Japanese microbiologist (Minoru Shirota) created a beverage that offered “daily health for an affordable price”. That’s good business, but also purposeful. Because not only did he create the product, he also thought about a way to get it to people who need it the most. Enter the Yakult Ladies. A group of hardworking dedicated women who ride their bikes (nowadays scooters) to clients, offering their daily portion of health in a bottle. 

Great story! All we needed to do was to show how the work of Yakult and their ladies helped Japanese people reach old age in health. Wrong. If only it was so simple. In Europe Yakult is not considered a medical product and therefor not allowed to make or even imply any health claims associated with their product. So now what?

We needed a different story

Going back to the Yakult Ladies, we found something even more powerful than the product they offer and that’s the dedication to their clients. Because as much as you want to debate the effectiveness of Yakult, you cannot deny that millions of people swear by it and cannot imagine starting their day without the tiny bottle. You could dismiss this as placebo, but perhaps there’s something more meaningful underneath? A daily ritual, a conscious moment of caring for your digestive system and if that bottle is a part of it, who’s to argue that it doesn’t work? The truth is that Japanese people reach higher ages than any other nationality. 

Sadly, old age comes with a down side. A lot of those elderly Japanese people live in solitude and are often lonely. So, you can imagine how this reoccurring visit of the Yakult Lady is of tremendous value to them, because next to suppling their weekly ration of the yoghurt drink, they offer something more valuable: attention. This is meaningful. Going back to connect the dots and this four minute film is the result of our collective search for purpose. It’s the story of Yukie, a Yakult lady who forms a special bond with one of her oldest clients and in the process discovers herself.

What could initially be considered repetitive and insignificant work, now reveals its deeper meaning and purpose. That’s why we love to tell stories: not to make stuff up, but to help people see what was always there.

https://www.miketeevee.com/blog/2019/3/8/wheres-the-story-in-my-company

The new politics of branding

Top 4 ways brands can win when taking a political stance on an issue

Here are four ways brands can win when taking a political stance on an issue:

1. Encourage participation

Part of being involved in the political cultural conversation is also asking consumers to get involved too. Encouraging wider voter participation has been done for many years (see every Rock The Vote campaign ever) but we’re starting to see brands leverage this in interesting ways. For the most recent UK general election Brewdog encouraged voter participation by offering a free pint of Punk IPA to those who could prove they had voted.

Brands should recognise that they can use their unique personalities and capabilities to encourage consumer participation in political issues.

Credit: Brewdog

2. Inspire a community

By taking a strong political stance brands can reflect the opinions and beliefs of the people they serve and work to make their lives better. In the last US election gay dating app Grindr not only encouraged its users to register to vote through in-app notifications, but also presented each candidates LGBT+ policies clearly. They have also encouraged users in specific states to vote against Anti-LGBT issues, inspiring a community of politically engaged users.

To truly inspire a community brands must ensure that they reflect the opinions and politics of their target consumers when taking on a political issue.

Credit: Project Q Atlanta

3. Be authentic

The strongest political stances ring true when they connect to your brand truth and feel organic and authentic. During the EU referendum in the UK last year we saw Lush come out in favour of the remain campaign, but rather than just taking a pro-EU stance, they aligned it with their other activist efforts by encouraging people to ‘Vote remain for animals’. By staying true to the history of their brand they garnered more respect from consumers, whilst also encouraging them to stand for something and champion their political views.

When brands take a political stance they should ensure that it feels connected to their brand’s personality to ensure that it rings true for consumers and doesn’t feel like they are jumping onto a bandwagon.

Credit: Bournemouth Echo

4. Think global

In an increasingly globalised world it is important to look at global political issues as well as those on a smaller scale. After President Trump decided to take the US out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement 25 companies bought full page ads in various US media outlets to make public their disagreements with Trump and his policy. Elon Musk of Tesla also publicly said he would leave an advisory council for Mr Trump, whilst other companies made clear that they would continue their efforts to fight climate change in spite of the new US policy.

Brands must recognise that they have a wide ranging, global reach, and that they can tackle global issues.

Credit: Twitter @elonmusk

This article was written Hannah Robbins, Project Executive, Kantar Added Value, with support from our Cultural Insight team in the UK.

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The new politics of branding

As the political climate continues to grow more divisive, brands are getting thrust into the middle of debates many would prefer to avoid. In January, Toyota was attacked for expanding in Mexico to sell more vehicles to Americans. More recently, Nordstrom experienced whiplash for dropping Ivanka Trump’s clothing line. Corporations and brands typically like to remain apolitical. But in this highly polarized, culturally-charged and social-mediatized moment, where people expect their brands to represent them and their values, can brands sidestep politics entirely? Saying and doing nothing can unintentionally send a message to stakeholders, employees and consumers that the company or brand is indifferent to the issue at hand. And many of the issues being raised have direct implications for businesses. Brands and their CEOs, often the most concrete manifestations of a brand, are having their actions, announcements and affiliations put under the microscope like never before.

The recent executive order regarding the immigrant travel ban and the rhetoric around it is a case in point. The ban, which took place a week prior to the Super Bowl, resulted in brands wading deeply into political waters on both sides of the aisle. From celebration of Mexican avocados to a rerun of Coke’s ‘it’s beautiful’ campaign, immigration was all the rage… literally. Take Anheuser-Busch: Although the American immigrant story of the founder Adolphus Busch was apparently in the works for months prior to the travel ban, its airing led to a call for boycott by those who felt the ad was overtly political. 84 Lumber, a relatively unknown building supply company, ran ‘the Journey’, an ad considered so political by FOX that they refused to air the long version. The edited teaser, which suggested that viewers check out the full story on their website, crashed their site as 6 million attempts were made during the first hour to view the entire ad. The ensuing debate pitted the company’s intention to ‘symbolize the grit, dedication and sacrifice’ of their employees with anger at the promotion of illegal immigration.

Image credit: 84 Lumber

With so much contestation on both sides, it can seem like there is no right way for brands to take part in the conversation without fear of reprisal. We at Kantar Added Value don’t believe things are quite that black and white. A brand’s decision on whether to take a bold stand, try to reconcile opposing points of view or stay entirely out of the fray will quite naturally depend on who that brand is. It’s not about politics. It’s about Purpose.

