By Laura Petrolino
Sure, you all are thinking now….”Really? Why do we need more content marketing examples? Aren’t we already flooded in too much content as it is? We get it Laura, we get it!”
Or do we? (Dun, dun, daaaaaaaaaa.)
While we all may know the many different ways we can implement content marketing as part of our overall communications strategy is as wide as it is deep, sometimes it’s hard to think out of the box.
The blog box.
Maybe we will throw in an eBook every once and a while.
Perhaps we will get wild and crazy and do a video or add some visual elements.
Maybe….just maybe, we will throw all caution to the wind and add some user-generated content.
But, in the end, we tend to be stuck in a content box—which limits the bounds which we push our content to different levels, perspectives, media types, and mediums.
So let’s stop.
I don’t know every person reading this blog post today, but I know many of you…and you are freaking creative, hilarious, innovative individuals.
Individuals who need to pop-out of that box like a stripper out of a birthday cake.
I’ll start the inspiration train with these three content marketing examples of efforts I personally love and which take very unique—and effective—approaches.
Project Yourself
I looooooove, loooove, loove this project.
The Artist Rapid Response Team (ARRT!), a group of Maine activist artist who use their talent to support causes they care about, and 350 Maine, a grassroots movement dedicated to solving the planetary climate crisis, joined together to create this amazing projection which played during our First Friday Art Walk this month.
ARRT! Video Projection Project
This is a fantastic content marketing example not only of out of the box tactics, but also fantastic storytelling, and extremely well-targeted content distribution.
Think about it—this video was projected during a time period when and where active community members were out and about. This is a story that directly affects them and they can relate to on a very intimate basis. Casco Bay is maybe a five minute walk from this building and anyone who lives, works, or plays in Portland is—by choice and location—connected to the water in some way.
Plus, it played into the event already going on.
The First Friday Art Walk is a time where community members gather, visit galleries, watch street performers, and consume many micro-Portland stories all night.
If you think of it in digital terms, something like this didn’t disturb the user experience, but instead augmented it.
Sort of like a real-world version of native advertising or (well done) sponsored content.
A Visual Journey
We all know visual elements are a very powerful force when it comes to content marketing. Often we use them to complement or support actual words, but I always love it when they are used to replace words altogether. Recently I encountered two content marketing examples of that done really well.
One is large scale and elaborate.
One is extremely amateur and micro-focused.
Both are extremely powerful. And proof you don’t need a huge budget and expensive equipment to produce powerful visual storytelling.
First let’s look at the simple: Photographer Theron Humphrey took his rescue dog Maddie on a road trip across the country. He recorded their journey through photos, which resulted in a very powerful story—no words needed.
And more elaborate: One of our clients sent this to me last week. It’s absolutely genius and pretty breathtaking.
“Inherit the Dust” places life-sized panels of animals in their former habitats, places now completely changed by heavy development and industrialization.
It sends an extremely though provoking message—with no words at all.
And although it is a large scale operation, there are many smaller scale ways to take this idea and transform it into a version that fits the goals and resources of your organization.
Your Favorite Content Marketing Examples
And now it’s your turn.
There are just three examples which have crossed me interwebz in the last week.
Which inspiring content marketing examples would you add to this list?
