What makes content marketing effective

 

Hairstylist spraying hair. Photo credit: Rene Asmussen on Pexels.com

 The hairstylist and the photographer

​Once upon a time (in the year 2005 ) I created a print magazine and managed both its content and ads. I brought the two together in what everyone today calls content marketing.  encouraged advertisers to write articles to give readers more context than an ad alone provided.
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In one issue, I had articles from both a hairstylist-- who got it exactly right -- and a photographer - who got it totally wrong. What she did was offer tips that they could apply to their own hair. He, instead, opted to write about himself and his approach to photography with no takeaways of use to his readers. 

What was the result of the two approaches? The photographer admitted many people told him they saw his article, but they didn't contact him for his services. In contrast, the hairstylist reported that the article brought her more customers than any advertising had ever done. 

The moral of the story

The photographer failed to offer value to the audience  because he was solely focused on self-promotion.  The hairstylist, on the other hand, instinctively understood what content would appeal to her audience and was rewarded for giving it to them.  The key to successful content marketing is not to make it all about you but all about offering useful information for your audience that makes them trust you.  

​
Related: 

Make Your Content as Accessible as Possible 
What Edison Can Teach Us About SEO

Think Marathon Rather Than Sprint When Planning Content Marketing

AI's early attempts at screenwriting

OpenAI's ChatGPT has made everyone aware of the potential of generative AI. Well, some of us knew about this tech before it became trendy. As a writer reporting on AI, I wrote about one of the early attempts to use it for a film script. The results were not exactly typical entertainment.

"I'd Like to Thank the Algorithm that Made this Film Possible" was published on 7/11/2016 on All Analytics where it garnered 63 comments. I saved a PDF of the text that you can read here.

The film, "Sunspring" is still up on YouTube here:

In 2017, the film producers came put out "It's No Game," starring David Hasselhoff. It's not mentioned in the original blog that predated it. You can see the sequel here:

Generative AI has improved substantially since 2016. But is it ready to write a film that will keep people's interest as well as those written by human counterparts?

We already have a commercial made by AI that is rather strange -- some would say scary -- but sill very effective at driving human attention. I have nou doubt we'll be seeing more films in future.

Pride and Hide and Sleuth, Oh My!

What do you call a group of lions, tigers, and bears? Pride, hide, and sleuth. But if the tigers are running together instead of hiding in the shadows, you would say streak instead of hide. On the other hand, if you want to convey their intention to jump their prey, you'd say ambush. 

The English language contains some colorful terms of venery, the words that signify collective noun for specific groups of animals. Some animals even have several terms to denote different conditions of the group formation, as is the case not just for tigers but for others in the list below:

Ambush - a group of tigers lying in wait for their prey (also streak and hide) 

Army - group of frogs or ants referencing the way they move (also colony for both and knot for frogs) 

Arrangement - a group of elephant seals (also herd and pack)

Array - a group of hedgehogs 

Badling - a group of ducks (also paddling, plump, raft)

Bale - a group of turtles

Band - a group of gorillas (also shrewdness and troop) or hares (also down, drove, flick, herd,  husk or huske, leap, and trip)  

Bank -  a group of Komodo Dragons also swans when gathered on the ground (see bevy)

Barren - a group of four mules 

Bask - a group of crocodiles 

Ballet - a group of swans when swimming (also bevy, drift, eyrar; the group can also be called a flock, game herd, lamentation, swonder, squadron, team, or whiting; flight when flying and wedge when flying in a V formation) 

Battery - a group of barracudas

Bellowing - a group of bullfinches

Bevy - a group of deer  (also herd, bunch, parcel or rangale)  or swans when swimming (also ballet, drift, eyrar, flock game, herd, lamentation, sownder, squadron, team, and whiting; flight for swans in flight and wedge when flying in V formation)   

Bivouac - a group of butterflies at rest (also kaleidoscope, rabble, flutter)

Bloat - a group of hippopotami (also pod or thunder)  

