Things to try and include in your content-marketing campaign in the year ahead.
Jump from 39km in the sky
When extreme sportsman and dare-devil Felix Baumgartner made the highest parachute from 39km in 2012, you couldn’t miss the name of his sponsor – Red Bull. But the drinks company didn’t treat the stunt as just a means of whacking its logo on Baumgartner’s hard hat. Instead, it created a whole site dedicated to the man and his mission, complete with biography of Baumgartner and his team, articles about the science behind the stunt, the technology, a blog and videos after the event.
Tickle a turtle
Most talk of content-marketing is about how companies do it to increase revenue. But not-for-profit charities can still get in on the act. One such is Raleigh International, which sends out volunteers around the world to get involved in projects from building toilets in India, to turtle tickling in Costa Rica. OK, so volunteers don’t actually ‘tickle’ turtles, but they do take turns to guard and monitor them as they come ashore to lay their eggs. The great thing is that its team of volunteers is eager to write posts about the various activities they get up to around the world, upping Raleigh’s profile and attracting more donors.
Buddy up with a genius
When Paddy Power enlisted Stephen Hawking to analyse England’s chances of World Cup glory in 2014, you had to ask who was the real genius – the theoretical physicist himself, or the marketing man who came up with the idea. The march of science may have stopped for those few days when Hawking was busy coming up with odds of 0%, but Paddy Power’s campaign was a runaway success. Hawking’s formula – explained in an infographic and video – was covered in the Guardian, the Telegraph, ITV and the Daily Mail, to name a few.
Resuscitate Bing Crosby
Jeans manufacturer Levi enjoys a unique standing in popular culture. But who knew that in 1951 Bing Crosby was denied entry into a Canadian hotel because he was dressed in denim? At the time Levi capitalised on the story and went as far as creating a denim tuxedo for the famous crooner. And to this day, Levi still sees the tale marketing opportunity, as this blog entry proves.
Hang with Botswana’s heavy-metal cowboys…
When you’re an airline, you have the authority to write about pretty much any city, restaurant or departure lounge in the world. But BA isn’t content with doing just that. Instead, its High Life magazine and website celebrate the off-beat and, sometimes, downright weird. One such is its story about heavy-metal cowboys in Botswana. Squint and think of a Yul-Brynner-in-Westworld-meets-Metallica mash-up (with a bit of Botswana for bonhomie).
Go on tour with Metallica
And on the subject of Metallica… Leica cameras have been responsible for some of the most iconic, defining photographic images of modern times. And the company knows this full well. Its blog is awash with the antics of Leica pros, including Michael Agel’s road trip with Metallica.
Plant a palm tree in the ceiling
The lifeblood of major brands like Absolut is advertising, but it’s telling that the drinks company also downs a few shots of content-marketing. So when, for example, the brand sponsors a modern-art award in Basel, it also creates an eye-catching, photo-led blog post about it. See.
Perform at the Edinburgh Fringe festival
Scottish craft beer gurus Brew Dog have come a long way since setting up in 2007. Part of the company’s appeal is wrapping its premium product in no-nonsense approach to business, from marketing to seeking finance. Its beers aren’t rigorously tested by focus groups, it sells equity through private placements of shares to interested customers, and, as this post shows, is fighting to save the Edinburgh Festival from the corporate juggernaut.
