Content is king.
That was the idea on the table at October’s breakfast forum, which was as engaging as it was informative. But before we got into the details of effective content, our very own Executive Director Heather Field introduced herself to the SMCC’s Toronto chapter, touching on her valuable experience and inspiration. Not that we need to say it, but we are more than excited to have her leadership on board to propel SMCC into the next chapter!
Presenting the Market Watch as well as leading the panel discussion, IMI’s Dan Hunter set the exciting tone of the morning by highlighting a number of activations and sponsorships that have used content to make an impact, such as NBA’s partnership with NextVR, Visa & UBER RioPool, Sport Chek’s Chase the Gear campaign and The Party Drone project by BASE Mobile and Spotify.
Getting more in-depth, Anthony Habib, Cinco’s Director of Digital & Innovation, was the first of a three member discussion on content which, for sponsorship and marketing pros, has become the single most powerful way to tell your story. Depending on who you speak to, content can mean a lot of different things. Presently, 60% of what people consume is on their smartphones. But not only are they consuming content, they’re producing it as well. Innovation in technology is constantly creating new platforms for content and new ways to consume it; think virtual reality and how it has changed the consumer experience. Habib left us with three things to consider when thinking about content: 1) forget the sizzle, sell the steak; 2) know your crowd by identifying the potential of new content channels and defining a clear delivery strategy; and 3) measure your success by making the distinction between social benchmarks and business success indicators.
Dave Rivers, Director of National Sponsorships at Bell defined content as the “delish filling in the middle,” the experience directed towards an audience and something that isn’t just digital, but rather set design. He touched on partner strategy and how it needs to underpin your content strategy, similar to Bell Outside the Box. But nothing beats a connection to the community: get your fans as close to the experience as possible and then let it all take place as an avenue of authentic integration. Leverage social amplification by giving people the platform you want to use and then letting them run with it. When it comes to content, always be mindful of your audience and the ways to engage with them.
NBC Producer Lior Etziony introduced the forum to the idea of a clear mixed message with three ways to leverage social influencers to enhance the impact of a good story: 1) combine partners from different worlds in an organic way; 2) identify the right vehicle for the story; and 3) find the right balance between integrated content and the overall story. And once this increases your viewership, you can then double down on that success by creating cost-effective vertical strategies through partnerships as the next step to increase revenue.
We finished off the morning with a panel of the speakers. Dan Hunter asked the panel: who’s doing content well? Anthony Habib said anything that feels organic and natural, such as the TD Thank Account campaign that positioned consumers as the stars of the content. When asked to name the next ‘big thing’ of content, Lior Etziony went with co-created content and Dave Rivers went with augmented reality.
Thank you to our speakers Anthony Habib, Dave Rivers and Lior Etziony for giving us some incredible insights into importance of content and the ways in which the right content can enhance a campaign, and to Dan Hunter for moderating such an interesting discussion. We’d also like to give a huge thank you to Cinco for not only being our presenting sponsor, but also for providing us with an awesome interactive display for the morning!
Upcoming Events:
Our next breakfast forum is on November 16th. Registration details to follow.
We are proud to present the Fundamentals of Sponsorship Marketing, a two day seminar on November 14-15, 2016. Full details can be found at http://bit.ly/2fnxglZ.
Activate is back! SMCC’s unique program will be accepting applications starting on November 16th. Visit http://bit.ly/1EKqSYS for more details.
Follow us on Twitter! @SMCC_CCC