Airbnb’s campaign #weaccept, which explicitly promoted diversity and acceptance, aired during the same Super Bowl as the controversial ads mentioned above. Yet it, along with their initiative to provide short-term housing for displaced people in need, was mostly met with praise. Sure, a few Twitter trolls expressed outrage at what they deemed a ‘politically charged’ message. But all in all, Airbnb got off relatively unscathed. Why?
For one, this pioneer in the sharing economy has built its entire brand around the idea of belonging and community. It therefore was perfectly coherent, to see them take a stand against an order that runs counter to everything they stand for. And Airbnb’s young urban cosmopolitan target would expect no less.

Image credit: Airbnb

Of course, in any situation, brand owners will want to measure the risks and rewards of speaking up. But risk mitigation isn’t as simple as it used to be. With the rise of social media and real-time communications, brands are expected to behave more like humans. And humans don’t just do what they think will maximize their ROI in the short term. Their behaviors are rooted in values and personality and so should any brand worth its EPS be. Brands, like humans, need to know what they stand for. The clearer a brand is about its raison d’être, the easier it will be to align quickly and convincingly on a course of action.

A brands’ position on a given issue should weigh four key considerations:

1. The brand’s core/most loyal consumers: who are they and what matters to them? If you are Hobby Lobby, your right-leaning consumers will be expecting you to stand up for family values, just as a Ben & Jerry’s core consumer will be sensitive to climate change issues. Some brands don’t know where their consumers stand until they find out the hard way. When Uber chose not to hold up the one-hour taxi strike at JFK airport during the height of the airport protests, their users were enraged. When it then came to light that Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick, was also a member of President Trump’s economic advisory committee, the #deleteUber movement on Twitter was born. Uber, a brand that has successfully positioned themselves as ‘your private driver’ is increasingly out of sync with the cultural moment- evoking elitism and selfishness vs. Lyft whose purpose is to be ‘your friend with a car’. Both drivers and passengers appear to increasingly prefer the latter mindset.  Brands must also be forward thinking about their consumer base. Earlier this year, a Fox News radio host dubbed Chick-fil-A “the official chicken of Jesus“. The company’s CEO, who previously took a strong stand against same sex marriage, now seeks to expand northward to NY and other left leaning cities. Consumers and employees in these zipcodes have different attitudes and affiliations, thus requiring a rethink on brand targeting.

2. The brand’s values: what is most important to the brand? What does it stand for and what would it be willing to fight for?  There was a time when brands didn’t need to know the answer to these questions. No longer. CVS, the pharmacy brand that took the first strong stand against tobacco, logically stood up for affordable care. Patagonia and Black Diamond, long-time supporters of environmental protection, are publicly appealing to the entire outdoors industry to move their trade show out of Utah State, if its leaders continue to support Republican efforts in Congress to transfer or sell federal lands to states. For brands with strong values, doing nothing, or even taking a tepid position, is not an option.

3. The brand’s competencies: Where does the brand have expertise that might be applied to or provide perspective on the issue at hand?  A recent report by Weber Shandwick, entitled “The Dawn of CEO Activism,” found that people saw CEOs more favorably if they took a public stance on current issues — as long as the topic was related to the company’s business. (If it wasn’t, the numbers reversed.). In this vein, Mark Weinberger, CEO of EY has offered his company’s expertise to ‘educate’ President Trump on all things related to job creation in the US. Nike, a brand that has promoted women’s participation in sports for two decades, is addressing the Muslim issue from a different angle: their recent launch of a lightweight, highly wearable hijab that doesn’t come untucked when working out or during competitions, is intended to reach a growing market of Muslim shoppers.  Another global brand, IKEA, working through its foundation, has developed refugee shelters made from recycled plastic that can be easily assembled in just a few hours (see innovation section for details). Interestingly, IKEA’s DIY expertise has been hijacked by designers seeking to make an anti-Muslim ban statement via a tongue-in-cheek ad for a “Börder Wåll“, offering a fake flat-pack wall, sold with 5,659,344 screws, and a single allen wrench, for a bargain price of : $9,999,999,999.99.

4. The brand’s personality: Finally, the way a brand chooses to address an issue must be coherent with that brand’s personality. A brand’s willingness to get out in front on contentious topics should reflect its placement on the spectrum of boldness. Is the brand an Innocent or a Nurturer, in which case it will likely avoid direct conflict?  Or is it a Hero, willing to fight for what is right? Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, was one of the first to speak out against the immigrant travel ban with zeal, announcing a decision to employ 10,000 refugees in protest. While the press has suggested that Starbucks is risking business, Kantar Millward Brown (full disclosure – sister Kantar company) reported last week that there has been no substantive impact on any key performance metrics. Jeep, more of an Explorer brand, decided to straddle the fence with their  ‘Free to Be,’ campaign, launched around the final presidential debate last year. The campaign featured a split screen showing their latest models half in red, half in blue, delivering a message of unification that cut across party lines. To showcase the parallel park assist, one ad proposed to help you “position yourself between two sides.” Lane departure warning ads reminded you that “The left and the right are closer than you think.”

Image credit: Jeep

It could be argued that such an attempt to rise above the divisive rhetoric and avoid taking sides is too safe…that such an approach isn’t bold enough to stand out. But the real question is whether the brand is acting in a way that is coherent with what you know, love and expect from it. And whether it is aligning with the core values of its target. Because the only thing worse for a brand today than being invisible is to be inauthentic or irrelevant.

Written by Leslie Pascaud, Executive Vice President Branding and Sustainable Innovation, and Teiko Uyekawa, Brand, Kantar Added Value.

Headline image credit: Kantar Added Value

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Looking Back on 2016

It has been a cataclysmic year. From shake-ups in the world of brand marketing and advertising, to unimaginable political outcomes in the US and the UK, to continuing devastation in war-torn cities like Aleppo, the shock of the year’s events have reverberated around the globe in real-time.

Here are 5 emerging themes shaped by the events of 2016, and questions every brand should consider in relationship to them, as our organizations seek to play a role in supporting human flourishing:

OUR OLD ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES ARE BROKEN
Traditional dividing lines are blurring and no longer have the predictive power they once did. In a world where news travels at the speed of the internet, geography, age, race, sex, gender, religion, income, education have all become less salient as indicators. We see this playing out in the use of psychographic profiling to micro-target news consumers in both the Brexit vote and the US presidential election, and we see it in the reimagining of masculine gender roles, as exemplified by America’s first CoverBoy. The organizing principles we’ve relied on in the past and have come to accept as fact can no longer reliably guide us in understanding a person’s experiences, preferences and assumed choices.
Question for your brand: How might you need to understand and conceptualize your targets differently, both today and in the future?

