Abe Peck, ASBPE 2011 National Conference

“ Back Fr om the Future: Cutting Through Complexity ” Abe Peck August 4, 2011 © Abe Peck 2011

Back Fr om the Future WHAT? From simplicity to complexity WHAT? Content brand circle underpinnings WHAT? Around the (content brand) circle precepts, with B2B best practices

Life Seemed Simple Sure, we had problems maximizing traditional media’ s three-legged stool: – Good content – Effective ads – Circulation to targeted audiences But we managed, even prospered

Life Seemed Simple One platform per magazine Audience identified (with) us Increased and valued professionalism Defined physical territory for newspapers, TV Authority: pushed to readers Rising literacy Improving technology Opinion-leading, taste-making Psychographic “badge” Known business model, metrics for success

Life Became Complex Changing audience habits Variable professionalism: first vs. right? Greater ad accountability Search and Craigslist disruption of middlemen in buying cycle “ Audience development ” vs. “circulation” – Low entry barrier, many platforms, zillion choices for “audiences” that “publish”: they time-shift, you aggregate – Fragmentati on : communities of interest or hyper-local? – Non-traditional competitors, “frenemies” (Google, Hulu) Uncertain business models, invest or demands, metrics Questi oning of the very value of editors and writers

C omplex Organizational Realities You work within three different companies: – The existing one Earns most of current revenue Has established rules and roles May be withering away – The future one Will make bulk of future revenue Has new rules and roles May be on the rise – may be a false start – The messy one in the middle , where rules, models, roles and staffers vie f o r favor

Cross-Platform Chaos? How do you gain loyalty with audiences in a “centi-stool” world ? How do you fend off non-legacy competitors ? H ow do you a void cha os, duplication, overwork when y ou likely have fewer resources than before ?

Cross-Platform Opportunity S o many more ways to reach audiences more quickly and frequently than ever – Personalization, l oyalty – User-generated content – Added “dimensionality” of tablets, apps; portability of smartphones – New marketing, revenue streams – Analytics f or “progressive profiling” from rich data on search and purchasing habits of your audience – Attempts t o m onetize digital media, not just offer as value-added

Work “Back FROM the Future” (Brand) circle the wagons – Enrich content vision, strategy, across platforms – Truly, deeply understand when audiences most need you, and for what – Foster a learning organization Maximize c ontent, portfolio management, workflow into a C ONTENT B RAND CIRCLE

Contemporary Pediatrics “Brand Circle”

3 Brand-Circle Underpinnings WH O? Know who is “in the middle” WHY? Review / h onor vision, mission statement WHAT? Understand the brand Followed by seven around-the-circle precepts

Cutting Through Complexity “ Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” Albert Einstein

Know WHO is “in the Middle” Bridge audience’s demographics, pain pleasure points, aspirations AND WHO you are to them – “ Watchdog,” “advisor,” “ advocate,” “friend,” “researcher” Pr ovide cr oss-platform c ontact points f or utility, inf ormation , inspiration Lead them t oo! – Make them smarter, tell them what they didn’t know they needed to know

Know WH O is “in the Middle” The audience of Campus Safety emb odies targeted demographics… – Split K-12, campuses, health facilities – Five job functions, from police to admin – Value training, legislation, trends, pr oducts … but psych ographic passion points unify them – Importance of public service – Deploying latest technology – C ommunity with officers, within larger organizations – “ D on’t blow it”

WHY? Honor Vision, Mission Harness macro social forces for empowered age WHY choose you ? – Best? – First? – Most? – Thought leader? – Product info? WHAT gap do you fill in a new competitive set? Reality, not rhetoric Boil it down into an elevator statement? A tag line? Live them!

WHY? Honor Visi on, Mission, Values Empowered values More than talk: Every new empl oyee signs

WHY? Project Vision, Mission Why choose you? What gap do you now fill?

WHAT? Understand the Brand Use “ brand ” c orrectly – Not the product itself, or simply what you say it is – It’s a shorthand EXPERIENCE THAT CO-CREATES “reasons to believe” in the CUSTOMER’S mind – How a product’ s or service’s attributes meets CUSTOMER needs, expectations, desires, experiences and beliefs about a product category – Motivates CONTACT POINTS to convey POSITIVE POINTS OF DIFFERENCE versus competition – Lifts products above commodity level to merit higher price – Can be made into a statement With thanks to Ed Malthouse and Don Schultz

WHAT? Utilitarian Experience I get value for my time and money “ This web site gives good tips and advice” “ I learn about things to do or place to go in this newspaper” “ It shows me how to do things the right way” “ It helps me make up my mind and make decisions” “ I get good ideas from this magazine” “ This magazine provides a lot of how-to information” “ I learn how to improve myself from this TV program”

WHAT? Utilitarian Experience Alibaba MUST deliver on precise search and putting likeminded buyers and sellers together – everything else is just “nice to have”

WHAT? Utilitarian Experience Relational database saves time, money – and makes the surgeon smarter (another key experience)

Makes Me Smarter Experience This ASBPE Magazine of The Year finalist covers news / business / products / buildings / culture / awards / jobs It also makes its audience smarter through highlighted home-page real estate for “Continuing Education” and “Site Visit”

Talk About and Share Experience Hanley W ood’s custom tie-in with Sherwin Williams sheds traditional B2B architecture t o give its audience “ something t o talk about ” … “bring up…” …” make myself more interesting…”

Marketing Experiences: Smarter + Talk About & Share

WHEN? Timely Apertures…Seamless Mobilize audience apertures Overt aperture of Hemispheres Convey value to travelers by discussing praiseworthy destinations Covert aperture of Hemispheres Take mind off hurtling through air 35,000 feet above land in a thin aluminum tube

WHEN? Timely Apertures…Seamless M obilize audience apertures – Web-first? Platform-neutral? App-first? – “ News” Known by wh om ? When? – Shift to new news cycle? Social media immediacy, st ories from comments O nline or e-blasted? “ News analysis” in “ deeper, later” media?

