Case Study: "360-degree Content Marketing – Integrating Paid, Owned, & Earned Media to Earn Consumer Trust"

Confidential for internal purposes only

360o Content Marketing

Integrating Paid, Owned, & Earned Media to Earn Consumer Trust

Confidential for internal purposes onlyCharles Schwab360 Content Marketing

Content is the currency to earn investors’ trust

The Challenge

Most investors are satisfied with their current firms

They are not always ‘shopping’

What we need

A new way to influence their perception of Schwab

Trigger re-evaluation

Mission:

To influence investors’ perception of Schwab and engage them to take action……we will demonstrate Schwab’s expertise by… …developing and delivering useful, actionable, and thought-provoking content… …on their terms, across devices and channels they most prefer

2


Supporting our mission requires a multi-dimensional team that can deliver in each aspect of the marketing lifecycle

Content Development

Channel Experience

Content Distribution

New Channel Development

Web Mobile Advertising

+

3


To set the stage, we first started by analyzing a series of ‘consumer journeys’…

4


Etc.

…and defining the distinct ‘mindsets’ around which we wanted to design our ecosystem

×Segments

Mindsets

5

Shopping Searching Educating Planning Transacting


Based on this understanding we created a strategy & ecosystem to integrate owned, earned, and paid channels

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Highlights

• Hub

• Spokes/Satellites

• Drivers

• Paid

• Earned

• Owned

• Emerging Channels

Confidential for internal purposes onlyCharles Schwab

To operationalize this strategy, we evangelized and assembled the necessary organizational components

360 Content Marketing 7

Strategy & Governanc

e

Plan

Develop

Distribute

Measure

Executive Steering Team

Integrate across Owned, Earned, and Paid

Priorities, Topics, ToneMacro and Micro trendsQuant/Qual Input

Effectiveness of:

- Strategy

- Content

- Creative

- Channel

Content Calendar

Campaigns

Timely vs. Evergreen

Formats


We are building an entire discipline around Content Development

What governs the content we produce?What are we trying to achieve?

When should we do what needs to bedone? (Editorial calendar and Channel programming)

How do we know our content is effective?

8

Content Principles

• Transparency

• Simplification

• Consumer-centered

• Actionable

• Thought-provoking

$$Content Campaign

Understanding Fees $61,500

7/15 Investing Ideas launch $344,500

Investing Ideas: Managing Risk

$108,201

ETF/ IRA $51,500

Fundamental Indexing $81,500

Year End Financial Planning $81,000

Income Generation for the Affluent Investor

$56,500

TOTAL SPEND: $784,701

INVE

STIN

G S

TRAT

EGIE

STI

MEL

Y Government & Economic Policy (includes Macro)

10/1 launch

DecJul Aug Sep Oct NovApr May Jun

8/15 launch

DISR

UPT

11/15 launch

12/2 launch

7/15 launch


Examples

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Investing Ideas Digital Hub Rich Media Assets: Videos and Infographics

Print Magazines


We are designing ‘fluid’ Experiences that can port across legacy and emerging channels

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Key Principles

• Treat content like a ‘product’

• Optimized for value and action

• Customized for the right type of action

• CTAs

• Content

• Product/Services

• Experts/People


Channel Experience – Web

11

Confidential for internal purposes onlyCharles Schwab

Channel Experience – Mobile – Native iOS app

360 Content Marketing 12


We are focusing heavily on Distribution to ensure that we’re in the right places at the right times

13

Results

Demand

Fulfillment

Demand

Generation

Key Principles

• We need to demonstrate our expertise in the right places at the right times for consumers who may be in multiple modes or mindsets

• Show is better than Tell

• Core Elements

• Curate and Create Content

• Identify the right media channels

• Establish a presence

• Be relevant and contemporary

Content Distribution, Advertising, and

Syndication

Traditional Digital Advertising

Confidential for internal purposes onlyCharles Schwab360 Content Marketing 14

Sample Creative Rich Media Unit

Schwab Investing

Ideas

04/10/2023

Schwab Investing

Ideas

Bet on Credit Instead of Maturity


Sample Creative Video Unit


Sample Creative Article Syndication


Sample Creative Paid Social


Using a data-driven approach, we have started optimizing our distribution efforts across content, creative, and placement

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Optimize

Content Type

Creative

Placement

CTAs

Content Titles

Content Format

Highlights

• Phased approach

• A/B Testing

• Calls-to-Action


This approach has paid off by increasing performance while lowering the effective cost per interaction

Highlights

• Interaction rate increased by orders of magnitude with CPI dropping dramatically

• Channel driving both – brand interaction as well as acquisition

Campaigns over time

Interaction Rate

Cost per Interaction


Results!

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x MM y MM

In 6 months, we increased engagement with our branded content

BEFORE

Jan – Jun 2013Breakdown of Interaction by Tactics

Interactions by type of tactic: Rich-media, Content Syndication, Video, Content Aggregators

We are expanding the reach of Schwab’s experts through content distribution.

• With a fraction of traditional tactic spend, we increase awareness AND branded content engagement by an order of magnitude

• A significant majority of the audience traffic is from prospects

MM incremental content interactions across owned, paid, earned media channels

AFTER

Questions?

21

Case Study: "360-degree Content Marketing – Integrating Paid, Owned, & Earned Media to Earn Consumer Trust"

Business

strategy content

thoughtprovoking content

o content marketing

investors perception

paid channels

right media channels

sample creative paid

channel programming