Optimizing Content Marketing

Via A Multi-Theoretical Perspective

Elizabeth Zhang
lzhang53@usfca.edu
BUS473 Thought Leadership
Prof. Mark Cannice

Executive Summary
With the increasing use of content marketing, it raised my interest in finding how
effectively the marketing tool has been used and exploring some possible
solutions that will take companies and brands to the next notch. In the following
space, the article first defines content marketing, and then briefly reviews the
historical as well as current use of content marketing. The next section, some
theories will be reviewed, then used as lenses to assist generating possible
solutions that will help businesses to do better in content marketing. Finally, the
article reveals some prominent benefits for adopting the proposed strategies.

Introduction

Definition of Content Marketing

Content marketing1 is now one of the most popular tools for companies to attract
consumers attention and enhance interactions with the online community. The
mention rate of the term in the marketing circle is so frequent that some might
have already gotten tired of it. However, according to Loredana Patrutiu Baltes 2,
content marketing is the fundamental tool of digital marketing, which is essential
in todays world. (Patrutiu Baltes, 2015) In a worldwide survey conducted by
MarketingSherpa on Methods brands use for attracting social media followers
(Figure 1) in 2015, 78% of the responses indicated that brands attracts social
media followers via creating useful contents. Although no universal definition has
been published, the Content Marketing Institution defines Content Marketing as
the marketing and Business Process for creating and distributing relevant and
valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and
understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer
action. (Content Marketing Institution, 2015)

1 What Is Content Marketing? in Content Marketing Institute. Available at:

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/.
2 Loredana Patrutiu Baltes , Content Marketing The Fundamental tool of
Digital Marketing
 Figure 13

History of Content Marketing

The very first piece of content marketing dates back to more than a hundred
years ago: In 1900, Michelin, a French tire manufacturer based in the Auvergne
region of France, was known as the pioneer of replaceable bicycle tires.
However, at the time, Michelin was just entering the automobile tire segment, and
had an urgent need of promoting the brand as well as increasing product
demand. With only 3,000 cars in France, Michelin initiated the first content
marketing strategy by issuing the first Michelin Guide 4 which serves the roles of
educating the audiences about desirable destinations and providing resources for
car owners on their journey in order to boost sales. 35,000 copies were handed

3 How do you attract customers to connect with your brands social

media account. Accessed on Statista
4 Astonishing Tales of Content Marketing: The Michelin Guide. Retrieved April
13, 2017. Available at https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-
solutions/blog/best-practices--content-marketing/2016/astonishing-tales-of-
content-marketing--the-michelin-guide
out at no charge, with the purpose of stimulating tire demands through
stimulating care demands by making road trips easier for car owners. Today, with
some adjustments made to adapt current trend and consumer needs, the
Michelin Guide is still in circulation. Content marketing allowed the Michelin not
only to increase product demand, but more importantly established its reputation
for reliable detailed information and reviews on restaurants.

Current Use of Content marketing

Dove has become an iconic brand that values beauty in different forms since the
Dove Campaign for Real Beauty5 launched in 2004. The campaign, cooperating
advertisements, videos, workshops, sleepover events, and a production of a play,
was launched by Unilever to redefine true meaning of beauty in peoples mind
and to raise awareness to health issues. Dove made full use of its owned
channel -- the website, as a platform to educate and engage with its target
customer. In the eyes of feminism activist, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty 6
is a successful example of corporate appropriation of purpose-driven content
marketing. (Johnson & Taylor, 2008)meow meow meow

The Problem:
Base on the statistics provided by PQ Media, we see the upwards trend in
content marketing revenue worldwide. PQ Media forecasted that by 2019, the
worlds expenditure on content marketing would reach 313.42 billion U.S. dollars,
exhibiting more than 70% within one decade. However, for all the brands and
companies that have invested in content marketing, have they all achieved their
objectives like Michelin and Dove? With no doubt, there are brands that invested
in content marketing, yet communicated the wrong message to their audiences,
leading to backlashes that eventually damaged the brand.

