They also wanted to know if Andrew Davis really didn’t know what was in the “mystery box” he brought to the stage during his high-energy presentation on curiosity. You (and your content) must be authentic. You (and your content) must have meaning, a meaning that resonates with your brand and your desired audience. Kathleen shared an inspiring example Fake Love created for the soda brand 7UP. Give meaning to the ordinary Professional photographer Dewitt Jones, who spent 20 years with National Geographic, shared an interesting perspective on meaning and authenticity in his talk. While he showed dozens of beautiful images and inspiring messages, his story of a dandelion field really resonated with me. That authenticity has been well received. The ability to create meaningful and authentic content – to deliver what her brand and her audience need and want in a creative and engaging way – is just one of the reasons Ann also became the first inductee into the Content Marketing Institute Hall of Fame. #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/kwxWyxcUgz — Content Marketing (@CMIContent) September 5, 2018 Meaning and authenticity never end Though I didn’t hear all 200-plus speakers at Content Marketing World, I know meaning and authenticity were key ingredients in each presentation. “If there’s one thing that writers know, it’s that writing is THE WORST!” – Tina Fey in the house at #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/47ENPbmFv5 — Amanda Bates (@mandibleCLE) September 6, 2018 Most likely, the truth will affect how you interpret Tina’s appearance.
After I interviewed Tina Fey at Content Marketing World, several people asked if she was as nice in person as she seemed on stage.
Their inquiries called to mind something my colleague Robert Rose raised on the same stage at the beginning of Content Marketing World.
“Trust is the new player … We have the power to shape beliefs,” he said. “(Content marketing) is our opportunity … to become a or the trusted source of interesting things.”
Sure, Tina was interesting and funny and gave great advice to content creators, but what the audience really wanted to know was whether the person they heard on stage was as genuine, earnest, self-deprecating, and humorous behind the scenes.
They also wanted to know if Andrew Davis really didn’t know what was in the “mystery box” he brought to the stage during his high-energy presentation on curiosity. And, does Joe Pulizzi really write down his goals each day as he urged the audience to do?
Their questions – and Robert’s assertion – struck a chord I heard repeatedly during Content Marketing World.
To build and grow an audience, you need to earn its trust.
It takes more than words
But how do you – as a marketer and as a brand – get an audience to trust you?
You (and your content) must be authentic.
You (and your content) must have meaning, a meaning that resonates with your brand and your desired audience.
Yet content is one of the reasons we’re in an epidemic of meaninglessness, Kathleen Diamantakis of The New York Times’ T Brand Studio said. Fortunately, content also can be the solution.
“If we can achieve meaning, we can achieve vitality, well-being, life satisfaction,” Kathleen said. Her role as managing director of strategy at T Brand (and its experiential agency Fake Love) is to help brands play a more meaningful role in the world.
Kathleen shared an inspiring example Fake Love created for the soda brand 7UP. As part of its year-long Music Lifts You Up campaign, which centered on electronic dance music and targeted millennials, 7UP and EMD prodigy Martin Garrix teamed up with experiential artists to create a once-in-a-lifetime music experience for an all deaf audience.
As impressive as 7UP’s concert was, a big-budget event isn’t the only way to create meaningful content. Kathleen shared another example that, while less inspirational, is meaningful for most of us – Walgreen’s mobile app. It allows customers to reorder and pick up prescriptions at locations other than their “home” pharmacy and pushes reminders so people don’t miss doses (among other useful things).
Content’s meaning is in the eye of the beholder – and that eye looks at content differently depending on time and circumstance.
Give meaning to the ordinary
Professional photographer Dewitt Jones, who spent 20 years with National Geographic, shared an interesting perspective on meaning and authenticity in his talk. While he showed dozens of beautiful images and inspiring messages, his story of a dandelion field really resonated with me.
When he first visited the yellow-dotted field of dandelions, he didn’t want to spend the time to shoot it….
COMMENTS