WHEN? Timely Apertures…Seamless Implications of sequencing – 22% of People’s print readers also visit people.com WHAT approach do they take? – People changed print on-sale date to match supermarket shopping patterns; made millions

WHEN? Timely Apertures…Seamless WHEN will THIS audience go online? Research Print List Rentals Tech training Brand-specific series custom pubs. Custom Show guides / publications dailies Sponsorships Research E-letters Association App (n ot yet) Web partne rships Web

WHEN? Be…Seamless Web site can’t be a treasure hunt – ZER O T O LERANCE f or confusing navigation, delay, broken links EXAMPLE: A tool-centric site shows a tiny box with no flagging of major collection of tools EXAMPLE: A medical, site, the last podcast was 9/09! – Better to delete than risk wrong information, visitor disc ontent Need smooth content management system – (As said during Ramadan, inshallah)

WHEN? Be…Seamless Who polices lapses when everybody is busy? Who wears a big enough “badge” to get them scrubbed?

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage C ontent Your essence, DNA, content advantage ? – Know it more specifically than edit calendar Display strong pillars , customized for print, Web, etc. Use “ niche-organic ” terms, not “Departments” / “Features” Continue to make online terms keyword-sensitive , for content hits and sales targeting Flag c onsistently acr oss platforms – Web T OC in print – Print / digital editi on online – “ M ore On” b o xes, e-letters, t o drive Web traffic

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage C ontent Utility / Bread and Butter Franchises Must-reads Buzz / Talkabouts Community

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage C ontent Utility Franchises Must-reads Talkabouts Community

H OW ? Community Content, Social Media Audience comes together over you , they share, expand your reach and marketing What is goal? Who champions? Who tail ors ? Verify social media tips for news items Policy for posting, moderating?

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage Content Traditional text “ Chunked” stories Infographics Interactive tools Video (step-by-step) Co-created content

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage Formats Use digital media effectively – Unless y ou’re news or thought-leadership based, place interactive or social elements high on page

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage Formats Use digital media effectively – Put visual media with like subjects, not only in a “video ghetto”

H OW ? M aximize and Leverage Formats Interactivity – User-generated c ontent policies – Tools / relational databases to emp ower key niche trends E.g., Electronic medical records in medical titles Voice – Editorial board, opinion leaders, podcasts, blogs – “ Visual voice” – Comment / message boards become your voice Ancillary products aren’t “ancillary” any m ore – Partners? Alliances?

H OW ? Maximize and Leverage Corporate Assets Custom media Educati on Sponsorships

H OW ? Maximize and Leverage Corporate Assets “ Events have proven to be the fastest-growing part of our business.” David Synder publisher Crain’s Chicag o Business in B2B, 7/11

H OW ? Format Cauti on s Easy to lose alignment – A title heavily promotes four e-newsletters to vertical sectors on its Web site Important for information, Web traffic, revenue But no mention of them anywhere in print! Avoid “ GM O TS” (“get me one of those”) – Don’ t let bells and whistles overpower mission, content, seamlessness

H OW ? Format Cauti on s Don’ t over-assign f ormats – Glenn Zorpette’s award-winning stories on Iraq power grid, for IEEE Spectrum – Returning from Iraq, he told writers to pick ( only ) three formats; quality suffered when he tried to do more

H OW ? Transform Your Brand “ The whole notion of ‘magazine brand extensions’ is off, just as much as ‘radio brand extensions’ would have been off at the dawn of the TV era. What each of us needs to make sure of is that the central idea of our brands is reaching the fullest possible expression in the various media at our disposal. ” David Zinczenk o, editor in chief, Men’ s Health

H OW ? Transform Your Brand Putting it together “ar ound the circle” + = + + + …

H OW ? Transform Your Brand Putting it together “ar ound the circle” = + +

H OW ? Transform Your Brand Move “up-market” intellectually and “ win ” for make-a-difference projects, beyond commodity – What material can / will be outsourced? – What material can / will be auto-generated? E.g., new product releases, charts What can you add as a “content strategist ” while defending the verities ?

W H O ? Transf orm Your Staff “… With a little help from our friends” – Subject kn owledge across platforms – F ormat knowledge – Identify which team members knows what Staff, newcomers, freelancers, vendors Train and document – Tip-sharing at meetings – Use corporate Intranet for best practice examples

WH O? Transf orm Your Self / C omplete the Circle You complete the circle with unique, compelling material that changes audience lives, earns loyalty Your taste selects, winn ows, curates even as y ou aggregate You provide over-the-horizon content that is have-to-have rather than commodity G o for it!

Abe Peck, ASBPE 2011 National Conference

More Related Content

Viewers also liked (7)

Similar to Abe Peck, ASBPE 2011 National Conference (20)

More from asbpe (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Abe Peck, ASBPE 2011 National Conference

Editor's Notes