ZEN AND THE
ART OF
CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
Corey Vilhauer Now What? 2014

HI.
I’M COREY
VILHAUER.

ZEN AND THE
ART OF
MOTORCYCLE
MAINTENANCE
by Robert M. Pirsig

ROMANTIC
Hopes for the best
Appreciates randomness
Relies on professional help

CLASSICAL
Pays continual attention
Uses rational problem solving
Understands the basics

Corey Vilhauer Now What? 2014
ZEN AND THE
ART OF
CONTENT
MAINTENANCE

CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
MAINTAIN FOCUS
MAINTAIN MESSAGE
MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
MAINTAIN STYLE

“We take a handful of sand from the endless
landscape of awareness around us and call that
handful of sand the world.”

CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
MAINTAIN FOCUS
MAINTAIN MESSAGE
MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
MAINTAIN ROLES

MAINTAIN FOCUS

MAINTAIN FOCUS
Audiences
Outcomes
Tasks
Personas

“Morning, boys.
How’s the water?”
“What the hell is
water?”

ACTUAL SITE
AUDIENCES
“MY BROTHER KNOWS
ABOUT THIS STUFF”
“THE BOSS
WANTS THIS”
“THE INTRANET
IS HORRIBLE”
“WE NEED A BLOG”

WE ARE
NOT THE
AUDIENCE

CLARIFY GOALS

STAKEHOLDERS
MARKETING
FRONT LINE
CUSTOMERS
BOSSES
THE TEAM

AUDIENCES

AUDIENCES
Any group of people with some measurable
characteristic in common which influences
how relevant and significant they are to
your specific outcomes.
- David Gammel, Online and On Mission

DEMOGRAPHICS
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
TECHNOLOGY
CURRENT TRAFFIC
COMPETITORS
AUDIENCES

CHILDREN
FORMER FANS
ADULTS
RETAILERS
COLLECTOR FREAKS
AUDIENCES

YOUR TURN
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CHOICE
Choice, Indiana

PRIORITIZE

OUTCOMES

OUTCOMES
A measurable change, action or behavior
that you wish a visitor to take or
experience.
- David Gammel, Online and On Mission

INFORMATION
EDUCATION
ENTERTAINMENT
ADMINISTRATION
CONFIRMATION
OUTCOMES

INFORMATION
ENTERTAINMENT
EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATION
CONFIRMATION
OUTCOMES

YOUR TURN
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CHOICE
Choice, Indiana

PRIORITIZE

TASKS
Keep track of sets
Log in to
view
current
sets
Search for
sets and
add to
collection
Change
and update
collection
Export set
list
Check
price on
sets
Find
manuals
and pieces
for sets
Add to
wish list
View a list
of minifigs

