Here’s what you missed while contemplating whether an American flag tank top is kosher office attire on Summer Fridays. (Answer: It is.)
With the media and marketing worlds easing into their annual late-summer hibernation, there were fewer case studies in awesome content marketing this past month than usual. But eight brands fought through the summer slump to create something awesome. Read it.
Natalie Burg plunges into the big existential questions surrounding Red Bull—an energy drink company that’s looking more and more like a media powerhouse every day:
Who is Red Bull, really?
Among the existential questions that plague humanity, maybe this one is not as high on philosophers’ radar. But for those interested in the state and future of branded content, it’s one worth asking.
First, they were a company known for making hyper-caffeinated drinks; then, they were an energy drink company that was surprisingly content-savvy. Now, they’re beginning to firmly look like media company that happens to sell an energy drink, as The Content Strategist’s James O’Brien foretold 18 months ago.
Perhaps nothing helps shape the answer to the question of who Red Bull is right now more than the release of a new app, RedBull.com, and the update of another, Red Bull TV, which seem to showcase the company’s identity—as it stands today, anyhow. Read it.
What do barbecues and owned media have in common? Find out. Read it.
This summer, Subway scored a content marketing hit by pairing six YouTube-star sisters with an innovative distribution strategy, Susan Kuchinskas reports:
Great content marketing is like an excellent sandwich: a mix of ingredients that pleases the palate while also delivering substance. Subway’s “Summer with Cimorelli” web series does just that by layering owned and earned media over a solid content marketing and distribution strategy that’s pleasing fans and keeping them coming back for more. Read it.
Can a brand succeed in hijacking the news through viral content? Planned Parenthood’s recent success indicates that the answer is yes.
On June 30, the Supreme Court voted on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, deciding that closely held corporations aren’t required to cover their employees’ birth control costs under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Women in favor of birth control (a lot of us, it turns out) were outraged that some employers could deny birth control coverage due to religious beliefs.
So was Planned Parenthood, and they went on the attack. But they weren’t just armed with a press release. Instead, they released an armory of powerful content across social media, their owned media sites, and publisher sites. Read it.
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Tambako
