• by Allan Blair , November 13, 2014

Online video is pretty popular these days. In fact, the amount of content we create and consume is absolutely astounding. According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI, June 2014) the "busy-hour" of Internet traffic will reach 1.0 petabits per second (Pbps) by 2018. That’s the equivalent of 335 million people streaming a high-definition (HD) video continuously.

This demand for content creates a particular problem for marketers. As more and more content is published on social channels, it becomes increasingly difficult for consumers to discover branded content. Even if they do stumble across a brand’s content, it’s  unlikely they will pay attention, or choose to watch it when it’s battling against family and friends’ pictures of their babies and holidays, music videos from favourite bands and vines of the latest online comedy sensation. With a sea of content for consumers to choose from, branded content is low on their list of priorities.

However, with content as the flavour of the month, there are plenty of brands out there diving headlong into the trend du jour -- producing a plethora of cheap, mediocre quality content that taps into culture trends and movements. Most are congratulating themselves on their ability to produce content at scale, respond quickly to topical moments and bringing to life their "brand purpose/mission/reason to believe." However, the truth behind the hype is that this content is only being discovered and viewed by a small number of people.

Likewise, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the always-on content model is a less and less realistic option for brands. Not only does it not make strategic sense, it is economically unviable for most organisations. There is no point in continuously creating a library of content when it is unlikely to be seen.

Brands seem utterly seduced by creating content that focuses on current news stories, popular music and films or crazy stunts, yet are terrified to talk about the one thing people might actually like about them -- their products!

Successful content is born when marketers focus on what people love about their brand, and specifically their products, making it easy and enjoyable to use their product or service. Unilever’s All Things Hair is a great example of a brand investing in content that their consumers want: tips on hair products and styling. They have a simple idea that everyone gets (no matter how they feel about the brand), they keep the product central to the creative and make the content easy to find.

Of course, all content needs to be supported by media to be visible amongst the clutter of other content, tools and advertising products available online. And smart brands shouldn’t be trying to compete with the content consumers seek out and search for to entertain themselves. Instead they should be focused on producing content that adds value to their product and service. They then use media to promote it and consumer data to target it to those customers they know will find it personally interesting.

Content does have a role to play, but it’s unlikely any FMCG brand will replace Disney or Netflix as the source of entertainment for most people, but their content might just make them consider their product.