Brace - a group of birds (also flock, flight, volary), also a pair of hares (for general group of hare: band, down, drove, flick, herd, husk or huske, leap, and trips) 

Bunch - a group of deer (also bevy, herd, parcel rangale) 

Business or Busyness- a group of ferrets (also cast,  pack, feynes,  fesnyng) 

Cackle - a group of hyena (also pack)

Cast - a group of crabs (also consortium) or ferrets (also business, busyness pack, fesynes, fesyny pack) or hawks (also leash for merlins)

Cete - a group of badgers (also clan and colony)

Charm - a group of hummingbirds or finch (also quiver)

Clan - a group of badgers (also cete and colony)

Clattering - a group of jackdaws (also flock)

Clowder - a group of cats (also clutter, pounce and glaring)

Clutter - a group of cats (also clowder, pounce and glaring) 

Coalition - a group of cheetahs

Colony - a group of badgers (also cete and clan), bats, birds (also brace, flight, flock, volary)  rabbits, beavers (also lodge), ants or frogs referencing the way they live in large group

Company- a group of parrots (also pandemonium) 

Confusion  - a group of guineafowl or wildebeests

Congregation - a group of alligators 

Congress - a group of lemur (also conspiracy, plot)

Consortium - a group of crabs (also cast)

Conspiracy - a group of lemur (also congress, plot) and ravens (also  flock,  rave, treachery,  unkindness, and murder --due to the ravens being mistaken for crows)

Convocation - a group of eagles 

Court - a group of kangaroos 

Crash - a group of rhinoceroses (also herd and stubbornness) 

Crowd - a group of porpoises (also gam, herd, pod, school, shoal, turmoil)

Dazzle - a group of zebras (also zeal and herd)

Den - a group of snakes 

Descent - a group of woodpeckers

Dray - a group of squirrels (also scurry) 

Drove - group of cattle or any animals driven or moving in a body also a group of hares (see band)

Escargatoire - a group of snails (also rout, walk)

Fesnyng or fesynes - a group of ferrets (also cast, business, busyness, pack) 

Flamboyance - a group of flamingos (also regiment) 

Flight - a group of birds (also brace, colony, flock, volary, and wedge for swans) 

Flock – a group of birds (also brace, colony,  flight, volary); the word is also applied to small, hooved animals like sheep and goats 

Flutter- a group of butterflies (also bivouac, rabble, kaleidoscope)

Gaggle - a flock of geese

Gam - a group of  whales  or porpoises (also crowd, herd, pod, school, shoal, and  turmoil, which is specific to porpoises)

Gang - a group of elk, buffalo, or turkey (also rafter, posse) 

Harras - a group of horses (also team, stud, rag, string)

Herd – a group of herbivore animals, including elephants (also memory), deer, antelope, and buffalo (also  gang and obstinacy), rhinoceroses (also crash and stubbornness), birds like swans, and sea mammals like porpoises

Hide - a group of tigers hiding in the shadows (also ambush and streak)

Horde - a group of crows (also mob, muster, murder parcel) 

Husk and huske - a group of hares (als0 bando down, drove, flick, herd,  leap, trip and brace for two and leash for three)

Implausibility - a group of gnu

Intrigue - a group of kittens (also kindle and litter)

Kaleidoscope - a group of butterflies (also flutter, bivouac, rabble)

Kennel - group of domestic dogs* 

Kettle - a group of vultures circling in the air, perched in trees or on the ground they're called a venue.

Kindle -  a group of kittens (also intrigue and litter) or hares (also band, down, flick, herd,  husk or huske, leap, and trip)  

Knob - a group of waterfowl

Knot - a group of toads or frogs (also army or colony for frogs)

Labor - a group of moles 

Leap - a group of leopards (also prowl) 

Leash - a group of three hares (also see band and brace)

Litter - a group of mammals born in numbers larger than pairs, including kittens, puppies, rodents, etc. (There are some more specific groups for types like intrigue or kindle for kittens.)

