Questioning the Role of Content in Shifting Brand Perceptions

Being a judge for this year’s World Media Awards for international, content-driven advertising, has got me thinking about the golden rules of effective content. One of these is to make sure that content hooks around what a brand is known for. Consumers tend to gravitate towards brands that stand for things they are passionate about – hence, if you want consumers to keep coming back for more, it makes sense to deliver content that feeds their passion.  

However, there is an important exception to this rule. In fact, for any brand in the midst of repositioning, or reaching out to a new audience, content is the ideal channel for surprising consumers and educating them about your new purpose and thinking. 

Firstly, content-led advertising simply offers more space than most other digital channels for telling a much bigger brand story. The tone of voice used for the storytelling, whom you use to tell the brand story, plus the potential halo effect that comes from the chosen content media partner, all elevate brand messaging and provide a powerful platform for changing the way consumers think about you. 

As powerful as advertising is, its limited space doesn’t lend itself to the explanation of complicated new propositions or multi-layered stories in the way that content does. For example, working with complex finance brand, Credit Suisse, with its multitude of services, we have found content the ideal communication platform for its audience. By stitching together client success stories with insights from the bank’s prestigious research institute it has been possible to significantly extend customers’ understanding of the organisation’s expertise and capabilities. 

Plus, content can help tell stories for brands with lower awareness. Its benefits lie in its ability to capture people’s interest first through the story it is telling with the brand then adding value. For instance, with men’s luxury ecommerce brand Mr Porter, where content is embedded in their business model, every product is part of a story. People ‘buy’ the stories first and subsequently the products. This is a huge benefit for lesser known small to medium sized businesses who want to tell a new story. Especially when partnering with a media company which will often create the content for them. 

So what are the essential elements for using content when repositioning? After ensuring that your content campaign is measurable and affordable, the single most important factor is deciding who will tell the story. Should it be a brand ambassador? The CEO? Who you choose will depend on how big your brand shift is and what audience you are talking to. It may be someone very different to your usual spokesperson but the key thing is to ensure they are authentic, credible and have a genuine connection with your brand and its purpose. 

Secondly, think carefully about what channels will be the best route(s) for you. People often assume that content campaigns are all about online, but think about what best suits your own story and who is telling it. For instance, you might find that podcasts offer the best way to engage your audience and offer them a really in-depth, personal view of what’s changing in your business and why. Then ensure that your content has a long tail, so that if people want to delve into the ‘new you’, there is sufficient volume and gravity to keep them engaged. 

Then, whatever channels you decide on, your strategy needs to be implemented through baby steps that lead to a long term goal, rather than trying to achieve a massive pendulum swing in people’s brand perceptions in one go. So have a five year goal of how you want your brand to be perceived, but also have a clear view on how you want it to shift each year till you get there. 

Also, be realistic about how big you want the change to be. An interesting example here is the banking industry where many brands, post-crash, have been using content to successfully shift perception away from their pre-crash messaging around heritage and how much money they will make for you. Instead, they are talking about compliance, transparency and how they will keep your money safe for the next generation. This is not a wholesale change of position as it’s still about your money after all – but the stories they are telling now are all the more believable as a result. 

Finally, ensure that you have the resource to ensure your content stream is constantly fed. Great content can be time consuming to create, especially when you have the big task of shifting brand perceptions. However, do it well and, like when telling any great story, you will keep people coming back for more.