How Content Can Deliver Measures of Success - Maureen Norman - MediaBizBloggers

Welcome Maureen Norman our newest MediaBizBlogger

As the practice of using content to build brands continues to evolve and mature, marketers should now be looking at how these programs can deliver against measures of success, beyond enhancing brand image, increasing brand awareness and building brand equity.

Strategic objectives with quantifiable results can also benefit from a brand's association with content. Let's look at loyalty. Most marketing efforts start with the presupposition that the activities being undertaken will result in a) more consumers using the brand, b) more consumers using the brand more often or c) both of the above. Consumables and goods that need to be (or can be) replenished come to mind. Or think telecom, and wireless in particular, where more faithful users faithfully using more products and services can stem churn, reduce migration and support the company's share price. Loyalty is integral to success and in some cases survival. So how can content help?

Loyalty establishes a channel of communication between brands and their users. Sometimes, as in the case of loyalty reward programs, it's a tangible quid pro quo relationship. Fly more, get more. Buy more, save more. Where content can further drive loyalty is with intangible benefits, allowing consumers to access the communications channel for anything from information and knowledge to a few good laughs or an escape from the day to day. A well-thought through content plan provides a brand with opportunities to build trust beyond the consumer's belief in the product itself. It facilitates building trust in the relationship.

Another way that brands can use content to support measures of success is with their corporate social responsibility programs. Content opportunities give brands a place to share their platforms and express their human voice. Traditionally these objectives find their way onto briefs for the brand's PR agency, issued by Corporate Communications and not the marketing department. But these stakeholders can also use content to establish a channel of communication between brands and their users and offer a glimpse into the human side of the corporation where consumers can reap intangible benefits like altruism, integrity and good will.

As noted elsewhere by fellow MediaBizBlogger Graeme Hutton, Innerscope's Dr. Carl Marci measures engagement as the sum of attention + emotion. For every brand seeking to engage its users to build emotional connections and deliver intangible rewards, content is the mechanism that facilitates engagement and delivers on those measures of success.

Maureen Norman is a highly strategic, creative and client-focused advertising professional, Maureen has extensive and progressive experience both agency side and client direct. She has an established a record of success developing engagement opportunities with measurable ROI in both traditional and emerging media. She can be reached at mnorman_6@sympatico.ca.

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