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Content is King - Epi 18 · WOI Unfiltered

• speaker-0: Alright, I just hit record. speaker-1: Wait a second, wait a second, let me grab coffee. How's going? speaker-0: Happy Friday! speaker-1: Such good news, Mother's Day weekend. speaker-0: Although I don't know about you, but around here Mother's Day is like, I think our town forgets that it exists. I have like four different sports activities that day. speaker-1: Yeah, I have two. I have two, but one's baseball, so that counts as three. speaker-0: Yay, moms, go watch sports. I went to a cool conference this week. I shouldn't call it a conference. It was a luncheon. It was about a couple of different topics, finances, working motherhood, a bunch of different stuff. The chief of staff for one of our politicians was there, which was kind of a cool thing because she was both participating and also listening and learning. Several other business leaders in and around Boston were there. So was a cool conversation. One of the things that came up because it comes up in every conversation in the last 18 months is return to work and how that's impacting females. You know, the labor numbers are showing. You saw another like two-ish percent drop off of women in the workforce around our age. ⁓ You saw another, I think it was like 5 % of men going back to work like fully versus, you know, the hybrid approach. So it's definitely happening. I mean, we've seen big companies doing it. speaker-1: Yeah, it's so difficult to be one size fits all. I have a very good friend I saw last night who's the nature of her position is going to require more work from home days. And she is actually not excited about that because she can be so focused in the workplace. She can make those relationships with her colleagues. She can get an answer by having a hallway conversation. Culture is better that way. We know this. because we've been there too, Jenna. So yeah, think it's a really, it's a difficult thing to be one size that works for all. speaker-0: It's so tricky. mean, I look at like my house, my husband goes in five days a week. I don't actually think he's mandated to. I don't know what his policy is right now, but I know there's a little bit of flex and he prefers it. And quite honestly, I prefer it. It's just, it's easier. It works better for our family dynamic. So everybody has their own thing and it is just interesting to continue watching how it impacts the workforce. Moving on from that, there was actually some sad news in our industry this week. Ted Turner. speaker-1: Yeah speaker-0: He founded CNN. He was a pioneer in the space. He passed away at 87, which that's a blood R industry for sure. speaker-1: I know. It's honestly crazy. So I was, you know, reading up on this. We got all the push notifications this week and whatnot. But I also found it a little bit interesting that he seemed to be quote unquote scandal free as far as everyone knows. I feel like these days it's so, you know, it's so common to see, ⁓ actually there was this thing. But it was more about him being a strong personality and maybe rocking the boat real time and some of the things that he would say, how politically left leaning he was and very outspoken in those ways, ⁓ which frankly now in the social media is king kind of world is what we are completely used to all across the board. But it was pretty neat to see how philanthropic he was towards the end of his life as well. ⁓ But just how much of a pioneer he was with the first 24 hour cable news network in CNN. where people sort of thought, you're crazy to do this model. He didn't know much about the news model either and ended up making this groundbreaking innovation in cable news that became the standard that everybody got in on and copied. speaker-0: and we didn't even say this, feel like we'd be remiss to not say, beyond CNN, ⁓ he created what became TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies. ⁓ He gave $1 billion to support United Nations. There's so much more that we could list off, but I do think it's, he was kind of king of the industry for a while. ⁓ speaker-1: And I think one final point I want to make pivoting into the content of this pod is like, he was a change maker. He identified that evening news that started at 6.30 wasn't necessarily a day apart people could make as the workday was expanding, as people were in different industries that demanded different hours. So therefore, there actually was a reason for 24-hour news. with a shift in behavior change and the media landscape. And hence, this ultra-popular format where, you can turn on CNN at any time and get the news you need for the day or the night or the afternoon because it's there on a constant engine and cycle. So really, really cool when you think about the accomplishment and the bet that was taken to drive the model. speaker-0: I do. mean, we talked about this so much on this pod about the things that are winning are going to follow consumer behaviors or take kernels from where consumer behaviors are going and kind of push consumers more heavily in that area. ⁓ As you were talking about that, what was going in my mind was like, that's Alexa has become my CNN. I used to love watching the morning news and I was a big fan of the Today Show and then I would try and switch it up and hit GMA once in a while. That was always on when I was getting ready. It's not possible anymore with kids at the ages they're at and it's just too much chaos. Typically after I drop them off and I'm doing like a quick cleanup before starting a call or if I don't have like a first thing call. I will