Lodge - a group of beavers (also colony)

Lounge - a group of lizards

Memory - a group of elephants (also herd)

Mess - a group of iguanas

Mob – a group of kangaroos (also troop and court) or crows (also horde, murder muster, parcel)

Muddle - a group of guinea pigs 

Murder - a group of magpies or crows (also horde, mob, muster, or parcel), also applied to ravens who have been mistaken for crows (more precise terms for crows include: conspiracy, flock,  rave,  treachery, and unkindness)

Murmuration - a group of starlings

Mustering  - a group of storks (flight and phalanx terms applied to when they're in flight), crows (also horde, mob, murder or parcel) or peafowl (also ostentation and pride)

Obstinacy - a group of buffalo (also gang)

Ostentation - a group of peafowl AKA peacocks (also mustering and pride)

Pace - a group of asses

Pack –  a group of mules used for transporting goods, hyenas (also cackle, clan), elephant seals (also arrangement and herd),  ferrets (also business, busyiness, fesnyg fesynes), coyotes, wolves, or dogs (also kennel for dogs) 

Paddling - a group of ducks (also badling, plump, raft)

Pandemonium - a group of parrots (also company) 

Parcel - a small group of deer (also see bevy, bunch herd, rangale) or or crows (also horde, mob, muster) 

 Parliament - a group of owls 

 Passel - a group of of opossums 

 Phalanx - a group of storks 

 Plump-  a group of ducks (also badling, paddling, raft)

 Plot - a group of lemur (also conspiracy, congress)

 Pod - a group of porpoises (also gam, crowd, herd,  school, shoal, turmoil) whales, dolphins, seals, or hippopotami (also boat or thunder) 

 Posse - a group of turkeys (also rafter, gang) and fireflies (also sparkle)

 Pounce - a group of cats (also clowder) 

 Prickle - a group of porcupines

 Pride - a group of lions, cheetahs, or peafowl AKA peacocks (also muster ingand   ostentation) 

 Prowl - a group of leopards (also leap) 

 Quiver - a group of finch (also charm) cobras (related: den)

 Rabble - a group of butterflies (also kaleidoscope, bivouac, flutter)

 Raft - a group of otters or ducks (also badling, paddling, plumb)

 Rafter - a group of turkeys (also posse, gang) 

 Rag - a group of horses (also team, harras, stud, string) 

 Rave-  a group of ravens (also conspiracy, flock, treachery,  unkindness, and   murder --due to the ravens being mistaken for crows)

 Rake - a group of three mules   

 Rangale - the rank and file, a term which also applies to the members of a group   of deer in contradistinction to the Alpha leaders of the group 

 Regiment - a group of flamingos (also flamboyance)

 Richness - a group of martens 

 Romp - a group of otters 

 Scurry - a group of squirrels 

 Sedge, Sege, or Siege - a group of heron

 Shadow - a group of jaguars 

 Shoal or school  – a group of fish and some sea mammals like purpoises 

 Shrewdness - a group of apes, gorillas (also band and troop)

 Skulk - a group of foxes (also earth to describe a mother fox with her kits)

 Sleuth - a group of bears Smack - a group of jellyfish (also brood)

Span - two mules 

Sparkle - a group of fireflies (also posse) 

 Streak - a group of tigers running together (also ambush,     hide)

 String - a group of horses (also team, harras, stud, rag) 

 Stubbornness - a group of rhinoceroses (also crash and herd) 

 Surfeit - a group of skunks 

 Swarm - a group of insects 

 Team - a group of horses  (also harras, stud, rag, string) 

 Thunder - a group of hippopotami (also bloat, pod) 

 Tower - a group of giraffes 

 Treachery - a group of ravens (also conspiracy, flock,  rave,   unkindness  and  murder --due to the ravens being mistaken for crows)

 Troop - a group of kangaroos or apes (also band,  shrewdness)  

 Troupe – a group of monkeys 

 Turmoil- a group of porpoises (also gam, crowd, herd, pod, school, shoa )

 Unkindness - a group of ravens (also conspiracy, flock,  rave,  treachery, and     murder --due to the ravens being mistaken for crows)

 Venue - a group of vultures in a perched state; in flight they're called a kettle.