5 Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, 2008. Available at:

https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns.html

6
(Website (marketingmag.com.au). N.D. Content marketing revenue worldwide in
2009, 2014 and 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)

For instance, one of Audis campaigns launched at Super Bowl 2017 --# Drive
Progress7, serves as a perfect illustration. In the commercial, as the little girl
drives her go-kart and past the all male competition, some worrying thoughts has
raised from the her fathers mind, Do I tell her that despite her education, her
drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than
every man she ever meets?. (Audi, 2017) The original intention of the famous
German automaker was to emphasize their value of gender equality in the
workforce. Unfortunately, the message turned off more people than it inspired.
(Kauflin, 2017) And a professor at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of
Management, Julie Hennessy contributed Some of the negative reaction comes
from a perception a manufacturer and seller of the product trying to grab a social
issue and align with it for their own gain. (Hennessy, 2017)
Potential Solutions Through Different Theoretical Lenses

7 Kauflin, J. (2017, February 6). Why Audi's Super Bowl Ad Failed. Retrieved
March 18, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/02/06/why-
audis-super-bowl-ad-failed/#3a0729481786
Content marketing is a tool that is highly versatile depending on what the brand
or company wants to achieve as well as what resources they possess. There is
no existing universal strategy that works for all and ensures success. However, I
humbly propose that it will be beneficial for brands or companies to draw out their
options through the following 3 theoretical lenses: Game Theory, Resource
Based Theory, and Open Innovation.

Game Theory8

Game Theory is the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation

between intelligent rational decision-makers. In an article entitled Game Theory
in Economics and Beyond written by Larry Samuelson for The Journal of
Economics Perspectives, pointed out the 2 most successful Game Theory
applications are -- auctions and matching. And these applications allowed
efficient resources allocation. (Samuelson, 2016) In The Bargaining Problem
written by John F. Nash Jr. for the Econometrica, he introduced the two-person
bargaining situation in which the two individuals have the opportunity to obtain a
win-win situation in more than one way through collaboration. (Nash, 1950) As
the two parties might value the same asset differently, Nash used Game Theory
to explain how to maximize the benefits for both parities and reach equilibrium. In
application to the proposed problem, I suggest agencies to consider the following
options: 1. Identify unique company or brand assets; 2. Consider strategic
partnership.

In order to use the Game Theory to strike a good deal, the company or brand
needs to know what they can offer and what the other party in the game is
interested in. Hence, the first step to be made is identifying unique company or

8 Samuelson, L 2016, 'Game Theory in Economics and Beyond', Journal Of

Economic Perspectives, 30, 4, pp. 107-130, Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost.
brand assets that very few competitors possess in the same market by
conducting a brand audit. Some example of unique assets would be valuable
brand name and logo, exclusive supplies chain and distribution channels, or
access to consumer insights etc. The second step would be learning the other
partys assets and interests, which allows more informed negotiations that would
increase the possibility of gaining mutual benefits.

The second option is to consider strategic partnerships that would allow more
resources for the company or brand with less cost. There are times when utility
rates of the certain assets is low, then creating partnership and sharing resources
will cut down expenditure significantly. When a partner has access to a resources
that you dont have, partnership will open up more options for the company. For
instance, back in the 2000s, when Kellogg was facing a 6.1% drop in volume
sales while General Mills sales increased by 7.9%, they established partnership
with Disney and launched multiple promotional programs. Kellogg was able to
leverage Disneys popularity and brand loyalty to bring sales back. (AdAge,
2000)

Resource Based Theory

In article Resource-Based Theory: Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive

Advantage written for the Journal of Management, Jay Barney claimed that in
comparison to the S.W.O.T. analysis and the Porters Five Forces Model,
Resource-Based View is a more effective framework for explaining and well as
predicting the basis of a firms competitive advantage. In addition, Barney defined
sustainable competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating
strategy not simultaneously implemented by another current or potential
competitors. (Barney, 1991) In Resource-Based Theory in Marketing from
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the authors suggest that the VRIO
framework plays a crucial role in Resource Based Theory as the framework set
the conditions that determine if the resources have sustainable competitive
advantage. (Kozlenkova, Samaha, and Palmatier, 2013) Under the influences
from the theories mentioned above, I consider taking the following steps: 1.
Identify company or brands POD (Point of Difference); 2. Combining resources
to obtain sustainable competitive advantage.