or making coffee or something, I'll be like, Alexa, tell me my briefing. It'll go through like those top hits from, you know, the different news outlets that I've programmed it to do. And it is not always on 24 seven. So it's just like a constant refresh of what's happening, but that's consumer behavior changing, right? And habits changing. speaker-1: is NPR up first and it's so that I can listen and do and that's the phase I am. speaker-0: Yeah, it has to be. So that's kind of funny that we're talking all of this because it leads us into you and I, think it was Wednesday, we were chatting about what this next podcast would look like and about just what we were seeing out there in the ether. And one of the things that had popped up was this video from Adidas, very massive sponsor of the world cup, over a hundred million. I want to say maybe 150 million or something. Like they're one of their key sponsors. forget what it's called, but. They came out with, I'm going to call it a movie. I forget exactly what it's called. It's five minutes. and it stars Timothy Chalamet. And I'm so I had relatively low expectations being in the industry, right? And we've done a million of these different videos that are supposed to feel so cool. And I had low expectations and I watched it and I was like, I want more. Where's the rest of it? Like keep going. speaker-1: He's everywhere. speaker-0: I was and I no attention span typically quick and easy and I'm done and this was it was so great It was it was not a use of celebrity for celebrity sake. I will just say that it was The best use possible of celebrity because they used him as an actor not as a brand spokesperson if that makes sense Yeah, it made me want to watch more of this and speaker-1: Well, in a more genuine way, in like a timidly, right? Yeah. Well, I only watch the teaser so we can balance each other out. But obviously it gave people what they want who are football stars or soccer, you know, ⁓ fans. I mean, it was just rife with athletes from current to past. speaker-0: The funny thing is, okay, so the way this little movie plays out is Timothy Chalamet is the quote unquote star of it, but he's in a city of some sort. He's doing 85 things in the beginning and he hops into a car and he's chatting with two people and a third person comes in and he's telling this story about like this legend of these insane soccer players. These three kids that are insane soccer players and he's like, as they're driving, he's building up the story. And he's talking about they started at kids and they beat other kids at soccer and then they beat people who are older than them. And then, you know, more people came and challenged them. And then the professionals came in and they showed Beckham and like, they're building all of this up and you're watching it and it's a bunch of professional athletes that are, you know, interspersed in there. And then they end up getting to the court and there's more professional athletes and stuff. Again, it's done in a way where you're not distracted by those professional athletes. They're just part of the story. And quite honestly, if you don't actually know who's who, it doesn't matter. It's still just a cool story the way it's told. speaker-1: Well, I think the cute thing that ties to the teaser is at the end, they're like, and three kids you don't know. And they end up being the focal point in the content. And what did you say, Jenna? It's a five minute clip, so it's super easily digestible. speaker-0: Yeah, I loved it. think you and I have been talking a bunch about seeing more brands lead with content and we've spent years creating content for brands and working with agent ad agencies and PR agencies. And we all kind of offer those services and the idea of storytelling and the narrative for brands is ever present for big brands. But what I think is really cool is you're seeing even more of a shift now where Instead of your storytelling having to center around the product, you're just creating something that people are captivated about. it is, your brand is there in this example we're talking about, Adidas soccer ball, Adidas hat, like Adidas apparel is everywhere, but it's so subtle that it's just, it's in the background. It is not the story that is being told. And I think, you know, Old school way would have been like, that's not present enough. Why is a brand paying X hundreds of thousands of dollars or million dollars to create this? It's not worth it. And the new model that we're seeing come out is about creating these communities. We talked about that before, right? Like creating these communities that people want to be involved in and that can be events. and physical places for people to go, but it can also be content communities where you want to follow these stories and engage and you don't feel like you're being sold on anything. You just feel like you're part of whatever's happening there. speaker-1: Well, and then at the same time, you're incepted, Leo DiCaprio style from the movie, it is equals soccer, Adidas equals football. It just, it works and you're entertained and engaged. I have one actually from just naturally tripped upon was, ⁓ it was the same idea, Jenna. It was a TikTok that had a crazy amount of views and engagement for a little Greek yogurt stand in Mexico City. ⁓ and, and we felt like we had to go because we were staying in the same neighborhood and whatnot. The family that we were visiting knew all about it because of that same piece of content. So that's me in the States, us in the States and them in Mexico city. frankly, the line was long. I mean, it was 20 minutes, but honestly