Developing brand equity before it is needed

Advertising and shouting messages to the masses has become a Boiling frog.

Ad volume has crept into prime-time television until there’s just 25 mins of show in an hour of TV. 90% is traditional push advertising: discounts, bad mouthing competitors, competing on size, speed, strength or price. All with a backup band singing, me, me, me, me, us, us, us.

It’s the same on-line with our banner blindness and tiring of Facebook promotions. “Like us for a discount”, “Tweet and win a year’s supply…”.

The advance is persistent, we didn’t notice it sneaking up on us, but it has a cure.

Content marketing addresses clients’ needs and develops the bond, before the sale

Content marketers have a great opportunity here. We can see the frog boiling and we can put the focus back on customers. Good companies already realise that transparency and storytelling with content marketing will outperform. They’re setting up their war rooms. Building content marketing teams that can not only delight with a campaign, but consistently gain attention for ongoing engagement.

For those with the power of a formidable brand conveyed through storytelling in content marketing, the terms of engagement are flipped.

So say “I hear you” to your customers and address their issues.

• Be the brand they already turn to before they’re thirsty – redbull.com

• Be their cooking muse – ourkitchen.fisherpaykel.com

• Be their motivation

But don’t be ordinary, fighting for their attention with something everyone else is doing.