custom publishing Minding content, mining awareness Digital media is changing the face of custom publishing. What was predominately tangible, glossy and delivered to your doorstep is quickly morphing into something interactive, bespoke and delivered to your BlackBerry. “We deliver digital content solutions that cut through the clutter,” says Joe Barbieri, Redwood Custom Communications VP of marketing and business development. “We are focused on crafting very targeted content solutions that reach high-value customers and maximize ROI.” The benefi ts are numerous, from increased frequency of contact at an achievable price point to creating more transactional environments. But, notes Redwood president and CEO Eric Schneider, it’s not the media that ultimately adds value. “What gives intrinsic value to magazines still holds the power, and that’s content,” he says. Redwood – which boasts an international reach from offi ces in New York and Toronto, and affi liated offi ces in London and Tokyo – has an awardwinning track record for creating results-driven content. “It’s never content for content’s sake, we’re strategically grounded,” says Barbieri. “As a marketing agency, our priority is to bring innovative How has digital distribution affected custom publishing? We have a fundamental principle that content is the value proposition, but your content has to be integrated across media. That integration means those ideas have to come from a media-neutral root. How does Redwood foster a medianeutral approach? We’ve avoided creating media silos – we don’t have an interactive division and a print division and a DM division. Instead, we have brand teams. The brand teams are aligned with a client and are focused on the brand and understanding the client’s customers. This way, you’re solving issues at a media-neutral level and then executing by using the appropriate disciplines. s20 november 2008 Redwood launched Aeroplan Arrival magazine in September 2008 for Aeroplan. To learn more about Redwood visit redwoodcc.com/portfolio Built for tomorrow Redwood: ready for the future Who’s on these brand teams? For online initiatives, there’s often a web master, a web editor, a web design expert. But they attend the same brainstorming sessions and meetings as people that work on print – they plan together. A centralized leadership ensures there are people at a very senior level with diverse experience across media, whether it’s interactive or print, also working across these brand teams. How signifi cant is interactive now? About 25% of our revenues are interactive. We have a very large commoditybased print side that almost distorts the overall value. (The commodity side of print is much higher when you take into account paper, print, postage.) From sponsored supplement strategic thinking to our creative work, and to help brands realize competitive advantage. We cater to leading North American brands such as Sears, Sobeys and Aeroplan, and have the network in place to service global brands such as P&G, Mazda, Volvo and Land Rover. Where product-focused marketing initiatives aim to entice people when they’re in a purchase phase, Redwood focuses on the consumer’s interests to create awareness, build loyalty, promote advocacy for a brand and, ultimately, entice them to buy at all points in the relationship. “Content can create an interest to consumers that might need to be moved along the purchase cycle,” says Schneider. “A story founded in brand principles but not overtly marketing in its orientation is still of interest.” In other words, instead of “Buy Philadelphia cream cheese” the message is embedded into a lifestyle story rich in take-away: “Here are 10 ways to use Philadelphia cream cheese to whip together a meal that’s quick, nutritious, tried and tested.” In the case of automotive, there’s typically a three-to-fi ve year gap between purchase and repurchase; custom publishing initiatives keep customers engaged with the brand in the intervening years. a workload perspective it’s probably somewhat higher than 25%. What’s the next frontier for custom publishing? Mobile devices will give consumers an opportunity to access content that will reinforce and support a purchase decision at ‘the first moment of truth’, or at the point of sale (the retail environment). Say you’ve read a recipe, but when you get to the store you’re lost about what you need. There’s technology out there, that can enable consumers to scan a UPC code and end up in a content environment that will give information about how you use that product, what other products they need, and so on.
CONTENT Captivate. Connect. Get Results. Custom Communications Let’s talk. Call Nino Di Cara on 416-218-3590 www.transcontinentalcustom.com
Change language