Content-led Campaigns Net Highest Gains

In the not-too-distant past, garnering your client or your client’s product a high-profile booth at a golf tournament would be considered smart marketing and good brand exposure. Similarly, being one of many sponsors at an industry event, or hosting an exclusive dinner for targeted consumers or retailers would be near the top of the marketing budget. However, in today’s economic climate where fiscally prudent clients tie budgets to results, content-led campaigns have proven to be by far the most successful.

At Macy + Associates, before we undertake a marketing campaign, we work with our clients to uncover what ‘success’ looks like to them. Is it leasing up an entire building with credit-worthy tenants? Is it launching a national campaign for a consumer product with the campaign’s success tied to sales goals? Is it selling out an entire multi-family, luxury condo tower? Or is success tied to new business leads for a client’s products and services? The success quotient varies from client to client and product to product, but the necessity for a campaign that’s built upon solid content stays consistent.

It’s also critical at the outset of a client-agency relationship that expectations are mapped out in advance every time. And if a client’s expectations are not realistic or achievable, those issues are addressed at the beginning. After there’s an agreement on goals, developing a strong positioning statement will solidify the strategic direction of a content-led campaign. This positioning statement isn’t an esoteric collection of hyperbole, but rather an internal statement that outlines the advantages, challenges, target audience, and success quotient, for go-forward strategy purposes. Once consensus is reached, the agency’s job is to translate the positioning statement into a strong, compelling campaign that will reach the agreed-upon tenets of success.

The successful campaign will have compelling content that conveys the brand promise and benefits to the consumer or to the B2B client. It’s storytelling. But it’s storytelling that is strategically aligned and consistent with goals, and therefore solid progress and results are measurable. And in this industry and economic climate, content will always beat out a vacuous sell.