ENGAGE
Find
Information
on Student
Services
Better
Understand
Strategic
Plan
STUDENTCONTACT
Access
Provost
Faculty
Contact
Information
Engage with
the Office of
the Provost
Learn Who
the Provost
Is
Find and
Learn about
Faculty
Policies
FACULTY/STAFF
Find and
Learn About
Jobs/
Employment
About Blog
Research
News
Document
Library
FormsOrg Charts Job Listings
Document
Library
Forms
OUTCOMES
RELATED
TASKS
SPECIAL
CONTENT
NEEDED
Search for
Policies or
Bylaws
Find an Org
Chart
Get Contact
Information
Read Content
About the
Office of the
Provost
Read Content
From the
Provost
Find Content
for Faculty/
Tenure
Review
Find
Information
for Retired
Faculty
View
Academic
Handbook
View
University
Committees
Apply for Org
Change
View
Curriculum
Handbook
View
Accredit.
Information
Access
Internal
Documents
Contact a
Provost
Faculty
Member
View
Application
Timelines
View
Application
Steps
Find
Information
on Award
Winners
View
Planning and
Decision
Statistics/
Data
View
Ongoing
Metrics/Stat
Studies
Request Data
or Metrics/
Stats
Research
Learn What
the Office of
the Provost
Does
Find
Information
on Awards
and
Scholarships
Learn More
about
Student
Support
Programs
Contact the
Advising
Center
Contact the
Writing and
Learning
Centers
Find
Information
on Job
Openings
Find
Information
on the
University
Find
Information
on Richmond
Find
Information
on Financial
Aid
Find
Information
on
Admissions
Apply for
Financial Aid
Find
Information
on Campus
Programs
Find
Information
on Campus
Facilities
Mission /
Vision
News Data PDFs Handbook TimelinesContact Lists Videos Timelines
Testimonials
Strategic
Plan
Document
DirectoryStaff Bios Testimonials
View
University
Strategic
Plan
Apply and
Plan for
Professional
Advance.
Apply and
Plan for
Academic
Life
Better
Understand
VCU's
Community
Enagement
News
Read About
VCU's
Community
Engagement
Become a
Part of the
VCU
Community
Support VCU
Community
Engagement
Efforts
Learn About
VCU
Community
Events
Calendar /
Events
Videos
Apply and
Plan for
Curriculum
Apply for
Changes to
Curriculum /
Program
Learn About
Curriculum /
Program
Basics and
Needs
View
Curriculum
Handbook
Find
Information
on
Graduation
View Current
Degree
Progress
View VCU's
Accreditation
Find
Information
on Benefits
Learn What
the Provost
Does
Document
Library
Forms
Handbook
Timelines
Forms
Timelines
TASK MODEL

TASKS
Keep track of sets
Log in to
view
current
sets
Search for
sets and
add to
collection
Change
and update
collection
Export set
list
Check
price on
sets
Find
manuals
and pieces
for sets
Add to
wish list
View a list
of minifigs

Log in to
view
current
sets
Search for
sets and
add to
collection
Change
and update
collection
Export set
list
Check
price on
sets
Find
manuals
and pieces
for sets
Add to
wish list
View a list
of minifigs
Log in
screen Set search
Collection
manager
Export data
function
Price
listings
Manual
directory
Wish list Minifig
import

PERSONAS
Fictional characters created to represent
the different user types within a targeted
demographic, attitude or behavior set.
- WIKIPEDIA, DUH

PROVIDE CONTEXT
CLARIFY GOALS
ILLUSTRATE PATHS
ADMINISTRATION
CONFIRMATION
PERSONAS

PERSONAS
ARE NOT…
PERFECT

PERSONAS
ARE NOT…
STATIONARY

PERSONAS
ARE NOT…
A REPLACEMENT
FOR RESEARCHRESEARCH

RESEARCH

ANALYTICS
COMPETITORS
CONVERSATIONS
CONTENT AUDIT
RESEARCH

HOW MUCH IS
ENOUGH?
IT DEPENDS

First-Hand Research
Buy-In and Dedication
Full-Team Involvement
Relevancy
PERSONAS NEED:

DEMOGRAPHICS/
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
RELATION TO
PROJECT
EXPECTED
OUTCOMES
NEEDS AND
ASPIRATIONS
DRIVING
FACTORS

Isaac Nelson
35 years old
Two kids (4, 6)
Teacher
ROLE: Collector/Parent
CONNECTION: Played
with LEGO as a kid, but his
mother gave away his old
bricks are gone and his kids
are starting to get into the
toys.
DESCRIPTION: Wants to
get his children some LEGO
for Christmas, but isn’t sure
what they might be ready for.
His son loves Batman, and his
daughter likes the Friends
sets, but he is afraid that’s not
enough to promote creative
play.
PRIMARY OUTCOMES:
• Learn more about sets
• Find the right sets
• Reminisce about old sets
“LEGO sets aren’t a cheap
investment, so I want to make
sure I make good choices in
the beginning. My old LEGO
pieces lasted forever - I’m
expecting the same for my
kids.”

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN
One User
One Team
One Persona

YOUR TURN
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CHOICE
Choice, Indiana

NOW TURN AND
INTRODUCE
YOURSELVES

SHARING TIME

“…If the mood is right, then physical discomfort
doesn't mean much..”

CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
MAINTAIN FOCUS
MAINTAIN MESSAGE
MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
MAINTAIN STYLE

MAINTAIN MESSAGE

MAINTAIN MESSAGE
Message Architecture
Core Strategy

MESSAGE
ARCHITECTURE
“A hierarchy of communication goals.”
- Margot Bloomstein,
Content Strategy at Work

VALUES ARE
NOT MESSAGE

MISSION IS
NOT MESSAGE
“Great design for everyone.”
- MOO Cards

COPY POINTS ARE
NOT MESSAGE
“We offer a wide range of
solutions for any project”

MESSAGE
ARCHITECTURE
Voice and tone
Direction
Justification

MESSAGE
ARCHITECTURE
Who.We. Are.

MESSAGE
ARCHITECTURE

Unique
Scientific
Proud
Powerful
Straight
Formal
Animated
Upbeat
Premium
Open
Sturdy
Knowledgeable
Brainy
Educated
Wise
Friendly
Kind
Strong
Encouraging
Helpful
Curious
Careful
Clever
Useful
Pleasant
Satisfying
Alive
Loving
Classy
Gentle
Steadfast
Experienced
Established
Comprehensive
Broad
Customer Oriented
Rare
Receptive
Old-Fashioned
Professional
Serious
Futuristic
Consistent
Neighborly/Familiar
Wholesome/Safe
Leading Edge
Bleeding Edge
Cutting Edge
Cool
Polite
Warm
Happy
Mature
Responsible
Creative
Strategic
Fierce
Simple
Traditional
Tasteful

WHO WE ARE
WHO WE’D LIKE TO BE
WHO WE’RE NOT

Unique
Scientific
Proud
Powerful
Straight
Formal
Animated
Upbeat
Premium
Open
Sturdy
Knowledgeable
Brainy
Educated
Wise
Friendly
Kind
Strong
Encouraging
Helpful
Curious
Careful
Clever
Useful
Pleasant
Satisfying
Alive
Loving
Classy
Gentle
Steadfast
Experienced
Established
Comprehensive
Broad
Customer Oriented
Rare
Receptive
Old-Fashioned
Professional
Serious
Futuristic
Consistent
Neighborly/Familiar
Wholesome/Safe
Leading Edge
Bleeding Edge
Cutting Edge
Cool
Polite
Warm
Happy
Mature
Responsible
Creative
Strategic
Fierce
Simple
Traditional
Tasteful
Creative
Open
Sturdy
Happy
Consistent

Creative
Happy
Consistent
Sturdy
Open
/
Well-Crafted
Fans
Legendary

CREATIVE AND OPEN
• Offering millions of possibilities within their stable of sets
WELL-CRAFTED
• Every piece fits
• The price is worth it for the quality and dedication from the team
LEGENDARY
• An intense history that carries on from parents to children
• Memories of past gifts, legends of future ones
IN LOVE WITH THE PRODUCT
• They are fans of LEGO just as much as the customer

CORE STRATEGY
What are we trying to do?

Why does this content exist? What is its purpose?
Who are its most important users?
Why do the users want and need?
What does the content help users do/achieve?
What makes you most excited about this initiative?
What is your organization’s message?
What can you offer that is different?
What will make the initiative successful?

To help people love (and buy) LEGO
Current and future LEGO fans
Access to set information to purchase
Keep abreast of LEGO - current and past
The opportunity to serve as a hub for LEGO stuff
LEGO is fun and exciting
A single source of official LEGO information
If people start using the hub for all things LEGO

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.
Provide
OUR CONTENT: We will create and provide for
their hobby using our existing content and sets.

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.
Provide entertaining hub
A CENTRAL LOCATION: Buy, track, research and
reminisce about LEGO all in one place.

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.
Provide entertaining hub
helps current and future LEGO fans
AUDIENCES: Keep current fans happy, create new
fans for the future.

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.
Provide entertaining hub
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize
ORGANIZE: Keep track of your sets and keep
coming back for updates.

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.
Provide entertaining hub
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize explore
EXPLORE: What’s new? You want to know -
straight from the source, rumor-free and for sale.

