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I read recently that the 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies) announced that they were changing the name of their Branded Entertainment Committee to the more relevant, Entertainment Marketing committee.

After reading this news, it made perfect sense. Branded Entertainment could be anything that associates your brand with something entertaining. Entertainment Marketing suggests a behavioral change or action (since the word marketing itself suggests that you are selling something and looking for a transaction to take place) through an entertaining medium.

Take that example and let's look at branded content. If we use the same mentality, we should then take branded content and rename it content marketing.

My prediction...two years from now, branded content, custom content, custom publishing, custom media, etc...will be known better as content marketing.

See you then!

Labels: branded content, branded entertainment, content marketing, custom content, custom media, custom publishing, entertainment marketing

Had the opportunity to present yesterday at an American Business Media breakfast entitled "Next Generation Content Marketing."

I've done quite a few presentations over the years about custom publishing and/or media, but I believe this is the first time I've seen real excitement from the audience about the topic. Content Marketing is truly starting to catch on. For more information about the event, go to ABM's blog.

The powerpoint will be up soon. I'll send out a note when it is ready.

Labels: content marketing, custom media, custom publishing

Well, I have been reading so many blogs and articles that have been making 2007 predictions, that I thought I would add my own twist to the mix. So here are a couple to chew on relating to custom publishing and content marketing.

1. A major consumer brand will launch a custom magazine in 2007 that wins numerous "magazine of the year" awards from the trade press.

2. CEM or Custom Experience Management takes the spotlight in 2007, as more marketers try a new tactic at measuring the value of the customer.

3. 2007 is the year that email dies. Marketers finally realize that buyers and specifiers are no longer looking to email to get company information...frankly, they either don't pass through the spam filter or are not being opened due to the flooding of crap email. Instead, marketers look to content portals that are search engine optimized that integrate with their own sites, as well as being picked up by the major search portals. RSS feeds are a must on any site.

4. Wal-Mart goes back to their original agency and begs forgiveness - realizing that the original Sam Walton vision is the best bet for their future.

5. More and more agencies begin to produce content marketing/custom publishing pieces for their clients. As more marketers are going targeted, and relying less on big media buys, agencies see an opportunity to create content strategies for their clients. This offers opportunities for many custom publishers for partnerships, but also leaves many others in the dust, taking business from the traditional content marketing houses.

If you were considering the above as a financial portfolio, I would be happy with 3 so-so predictions, 1 dead-on, and one in the flusher. We'll have to wait a year and see. Best wishes for the New Year!

Labels: custom magazines, custom publishing, ROI, top predictions

The numbers are coming out about the growth of custom publishing. The lowest numbers I've seen is 18% growth, with most in the mid-20's. Why you ask? Lots of reasons. But I believe what it really gets down is that companies want to be of significance, or "be real", to their customers.

Hey, marketing isn't easy, especially when so many people are bad at it. There are probably more bad marketers than in any other profession. Just look at the amount of spam you get and that should tell you something. I've even talked to some marketers about how they are trying to create better e-mail blasts to "trick" prospects into responding.

I believe custom publishing and communications is an answer to this kind of marketing. Marketers who really do this well focus on content that revolves around the customer experience. To create valuable content that elicits a behavior, a good deal of research an planning needs to happen to get it right.

So, as a Star Wars fan, custom is a move away from the dark side of the force. May the force be with you.

Labels: custom publishing

I have the privilege of being involved in a number of trade associations, including the Custom Publishing Council, American Business Media, and the Society of National Association Publications. For the past year and a half or so, the same conversation comes up with those in the industry - "What is the name of our industry?"

Strange question, huh? The industry I'm talking about is custom publishing - otherwise known as sponsored media, customer media, custom media, branded content, branded editorial content, member media, corporate media, content marketing, customer publishing, and yes, custom publishing.

Most involved in the industry believe that custom publishing is too print-centric...and they may be right. For example, when you think of custom publishing, do you think of a webcast, or eBooks. Probably not. Well, let's try branded content. Sounds great, right? Not so fast. Branded content is a buzz term for everything from gaming sponsorships to mobile tie-ins. Try doing a keyword search for branded content on Google and you'll see what I mean. I personally like branded content, but I have to admit the term is very broad.

So what will it be? Custom publishing out? Branded content in? Content marketing on the rise? Only time will tell. The interesting part of all this...five years ago no one cared what the definition was, they pretty much ignored it. Now, whatever it's called, is a force in corporate marketing budgets across the globe. Well, at least it makes conversations with my parents over what I actually do a little more interesting.

Labels: branded content, content marketing, custom publishing, ebooks, webcasts

I was bouncing around my usual financial web sites last night (thestreet.com, fool.com, Yahoo! Finance) reviewing a few articles on Google (YouTube buy, the recent earnings report) and started to notice the type of advertising I was seeing on those sites.

First, it was a block ad from Cisco promoting their podcast series - one of their SVPs discussing the latest innovations in technology.

Second, it was American Century. By simply clicking on their ad, I could unveil the secrets to rolling over my 401k with ease and simplicity (white paper)

Third, it was Charles Schwab. "Chuck" was offering, if you clicked, to detail their customers most common investing problems and how Chuck solved them (white paper).

You guessed it. All these examples have branded content in common. The smartest marketers are offering their customers and prospects highly valuable content to start or continue a relationship with them. This type of content creates a change within the prospective buyer that may and often does ultimately lead to a buying decision (to buy new or stay).

If you troll through b2b web site advertising, you still find mostly product pitches that offer some sort of differentiation. But watch out. The next wave of branded content is coming, and you'll see much of it on the b2b side.

Labels: branded content, custom publishing, podcasts, white papers

We recently did a survey for our publication, B2B Marketing Trends, about how marketers define custom, branded communications. There were four choices, custom publishing, custom media, branded content, and branded editorial content. I was interested to see the results, since the industry itself is struggling at what the words or phrases used will ultimately be.

How's this for results...there was a three-way tie...do you believe it? Custom Publishing, Custom Media and Branded Content all finished with exactly the same number.

My take - marketers don't know how to define this industry either. It's going to be an interesting ride over the next few years to see how this growing industry begins to define itself.

Labels: branded content, content marketing, custom media, custom publishing