BetterBriefs’ Post

Some responses to the Solo Stove situation remind me of a conversation I had many times over my years as an Adweek editor. It went down like this pretty much every time: • Industry pro: "The press only covers creative ideas. You don't cover RESULTS. What about the efficient ideas? What about the conversion rates?" • Me: "We love writing about results, and our readers always want more. Do you have some results you'd be willing to share publicly?" • Industry pro: "Of course not, revenue and performance details are trade secrets! We can't let our competitors know our results!" • Me: "OK but..." • Industry pro: "But what you CAN write about is this new campaign we're launching next week with John Cena and Elmo and that Chocolate Rain guy and they're..." Don't get me wrong. I love the debate around how we define effectiveness in a world where marketing can go megaviral without accomplishing a client's internal, generally unstated goals. How do you balance long-term brand building with (often PE-driven) short-term sales goals? Great topics the industry SHOULD be discussing. But in the rare moments when a campaign is publicly acknowledged to have fallen short by a client's metrics, there's also a tendency to say the campaign was "overhyped" or received too much "lavish praise," when the reality is just that almost all of us (journalists and consumers alike) are having to give our gut reactions to an idea because we only have a few pieces to go on: how the idea is presented and whether people are talking about it. My hope is not only that trade journalists keep pushing for accountability and metrics on campaigns, but also that the industry starts to actually put some of its cards on the table about how ideas are performing so we can truly learn from each other. (Everything after "but also" absolutely isn't going to happen, but we can all dream!)

Not using first-party data yet and don't know where you should start? LiveRamp has some ideas on how you can unlock hyper-personalised content and spot new trends with its First-Party Data Playbook. Examples in here of how brands like Eli Lilly and Company and Delta Air Lines are transforming their marketing game!

Traditional business news – in a pivot from last month’s focus on consumer content – generated the most interest and activity on PR Newswire in June. Here's a recap of the top releases. https://lnkd.in/gdUj-3_p #pressrelease #topstories #businessnews

Great content starts with asking great questions. (this is why journalists are great marketers in my opinion) My favorite Slack channel at The Juice is our "data-questions" channel. The team drops in questions we have, customers have, and prospects have. Chris Vannoy and the group answer the question with real data from our platform. Later this week, we're answering one of the biggest questions in marketing: "Should you gate your content?" This trends report is full of quality data points, perspectives, and voices from the community. Be on the lookout for it later this week! Comment below or DM if you want the link as soon as it drops ⬇

What happens when a market researcher and a PR specialist meet? You get insights on content, data, insights and more - Swipe to learn… 👈🏼 Watch all bite-sized videos here > https://lnkd.in/eUQeEKcx   #YouTube #MarketResearch #PublicRelations #BrandResearch #mrx Andrew White Lee Simpson 

The top 1% of the personal brands have these 5 elements in common: (Learn these and get ahead of the 90%) 1. Effective writing ￫Good digital writing is your superpower ￫Most top creators nail it with their copy ￫Use the PAS framework as a starter 2.  Community building ￫Build a tribe of folks who match your vibe ￫Post, Stay, and engage. Never ghost. ￫Reciprocate with the same energy 3. Storytelling ￫Your audience doesn’t like being talked at ￫Blend “tips & tricks” with a good story ￫Share “relevant” stories (always) 4. Ability to polarize ￫Unpopular opinions trump generic hacks ￫The top 1% know the art of polarizing ￫Dare to ruffle some feathers 5. Data analysis ￫Your metrics tell your audience’s interests ￫Instead of winging it, lean into data ￫Track your KPIs constantly Personal brands are not built overnight. It’s a long-term game of building trust and authority in your industry. Let’s do it together during the rest of 2024!! P.S: What would you add to the list? 👣→ Umme Fatima and ♻️ to help others grow in their journey.

** Marketers ** As we head into 2024 our teams media consumption study looked into the research habits of buying teams in the IT landscape to understand the best type of content to ensure you are being considered in shortlists and the results are screenshotted below... #1 Independent Editor or Expert delivering technical advise or tips

Tis season for surprise coverage 🎁 🔍 Throughout the year, we highlight the significance of being in the press' inbox, and during the festive season, this becomes more valuable. When compiling gift guides, or creating new year content, editors will first search their inbox to find previously pitched suggestions. If your brand or product is already there, you’re one step ahead of your competitors. 🚀 If you've sent pitch emails and not heard back, take a moment to search for your brand on Google or Readly—you might just find some unexpected coverage! #ChristmasCoverage #GiftGuideCoverage #StrategicPR

The choice between branded and unbranded #insight communities can significantly impact the outcomes of your studies. Let's take a look at considerations for each: https://lnkd.in/gfUgGg6H

The best research briefs often aren't briefs at all. They start with a conversation. And often it's as simple as a marketer saying... 'I know we need something, I'm just not sure what yet...' They nearly always turn out to be the most interesting, most value-adding, the most fun to work on. The most business-transformational. 'Something' can be anything from: 'My brand is flying / tanking and I'm not sure why' to 'We need a 3 year innovation pipeline, by the end of Q1' to 'We have so many great things to say about our brand and need to nail The One Thing that will make our target audience buy' or even 'We know we're not getting it right with our target audience - we need to step inside their lives a little bit... and see what they actually think and feel about our brand - and do with our products.' And just because it starts with a conversation, it doesn't mean that things are all loose and woolly - far from it! Together we work out: 🎯 What you’re trying to achieve - and the decisions you need to make ❓ The questions you need to answer ⁉ The questions (and hypotheses) behind the questions 🤩 Who needs to be brought on the journey and how to make their eyes light up ⚗ Some first ideas on methodology (and how we make it happen) Sometimes it turns out I'm not the best person to help - and I'll always be clear on that - the main thing is that people walk away clearer about what they *do* need. Got a 'something' on your list to puzzle out while it's quiet over the Christmas break - and want a friendly, constructive sounding board ? Give me a shout.