CORE STRATEGY
Provide an entertaining hub that
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize, explore and create.
Provide entertaining hub
helps current and future LEGO fans
organize explore create
CREATE: You know the real reason you love LEGO -
because you can create new worlds.

“We will
so they can ”
[do/provide this]
[for these people] [do this]

YOUR TURN
Why does this content exist? What is its purpose?
Who are its most important users?
Why do the users want and need?
What does the content help users do/achieve?
What makes you most excited about this initiative?
What is your organization’s message?
What can you offer that is different?
What will make the initiative successful?
“We will
so they can ”
[do/provide this]
[for these people] [do this]

“You look at where you're going and where you
are and it never makes sense, but then you look
back at where you've been and a pattern seems
to emerge.”

CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
MAINTAIN FOCUS
MAINTAIN MESSAGE
MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
MAINTAIN STYLE

MAINTAIN SCHEDULE

MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
Content Audit
Editorial Calendar
Editorial Triggers

CONTENT AUDIT
Open A Spreadsheet

SPREADSHEETS?

ID
URL
(http:www.lego.co
m)
NAME CONTENT LINKS NOTES ASSIGNED
-1.0 /products Products
Images of LEGO
brand lines
organized in a grid.
Links to each
individual LEGO
line.
Grid is in order of
relevancy and
current popularity
- not alphabetical.
No search.
George
- - 1.1
/chima?
icmp=COUSFRC
hima
Chima Legends
Hero carousel,
video rotator
Links to webisodes,
products, and
character pages.
Carousel is based
on icons, though
icons are all so
similar. Products
are set below
videos.
Cathy

CONTENT AUDIT
Page title
File format
Author
Meta description
Page links
Audience relevance
File size
Editorial publish date
URL
Content description
Last updated
Categories/tags
Images
Reading level
Season
Scheduled for archive

EDUNDANTR
UTDATEDO
RIVIALT

EDITORIAL
CALENDAR
Open A Spreadsheet

SPREADSHEETS?

WHY?
ALIGN WITH GOALS
FULFILL USER NEEDS
ALLOCATE RESOURCES
CROSS-CHANNEL STUFF
KEEP A SCHEDULE

EDITORIAL
TRIGGERS

NEW PRODUCT CONTENT
Max Time: 5 Days Immediate Action
Gather information on new product
based on New Product copy deck.
Upload initial content to website
using placeholder images
APPROVAL NEEDED: Initial
approval of content required
Create product images for all sizes
(150px, 350px, banner)
FINAL APPROVAL
web editor
web editor
product
manager
web editor
lead editor
2 days
1 day
1 day
1 day

ALL TOGETHER NOW
Content Audit
Editorial Calendar
Editorial Triggers
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

“The pencil is mightier than the pen.”

CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
MAINTAIN FOCUS
MAINTAIN MESSAGE
MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
MAINTAIN STYLE

MAINTAIN STYLE

MAINTAIN STYLE
Style Guide

CONSISTENCY

COMMUNICATION

REFERENCE

WORDS
TRADEMARKS
FORMATTING
VOICE AND TONE
LEGAL
STYLE GUIDES

WORDS

WORDS

WORDS
Grammar
Handling Numbers
Punctuation
Capitalization

FORMATTING

TRADEMARKS

VOICE AND TONE

VOICE AND TONE
Our company is…
Personal but not cloying
Lively but not crazy
Helpful but not overbearing
Smart but not arrogant
Conversational but not flippant

LEGAL

SO HOW DO
WE START?

START SMALL

DETERMINE A
STARTING POINT

CREATE AN OWNER

MAKE IT VISIBLE

MAKE IT COLLABORATIVE

CONTENT
MAINTENANCE
MAINTAIN FOCUS
MAINTAIN MESSAGE
MAINTAIN SCHEDULE
MAINTAIN STYLE

“The place to improve the world is first in one's
own heart and head and hands, and then work
outward from there.”

QUESTIONS

THANK YOU
www.eatingelephant.com/workshop2014
@mrvilhauer
for notes and resources: