Know-How Exchange : Branding

Content is important. No question about it. But understanding the target audience at a deep level is the basis for creating effective content. And once you really understand your target audience, you need to identify the unique and compelling benefit your customer will realize from your product or service offering.

Then you can proceed with content development.

Targeted content is what matters. The right offer, solving the right problems, using the right language for the specific audience is the goal.

While content is important, it is not the be-all and end-all, and the assertion that "Content is king!" (first coined by Sumner Redstone of Viacom and later picked up by Bill Gates) is UTTER NONSENSE.

Yes, content matters, but without context, without an audience, without that audience's interest, and without a solid distribution plan and consistent visibility across multiple platforms, in multiple forms in multiple markets, that content is simply noise, visual fluff, and an irritant that will get lost in a sea of other unremarkable, anonymous, invisible noise, fluff, and irritating crap.

Direct response professionals often remind us that there are 3 key requirements for a successful campaign:

1. A compelling offer;
2. Copy that speaks directly (and specifically) to the target audience; and
3. Bull's-eye distribution to the right target audience (so you can target the message efficiently).

If you don't have all 3 of these your campaign will probably not succeed (or will be sub-optimal).