Drink Brands’ Big Content, Reuters and Newscred, Wired’s New Editor

The Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

The Big Three of Content: Coke, Red Bull, and Pepsi
Content Marketing Institute’s Mark Sherbin writes about the content marketing strategies of three drink brands, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and Pepsi. He discusses Coke’s new website, Coca-Cola Journey, and says that with it, the company “has laid the framework for a successful brand-centric online publication.”

Sherbin highlights Pepsi Pulse, which was released earlier this year and posts user-generated comments, tweets, and overall content. He says that while the content on the website is great, it needs more calls-to-action.

As for Red Bull, he says that pretty much everything works about its content strategy, and that it produces highly sharable content. His only critique is that the brand should create content that encourages people to visit its website.

Reuters and Newscred Creating Entertainment Content
As reported by Adweek, Reuters and NewsCred are teaming up and introducing Red Carpet Ready, “a package of special coverage … that includes exclusive editorial content around shows like the Oscars, the Grammys and the Golden Globes.”

Some of the featured talent are Leonard Maltin, film critic, and Barbara Fairchild, former editor of Bon Appétit. In a statement, Steven Schwartz of Reuters said, “Working with NewsCred has enabled us to develop a package that serves the evolving needs of digital newsrooms, enabling online publishers to quickly deploy dynamic content for their audiences, and secure sponsorship and advertising opportunities that might otherwise be unattainable.”

Wired Finds a New Editor
The New York Times reports that Scott Dadich, who was creative director at Wired, is now going to step up as its next editor in chief. The announcement comes after Chris Anderson said he would be resigning earlier this month to work on producing drones.

Of his new position, Dadich said, “I look forward to finding new opportunities to delight and surprise the Wired community, both with the stories we tell and in the ways that we tell them.”

Dark Branded Content from Down Under
Australian Metro, in an effort to prevent accidents on trains, created and released “Dumb Ways to Die,” a song and animated movie, according to the Huffington Post.

The video, uploaded on November 14, already has over 4 million hits on YouTube. Some of the dumbest ways to die include “using your private parts as piranha bait,” and “taking your helmet off in outer space.”

Getting Comments on Social Media
Business 2 Community’s Patrick Murphy explains how content marketers can encourage people to comment on their posts on social media.

Posts that shock and awe, or provoke a visceral reaction, will promote commenting and sharing. Being funny and pushing an agenda are also going to get people revved up about content. Content that is emotional will encourage people to share and jump on a bandwagon as well.

“You just need to post something that gets a reaction,” says Murphy. “The comments will do the rest.”

Online Video Ads in 2012
According to marketing research firm FreeWheel and ClickZ, viewership of online videos with ads has increased 17 percent year-over-year.

“online videos that are 20 minutes or longer carry an average of seven ads,” ClickZ reports. “FreeWheel says that viewers of those long-form videos watch whole ads at a 93 percent clip.”

The study also found that “1.3 billion consumers view video on their smartphone, game console, or other portable device” and that more than 60 percent of videos not viewed on computers were watched on Apple devices.

YouTube Thinning Out Programming
According to Mashable, YouTube is planning to cut the funding for nearly 70 percent of its premium content channels.

The program, which cost $100 million to produce 100 channels, was set up to compete with television. Daily Dot predicts that some channels, like Shaq Comedy (number 84 on the YouTube Original Channel Tracker,) Team USA (the Olympics channel, number 58), and Smart Girls at the Party (starring Amy Poehler number 99), are likely to be cut.