IF EVERYONE IS THE MEDIA, NO ONE IS THE MEDIA
The monolith of the fourth estate no longer speaks with a singular voice. “Traditional” media outlets still exist, but they now compete with start-ups, independent outlets, brands and individuals to tell the story of what’s happening in the world and why. Issues of roles, rights, and responsibilities, truth and propaganda have come into play as everyone jockeys to deliver “content” and drive the 24/7 news cycle and the ad dollars attached to it. Increasingly, we’re coming to see that media sources are aimed at not just page views but also the power to shape world views, and thus drive the cultural narrative that frames reality.
Question for your brand: How can your brand best shape influencers, and what unified message can your brand deliver that speaks into a fragmented media landscape?

POLARIZATION IS THE NEW NORMAL
From heated exchanges between strangers on social media, to families divided down political lines, polarization can start to feel like the only thing we all share in common. When it’s easy to surround yourself with only opinions that confirm your own biases, this polarization can seem even more pronounced. In the US, not since the first Civil Rights movement has the country seen such a groundswell of efforts in the direction of furthering racial equality, while simultaneously we see extremist, nationalist groups also come to the forefront. We are all being forced to take a hard look at who we are as a people and a culture, and there are no easy answers. Some take this as a sign of hope, believing that this self-examination, though painful, is necessary for us to move forward as a society. But we are surely at a cultural precipice, with many wondering which forces will prevail.
Question for your brand: In a polarized climate, what can your brand truly stand for that allows your brand’s voice to be heard above the fray and connect with universal human truths?

RECKONING WITH TECH
The promise of technology as an elegant solution to the age-old problem of human error, pride and greed, hasn’t quite worked out that way. Yes, technology has made our lives dramatically easier in many ways but this has not come without cost. Indeed we are just beginning to recognize that the fruits of technology’s labors have far-reaching consequences that must be grappled with. Just this week, news of a massive cyber-forgery ring that fraudulently costs advertisers up to $5M a day to pay for fake video views serves as yet another reminder that technology can hurt as much as it can help. The industry and the world at large will have to reckon with how technology can be shaped toward its most humane, ethical ends while protecting us from own our worst impulses to exploit others through it.
Question for your brand: How can your brand leverage the power of technology, while working to mitigate its potential negative impacts for all?

BALANCING SECURITY AND LIBERTY
As the global world is more connected, the tenuous relationship between security and liberty becomes more fraught. In many democratic countries, enshrined individual rights are strained in the face of efforts to ensure safety of the collective. How much oversight is too much? At what point can we opt out of a “Big Brother” existence that often we know nothing about? Add to that the vulnerability inherent in increasing amounts of data – personal and corporate — stored online and in the cloud, and what seem like endless hacks into what we were told are secure systems. Distrust of all entities meant to secure our safety, both virtual and physical, grows deeper, even as we need these entities more and more.
Question for your brand: How might your brand provide consumers with a sense of security amidst tumult, in both traditional and creative ways?

Written by Joanna Franchini, Kantar Added Value US.

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The new Publicis Conseil : Following its fusion with Nurun, the Paris-based agency has devised a new structure that keeps clients at the core while promising consumers a “full brand experience”.

(From left to right, Patrick Lara, Valérie Hénaff, Jean-Guy Saulou)

 

If you’re going to meet the leading lights of Publicis Conseil, it might as well be on the roof terrace of their iconic building at 133 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The Publicis story has been unfolding at this address since 1958. Now, as we gather around a table on an unexpectedly sunny spring day, the agency has embarked on its next chapter.

With me on the rooftop are Valérie Henaff, president of Publicis Conseil, along with director generals Patrick Lara and Jean-Guy Saulou (who was the former DG of Nurun). The agency’s transformation was sparked by the merging of Publicis Conseil with Nurun Paris. In other words, the integration of 250 digital and tech experts with existing Publicis Conseil staff, bringing the total number up to 650.

 

“Our philosophy for some time now has been ‘lead the change’,” says Valérie Henaff. “Our clients are constantly confronted by change, so rather than being intimidated by that, our view is that in order to grow one should embrace it and be inspired by it.”

This philosophy has driven the agency’s international presence (“We are the most international of French agencies,” remarks Valérie) as well as its widely reported digital transformation. In that respect, the latest evolution is a logical one.

Publicis Conseil refers to its new incarnation as “the first full brand experience agency”. So what exactly does that mean? Valérie explains: “What Nurun brought to us specifically was its expertise in the realm of the customer experience. Along with our clients we have become aware that one can no longer separate what a brand says – the communication – from the way the customer actually experiences that brand. A bad customer experience can undermine all the brand’s communications investment.”

In other words, Publicis Conseil must now be able to oversee the customer journey from A to Z, whether that means the website user experience, its social media presence, or even the store interior. Because as we all know, there’s nothing more disappointing than a brand that fails to live up to its promises.

Practically speaking, the agency will be organised around nine business units – almost mini-agencies – of around 80 people, each dedicated to one or several clients. As everyone in French adland knows, Publicis Conseil works for some the country’s most emblematic brands, including AccorHotels, BNP Paribas, Carrefour, AXA, Engie, L’Oréal, Nestlé, Orange, Renault, Sanofi, Groupe Seb... Each of the nine entities will be headed by a duo, one from Publicis Conseil and one from the former Nurun.

“We’ve always put clients at the core of our business, but now our internal organization reflects that approach,” says Valérie.

TRANSVERSAL TALENTS

If it sounds as though Publicis might be creating silos while other agencies are breaking them, Valérie assures us that all its clients will be able to benefit from “transversal talents” who can intervene whenever and wherever required. These include data scientists, UX specialists, social media coordinators and many more.

Jean-Guy Saulou says: “We’ll ensure that digital skills are available to all our clients. The advantage of being 650 people is that we’re capable of bringing together the equivalent of a specialist agency for every circumstance. With the difference that we can combine our long-term client vision with these often very niche skills.”

