Content Creation Best Practices & The Problem With Editorial Calendars

Hello
Ben Grossman
VP, Strategy Director
Jack Morton Worldwide
e: ben_grossman@jackmorton.com
m: 617.752.1171
t: @BenGrossman
w: www.ben-grossman.com
Read our blog: jackmorton.com/blog
Follow us on twitter: @jackmorton
Visit us online: www.jackmorton.com

T A B L E O F C O
N T E N T S
Content Marketing
Landscape
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
New Content
Creation Models
S M T W T F S
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Examining Editorial
Calendars
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30

Content Marketing
Landscape
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
New Content
Creation Models
S M T W T F S
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Examining Editorial
Calendars
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
T A B L E O F C O
N T E N T S

T H E C O N T E N T M A R K E
T I N G L A N D S C A P E

What
is content
marketing?
A strategic
marketing approach
focused on creating
and distributing
valuable, relevant,
and consistent
content to attract and
retain a clearly
defined audience—
and, ultimately,
to drive profitable
customer action.
Content Marketing Institute

By
2020,
customers will
manage 85% of their
relationships without
talking to a human.
Gartner Prediction

of marketers will be creating
more content in 2015.
69 CMI, 2015
%

of all content marketers
struggle to produce
engaging content.
Half
Marketing Profs, 2015

of content marketers
admit that they either
don’t have a strategy or
that plans live in a
separate, stand-alone
document.
2/3
Smart Insights, 2015

77
%
say they are not successful in tracking
the ROI of their content programs.
CMI, 2015

89
%
of content marketers are focused
on creating more engaging, higher
quality content now or within the
next 12 months.
CMI, 2015

So what
exactly is
an Editorial
Calendar?

Depends
who you
ask.
So what
exactly is
an Editorial
Calendar?

14 15
16
T H E E D I T O R I A L
C A L E N D A R

14
16
C A L E N D A R
Often a spreadsheet,
calendar, or digital
tool ...
15

14 15
16
C A L E N D A R
tool ...
... that ensures a constant
flow of content is being
posted to digital channels.

14 15
C A L E N D A R
tool ...
... that ensures a constant
flow of content is being
posted to digital channels.
Many times they focus on dates,
topics, headlines, authors, owners,
content status and categories.

Our
beef with
Editorial
Calendars?

It’s not
about the
tool (to be
honest). It’s
how you
use it.
Our
beef with
Editorial
Calendars?

Editorial Calendars*
can put an undue
emphasis on filling
in blanks, rather
than accomplishing
business objectives
and resonating with
audiences.

Editorial Calendars*
can put an undue
emphasis on filling
in blanks, rather
than accomplishing
business objectives
and resonating with
audiences.
Some organizations
appropriately, use
Editorial Calendars to
capture much more than
the basics, including
objectives, metrics and
strategic guidance.
*

Similarly, some
brands assume
content can do
anything (or should
do everything).
That’s not so.

Similarly, some
brands assume
content can do
anything (or should
do everything).
That’s not so.
Is content in or out?
1. Define business
objectives
2. Understand target
audience
3. Creative ideation
process
4. Assemble
communications plan
5. Decide whether content
is part of the proper
communications plan to
meet objectives

Side
effects of
Editorial
Calendars
include...

Death
by obscure
holidays
March 15th is: National
Buzzards Day Brutus
Day True Confessions
Day Incredible Kids Day
World Consumer Rights
Day Ides of March
National Peanut Lovers
Day Pears Helene Day

Does your brand
really need to celebrate
#PancakeDay?

Could there be a
less inspiring format
for your content?

Gimmicky
efforts to
“bulk up“
your editorial
calendar

Does anything
sound less strategic?

V S .
What
Editorial
Calendars
are good
at…

V S .
What
Editorial
Calendars
are good
at…
What
Editorial
Calendars
suck at…

Ordering chaos
Submitting for legal approvals
Project management
Gathering input and
creating buy-in
Introducing discipline
What Editorial Calendars
are good at:

V S .
C O N T E N T
O R G A N I Z A T I O N
EDITORIAL CALENDARS ARE GOOD AT:

Breaking through
Creating omni-channel ideas
Being agile/opportunistic
Protecting audiences
Motivating creativity
What Editorial Calendars
suck at:

C O N T E N T
O R G A N I Z A T I O N
V S .
C O N T E N T
C R E A T I O N
EDITORIAL CALENDARS ARE GOOD AT:
EDITORIAL CALENDARS SUCK AT:

One other risk:
The practice of optimizing
at a granular, surface level
(on a per-post basis).
—

One other risk:
The practice of optimizing
at a granular, surface level
(on a per-post basis).
—
This leads brands to create shallow,
widely appealing content simply to
achieve positive engagement rates
(lots of likes, comments and shares).
In so doing, they can lose sight of the
brand’s larger objectives.

