COMMUNICATING IN CONSTELLATIONS STEVE RUBEL | CHIEF CONTENT STRATEGIST, EDELMAN
C O M M U N I C AT I N G I N C O N S T E L L AT I O N SS T E V E R U B E L | C H I E F C O N T E N T S T R A T E G I S T, E D E L M A N
T O O M U C H C O N T E N T A N D N O T E N O U G H T I M EE V E R Y O N E ’ S FA C I N G T H E S A M E C H A L L E N G E . T H E R E ’ S S I M P LY …
B E T H E B R I G H T E S T O B J E C T I N T H E N I G H T S K YT H E N A T U R A L R E A C T I O N I S T O T R Y T O …
T H E R E W I L L B E A L O T M O R E S H I N Y O B J E C T SB U T T H A T C A N ’ T L A S T. I N T H E Y E A R S A H E A D …
H E L P I N G A U D I E N C E S S E E T H E F U L L N A R R AT I V ET H E W A Y T O S O LV E T H I S I S B Y …
A C T I VAT I N G T H E M E D I A C L O V E R L E A F
• Create big, bold narratives that can span:
• Traditional Media - mainstream news brands
• Hybrid Media - digital native publishers
• Owned Media - brand/corporate channels
• Social Media - mainstays and new players
• Amplify around the full landscape via:
• Content - premium / immersive owned media
• Context - conversational earned media
• Contrast - sponsored content and paid media
C O N T E N T: P R E M I U M / I M M E R S I V E O W N E D M E D I A
• Focus on the human side of the story as a narrative
• Form alliances and collaborations to build scale and “surface area”
• Take old, evergreen ideas and simply give them a new twist
C O N T E X T: C O N V E R S AT I O N A L E A R N E D M E D I A
• Prioritize media with amplification vs those that have “just” circulation
• Craft stories in two styles: one fit for consumption, another social by design
• Engage at the speed of now - “Real time is the new prime time”
C O N T R A S T: S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T / PA I D M E D I A
• Supercharged PR: use ad-tech to amplify earned media with paid media
• Media partnerships: tap into new ways to align with news organizations in a paid capacity to co-create owned media assets
C O N T R A S T: I A B / E D E L M A N B E R L A N D S T U D Y - K E Y F I N D I N G S
• Sponsored content can boost the credibility of a brand’s messages by 33% when it is featured on well-respected publisher web sites
• Publishers have just as much to gain. When done right, sponsored content can increase the favorability of a media property by more than 50%
• The key to success is that both brands and publishers focus on being relevant, authoritative and authentic/trustworthy
C O M M U N I C AT I N G I N C O N S T E L L AT I O N S : I N T E G R AT I N G C O N T E N T, C O N T E X T & C O N T R A S T