PANA GMM bares content marketing importance
The fourth Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) general membership meeting (GMM) welcomed PANA’s newest members – Ardent World Inc., Face and Body Rejuvenation Center Inc., Beauty Profile Corp. and AB Heineken Phils. Inc. – and announced the extension of deadline for entries to the Panata Awards 2018.
Held at Johnny B. Good in Makati, a talk on brand entertainment highlighted the gathering, led by guest speaker Paolo Mercado, SVP-director for communications, marketing and innovation of Nestle Philippines Inc.
“In old school advertising, you don’t forget the branding, the hook (tagline) and the sell,” began Mercado, who appeared as a takatak boy wearing eyeglasses in the ‘70s Chiclet TVC, which he also cheerfully shared at the PANA GMM.
“But in 2018, information is not enough; you have to hit the emotion.” He warned that people don’t care about plain ads anymore, they prefer amazing content or stories. And if a story is too nice, it becomes boring. Today, it needs to transform into a bit unexpected.
Mercado then discussed Strategic Content, a topic close to the heart of every advertiser.
Sponsored content is when brands visibly and consistently sponsor independently produced content to build brand equity and audience affinity. In fact, the term “soap opera” was coined from Ivory Soap’s effective advertising on radio opera in the 1930s.
Branded content is when brands produce content to build its own equity or benefit story. In the early 2000s, BMW didn’t have new models to launch, unlike its competitors in the high-end automotive industry. Thinking of ways to improve its sales and redefine the brand, BMW hired the best Hollywood directors to create short films showing its cars’ features. There was no YouTube at the time, but the successful series reached 13 million views and, of course, increased BMW’s sales by 13 percent. Cannes even created a new category for it.
Meanwhile, social content is when brands listen to social media conversations and create content around the conversation drivers.
The most effective content usage, according to Mercado, is through content marketing, wherein the content itself becomes a value that the brand delivers. He uses the Michelin brand as a perfect example – from being a tire company that has evolved into an acknowledged award-giving body. Through the Michelin Stars, the company has been a leader of global content marketing for more than a century now.
Brands should offer real value and not push branding, says Mercado. Lastly, they should be “strategic, amazing, meaningful, lasting and valuable.”