There’s also a further transversal unit called The Strategic Studio, which incorporates strategic planners, channel planners, engagement planners and data analysts, among others. One of the most compelling elements of the new structure is the Social Media News Desk that sits at the heart of the agency. Publicis Conseil also has its own digital production studio so that it can match output with the rate of demand for content.

The agency’s creative output will be overseen by four “creative poles” headed respectively by Olivier Desmettre and Fabrice Delacourt, Marcelo Vergara, Elie Trotignon (former executive creative director of Nurun Paris).

A LAB CALLED “LE LOFT”

Another symbol of the agency’s evolution is Le Loft, a combination of mobile brand content lab and workshop which brings together experts from within Publicis and external talents – for instance YouTube stars and social influencers.

Le Loft is described as “multidisciplinary, open, agile and data-driven”. The teams assemble around a specific client, for one month, each time in a different location. During that time they’re given one brief every day.

The entire team works on the brief at the same time, “a collective discipline that allows the hatching of dozens of creative ideas a day”, according to the agency’s official literature.

Less officially, director general Patrick Lara says: “It’s astonishing to observe this mixture of different talents in the same space for a defined period. The client is deeply integrated in the process and regularly comes to work alongside us. Sometimes they discover hidden talents!”

The content is actually produced within the Loft, Patrick stresses: “It’s not just a space for ideation and conception. We have animators, illustrators and other craftspeople who can bring the ideas to life, there and then.”

It must be one of the rare times an advertising creative gets to work with a YouTuber on a brief for electric vehicles. Valérie Henaff adds: “We sought outside talents not to hire them, but to work with them and most importantly to learn from them.”

Initially created for Renault, Le Loft has also worked with BNP Paribas, Garnier, Nestlé and Groupe Seb. “The experience was supposed to be a one-off, but the results were so rich that we decided to continue.”

DRIVING CREATIVITY

An agency is still paid for its ideas, and Patrick Lara insists that the new organization will enhance their delivery. “What’s interesting is that the full brand experience, because it involves truly listening to and engaging with the consumer, brings us unexpected insights that generate creativity in their wake.”

The more the agency listens to customers, he says, the more it enables brands to respond to their needs. “Providing solutions is also part of the brand experience.”

One concrete example was the insight that new parents often drive their babies around in the car in order to send them off to sleep. But driving around town at three in the morning has obvious inconveniences – not least when you have to stop and the little one starts crying again.

“So we created the first static baby seat that recreates the sensation of being in a car,” Patrick smiles. The Baby Seat was a joint project by Publicis in Paris, Argentina and Italy for Renault and is now available all over the world. “That’s not an ad, but a product, based on our knowledge of the consumer – something we would perhaps never have done ten years ago.”

Valérie Henaff concludes: “In a way, everything we’ve been talking about this afternoon is inherently linked to creativity. Today we can say that we’ve invented a new way of working, collaborating and thinking.”

Perhaps not so much a new chapter, then, as the start of an entirely new story. 

 

source : https://fr.adforum.com/interviews/the-new-publicis-conseil

Top 10 Beauty Brands in Digital

L2’s Digital IQ Index^®: Beauty reveals an industry rapidly growing in sophistication. Three out of four Index brands earned spots in the Gifted or Average categories, reflecting increased digital investments in the form of retailer partnerships, omnichannel initiatives, and influencer relationships. As in 2014, Color Cosmetics and Multi-category brands netted the highest Digital IQs; in contrast, Fragrance brands trail behind due to creative and licensing red tape.

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 Top 10 Beauty Brands in Digital http://www.l2inc.com/top-10-beauty-brands-in-digital/2015/blog

" The Pursuit of Happiness " study is a global ‘Active Understanding’ initiative to discover valuable local insights about Millennials.

http://youmark.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/02-Report-The-Pursuit-Of-Happiness.pdf

1. HELP MILLENNIALS TO LIVE FULFILLED LIVES Happiness for Millennials means making the most of their lives, living with purpose and having meaningful experiences. Brands that help them organise their busy lives so they have time to spend with family and friends will be more valued.
2. 2. HELP MILLENNIALS TO GIVE THEIR BEST Personal development and high aspirations are really important to Millennials, and this mind-set should start right at the product development stage for brands. Don’t just be useful; be meaningful.
3. 3. DELIVER MEANINGFUL BRAND EXPERIENCES We know that Millennials gather experiences in the way that earlier generations amassed prized possessions. Brands can help them do that, be it through helping them express what they stand for or by providing those experiences.

How to Tell an Effective Story with Content

Content marketing is passé.

While no one would argue its effectiveness, it’s becoming a word without meaning, a word that lacks a real identity. What is content marketing? We know that it’s an integrated approach to content creation, SEO, social media marketing, and influencer and customer engagement, but this is where the story ends, and far too often, it takes your brand—and its story—with it.

Content marketing is a discipline about storytelling; only in an odd turn of events, it often leads us away from the desire to tell it. We get caught up in engagement metrics, follower numbers and branding. We create content and often lose touch with the big picture, of why we’re creating it in the first place.

(highlight to tweet) It becomes a task rather than an extension of ourselves, of our company.

It’s time to change the message.

The Fundamentals of a Good Story

You know who tells great stories? Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola uses a blended approach to delivering stories about themselves, their friends, and their customers. You can find them on nearly every social media channel, and although most businesses lack the resources to maintain this type of presence, their mixed media approach and cross-channel branding efforts are noticed, loved, and effective.

So, how do you become more like Coca-Cola?

What good content marketers—and storytellers—do well starts with an overriding theme. What message is your story trying to purvey, and what are you hoping sticks with your audience after they view it?

Are you a hot tech startup that wants to show off the skill of your employees and how you’re going to disrupt the marketplace with your hot new app or technology?

Check out the GoPro YouTube page. It’s awe-inspiring and makes you really want to produce your own content using their technology. This is a company that started with their own story: a need to capture the cool things a group of adrenaline junkies did, which ultimately culminated in a desire to bring that technology to others like them, and at an affordable price point.

Are you the mom and pop family farm that creates organic produce and sells it in an online co-op?

Burroughs Family Farms is. Front and center right on the homepage of their website is a story that details their beginnings, their ideology, and where they want to go from here. It’s a great example of storytelling in its simplest form.

“The key to storytelling is authenticity,” says Ryan Mulvany, a Partner at Quiverr. “I started selling products on Amazon years before I started my agency helping brands compete in online marketplaces. I still tell stories from my early years. It’s the most effective way I know of communicating our in-the-trenches experience.”

The point is, you have to first identify who you are, and then work outward to determine what kind of story you can effectively tell. The key is in making the story compelling, believable, and human. Originality doesn’t hurt, either.

But first you have to identify who you are, and what message you’re trying to deliver.

Tapping the Vein of Success

Next, you need to identify competitors in the marketplace. This oft-overlooked step allows you to cater to the law of averages by finding impactful data that allows you to improve upon their big content wins, and avoid content plays that weren’t effective. In short, it saves you time, money, and even the potential for embarrassment.

Your story should be original. How you choose to market it doesn’t have to be. The idea isn’t to mirror their strategy. Ideally, you’d take bits and pieces of the most effective content strategies of your competitors and refine it into creative ideas of your own, but if I’m being honest, more than a few brands simply piggyback off the success of others in an unoriginal and often feeble attempt to ride their successes. Don’t let this be you.

Create

Once we’ve identified the story we want to tell, and we know how we’re going to use it (and across what channels), it’s time to get to work.

From here, we should be crafting appealing content across multiple channels and using a mixed media approach that is designed to captivate, inspire, and evoke emotion around your brand. You have mere moments to capture attention, so no detail should be overlooked. Each word should have a place, a message of its own. Each color choice should be scrutinized. Every detail down to the choice of font, the spacing, and the placement of images needs to be carefully inspected to ensure that the message you’re trying to purvey is the one the customer receives.

The process isn’t rocket science; it’s about the human element that brings each of us together. A company is nothing more than the story of the people who created it, what brought them to this point, and where they want to go in the future. Keep it simple, honest and make your point clear.

Now, go out and tell your story.

 

 

by Chris Warden

 

Chris Warden is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive. Starting his entrepreneurial career at age 19, he has performed in numerous capacities owning and managing both offline and online companies. Chris now serves as CMO of Fox Powers, a San Diego based M&A firm.

The Business of Content Curation from Robin Good

The Business of Content Curation from Robin Good

Recently, Taco Bell made its Periscope debut with a live "newscast," unveiling its latest breakfast concoction -- the biscuit taco

Recently, Taco Bell made its Periscope debut with a live "newscast," unveiling its latest breakfast concoction -- the biscuit taco

Taco Bell: "Tweet us your photos of you with your free biscuit tacos, Instagram us and also Snapchat us."

"We're always in beta and trying things out," said Ms. Friebe. She said that approach resonates with the way young people, who were born into technology, experience things. "[Our consumers] are used to living in this world where people are constantly trying something, seeing if it works and making changes."

Taco Bell is also transporting consumers back to their childhood with inventions like Cap'n Crunch Delights, a doughnut hole inspired by the classic cereal, as well as ads like "Unboxing Kids," which features a brother-sister duo who went viral with their retro fist-pumping home video of unwrapping a Nintendo 64. "[Young people] have access to all of this information and technology, but it also can be overwhelming," said Ms. Friebe. "They are drawn to things like nostalgia."

How to Adapt your Content Marketing to the Rise of Big Content

“According to Gartner surveys, content is the most important thing marketers can do and yet they’re unequipped to take it on from a skills and sourcing level.”

Source: www.gartner.com

Last week, Gartner released the results of their study around the 5 top emerging trends in digital marketing, and one of the big 5 is around the “rise of big content”.

Most marketers understand how important content is for their audience and their overall marketing strategy, but they critically lack resources/skills to either create good content or source good content to curate.

The choice of words Gartner used was very wise: we all know “marketers understanding that” does not mean “CEOs understanding that”. So just like most marketers, you might be facing a situation where you and anyone within your company who can and would write has millions of other things to do with deadlines that can’t be pushed.  

In my opinion there are three answers you can bring to scale your content marketing and address the challenges created by the rise of big content:

 

1. The human-centric answer: leverage contributors to publish more content and distribute more broadly.

You can’t do it all alone, so why not leverage others in this ongoing effort? Co-workers and freelance writers can help you keep up with high goals for content publishing. If you are interested in how to leverage others in your content marketing efforts, I wrote an article about it last week.

 

2. The content-centric answer: leverage content curation to publish more content and be more credible.

People often think doing content marketing is 100% content creation. It’s not. There is great content out there on the Web just waiting for your to leverage it.

Consider the fact that it takes on average 150 hours to create a white paper or an ebook, 4 hours to write a blog post and 20 minutes to turn a relevant content into a curated post.

And it’s not just about finding the time or resources to write content, it’s also about publishing credible content. A study from the CMO council revealed that third-party content is 4x to 7x more trusted than your own.

 

3. The technology-centric answer: leverage content marketing software to save time through integration and automation.

Of course, we’re not objective on that part. But think about how CRM software changed the way we’re doing sales today. Think about how Marketing automation changed the way we’re sending emails by interacting with our prospects at the right time, based on their interactions with our website and their behaviors. In a similar way, Content Marketing software also saves marketers a lot of time which enables them to focus on what’s important.

 

To quote Gartner again: “Marketers need to build a content marketing supply chain and determine how to create, curate and cultivate content.”

Are you ready to adapt to the rise of big content?

 

Image by Jeff Rowley.

And for more tips on how to scale your content marketing strategy with limited resources, download our free ebook.

About Julie Gauthier

Julie is our Director of Content Marketing. Before joining the other side of the Force, Julie was a client of Scoop.it while managing the Marketing of another SaaS software start-up in San Francisco for 2 years (Ivalua). With a Master’s Degree in Consulting from Audencia Graduate School of Management, Julie has lived in 4 different countries and worked in Marketing and Consulting for Apple, l’Oréal, Cartier and Weave Consulting. Besides being a tech nerd tweeting about New Technologies (@JulieGTR), Julie is a pretty serious sports addict (ski, muay thai, field hockey, tennis, etc.), a traveling fanatic and a foodie (either in the privacy of her kitchen or at new trendy restaurants).

 

source : Content Marketing, Market Data & Reports, Web Trends by Julie Gauthier.

In Powerful New Doc, Heineken Revives Brazil’s Wildest Party Alley

 

Come summer 2016, all eyes will be on Rio De Janeiro, the city hosting the next Olympic Games. But even before sports fanaticism takes over, Heineken is calling attention to a near-forgotten hub of Rio’s cultural legacy in its new documentary, Beco das Garrafas.

Translated to “Bottles Alley,” Beco das Garrafas is a bar that received its name from stories of rowdy patrons getting in fights and throwing bottles along an alley. But those who were around to experience the nightlife in the 1950s and ’60s know that the place’s charm wasn’t just cultivated from riotous nightlife. Beco das Garrafas holds a beautiful secret: It was the birthplace of bossa nova, a genre of Brazilian music that has roots in both jazz and samba. Heineken was determined to uncover this buried history and revitalize the alley for a new generation of music lovers.

“Heineken called me for a strategic Branded Content & Entertainment Consultancy, [with a challenge] to expand the conversation and the resonance of the reopening of BECO,” the film’s co-producer, Patrícia Weiss, wrote to me in an email. “My recommendation was to produce a documentary telling the story about Beco das Garrafas from the point of view of ordinary people who witnessed its history.”

As a part of its “Cities of the World” campaign—created to inspire people to discover and experiences their cities through art, food, and music—Heineken is now inviting Rio de Janeiro residents to watch Beco das Garrafas to discover something new about their city.

BECOdasGARRAFAS documentary ENG from www.asas.br.com on Vimeo.

Directed by Paula Trabulsi, a member of the International Collective of Storydoers, the film documents the rise, fall, and rebirth of the cultural epicenter of bossa nova.

“Heineken gave us complete freedom during the production of this project in the partnership,” Weiss said. “It should be an authentic and original story about people, about the cultural importance of BECO and Bossa Nova centered on people. It shouldn’t be a story about a brand talking about itself, selling product or brand image, but something really interesting and meaningful to people.”

Altogether, the film’s production took six months—not bad for a documentary that covers a history of 30 years.

As the film explains, by the end of the ’50s, Beco das Garrafas had earned the reputation as the launchpad of bossa nova’s biggest talents such as Elis Regina, Wilson Simonal, and Jorge Ben. They came to perform at the alley’s hottest nightclubs: Little Club, Bacará, and Bottle’s Bar. However, the alley’s allure faded by the time the ’70s rolled around, which brought revolution, heavy drug use, and the disco rage.

With help from the Hands agency, Heineken sponsored the renovation of these bars, bringing the music back to Beco das Garrafas for the first time in decades. Tracing this revitalization, Heineken’s documentary features interviews with people who grew up near the famous alley, bossa nova singers, and bar employees who were working in the heart of the area’s nightlife.

“The great challenge today for brands is how to capture the audience’s attention and get them involved,” Weiss explained. “So relevance, authenticity and original narratives are the most powerful ways of establishing emotional connection between brands and people today—involving and engaging them without interrupting their lives.”

Not only has the campaign breathed new life into the hurting Beco das Garrafas, which now hosts shows six days a week, but it also proved to be a strong marketing play for Heineken, which earned brand mentions in over 40 media publications and generated over $6.3 million in earned media.

“It is essential for the brand to identify the themes, the important human issues and social tensions that concern and affect the audience,” Weiss said. “By doing that, the brand can be the catalyst of a conversation that invites the audience to participate, entering into a larger discussion in the society with a wider resonance.”

 

source : http://contently.com/strategist/2015/05/14/in-powerful-new-doc-heineken-revives-brazils-wildest-party-alley/

3 Factors Shaping the Global Content Market

By Pierre Ziemniak

MIPTV 2015 is just around the corner, and as hard as it is to predict what the biggest trends are going to be in the TV industry for the months to come, here are a few observations based on our program and keynote announcements. What does the year’s biggest gathering of entertainment industry professionals tell us about the industry itself?

The Millennial Shift

First and foremost, our theme this year is “The Millennial Shift”: consumer habits are changing faster than ever and the market must adapt to younger, mobile, and multi-connected audiences. This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but millennials are the consumers of tomorrow, and as media users, their habits tell us a lot about the future of TV distribution, content, and formats. Personalization, streaming, and interactivity are the three key words of this major shift, which sees the rise of web platforms — and YouTube is just the tip of the iceberg here, given the high number of many multi-channel networks competing to reach millennials.

This is where a few clarifications are necessary. The “second screen”? It’s not as relevant as it used to be: “We seem to have quickly skipped from online devices being the second screen, to them being the first for many generations, especially the all-important millennials,” says Matt Campion, founder/creative director at Spirit Digital Media, the UK-based digital and social-media production agency. “Cord-cutters”? “Cord-shavers” may be a more appropriate term for millennials, who have actually reduced the amount of time they spend in front of traditional TV without totally abandoning it.

More than ever, the connection between offline and online viewing is key. Viacom, for instance, recently created “appisodes”: more than just catch-ups tools, these new formats offer interactivity and many more options. The My Nick Jr app for kids’ network Nickelodeon is already a huge success.

Even more important in this new online landscape are social networks, which have joined the race for content for good, redefining the boundaries of entertainment — and online gaming has a lot to do with it. Just a few figures: Facebook paid $2 billion last year for virtual-reality gaming platform Oculus VR, and Amazon bought the broadcast gaming and eSports platform Twitch for $970 million. According to research company IHS Technology, eSports will represent 6.6 billion hours of viewing globally in 2018 from 2.4 billion hours in 2014.

These major changes will be highlighted and analyzed at the MIP Digital Fronts, the last two days of MIPTV totally devoted to online entertainment. MCNs such as Machinima, Collective Digital Studio, and AwesomenessTV — to name but a few — will be present to showcase their most talented creators, and offer the MIPTV audience a glimpse of online video’s future.

According to Machinima’s chief content officer Daniel Tibbets, money is the number one issue when it comes to millennials: “Millennials won’t pay $150 a month for cable, so you have to figure out how to hit them with the right content,” he says, further explaining that “the traditional TV networks must look at their release windows not as a syndication function but as a programming one.”

Collective Digital Studio’s Paul Kontonis insists on the need to be platform-agnostic: “We create entertainment programming on whichever platform it makes the most sense. If it’s a Vine series we’ll do a Vine series, if it’s a Vine series and then a TV film so be it. If it’s a YouTube series that should then go to Instagram then so be it,” he says.

