Paleolithic-era Branded Content

(Post by Rex Hammock)

When I first started blogging 13 years ago, I thought I’d attempt to correct the misperception that there’s something new about companies creating informative, high-quality and helpful media for customers. Back then, the conventional wisdom among media and marketing reporters (and most marketers) was that companies communicate with customers by purchasing advertising in media that other companies own, not via media they own.

But I knew the truth: Media created by companies for their customers has been around since Fred Flintstone invented it.

After a radical overhaul, the corporate website of Coca-Cola (Coca-ColaCompany.com) now demonstrates how story-focused customer media and engaging content isn’t just for product marketers anymore.

Hammock’s current Idea Email focuses on the approach the Coca-Cola Company has taken to radically pivot away from what most companies do with their corporate websites. Traditionally considered little more than a brochure website and repository for press releases and administrative content, Coke has transformed the site into an ever-changing and engaging “publishing model” site called Journey.

Here are some of the lessons learned from the first six months of the new approach, according to Coca-Cola executives, including Ashley Callahan, Coca-Cola manager of digital and social media communications, who made a presentation about Journey at last week’s Custom Content Council Conference. We also added some observations from our analysis of the site.

Hammock’s current Idea Email focuses on the approach the Coca-Cola Company has taken to radically pivot away from what most companies do with their corporate websites. Traditionally considered little more than a brochure website and repository for press releases and administrative content, Coke has transformed the site into an ever-changing and engaging “publishing model” site called Journey.

Just how different an approach is Coca-Cola taking? Compare the look and approach of the Coca-Cola site, a strategy Coca-Cola calls a “publishing model,” compared to the corporate websites of the top ten companies listed this year on the Fortune 500.

Starting tonight, John Lavey, Hammock COO and Rex Hammock, CEO, will be in Chicago attending the annual conference of the Custom Content Council, an organization Hammock Inc. co-founded with five other companies that today has more than 100 company members and is the leading professional organization for branded content and content marketing (or, as we refer to it at Hammock, “customer media and content”) in North America.

Leading up to today’s conference, the Council released findings from its 13th annual research of the use of various types of media and content companies and other types of organizations (associations, non-profits) use for marketing and communications purposes.

After the jump, we’ve posted the full press release outlining the findings of the research that reveals spending on production and distribution rose to $43.9 billion, the second highest amount to be recorded. All forms—print, electronic and other—experienced growth; a 9.2% rise over last year’s 40.2 billion, with print still claiming the lion’s share of dollars spent in content marketing. Of the average overall marketing, advertising and communications budget, 39% of the funds were dedicated to content marketing.

Recognizing the customers’ ultimate objective isn’t to buy pots and pans but to become better cooks, Williams-Sonoma elevated the role of customer media and content, making it a part of the brand’s core mission. 

To find these features on Williams-Sonoma.com, hover your cursor over the Recipes tab.

In the current issue of The Idea Email, we explain why we’re inspired by how the retailer Williams-Sonoma has made the creation and use of customer media and content a part of their mission statement.

Here are three of our favorite ways they display their commitment to “helping customers become great cooks” in a way that adds value to the cookware they sell. (We could have added lots more.)

The Sous-Chef-Series: Williams-Sonoma has partnered with The Tasting Table for a free weekly email and website series featuring the stories of up-and-coming chefs from around the U.S. Why we like it: Great stories and recipes are coupled with Williams-Sonoma cookware that’s related to the dish being shared. A great example of “content-enabled commerce.”