“You need to find guardrails.
If we base our spend purely
on optimizing engagement,
10% of our content will drive
90% of engagement.
But that may not suit
our strategic priorities.
Downstream value doesn’t
register as quickly.”
–
Luke Kintigh
Global Content and Media Strategist, Intel

Benefits of
thinking beyond
the Editorial
Calendar:

• True optimization
• Increased response rates
• First-mover advantage
Media efficiencyBenefits of
thinking beyond
the Editorial
Calendar:

Media efficiency
• Right time, right audience
• Content that builds
• Objective-driven calls
to action
Customer
lifecycle value
Benefits of
thinking beyond
the Editorial
Calendar:

• Pass-along value
• Unique, compelling
point of view
• Experience beyond
consumption
Brand
Differentiation
Media efficiency
• Right time, right audience
• Content that builds
• Objective-driven calls
to action
Customer
lifecycle value
Benefits of
thinking beyond
the Editorial
Calendar:

How do you
create
content that
doesn’t suck?

Do
something
extraordinary.
—
How do you
create
content that
doesn’t suck?

Extraordinary
content starts with an
extraordinary idea.
—

Extraordinary
content starts with an
extraordinary idea.
—(Not with a series of boxes on a page.)

C O N S U M E R - I N S P I R E D
D A T A - D R I V E N
C O N V E R S A T I O N - L E D

Ask
three
questions

1What does my
community care
about?
Ask
three
questions

1
2
What does my
community care
about?
Who are we
authentically?
Ask
three
questions

1
2 3
What does my
community care
about?
Who are we
authentically?
How can
we deliver an
extraordinary
value proposition?
Ask
three
questions

• Social issues
• Other brands
• Elements of their lives
• Challenges they face
• Something else
What does my
community care about?
1

Who are we
authentically?
2
Taylor is
nailing it.

How can we deliver
an extraordinary
value proposition?3
A magic
combination:
high perceived
value, high
potential to
achieve results.

Red Bull’s
consumer-
inspired
approach

“The idea was always to
find a way to have the
fans lead the conversation
about the brand, and
the brand to enable
it, rather than the top
down approach of the
brand publishing a
message to reach its fans.”
–
Tessa Barrera
Red Bull
Former Global Head of Social Media

Red Bull Stratos
• More than 8 MM consecutive
live streams (YouTube record)
• 7% of entire internet
conversation
• 2 MM unique consumer
engagements
• Top 10 Twitter trending topics
in 6 countries, 8 global Twitter
trending topics
• 400% increase over
average consumer engagement

“Red Bull does not
focus on what they
sell, they focus on who
they are: a company
that brings excitement
to its advocates.
Isn’t that what an energy
drink does? Why not
focus on it?”
–
Tessa Barrera
Red Bull
Former Global Head of Social Media

Ask
three
questions

1
What is my
customer’s lifecycle?
Ask
three
questions

1
2
What is my
What are the
appropriate
times for
content to
play a role?
Ask
three
questions

1
2 3
What is my
What are the
appropriate
times for
content to
play a role?
How can I use the
digital and offline
body language of
my audience to
personalize
their content
experiences?
Ask
three
questions

What is my
1
The right
place for
content varies
significantly by
category and
brand.

What is my
1
The right
place for
content varies
significantly by
category and
brand.
“We do not need to be slaves to
the data. We should use data to
inspire us and our teams.
We want to use data as a
starting point and a way to
validate, but we don’t want to
use data to replace decision
making.”
–
Dr. Laura Granka
UX Manager
Google

What are the
appropriate times for
content to play a role?
2
Context
+ Content
Intent

What are the
appropriate times for
content to play a role?
2
Context
+ Content
Intent
“It’s about combining
compelling stories and
predictable output and
results.
Marketing
has increased its contribution
to the pipeline by 120%.”
–
Claudia Hoeffner
Sr. Director, Demand Generation & Channel Strategy
Acquia

How can I use the digital and
offline body language of my
audience to personalize their
content experiences?
3
of marketers say they
take a sophisticated
approach to measuring
content performance
against customer
segments.
Forrester
12%

