Why Content Marketing should be more content than Marketing? - Digital Marketing Forum 2014

Tuesday 4 February 14

How Virgin used big data to inform its new content strategy


Richard Branson’s Virgin empire incorporates a broad range of brands and companies that take in travel, TV, music and... spaceships.



Virgin.com has undergone a huge transformation, morphing from a simple

web portal into a content-rich, storytelling platform that aims to epitomise the Virgin

brand experience through storytelling.



http://livepage.apple.com/

http://livepage.apple.com/

The content team was able to create a new content strategy

based on analysis of its audience behaviour on storytelling.


“The data analysis formed the foundation of what we were doing, but

my team then put the creative spin on it and worked out the stories we needed to

tell to appeal to our target audience.”

Bob Fear, Virgin.com


Here’s how they did it...


The Brief

• At the outset the brief for redesigning Virgin.com needed to satistfy three criteria:

• Incorporate all of the Virgin companies and its heritage

• Bring to life the brand purpose in a way that resonates with current social conversations

• Unite Virgin’s diverse offerings under a single unifying theme













• The initial phase involved creating an interest graph for the users based on:

• Content people search for

• What they follow on social platforms

• The views and interests the express online


• The data team conducted a content analysis to assess:

• Which content and conversation drove traffic?

• What content converted most effectively?

• What audience segments have the most potential for increased traffic?

• Where the brand love is around Virgin?

• Which content aligns with the brand purpose?

• The importance of Richard Branson’s social presence.


• The findings were then collated to inform what type of Virgin.com stories and experience would serve the needs of distinct audiences:

• influencers

• partners

• existing customers

• potential customers



Next: content analysis

• What content areas associated with Virgin and its brands are resonating with active online customers?

• Which Virgin.com blog content resonates?

• Who is viewing Virgin.com blog content and how do they get there?


Next: conversation analysis

• Which content themes are the most frequently discussed in relation to Virgin in organic conversation?

• Where and why are these conversations occuring?

• How associated are the different conversations with Virgin vs. Richard Branson?


Result: 5 recommendations

• Organize Virgin.com more clearly around content and social

• Explore what is resonating with entrepreneurship, music and sustainability conversations

• Use space travel not as an overall content strategy, but as a buzz-generating tactic.

• Design campaigns that involve people with sustainability

• Explore travel as a potential ingredient in Virgin’s content proposition, but not fitness as conversations tend to be short-lived (“I just had a great workout.”)


Next: identify which content areas and target

audiences are strategically important for Virgin.com.



Virgin has different content strategies for each of these groups


Entrepreneurs

• The content involves insight and advice from entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, inspired by Richard’s values and Virgin’s purpose.

• The strategy also involved working with influencers in this area


Music

• Backed by Virgin’s strong musical heritage, the content is focused on the emerging technologies, trends and artists that are changing the industry for the better

• Influencers can be brands such as Spotify, Deezer and Songkick



“The aim is for Virgin’s content to become the catalyst that spurs people into action to change the

game of music, travel and entrepreneurship for good.”


Any questions?
