Many organizations struggle with content. Prophet and Altimeter believe in setting a content strategy first. Here are five questions to jumpstart a strategy towards valuable content.

1. Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
PROPHET DIGITAL PRACTICE
2016
Is Your Brand
Creating Valuable
Content?
FIVE QUESTIONS COMPANIES SHOULD ASK TO
JUMPSTART A STRATEGY TOWARDS VALUABLE CONTENT

2. Creating Valuable Content 1© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
Many organizations struggle
with content
Brands and businesses of all sizes struggle with content—the surprising
volume needed, the lack of a central strategy, the huge investment in
hours and resources, the inconsistent quality or voice, cross-silo logistics,
new channel paralysis, or seeming lack of attributable ROI.
When harnessed correctly, however, and successfully connecting content
to both business and brand goals, content can be a valuable working
asset to achieve relevance and grow your business.
What we’ve found for many of our clients is that the starting point for
tackling content happens too late in the execution, leaving companies to
create ad-hoc solutions or settle by optimizing what they already have.
The biggest benefits from content can only be achieved by first building a
thoughtful content strategy stemming from the brand and consumer
lens—much earlier and more broadly.

3. Creating Valuable Content 2© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
Content has many definitions to different people
– here are the definitions we use at Prophet
CONTENT MARKETING
An approach to marketing that focuses on creating
and distributing content to attract, convert, and/or
retain specific audiences.
CONTENT STRATEGY
The overarching vision for content for an organization that dictates why and how to plan, create, deliver and
manage useful and usable content to achieve brand and business goals.
CONTENT
DEVELOPMENT
The process of researching,
writing, gathering, organizing,
designing, creating and editing
assets and messages for various
channels.
CONTENT
OPTIMIZATION
The process of improving or
enhancing content to better
reach and resonate with
audiences to meet content
strategy goals.
CONTENT
MANAGEMENT
The processes, platforms and tools
used to collect and store content
throughout its lifecycle from
creation and archiving to publishing
and distribution.
CONTENT PLANNING
A process of governing, evaluating and
measuring content that helps to identify content
needs for customers and the organization
THE WHY
AND
THE HOW
THE WHO,
WHAT, WHERE
AND WHEN
Sources: CMI, Various

4. Creating Valuable Content 3© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
BUSINESS GOALS THAT CONTENT CAN HELP ACHIEVE:
The value of content is the action
it can drive for the business
3
Customer Experience Improve your relationship
with customers and their experience with your brand.
Marketing Optimization Improve the effectiveness
of marketing programs
2
1
Brand Health Enhance the perception, conversation
and behavior toward your brand
Revenue Generation Generate revenue directly
or indirectly4
Operational Efficiency Reduce expenses, find new
ways to work
5
Innovation Collaborate with customers to drive
future products and services
6
Source: Altimeter @ Prophet

5. Five questions companies
should ask to jumpstart a
strategy to valuable content

6. Creating Valuable Content 5© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
1. Do we have a culture of content?
Content is everywhere, produced by brands and by their employees. The question is if it’s
intentionally institutionalized and championed as an asset than a consumable or cost.
Research from Altimeter, a Prophet company, found that “companies that evangelize, reinforce
and institutionalize the importance of content are more successful not only across their marketing
initiatives, but also with other internal success benchmarks such as sales, employee advocacy,
customer service, thought leadership.”
A strategic, systemized culture of content with strong leadership and vision that supports creativity
and even risk leads to increases in quality, efficiency and value.
Source: Altimeter, a Prophet Company
INSPIRATION
A strong vision
accompanied by a
high appetite for risk
PEOPLE
Invested leadership,
dedicated teams,
and a willingness to
collaborate with
external partners
PROCESSES
Clear governance
structure that
enables speed
and agility in-
market
CONTENT
The integration
of paid, owned,
and earned
media

7. Creating Valuable Content 6© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
2. How can brand and consumer insights be
levers to unlock a better content strategy?
Your brand promise and a deep, nuanced understanding of consumer needs and behaviors are
levers to help you plan for and design more valuable content. They both need to be applied
across every piece of content, whether it’s an article, a product manual, a video, etc. Applying
both levers authentically will help you find the right topic, message and format as well as the
balance between brand and product. Prioritizing one over the other won’t work.
BRAND
PROMISE
CONSUMER
INSIGHTS
SHARED INTEREST TO INFORM
VALUABLE CONTENT
Key promise, updated
and refined to maintain
consumer relevancy
Market / consumer
sensing that informs what
and how you deliver value