MINI USA’s
data-driven
approach

“We use data and
analytics to measure
trends and
engagement across
all of our channels
because it keeps us
informed as to what
works best.”
–
Lee Nadler
Marketing Communications Manager
MINI USA

MINI Lost & Found
• New items every
two months
• Partnerships with
premium brands
• Quality lead capture
from unique sources
• Data-driven follow-up

“We have a number of
programs we use to
measure this
information and that
shapes some of our
thinking in terms of
where we focus our
attention, how we
want to target our
audience, and what
we need to consider
when building out a
strategy.”
–
Lee Nadler
Marketing Communications Manager
MINI USA

Ask
three
questions

1
Does my brand
have permission to
play in this
conversation?
Ask
three
questions

1
2
Does my brand
have permission to
play in this
conversation?
Will the brand’s
presence in a
conversation
add value
or noise?
Ask
three
questions

1
2 3
Does my brand
have permission to
play in this
conversation?
Will the brand’s
presence in a
conversation
add value
or noise?
Should I
start a new
conversation,
or join an
existing one?
Ask
three
questions

Does my brand have
permission to play in
this conversation?1
Think less about
what to post next
and more about
what to do next
that’s worth
posting.

Will the brand’s presence
in a conversation add
value or noise?
2
Real Time
Right Time
≠

Should I start a new
conversation or join an
existing one?
3
Be on the way,
not in the way.

Should I start a new
conversation or join an
existing one?
3
Be on the way,
not in the way.
Royal Bank of Scotland placed
mortgage calculator tool
directly into a popular site for
house hunters.
It was the perfect example
of a sought-after content utility
in a specific context that drove
business outcomes. RBS
recorded thousands of leads
that generated business from
the tactic.
Forrester

T-Mobile’s
conversation
-led approach

Because baseball fans
in particular love
accessing stats, replays
and live feeds during
games, T-Mobile has
worked to deliver the
best possible network
experience to ballparks
across the country.
–
T-Mobile

Biggest 7th Inning Ever
• 231 MM impressions
• 40 MM trend impressions
on Twitter
• 496,000 engagements
through influencers

Be on the
way,
not in the
way.
“T-Mobile and Major League
Baseball chose ‘Take Me Out to
the Ball Game’ as the theme of
the tribute to the game because
it is such a quintessential part
of every ballpark experience.
[It is] the third most frequently
sung song in America behind
only ‘The Star-Spangled
Banner’ and ‘Happy Birthday
to You.’”
–
T-Mobile

Ready to
put your
idea to the
test?

The
3-2-1
idea test
—
Ready to
put your
idea to the
test?

2
1
The 3-2-1 idea test
A truly pure
idea can
generally be
expressed in:
3words
sentences
paragraph

Example: Coca-Cola’s
Open Happiness
3 words: Delightfully Surprising Moments
2 sentences: To deliver on Coca-Cola’s promise of
happiness, the brand will surprise consumers in
delightful ways when they’re least expecting it.
A series of stunts, witnessed by few, but then
experienced by many online will constitute share-able
content that brings the brand’s positioning to life.
1 paragraph: While Coca-Cola is at the center of culturally iconic
moments, some functional brand elements can be mundane: vending
machines, delivery trucks and bottle disposal. These moments lend
themselves to delightful surprises that literally open moments of happiness at
the point of interaction with the brand. As these moments are created, they’ll
be captured as digital assets and told in compelling, share-able ways that
are native to social platforms. By passing them along, consumers will have
the opportunity to share their happiness with their friends.

Talk to us
–
Contact Ben Grossman
VP, Strategy Director
e: ben_grossman@jackmorton.com
m: 617.752.1711
t: @BenGrossman
Read our blog at
blog.jackmorton.com
Follow us on Twitter
@jackmorton
Visit us online at
jackmorton.com
We’re a global brand experience
agency. We generate breakthrough
ideas, connecting brands and people
through experiences that transform
business. Our portfolio of award-
winning work spans 75 years across
event marketing, sponsorship marketing,
promotion and activation, experience
strategy, employee engagement,
digital, social, and mobile. Ranked at
the top of our ﬁeld, Jack Morton is part
of the Interpublic Group of Companies,
Inc. (NYSE: IPG). More information is
available at: www.jackmorton.com.
About Jack
–

Content Creation Best Practices & The Problem With Editorial Calendars

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