Wanna do content marketing without losing yourself in the hype? Make sure you do it the right way. Start to think like a publisher and see how you can create content that actually matters

1. Why (most) Content
Marketing is Crap!
(and what to do
about it)
May 2016
jo.caudron@duvalunion.com // @jcaudron

2. Hi, I’m Jo Caudron
Active in digital since 1993
Internet entrepreneur involved
in 20+ start-ups.
Founding Partner of
Duval Union Consulting
@jcaudron
jo@duvalunion.com
We are business
consultants for a digital
world.
Our mission is to help
organization transform.

3. @jcaudron
• we are a digital and innovative
marketing consulting company
• founded in 2009 as Dearmedia, now
the nucleus of the Duval Union
ecosystem
• we work for large European clients
• we have a strong vision on the
impact of digital and act accordingly
• we are advisors, writers, coaches
and entrepreneurs
Long term
strategy
Short term
strategy
Fixing the
basics

4. @jcaudron
Co-autor of…
A story about
Transformation
Sold in 40
countries!

5. @jcaudron
Reasons why
(most) Content
Marketing is crap

6. Media are transportation tubes to
bring messages from A to B in order
to influence people’s opinions.
And media need content to
disguise the messages.

7. Traditional media are eroding.
Their future is uncertain.
Brands are looking for alternatives
to bring messages across.

8. @jcaudron
Exit 1: the web
“if we build it,
they will come”.
Not.
(if we want them to come we still
need to buy their attention …)

9. (even the best brands only reach a small
fraction of their client base via social media.
Having clients share something remains quite
a challenge, even for the best-in-class-brands)
Exit 2: Social Media
“people love us, they will
share everything we say,
everything will go viral”.
Not.

10. @jcaudron
Exit 3: Content
Marketing
“Let’s create great
content and everyone
will want to read this”.
Not.

11. @jcaudron
Why Content
Marketing is Crap.
REASON 1
What problem are we
actually solving here?
Don’t believe the hype.

12. @jcaudron
Transparency
Accountability
Proximity
Responsiveness
Bi-directional
Humanization
Authenticity
The
Glass House
Relationship
Monolithic vs. atomic
APPification
Long Tail
Personalized
Experience
Speed
Price
(Self-)service
Scalability
The Package
Product, Service &
Packaging
Bypassing
Virtualization
Fragmentation of
touchpoints
The Frog
Position in the
value chain
New gatekeepers
Recommendations
"Good is good enough"
Ambassadorship
The Gatekeeper
Opinion
making
The Traveller
Place
Utility
Empowered self
Delivery fulfillment
New way of working
Contextual awareness
Real-time
Location & Place
The Participant
Community
Gamification
Collaboration
The power of the crowd
Community
The Cyborg
Internet of things
Wearables
Quantified self
Robotics
Data
Monitoring
Progressive
Technology
Why should brands be
interested in content?

13. @jcaudron
Because we have no strategy that justifies
content marketing as a tactical instrument.
Why? Why?
Why? Why?
Why?
“Because we want to (re)connect to
our audience in a direct way in order
to influence them to buy our stuff”
Why Content
Marketing is Crap.
REASON 2

14. @jcaudron
Because most
content is just
wrong.
Why Content
Marketing is
Crap.
REASON 3

15. @jcaudron
There is more to
content than you
typically master.
Content
Product &
Marketing
Corporate
(boring)
Corporate
(fun, maybe
fake?)
Expert
(media)
Entertain-
ment
(media)
Utility,
Functional &
Service
Emotional

16. @jcaudron
There is more to
content than you
typically master.
Content
Product &
Marketing
Corporate
(boring)
Corporate
(fun, maybe
fake?)
Expert
(media)
Entertain-
ment
(media)
Utility,
Functional &
Service
Emotional
Reality check:
What really engages
our audience?

17. @jcaudron
There is more to
content than you
typically master.
Content
Product &
Marketing
Corporate
(boring)
Corporate
(fun, maybe
fake?)
Expert
(media)
Entertain-
ment
(media)
Utility,
Functional &
Service
Emotional
Reality check:
What really engages
our audience?
What do we
actually have?

18. @jcaudron
There is more to
content than you
typically master.
Content
Product &
Marketing
Corporate
(boring)
Corporate
(fun, maybe
fake?)
Expert
(media)
Entertain-
ment
(media)
Utility,
Functional &
Service
Emotional
We make this look like that :-(
So what do we do?

19. Because the wrong
people are creating
it for the wrong
reasons.
Why Content
Marketing is
Crap.
REASON 4

20. @jcaudron

21. @jcaudron

22. @jcaudron
It all starts with
strategy
Why? (x5)
What?How?
Doing it
right.

23. @jcaudron
Why? (x5)
What?How?
“Because we really
have our reasons”
(connect to people, claim
thought leadership, strengthen
loyalty, build the image, …)

24. @jcaudron
Why? (x5)
What?How?
Claim a content
area that really makes the
difference, that can build a real
and loyal audience.
You need a positioning like other
traditional media-brands have.
They are now your competitor
(and you might even
outlive them).

25. @jcaudron
Why? (x5)
What?How?
By
becoming a
publisher

26. ✓ hire journalists that got fired by the
traditional media
✓ objective and cutting-edge
✓ quality and criticism
✓ if it is not neutral and strong, don’t do it
✓ give them one mission: build a loyal
audience that really believes what you
are saying
✓ keep your traditional marketing or
corporate communication experts far
away
By
becoming a
publisher

27. WTF?
What about
my brand?!

28. Your
content is
here
Your
brand is
here

29. @jcaudron
You are warned now, so please don’t
let this great opportunity be buried
underneath loads of content crap

30. @jcaudron
We might help you create
an integrated strategy
Media

31. Thank you,
how can we help you?
@jcaudron
jo@duvalunion.com
00 32 475 43 80 98
We are business
consultants for a digital
world.
Our mission is to help
organization transform.

32. Why (most) Content
Marketing is Crap!
(and what to do
about it)
May 2016
jo.caudron@duvalunion.com // @jcaudron