A Marketing Strategy that is Gaining Popularity at Present

Question

Name one marketing strategy that is gaining popularity in the present, and give one example of a company that is presently flourishing from the use of such.

Answer

Content marketing is a strategic approach to marketing that focuses on creating and distributing consistent, valuable and relevant content in order to pique the interest of, and then retain, a certain audience; thus propelling profitable consumer action (CMI, 2016). Current predictions indicate that the UK spend on content marketing is likely to more than double by 2020, with a rise of 179.2 per cent to £349 million (Degun, 2016). One specific route of content marketing which a brand may apply to their business model is ‘Storytelling’ marketing, where the clue to this method is in the name; this marketing strategy focuses on the telling of stories, to either directly, or indirectly promote a product or service, and is noted by scholars as an essential key to attracting and retaining consumers (Pulizzi, 2012). An excellent example of the success of storytelling content marketing can be seen in the form of the ‘Lego Movie’. This was an indirect way of using storytelling, in this case a movie, to target both children and adults; upon seeing the movie, the interest of children in Lego was renewed, and a script that also entertained the adult market means that the product may be bought as gifts for decades to come. However, it should be noted that without the excellent script and plot of this film, the strategy could have failed; thus, as with any form of content marketing, expert input and guidance is advised (Smithson, 2014). Despite the large scale of the Lego Movie, storytelling marketing can be employed by those who do not have the large budget of multinational corporations. The rise of social media outlets has helped to propel the popularity of this marketing method, with many small companies and entrepreneurs successfully utilising sites such as Instagram, and even Snapchat to tell short stories to promote their goods and services (Social Times, 2016).

References

CMI. (2016) ‘What is Content Marketing?’ Content Marketing Institute. [Online] [Accessed on 8 October 2016] http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/ Degun, G. (2016) ‘UK content marketing spend predicted to more than double by 2020.’ Campaign. [Online] [Accessed on 8 October 2016] http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/uk-content-marketing-spend-predicted-double-2020/1393581#kVp25IKiK9JjoIzz.99 Pulizzi, J. (2012) ‘The rise of storytelling as the new marketing.’ Publishing research quarterly, 28(2), pp. 116-123. Smithson, P. (2014) ‘The Lego Movie: Content Marketing at its Finest.’ The Guardian. [Online] [Accessed on 8 October 2016] https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/apr/17/lego-movie-content-marketing Social Times. (2016) ‘How Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram Are Reinventing Niche Marketing.’ [Online] [Accessed on 8 October 2016] http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/kevin-gould-kombo-ventures-guest-post-snapchat-facebook-instagram-niche-marketing/643293