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Had in-depth conversations today with three publishers at three different companies...all pretty much saying the same thing; that is - Anyone who thinks they have a good handle on where b2b media is going are kidding themselves.

A few thoughts to chew on -
1. The media environment is changing so fast (daily), entering in new processes and technology, that no-one except 18-year olds can keep track of it.
2. Media planners, agencies, publishers, and marketers are trying to use traditional processes to measure programs based on what we thought was true 10 years ago. Danger Will Robinson! The rules have changed. Whatever we are measuring, it's most likely wrong.
3. There is such a fast movement onto the web that marketers are forgetting that the buyer has complete control over what information they use to make buying decisions - and that includes some who use print and in-person events.
4. Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts. First, stop calling audio files on your web site a podcast (yes, we are to blame for this as well). Second, true podcasts are too cumbersome right now to be effective. Call me in 9 months.

Labels: podcasts, ROI, web marketing

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