Away from the battle of Clinton versus Trump, the Guardian is using original content to gain an edge over its competitors

As the world’s focus turns to the few short hours remaining before the new president of the USA is announced, content providers are scrabbling to be the go-to source for breaking news and leading insight.

The Guardian’s big play for this space is a special election service built into its app. And they’re trying out some pioneering tech that means users don’t even have to unlock their phones to see what’s happening.

The blurb states:

“We’re offering the quickest and most convenient way to get live election night results on mobile without a tap, a search or the opening of an app. We’ll send one mobile alert that will automatically update with the latest data. It is a highly innovative use of alert technology that will give you the up-to-date information whenever you pick up your phone.”

Users will be able to see which states have called and a breakdown of the popular vote between Trump and Clinton. Funky little graphics will show what’s happening at a glance.

The tech uses text messaging as the medium but takes it to a whole new level. It’s something that content marketers should be looking at to see how it could work for them.

The cost of innovation

The Guardian has produced its own news story promoting the election app service. It’s impressive stuff, but read to the end and you’ll see there is a postscript that is basically begging for money.

There is then a link to ‘become a supporter’ or give a one-off donation.

The message is clear. Traditional news media cannot support itself in the digital age, even when it embraces technological innovation.

The opportunity for content marketers is equally clear. The technology exists, as do the content producers.

Bring your commercial clout into the mix to fund such top-end content production and your brand could be commander-in-chief of the content marketing world.