Another Friday is upon us, and we’re still clicking through to uncover the latest innovations and trends impacting B2B marketers of every stripe. There’s no shortage of creativity in our industry and here’s a small sample of some of our favorite stories of the week that prove it!
- Get Snap happy: Grab some popcorn and pull up a chair, because Marriott is ushering in a new era of “commercial advertising.” Marriott International launched a four-episode Snapchat video series on March 30 with a 3-minute “snapisode” designed to engage a younger audience with its loyalty program. The series features a succession of social media influencers as they travel to Marriott properties around the world. It’s too soon to talk results, but we applaud the brand for making a bold move designed to get their content marketing seen and shared.
- Choose your own content adventure: Has a beloved TV show ever let you down with an ending that wasn’t what you wanted? (Yeah, I’m looking at you, “Sex and the City!”) Netflix could be putting you in the director’s chair to make sure it never happens again. Their new interactive storytelling technology will allow viewers to decide what happens next. And if you’re not happy with your choice, you can go back and make a different one for a whole new ending. The implications are staggering for innovative content marketers, as readers and viewers are empowered to shape the content in front of them in real time for a bananas level of personalization. Stay tuned for more on this exciting technology.
- An emotional connection to metrics?: We know that customers make decisions based on emotions and justify those decisions with facts. And most marketing focuses on giving them the facts they need to make those decisions sound as rational and perhaps even inevitable as possible. Here again, technology is promising to close the gap for marketers — this time by delivering ways to measure customers’ emotional responses to content. This piece from Nielsen gives us a glimpse into how that future may look.
- Creative license: Most of us have been guilty of hastily publishing content to meet an important deadline. In fact, many struggle to justify taking the extra time needed to brainstorm a truly creative and interesting content marketing asset. But there’s actual data that supports the business value of good creative. Post this infographic near your computer to remind yourself that “businesses that invest in creative are 85% more likely to be financially successful.” Yeah.
There are ways to keep pace with the demand for content without sacrificing quality and creativity. Check out “Satisfying B2B Buyers’ Growing Appetite for Content” to learn three important strategies for creating fresh content, fast.
Did we miss any brilliant creative innovations this week? Let us know in the comments section below!