First, the company needs to identify its point of difference and distinguishes itself
from other competitors in the market. This will allow the company a strong brand
positioning in the consumer's mind, which will in turn enable higher brand loyalty
and more profitability. When reviewing the brand resources, company should use
the VRIO framework which stand for Value, Rarity, Imperfect imitability, and
Organization, to determine if the resources will allow the company sustainable
competitive advantage.

Second, the company or brand should combine resources in order to obtain

sustainable competitive advantage. There are times when the competitors have a
similar asset or advantage, however, when a brand combines 2 resources they
have, it is less likely for other brands to imitate. Heritage branding, using the
history of the brand as an asset in building long term brand reputation by making
its past relevant to the current market and consumer, serves as an example in
this case. Brand heritage is a valuable resource that other competitor cannot
imitate, hence, a lot of British brands would take advantage of it when creating
content. An article in Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, entitled Social Media
and Luxury Brand Management: The Case of Burberry, Phan mentioned that
Burberry successively told the story of its heritage, establishing an emotional
bond between consumers and the brand. (Phan, 2011) The company is way
ahead of its competitor in terms of social media follower, and in 2011 2nd quarter
alone, it recording a 34% increase in revenue.

Open Innovation
In article Open Innovation: Where Weve been and Where Were Going by
Chesbrough defined Open Innovation as the use of purposive inflows and
outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation and expand the market
for external use of innovation. (Chesbrough, 2006) He also suggested that in the
future, innovation will take place in a more extensive, collaborative and engaging
environment, which I cannot agree with more. All the possibilities above are
made possible through the constant advancement of technology. With the Open
Innovation theory in mind, I propose the follow strategies: 1. Increase external
information inflow through strengthening online platform; 2. Allow content co-
creation with target customers.

In the digital age, companies and brands are highly recommended to increase
external information inflow by strengthening their online platform. In Marketing
1.0 World, communications were mostly one way -- from business to customer; in
Marketing 2.0 World, communications became 2 ways -- from business to
customer, and from customer to business; now living in Marketing 3.0 World,
theres almost unlimited type of communication paths. In addition to the 2
traditional types, communications could happen between 2 customers, it could
between 2 businesses, or even in a group that is mixed with customers and
businesses. Strengthening the online platforms such as social media platforms,
owned website, as well as third party platforms will open up more sources of
external information inflow.

Another way for companies to maximize information inflow is to allow content co-
creation with target customer through establishing stronger relationships and
ensuring interactions and engagements with customers. This strategy will provide
target customer a sense of brand ownership, hence establish brand loyalty.
During the summer of 2013, Coca Cola launched a brilliant campaign -- Share a
Coke, where customers can print their name or a quote on the bottle. The
campaign has gone viral in few days, and soon everyone is sharing their post on
social media. Within a short amount of time, there were 998 million impressions
on Twitter and more than 150 million personalized bottles sold.

Conclusion

There are many benefits that content marketing offers. Through the theoretical
lenses, we have discussed some strategies that will enhance the brands
experience when using content marketing, as well as maximizing the risks
encountered. After implementing the proposed options, the ultimate results we
expect to see are improved brand reputation through more accurate messaging,
establish tighter customer relationships by understand them better and providing
more meaningful and useful content, and lastly decrease marketing
communication cost by engaging target customers and allowing them to co-
create the content and massage.

However, brands and companies need to take into consideration of the

impending VUCA environment volatility, uncertainty, complexity
and ambiguity. The same strategy is not going to work for the ever-changing
marketing environment. And therefore, companies should also conduct brand
audits every 6 months to ensure the marketing efforts including channels and
messaging align with the customers value.

This white paper is just a start of the adventure in this topic. I would appreciate
your inputs and suggestions. If you would like further information on my
background as well as the paper, please contact me at lzhang53@usfca.edu.

Reference
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