  Volary - a group of birds (also also brace, colony, flock, flight) 

  Wisdom - a group of wombats

  Zeal - a group of zebras (also dazzle and herd)

 

How many of these did you already know? Which ones were new to you?  Any favorites among the group?

*f you want to use a collective noun for a specific breed of domestic dog, see this list: ARF! Kennel Club Accepted Collective Nouns From the ARF! Newsletter, Fall 1995 

An A/B Test of Generative AI

Yet another brand that uses this slogan is featured on Amazon

I put the same query to Bing, ChatGPT, and Google Bard. This was the prompt: "Let's Build the Future Together": How many businesses use this slogan?


Want to guess which one gave the best answer?

❌ For Bing, I made sure to be in the chat mode and got even more disappointing results than I got from its search mode. This is the New Bing's response to my query:
"I’m sorry but I couldn’t find any information on how many businesses use the slogan “Let’s Build the Future Together”. However, I can tell you that a company slogan is a word or phrase used to represent a business as a whole or its products and services. Slogans typically follow a company or brand’s name in marketing materials such as business cards and advertisements."


❌#OpenAI's ChatGPT response came faster, but it wasn't any better than Bing's. This is what it said:
"I'm sorry, but as an AI language model, I do not have access to information on the exact number of businesses that use the slogan "Let's Build the Future Together." However, this slogan is a common one that has been used by many different businesses and organizations over the years. It is a popular marketing phrase that is often used to convey a sense of partnership and collaboration with customers or other stakeholders, as well as a focus on innovation and growth."


✔ Google's Bard was the clear winner out of the three. It admitted it didn't have full information and it went off on the tangent of why businesses use that slogan, but it did at least name some that use it:

The United Nations
The World Bank
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Coca-Cola Company
The Ford Motor Company

It added that it was used by Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

While I don't claim to be an "AI Prompt Engineer," I do know that you sometimes need to try the prompt again to get more thorough responses, so I regenerated the response on Google Bard. It offered a slightly different contextual background and repeated the UN and Coca-Cola but it also had 3 additional names of brands to add to the list: Amvets, LEGO, and Siemens.

It also plugs Google, noting that "a quick Google search reveals that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses that use this slogan."

A third run on Bard yields 2 names already mentioned plus 3 new ones:
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The National Association of Home Builders
The World Economic Forum





So you get the picture. It can take multiple rounds to build up a list that is not going to be comprehensive but at least gives you some idea off the range of organizations that apply the same slogan.

I'd recommend that all brands do searches on the slogans they're considering. While it may make sense for toys and those in the building trade to adopt it despite its wide adoption by other organizations, a new startup will likely not get much traction from something this abstract.


Related:

AI's early attempts at screenwriting

Bard vs Bard: why you can't just accept the first AI prompt response

The Perils of Prompt Engineering

Coke' Misappropriates Vermeer With AI

A 3D billboard at Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo is showcases  Coca-Cola's "Masterpiece" campaign by animating Vermeer's  "Girl with a Pearl Earring" as a girl whose life purpose it is to put bottles of Coke into a pipe that leads to the vending machine for the soft drink. 

This is not "real magic TM" as the Coke video declares. It is a travesty of art that reduces a masterpiece to a Disney-style short film. 

I can just picture the thought process behind this with a discussion of the creative team that went like this:

Rich: We need something everyone recognizes as a masterpiece!

Josh: But it has to not be under copyright!

Rich: Right! 

Dave: How about Mona Lisa?

Rich Maybe, but can we find something else?

Dave: Vermeer!

Rich: What?

Dave:  ChatGPT says one of his paintings is really famous because there was a movie about it.

Josh: Oh, yeah, "Girl With a Pearl Earring." So long as that's not under copyright, it should be good. 