in Mexico city, it's a standout. You look at something like that and you think, Hey, what's that over there? It's. But it was this beautiful piece of TikTok content, super authentic. The line itself was an experience that you felt like not daunted by. And then at the end, you get this lovely treat. Simple and effective. speaker-0: Talked about hospitality a little bit before on here. Obviously the hospitality industry is, Anna pointed this out when she was on, you're offering a physical thing in one location for the most part, whether that is the hotel offering, you know, the room or it's the restaurant offering the food. That's what you have to work with. And that can feel limiting. I think as. as you're looking at that industry and seeing people take different approaches and find ways to catch attention. And again, not just sell the product, but get people so that they want to be part of the community. Like you went and stood in the line for 20 minutes. You could have gotten yogurt anywhere. speaker-1: want to be part of the experience. speaker-0: That's what I mean. Like, I'm sure it was good. Was it hands down so much better than everywhere else? Probably not. But it was an experience. speaker-1: Ask me how many times we went there in five days. speaker-0: ⁓ god, how many times? speaker-1: I love it. And one other time we're like, we don't want to deal with the wine. speaker-0: I love it so much. ⁓ my goodness. The other fun thing we're seeing, it's kind of similar to the Timothée Chalamet and Adidas piece, but these little micro dramas that brands are creating. I read about one, I did not watch the content for built, ⁓ but I watched the content for Crocs. And I literally found myself being like, I want to buy Crocs right now. So the Crocs one was interesting. Going back to my attention span, I candidly, it was a two minute micro drama and I could have been done at one minute. ⁓ But it was really cute. The moral of the story was I did watch it and I was like, those are really cute. I could pull those off or I'm gonna go get those for my kid. I think it's just, it's brands like that. There's more and more brands creating this content that kind of pulls you in. and makes you a fan of their story. speaker-1: It's the emotional aspect. Product placement versus product storytelling, ⁓ it's more genuine and creates a relationship with the viewer, right? It's kind of that simple. speaker-0: Now, the one thing I will say, and I'm not speaking to any of these specific brands, but think the thing that needs to be thought about from our lens and from the marketing lens when you look at brands who are deciding to do this is it can't be a one and done, and it can't be like a ⁓ two or three episode series, and then you never do it again. And you do see brands do that sometimes. And what you've effectively done is the same as like paying for a boatload of followers on one of your social channels. You've acquired people, you've pulled them in, and now they want to see what's next. And if there is truly nothing next, then it almost does worse for your brand than better, right? Because you have this expectation you've set. ⁓ So I think it is something that needs to be like a wholesale shift in marketing and comms and how you're approaching your customer and working with them and inviting them in. It can't just be like a quote unquote campaign. because people have an expectation and they want more. speaker-1: Yeah, one, think that's the beauty of something that's reskinnable like a micro drama as well. can be efficient, efficient with time, efficient with cost to a certain extent. mean, you can get really real with that kind of content too. doesn't need to be overly produced to be entertaining. speaker-0: Yeah, I agree. So, all right. That was our fun little look at content. I am really curious to see what else Adidas puts out for the World Cup coming up. speaker-1: There's going to be more given we are still more than a month away. speaker-0: I'm also really curious to see what other brands do around the World Cup. We have a sports client and we're constantly talking about what's happening in the sports world. Obviously, the World Cup is huge. You have a bunch of All-Star games coming up in the summer. So it'll be really fun to see what's kind of spinning out of that. speaker-1: At Jenna, I'm going to ask what has been your impact for this lovely government? speaker-0: Oh, okay. So I'm going to go back to the luncheon. Actually, I have two this week. Love it. I'm going to go back to the luncheon because A, it is something I have challenged myself to do more of this year with just getting out there, exposing myself to more people, more conversations like that, exposing WOY to more of that. And it was really nice. was great to meet other professionals who are in kind of a similar space. ⁓ The other one in the same day, because I was already in Boston, I went and met with one of our clients who was there for a conference. And it was just a really wonderful conversation. And it just reminded me of how much we truly love working with this client ⁓ and kind of how aligned we are on purpose. So it was refreshing. It was a great little Wednesday afternoon. speaker-1: Jenna, I was envious of that one too, because it is someone I have spoken to on the phone and just you can tell the ⁓ passion that this human brings to everything he touches basically in personal, in the personal world, but also in his professional world. speaker-0: All right, well, I know we're at Friday afternoon now, so your day is probably almost over. Have a wonderful weekend. speaker-1: See you Jenna! Bye everyone.