8. Creating Valuable Content 7© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
3. How can content be a value exchange?
Content is not something to be blasted out or just delivered at the right time and place. At Prophet,
we think of content as currency that has value to the brand and customer. Think about what
(e.g., information, entertainment, utility) you are providing to the customer and what she or he is
providing you (e.g., awareness of a solution, consideration for shortlist, loyalty to the brand, data
that can help personalize, etc.). Content can be a valuable platform for reciprocal interaction.
What is the brand providing? What is the customer providing in return?
Information
Entertainment
Utility
BRANDS
CAN OFFER
Data
Insights
Conversion
Loyalty
Engagement
Referral
Feedback
Participation
Capabilities
Building
CUSTOMERS
CAN OFFER
IN
EXCHANGE
FOR

9. Creating Valuable Content 8© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
4. How can content create value
throughout the journey?
Many marketers default their expectations on content to help at the top of the funnel, building inspiration,
awareness or purchase consideration. The truth is that content can—and should—build value
throughout the entire customer journey. There might be an approach, for example, that provides a
checklist to drive a shopper to commerce channels, an info-graphic comparing leading models, a digital
magazine to earn sign-ups to a CRM database, and an interactive demo to help a new owner to get more
from their new product.
DISCOVERY PURCHASE USESELECTION REPURCHASE
Boost brand
awareness
Drive customers
to commerce
channels
Create
purchase
consideration
Increase
likelihood to join
CRM database
Gain user insight
through engagement
platforms
Increase customer
base through advocacy
Drive cross-sell
consideration for
repeat purchase

10. 5. Where does—and should—content live in
the organization?
Many people quickly bring up technology or platforms in an execution conversation, but process and people
should also shape those decisions. Content is usually created in disparate departments–from marketing and sales
to web and product divisions to customer service and human resources. This can result in fragmentation,
inconsistent voice, and efficiencies. Altimeter, a Prophet company, has identified the following enterprise models
for governing the orchestration of content within organizations to ensure that content is created in harmony:
Editorial Board / Content Council
Content creators and/or marketing executives who meet frequently to align content
Content Lead
Leads content initiatives editorially and/or strategically without departmental authority
Executive Steering Committee
Cross-functional strategic group
Cross-Functional Content Chief
Senior executive with cross department authority
Content center of excellence
Consortium of experts who provide leadership and best practices
Content Department / Division
In-house or agency group that creates a high volume of content
Creating Valuable Content 9Prophet Brand Strategy
Source: Altimeter, a Prophet Company

11. Identifying content needs
— where to start

12. Creating Valuable Content 11© 2016 Prophet Brand Strategy
For many companies, knowing where to begin can be the greatest
challenge. If you are looking to build a better content strategy
that will engage your customers, here’s where to start:
Sources: Culture of Content, by Altimeter, a Prophet Company; Organizing for Content, by Altimeter, a Prophet
Company; Marketing Still Struggling to Get Results from Content Marketing, by AdAge
Your Challenges Where to Start
STRATEGY
No Central Strategy
Lack of content that is strategic for the enterprise.
What is created overlaps needs, isn’t aligned to a
unified story, and can seem fragmented to the
customer.
Design a robust content strategy and marketing
approach, translating your brand promise and
consumer insights. It should map to your business
strategy.
PLANNING
The Right Content
You don’t believe (or know) if you have content
that can motivate and engage customers.
Create customer need profiles and conduct a
content performance assessment. Follow up with
a topic and channel strategy that creates value
throughout the journey.
Volume
Concern you are producing too much content
— or not enough.
New Channel Paralysis
Pressure by new channels; unsure what to publish
where, or if to invest in a new channel.
GOVERNANCE
Cross-Silo Logistics
Using legacy models internally to identify, develop
and govern content. Conduct a content capabilities and governance
assessment that results in an enterprise model for
content. Make it actionable with resource
planning, training, the right tool stack, a playbook
and a pilot program.
Inefficient Investment
Spending too much money creating and not enough
on the content you really need.
Inability to Measure
You don’t think your content is good enough, or don’t
know how it’s performing.

13. Educate
/Inspire
• Executive
Workshops
• Speeches/
Webinars
• Trend Watch
Assess
• Audit &
Readiness
• Targeted
Assessment
• Opportunity
Analysis
• Customer
Need Profiles
• Making the
Case
Plan
• Strategy and
Mission
Setting
• Identification
of Moves
and Methods
• Content
Topics
• Roadmap
• Channel
Charters
• Resource
Planning
Support
• Playbooks
• Governance
• Engagement
& Learning
• Metrics
• Technology
Selection
Execute
• Envision and
Prototype
• Pilot and
Rollout
• Agency
Briefs
PROPHET
AND
ALTIMETER
TOOL KIT
Prophet’s content strategy toolkit is designed
around client needs:

14. Chan Suh
Senior Partner,
Chief Digital Officer
csuh@prophet.com
@chansuh
For more information about content strategy at Prophet, please contact:
www.prophet.com
Mat Zucker
Partner,
Digital
mzucker@prophet.com
@matzucker