Rich: Yeah, any woman in a famous piece of art acting as a waitress to get you to buy Coke should work.  

High fives all around.

And so you have it. The enigmatic subject of Vermeer's masterpiece is reduced to Disney-heroine-as-serving girl to allow Coke to appropriate high culture to sell you brown-colored carbonated water filled with ingredients that are detrimental to your health.

I'm fine with a brand promoting itself and with showing off 3D effects and other high tech. But it should have gone the route of creating its own character for this rather than stealing art that is not copyright protected.

Related: 

MAJOR MARKETING MISSTEPS FROM ADIDAS, M&M'S AND COKE

New York goes New Coke

Tourism is down in New York, and the state has been attempting to leverage marketing to lure tourists back to the Empire State in general and the Big Apple in particular. 

Timing is everything

In July of 2021, I wrote about the city's $30 million campaign, “It’s Time for New York City.”  As it turned out, the summer of 2021 was not really the best time to return to the city, as many COVID restrictions were still in place, and some attractions were not even open at the time or even in the fall that followed.

But tourism plays a huge role in NY's economy, and so the it has to continue to look for marketing ideas to make it appealing. So it goes back to the drawing board and looks for inspiration.

The iconic model 

It makes sense that what worked well in the past would be considered. That's the iconic "I love NY" slogan that made my list of most memorable brand slogans.

Graphic artist Milton Glaser created this slogan with the heart in place of the word love (way before emojis became standard) campaign to boost tourism to New York State (not just NYC) in 1977.  In 2009 it became the the official state slogan and Steve Karmen's song with that title was adopted as the official state song. 

Like New Coke

Anyone here old enough to remember 1985 when Coke introduced a new formula for its soda? Here's a refresher for you from Coke itself. The company did its market research and was convinced the new formula would win over more customers, though it threatened to lose them their solid base of loyal fans.

Now NYC is doing the same kind of thing with by  transforming the iconic New York State slogan into one for the city alone with these tweaks: a change in font, replacing the "I" with "We" and swapping the heart out for different images in the video. The result that was unveiled in March 2023 is this: 

The video description proudly declares:

"We❤️NYC” is a 21st Century version of the 70’s “I❤️NY” campaign. Once again, New Yorkers are coming together to mobilize civic action and community engagement as the catalyst for a renaissance of the city and its neighborhoods. In many ways, the challenges facing the city today are more complex than in the past. Together, “WE” can tackle these challenges and demonstrate, once again, that this is the greatest city in the world."

What I love is that one of the first comments notes how tampering the Glaser's work is a mistake:

Greg Richards

14 hours ago

‪I love NYC as much as I despise this logo. The unbalanced design is a third-rate

theft from Milton Glaser’s original and is an affront to this great city.

A 3-D clip art heart? Please, please @Partnership4NYC do not use this logo. ‬

While some object to the change in look due to the font switch, I'm responding more to the change in wording. I'd say that they're missing the point in transforming the "I" to "We."  

The brilliance of "I" is that it is absolutely inclusive because there is no dependence  on another to feel the same way you do. In other words, "I" encompasses "we," while "we" doesn't include every "I."

Instead of recognizing that, the campaign is referencing a platitude from the pandemic about being "in this together" that ignores the  very different experiences people of different classes had at the time.

One class was stuck with no school open for their kids while they had to work, while another just took their laptop to the Hamptons or wherever they felt safer and were able to pay for private school if their public schools stayed closed like the onesin NYC.

Also the examples offered are kind of lame when you have to say something like you love $1 a slice pizza, though now it's $1.50. Inflation is really not a cause for loving NYC.

While this campaign shares the same flaws behind the New Coke fiasco, the people behind it will not have to admit their mistake the way Coke did when it had to bring the old formula back. NYC is still there and accessible to those who want to visit even if they hate the campaign.

P.S. After I posted this, I see that there are many others who really don't love the new NYC slogan.

Related: 

Don't just aim for different
Major marketing missteps

What the Little Prince teaches us about marketing

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