2012 has been crucial for the development of content marketing. ContentWise reflects that 79% of companies already have this strategy in their marketing plan. The question is no longer why use content marketing, but “how”. Forbes magazine recently highlighted the strategy of 5 major brands such as Virgin Mobile, American Express, Marriot, L’oreal and Vanguard.
Virgin Mobile
The company has launched Vigin Mobile Live, its own social communication channel, where it publishes content several times a day. Through this medium it disseminates novelties in terms of music, applications and fun memes, which in turn promotes through the main social platforms. This site receives approximately one million unique visits per month, and its content reaches 50,000 interactions on Facebook and Twitter.
According to Ron Faris, head of Brand Marketing at Virgin Mobile, the goal of its content marketing strategy is not only to amplify the dissemination of content and its dissemination through social networks, but also to promote engagement with followers.
American Express
This company has extensive experience, having implemented various actions of content marketing. One of the most outstanding is American Express Unstagged, a program that offers live concerts by artists of recognized international prestige, from the point of view of a famous director. This allows fans not only to see the concert in real time, but also to access exclusive videos before and after the event. As an example of the great repercussion of these actions, we can highlight the performance of Coldplay in 2011, which remains the most important event on Youtube, featuring a single artist.
The company has very clear that the content is the king, and the dissemination of such content and is the best way to reach potential customers and achieve greater notoriety for the brand. Walter Frye, Director of Entertainment Marketing and Sponsorship at American Express, says that the company will continue to focus on content marketing, performing actions related to music, sports and other types of entertainment. This strategy allows us to create unforgettable experiences for our customers, through this type of content we are able to reach these actions both users and potential customers, which is a great coverage for our brand and the possibility of impacting the audience.
Marriot
Renaissance Hotels is an initiative of Marriot, where the company shapes the lifestyle of the brand. These hotels are intended for those who travel for business, and who consider traveling as a way to explore the world. Starting from here, the brand has created two platforms to help its guests to live and enjoy during their stay. RNavigator allows you to discover the experiences offered by the city where you are staying, While RLife LIVE offers information about music, cinema or art along with suggestions for eating and drinking inside the hotel. Both resources bring quality content to attract customers online.
Another action taken by the company was the relaunch of RenHotels.com, conceived not as a corporate website that offers information on accommodation, but as a portal to discover new experiences when traveling. The website offers information on more than 6,000 places, related to the 155 hotels that the company has around the world; Through it, interactions in social channels are also promoted. Since its new start-up, the portal has registered a record of web traffic, and an exponential growth of engagement with users, In addition to a great growth of its community of Facebook.
Dan Vinh, Vice President of Global Marketing at Renaissance Hotels, believes content is critical to achieving relevance and brand awareness. Even with a limited budget it is possible to do great things. In their case, they base their strategy in transmitting the real experience of the guests in the hotel; What they say and do is authentic.
L’oreal
Fruit of the partnership between Fructis and Rolling Stone, during these last two years we have been able to see many actions related to the discovery of new artists and musical styles. In 2011, his campaign for finding new talents was memorable, in which users were asked to collaborate to vote who would appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. Throughout the entire process, a content strategy was developed aimed at encouraging engagement and empathizing with the target audience, which culminated in the signing of a contract with a record label by the winner.
This year Fructis has launched the program inviting consumers back to take an active part and vote to decide which female artist will appear in the special edition of that program, sharing cover with Adele. This time, the results surpassed those of the previous campaign, surpassing the expectations regarding the number of page views, video impressions and brand notoriety.
Débora Koyama, Deputy Vice President of Marketing for L’oreal in the USA. Has already planned a new action for 2013. Its purpose is to make the most of this strategic platform and to push the brand to the next level, imprinting the mark of the brand in all actions, in order to get closer to its target audience.
Vanguard
The brand launched last year the Vanguard at the Movies campaign, in the form of films parodying the classics of horror and suspense. The initiative was launched coinciding with the summer season, reinforced its impact with the insertion of trailers and a strong presence in digital media. These actions did not only serve to increase brand presence, but also as viralizable content. The company’s YouTube channel doubled its traffic. According to Michael Ma, Director of Advertising and Marketing for the company, The number of visits went from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands in a few weeks, who received the message that the brand wanted to convey in a non-intrusive way that in turn improved their perception of the brand.
What other examples do you know? Have you already started your own content marketing actions?
You may also like Semesta Travel – A Blog about Tours and Travel
