I have been advocating content marketing for over a year in this blog and this week I had the good fortune to learn of a brilliant example of web video and digital content when I saw a presentation from the Executive Creative Director, Damon Stapleton and Executive Planning Director, Jason Lonsdale, from creative advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.
Damon and Jason were talking about storytelling and how they aim to incorporate the principles of Bravery, Freedom and Possibility into the agency’s work. To illustrate their point they used numerous case studies of advertising, digital and traditional and campaigns that integrate every possible media channel.
Many of the campaigns they showed us had an impact on me but none more than the imaginative story that the Guardian newspaper in the UK are telling to promote their approach to the news: Open Journalism. While Damon and Jason didn’t mention it, I imagine that this campaign from the Guardian is in direct response to the troubles that overshadow British journalism at this time due to the News International phone hacking scandals. If I am right and this is how the guardian have chosen to promote their integrity, I applaud them.
What I liked most about this piece of online content, which was the centre of the Guardian’s marketing campaign, is how it takes a well known and loved story (The 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf) that British Colonial countries have been reading to their children for hundreds of years and brought it into our current, real world. Not only is this story emotional and sensational and timely, but it reminds us of how quickly misinformation can spread due to fear and hysteria.
Content Marketing through web video allows your message to be syndicated to new audiences.
The Guardian’s 3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf web movie is a truly engaging piece of content that will inspire, initiate debate, possible create social change AND impress upon its audience that the Guardian is the paper that they should be reading because the information is well sourced and fact checked.
This web video only launched on 29th February 2012, so I’m unsure of how far its message has spread. There are several versions of the web video on YouTube, the one I have embedded here has had almost 1 million views. I hope this blog helps spread the message even further.