While many areas of advertising, public relations, and marketing were suffering from budget casualties in 2009, there was a bright spot last year that seems to be carrying through into the new decade, and that is custom publishing.
According to the Custom Publishing Council (CPC), “Custom publishing marries the marketing ambitions of a company with the information needs of its target audience. This occurs through the delivery of editorial content — via print, Internet, and other media — so intrinsically valuable that it moves the recipient’s behavior in a desired direction.”
A study conducted by the CPC found that in 2009, marketers spent more money on custom publishing than they had ever before. According to the CPC website, the organization teamed with a newsletter called ContentWise to conduct the report. They found that companies they interviewed spent $1.8 million on custom branded materials. Of that budget, 51 percent was spent on print publications, 27 percent on Internet media, and 22 percent on audio and video materials. The $1.8 million was double (yes, double) what was spent in 2008 and the most ever since the companies combined to produce their report in 2003.
Why custom publishing?
Custom publishing, whether done internally by a company’s marketing department or externally by an advertising agency, public relations firm, or custom publisher, effectively reaches a dedicated audience with key messages. This can be done with business-to-business or business-to-consumer audiences, and tailored to their interests. The branded content is proven to be effective in getting audiences to take action steps toward a desired goal. One of these steps is teaching current customers. Educating customers continues to be one of the most popular reasons for conducting custom branded messages with key audiences, because it gives a dedicated medium to disperse the content versus going through a third party. Essentially, you get to tell your story, in your voice, with compelling copy, pictures, and illustrations.
Communicating with key audiences
Your key audience may be existing customers who want to know the latest about your product lineup, new additions, or customer testimonials. Perhaps you’re trying to win new business with messages that will convince prospects to call your distributors or dealers for a demonstration or price quote. Or sometimes it’s just an enthusiast who loves your product, and while they may not buy your product, can influence others to do so with their endorsement.
What’s your passion?
If you’re an enthusiast or have a passion about a particular product or service, contact the manufacturer via their website to find out what custom branded materials are available. Most companies offer some kind of magazine, newsletter (electronic or hard copy), video presentations, podcasts, etc., with their branded content for your benefit.
If you’re interested in more information about custom publishing, visit one of these websites:
• Custom Publishing Council
• WorkSaver® magazine (blatant plug for the magazine that I work on)
• Wikipedia entry: custom media
Source: Custom Publishing Council website.
There is no disputing the fact that Web 2.0 provides a huge opportunity for marketers. Sharing content has never been easier than it is right now. As clients are recognizing the potential opportunities, it’s becoming increasingly common for them to want to jump on the viral video bandwagon. In a B2C viral video world, one could argue that the more exposure, the better. In a B2B world however, the old adage of quality versus quantity still applies.
