The concept of “brands as media companies” is not new. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that if you’re not acting like a media company already, then you might be one step behind your competitors.
It’s now not enough for brands to have simply shifted mindsets to a media model — we’re charging straight ahead into the era of identity. Much like identity is what separates people as individuals, brand identity is composed of all the elements and content that an organisation creates to connect with its audience and shape perception; it’s the secret sauce that sets brands apart. And video is a major part of making this a reality.
Before we dig into identity and what this means for Aussie brands, we should backtrack to see how we got here.
There's something about media
Over the last few years, approaches to marketing, and especially content strategy, have been completely turned on their heads. With the rise of customer-centricity, direct-to-consumer, and one-to-one marketing strategies, audiences have never been more savvy and “B.S. detectors” have never been more clued-in.
Media consumption habits have changed and branded content is now a must. It’s not enough to run a television ad campaign to promote products or solutions. To gain cut-through and engage audiences, brands have become publishers and storytellers in their own right.
As a result, we’re learning that thinking like a media company doesn’t have to be scary. Marketing, content, and advertising are all parts of a brand strategy. And while success metrics may be different to typical campaigns, there are so many content opportunities out there to engage, inspire, educate and connect. We’re all coming to the understanding that it’s about playing the long game.
As brands are becoming more like publishers, they are also becoming increasingly humanised. This is not a new concept anymore, but the execution has changed dramatically over time and is improving the way brands are interacting with their audience.
Building brand identity
Thinking and acting like a media company means brands are developing content that feeds into an organisation’s identity, and are creating opportunities to cater to a “demographic of one”. Branded content is about connecting with customers on a highly personalised level and meeting them where they are. We’ve never had a better understanding of consumers, what they want, and what their habits are. This is translating into an ability to build brands around how we identify with our key audiences.
Companies are already well-equipped with key identity assets to do just this. We have troves of content and data to use to our advantage and help shape an identity. Branded content, and specifically, video, are the building blocks of selling and broadcasting a brand’s point of view. The media world’s pivot to video has been huge for this (as has the shift to multi-screen consumption habits), and we’ve subsequently seen outsized success in video content strategies. Think of brands like Red Bull, establishing itself as the place for adventure sports or Xero, the place for small businesses.
Today’s brands already have the ability to capture an audience and build a culture that resonates around it — the ingredients are there. It’s critical we make something out of them.
Identifying with identity
The brands that will succeed in the years to come are those that are able to take learnings from the media model and reinvent themselves to create a clear brand identity. These brands are the ones who will use their content funnels to completely ‘get’ their customers and build an identity that aligns with this understanding. Video is hugely important here, allowing you to truly connect with your audience that establishes your identity. It’s what allowed Xero and Red Bull to establish cult followings with their respective audiences. And all this doesn’t have to be hard. It’s just about shifting your content strategy to make the content you already have, work harder for you.
Identity will surely be the competitive advantage that separates relevant brands from those that will fade away as our increasingly consumer-driven economy takes shape.
Brightcove video marketing specialist Hamish Brown