And, last but not least, New Form Digital’s Kathleen Grace stresses the importance of storytelling: “it’s not about TV, it’s about content across multiple platforms that tells a story [millennials] can relate to. There is a huge opportunity there.”

Monetization, of course, remains problematic in many cases. But this should change soon, according to JWT Worldwide’s Lucie Green, who says that advertisers will respond to these developments. So, will millennials’ habits change the industry for good, judging by the new formats and distribution models that have emerged these past few years? As HBO, CBS, and Sony unveil their online-only video services, there are reasons to believe that 2015 will be the year when online viewing becomes more than just a trend for the new generation.

From Small Screens, to All Screens

The second biggest trend witnessed and discussed MIP after MIP is that quality TV is now everywhere. Indeed, the best shows are no longer reserved to networks and cable, and can be found on broadband platforms. Here too, MIP Digital Fronts has positioned itself as a marketplace for current and next-generation content producers eager to reach online and mobile platforms, as well as for traditional broadcasters trying to attract young audiences — in any case, talent and quality content matters above all else.

Global media companies are fully aware of this shift and are now officially focusing a large part of their activity on digital channels — especially YouTube MCNs. The Walt Disney Company, for instance, paid $500 million for MCN Maker Studios — a MIP Digital Fronts founding partner — last year. Another MIP Digital Fronts founding partner, Vice Media, amassed $250 million from A+E Networks (which is partly owned by Disney). Hearst and DreamWorks Animation jointly own AwesomenessTV — another MIP Digital Fronts presenting partner — while FremantleMedia has formed digital-content studio Tiny Riot and has content partnerships with fellow RTL Group subsidiaries BroadbandTV and StyleHaul.

These moves are backed by research. International video-technology provider Ooyala reports that 706 million-plus homes — nearly half the world’s TV households — will be watching online video by 2020, up from the 374 million forecast for 2014. There’s more: media agency ZenithOptimedia predicts that global advertising revenues will reach $545 billion by year-end. It foresees TV advertising’s share remaining the largest by medium, but dropping to 37.4% in 2017 from 39.6% in 2014. The revenue share of desktop internet ads is expected to grow to 19.6% from 18.8% during the same period, while mobile ads’ share will leap to 11.4% from 5%.

The Emmy-nominated “What’s Trending” is a good example of a digital-first show being adopted by traditional TV operators. A daily interactive show on YouTube devoted to news topics that have gone viral online, “What’s Trending” has featured a host of celebrity interviews, from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe. The team is now working on a digital series for Viacom’s VH1 network — even more impressive, it has a syndication agreement with the US’ CBS network. “’What’s Trending’ is the new water cooler, with fans sharing information, photos, and videos online. Not only do we get people through the noise of it all, we also entertain,” says Shira Lazar, ‘What’s Trending’ co-founder and presenter. “Two years ago, premium content on YouTube was rare. Now, anyone can take a camera and shoot something that could end up being good enough for television.”

In other words, democratization of content creation has never been more felt within the TV ecosystem — although it remains unclear what kind of long-term impact YouTubers and other online video creators will have on the industry as a whole. One thing is certain: authenticity and quality of content are no longer bound to the traditional TV screen.

The Race for Branded Entertainment

A third major TV trend these days is the rise of branded content as a new entertainment form — it has been the case for several years now, with the MIPTV Brand Of The Year Award given to innovative brands in this field, include American Express, Heineken, Intel, and Vice Media. Chipotle and Piro won last year for their “Farmed and Dangerous” series on Hulu.

The reasons for brands to create content are numerous — being entertainment providers offers them flexibility in terms of reaching consumers through digital technology. A prime example is Marriott Content Studio, a subsidiary of hotel and resort group Marriott International: it was launched last September and is already winner of the MIPTV 2015 Brand of the Year award. Marriott has indeed managed to position itself as a content creator in record time, taking into account all the industrial shifts listed above: “We want to own the travel-and-lifestyle space,” says David Beebe, Marriott International’s VP of creative and content marketing, global marketing. “The journeys made in that lifestyle lend themselves to content naturally, because travelers are constantly tweeting, taking photos and videos, and capturing their adventures. We want to respond to that by creating content in all formats for all screens.”

Marriott has already formed partnerships with established celebrities, YouTube stars, and content producers, and will distribute its shows via social media (Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram), YouTube, and in-room screens at Marriott’s 4,100 hotels in 78 countries — not to mention the fact that they will be licensed to interested broadcasters. Marriott-developed entertainment notably includes comedy short film “Two Bellmen.”

The goal, says David Beebe, “is to produce engaging content that builds communities of people passionate about travel that will drive commerce.” And building communities will undoubtedly be a trend to watch in future years, depending on the brand’s culture and objectives — a powerful way to both engage consumers and create content that will rise above the noise and stand out in this ever-evolving media landscape.

Millennials, screens of all sizes, and branded content will thus be at the center of all panels and discussions at MIPTV — three topics that are shaping the industry day after day, with huge financial, managerial, and creative impacts. But what makes us live as an industry will remain the same: creative people eager to tell new stories in innovative formats — in a word, talent. Screen size, consumer habits, and brand-supported projects may matter more than ever, but good content always has, and always will.

—

This article was adapted from the MIPTV 2015 Preview magazine, available online at miptv.com. To find out more about MIP Digital Fronts at MIPTV, click here!

Land Rover's "The Vanishing Game" : the most amazing tumblr ever (with consumer generated content)

In 2014, Land Rover embarked on a unique branded content project - an interactive digital book, "The Vanishing Game," written by British author, William Boyd. The project aimed to build the brand's reputation as a vehicle for adventure, discovery and exploration. The adventure thriller follows protagonist Alex Dunbar on a mysterious driving adventure across the UK, and the story is brought to life online through a multi-sensory experience, comprised of video, photography, animation, sound, music and narration. 

"What I tried to achieve was to make the Land Rover an inherent presence in the story, something always there - implicit, strong, solid, reliable, ready to function - very like the part it plays in my memory."

- William Boyd, Author, The Vanishing Game

To further promote reader engagement and activity, NewsCred provided custom content around the story, which was distributed to various media outlets, including Vox Media, Quartz, New York Times and Travel + Leisure. Readers and actual Land Rover owners were encouraged to share personal driving adventures, tagged with #WellStoried. Pulling in that hashtag, the photos were collected and showcased on a dedicated Tumblr site, which allowed you to search the photos by keyword or location. The unique and innovative strategy has worked well for the brand, engaging adventurers around the world and enhancing its image as a luxury adventure vehicle.

source : http://blog.newscred.com/article/trends-trendsetters-the-best-in-automotive-content-marketing/2b6a09e6a0d45eb0c880f24b1751977c

Future TV 2025

Future TV 2025 from DigiWorld by IDATE

It's Getting Harder to Separate Advertising From Entertainment (source adweek)

source : http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/it-s-getting-harder-separate-advertising-entertainment-156323

The world of branded content has changed. Suddenly branded movies and TV shows are competing for the same marketing dollar and chunk of free time as everything else in the entertainment world. Advertising, in many cases, is no longer a toll you pay to watch content but is taking the form of content itself.

“Brands are realizing you have to hire experts” if you want to compete with pure entertainment companies, said Maker Studios’ Jason Krebs, who has worked all over the digital media ad world. “Procter & Gamble isn’t necessarily going to do some of these things themselves.”

And branded entertainment is vital. “If you want to reach millennials in the next five years, they’re going to be looking at this a lot more than at the spots and dots,” said Discovery Digital’s group operating officer Colin Decker, who notes that integrations are now the majority of the ads his company sells. These aren’t freebies that sneak in branding—they’re competing for brain share in the golden age of television. So what does this marketing look like, and is it any good?

read the rest of the article : http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/it-s-getting-harder-separate-advertising-entertainment-156323

Top 50 Most Influential Content Marketers [SLIDESHARE]

50 Most Influential Content Marketers from NewsCred

http://socialmediatoday.com/britopian/1677431/newscred-s-50-most-influential-content-marketers

I am a huge fan of Newscred and what they bring to the market place for content and brand marketers. I highly recommend reading this white paper they put together earlier this year, “Brands as Publishers.” A few weeks ago, they released a list of the 50 Most Influential Content Marketers and I’m really glad that I made the cut. Not sure I deserve it but I’ll take what I can get.

Here is Newscred’s methodology for determining their list:

The methodology behind our list was strategic. Content strategists at NewsCred and SJR spent two weeks researching the most respected content marketing campaigns on the web – culling through best practices and case studies from publications including AdAge, Digiday, Adweek, and the New York Times. We looked at the speaker lists from the top content marketing conferences and asked our own clients who, in the content marketing world, inspired them. After identifying inspirational brands, we evaluated them based on the volume and quality of content used, the digital experience including design and UX, social presence, scope, and distribution method and the novelty and creativity of their strategy.

50 Most Influential Content Marketers from NewsCred

Here is the full list. Thought about linking to their Twitter accounts, but yeah .. too many.

Publishers

• Rafat Ali- Founder, Skift
• Lauri Baker- Sales Director, Branded Content, The Huffington Post
• Nick Denton- Founder, Gawker
• Lewis Dvorkin- Chief Product Officer, Forbes Media
• Ben Lerer- Founder, Thrillist
• Jonah Peretti- Founder, BuzzFeed
• Adam Solomon- VP, Digital Ad Products and Revenue Operations, Time Inc.
• Philippe Von Borries- CEO and Co-Founder, Refinery29

Brands

• Neil Bedwell- Global Group Director, Digital Strategy and Content, Coca-Cola
• Mary Renner Beech- CMO, Kate Spade
• Linda Boff- Executive Director, Global Brand Marketing, GE
• Michael Brenner- VP, Marketing and Content Strategy, SAP
• Ronda Carnegie- Head of Global Partnerships, TED
• Christa Carone- CMO, Xerox
• Paul Chibe- CMO, Anheuser Busch InBev
• Justin Cooke- CMO, Topshop
• Jordan Corredera- VP, Digital, Carnival Cruise Lines
• Katrina Craigwell- Digital Marketing Manager, GE
• Rishi Dave- Executive Director, Online Marketing, Dell
• Chris Erb- former VP of Brand Marketing, EA SPORTS
• Ron Faris- CMO, Virgin Mobile
• Jim Farley- CMO, Ford
• Julie Fleischer- Director, Media & Consumer Engagement, Kraft
• Oriana Freidenberg- Director, Integrated Digital Marketing, The Hartford
• Joe Gebbia- Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Airbnb
• Eric Hausman- Senior Group Manager, PR and Social, Target
• Jason John- Senior Director, Online, Mobile and Social Marketing, Gilt Groupe
• Rich Lesperance- Head of Digital Marketing and Emerging Media, Walgreens
• Vadan Less- Senior Director, Video Distribution, Whole Foods Market
• Brad Rencher- SVP and General Manager, Digital Marketing, Adobe
• Bryan Rhoads- Global Content Lead, Intel
• Scott Roen- VP, Digital Marketing and Innovation, American Express
• Ted Sarandos- Chief Content Officer, Netflix
• Shiv Singh- Director, Digital Media, Pepsi
• Nate Warner- Director, Digital Marketing, Red Bull North America
• Farryn Weiner- Global Director, Digital and Social Communications, Michael Kors
• Jon Williams- Global Head, Agency Relationships, LinkedIn
• Matthew Woolsey- SVP of Digital, Barneys NY

Agencies

• Sarah Amos- Chief Creative Officer, Freshwire
• Jonah Bloom- CSO and Co-Founder  of kbs+ Content Labs, Kirschenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners
• Daniel Bonner- Global Chief Creative Officer, Razorfish
• Ethan Bauley- SVP, Digital Communications, Weber Shandwick
• Michael Brito- SVP, Social Business Strategy, Edelman (me! yay!)
• Adrianna Giuliani- SVP, Creative and Strategic Planning, DeVries
• Jill Griffin- SVP, Branded Content and Storytelling, Starcom Media Vest Group/ LiquidThread
• Alexander Jutkowitz- Managing Partner, Group SJR
• John McCarus- SVP, Practice Lead, Brand Content, Digitas
• Benjamin Palmer- CEO, The Barbarian Group
• Joe Pulizzi- Founder, Content Marketing Institute
• Doug Scott- Founder and President, OgilvyEntertainment