Agency Content Innovators

Skyword - Agency Content Innovators - Introduction
Introductionby John T. Shea
Vice President of Agency Sales
and Development at Skyword
Boston, Massachusetts
The agency land grab for Content Marketing went into full force in 2013.
We saw all types of agencies get into the content marketing game by
hiring editorial talent, assembling scalable workflows and adopting
various approaches to crowd-sourced content creation.
1
Creative
Agencies
Brand-Building Online
Content
Marketing
Media
Agencies
Public Relations
Agencies
Digital
Agencies
Storytelling
Real-Time Marketing
Native Advertising
CRM
Customer Acquisition
“
Connect with John:
www.linkedin.com/pub/john-t-shea/4/26/944

Skyword - Agency Content Innovators - Introduction
Here at Skyword, we’ve learned a lot about what it takes to be successful
in content marketing by working directly with brands and by supporting
content innovation and execution at many leading agencies. Throughout
2013, we conducted interviews with several agency executives who
focused on driving innovation in content services. The interviews revealed
several common obstacles as well as some helpful insights on how to
overcome them.
The interviews confirmed that agency marketers face 7 critical imperatives
when building a content marketing practice that require them to:
1. EXPLORE NEW ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
2. FIND NEW WAYS TO REACH AND ENGAGE THE ALWAYS-ON
CONSUMER
3. INSPIRE CREATIVE STORYTELLING
4. EXPLORE NEW MODELS TO SOURCE CREATIVE TALENT
5. BUILD SCALABLE PROCESSES FOR CONTENT CREATION
6. LEVERAGE DATA TO DRIVE CONTENT STRATEGY
7. QUANTIFY THE ROI OF CONTENT MARKETING
The overall content marketing opportunity is now at 44 billion dollars.
How much of that will be reserved for agencies rests with their ability to
develop compelling content services that unlock enterprise value. Content
is being embraced by B2B and B2C marketers alike because of its ability
to build brand equity in the digital space. As a result, all agencies must
be versed in the digital content marketing process in order to succeed.
Included in this eBook are highlights from our interview series, which
delved deeper into these imperatives.
I hope you enjoy our eBook on Agency Innovation. I invite you to continue
the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #agencyinnovators as well
as by connecting with me directly. We hope to power Content Marketing
Execution at many more agencies in 2014.
2
“

EXPLORE NEW MODELS
TO SOURCE
Creative Talent
Skyword - Agency Content Innovators - Table Of Contents
Table of
CONTENTS
EXPLORE NEW
Organizational
Structures
BUILD
SCALABLE PROCESSES FOR
Content Creation
Leverage
Data
TO DRIVE CONTENT STRATEGY
QUANTIFY THE ROI OF
Content
Marketing
FIND NEW WAYS
TO REACH AND ENGAGE THE
Always-on
Consumer
07. 16.
19.
21.
09.
11.
14.
INSPIRE
Creative
Storytelling
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Skyword - Agency Content Innovators - Contributors
CONTRIBUTORS
Follow Anjali: https://twitter.com/anjali28
Follow PHD UK: https://twitter.com/PHD_UK
Follow Craig: https://twitter.com/cheimbuch
Follow Barefoot Proximity: https://twitter.com/bProx
Head of Innovation at PhD
London, United Kingdom
Senior Content Strategist
at BareFoot Proximity
Cincinnati, Ohio
Anjali Ramachandran
Craig Heimbuch
4

Follow Kiersten: https://twitter.com/KierstenLawson
Follow Waggener Edstrom: https://twitter.com/WaggenerEdstrom
Content Strategy Director
at Waggener Edstrom
Portland, Oregon
Kiersten Lawson
Follow Lisa: https://twitter.com/LisaBarone
Follow Overit: https://twitter.com/overit
Vice President of Strategy
at Overit Media
Albany, New York
Lisa Barone
Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/Britopian
Follow WCG: https://twitter.com/wcgworld
Group Director at WCG,
a W2O Company
San Francisco, California
Michael Brito
5

Follow Scott: www.linkedin.com/pub/scott-schneider/3/164/24b
Follow Ruder Finn: https://twitter.com/RuderFinn
Follow Ruben: https://twitter.com/CentralSQ
Follow Skyword: https://twitter.com/skyword
Follow Steve: https://twitter.com/SteveKerho
Follow MXM: https://twitter.com/MXMTweets
Chief Digital Officer at Ruder Finn
New York City, New York
Director of Marketing at Skyword
Chief Strategy Officer
at Meredith Xcelerated Marketing
Los Angeles, California
Scott Schneider
Ruben Sanchez
Steve Kerho
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Skyword - Agency Content Innovators
7
1
Chapter
Explore New
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURES
“
Just like agencies struggled to integrate digital operations through every aspect of the
organization, the same commitment needs to take place around content creation. The
change will call for new roles in every department, the education of traditional agency
people, and the retooling of production processes. Like all big industry shifts, the vision
needs to start with the senior management team.
Phil Johnson, CEO, PJA Advertising + Marketing

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“
“
Chapter 1: Explore New Organizational Structures
Being as steeped in the brand as possible is key, and also being as
connected to the cultural happenings around the brand’s demographic.
Often enough brands are unintentionally so close to their own brand and
brand experiences that they only anecdotally see what their competitors
are doing. An agency can often help bring that moment of opportunity
clarity.
Depending on the type of content that [a client] is missing, it may take
more than one agency to create, curate, and distribute it. The clients will
also be heavily involved, more so than advertising development. The
better agencies are open to such outcomes and are more interested in
doing the right thing for their client than always keeping work in-house.
We are organized along practices such as CRM, mobile, or analytics, and
around business verticals such as CPG and automotive. Clients have a
single point of contact, the group director. Our internal processes and
supporting deliverables are key to our solutions. For example, most
agencies rely on a creative brief, instead we use an engagement brief,
which is designed around consumer insights, and content catalysts to
ensure relevancy.
I think most digital agencies and divisions were inherently created to
address two things: to capture market share of the obvious (and ever
growing) digital business opportunity, and to look toward the future of
communications. While most PR agencies do not have a major focus on
emerging technologies, their digital arms do. The technology will come
first, and that will drive the new ways people communicate. The agencies
that understand what the technical trends are and how they could marry
cultural trends will be on top of their game.
Scott Schneider of Ruder Finn
Steve Kerho of MXM
8

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Great content marketing is about connecting with people by telling compelling stories.
When it’s done right, it doesn’t feel like marketing and will engage even the busiest
consumer. Great content engages people, creates experiences, helps people find
answers and valuable, relevant information. At AMP, we shifted the mindset from selling
to storytelling. Our content strategies are consumer centric – rooted in an understanding
of how the customer consumes - and shares - content and the type of preferred content.
Gary Colen, CEO, AMP Agency
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2
Chapter
Find New Ways
To Reach And Engage The
ALWAYS-ON
CONSUMER

Chapter 2: Find New Ways To Reach And Engage The Always-On Consumer
“
“
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The average brand must keep content fresh across an average of 178
online properties. Each of us as consumers must decide which content
to peruse or more deeply explore among an average of 3,000 brand
impressions we encounter per day... Release and finesse [content],
because you can no longer command and control [it].
The idea is to create feedback loops to constantly improve the health
of the content libraries on our clients’ sites. For a person like me,
it’s the perfect fusion of left and right brains. I’m focused on driving
and understanding user participation - from UGC to social sharing -
and establishing a means to understand the value of each step. The
notion of a hash tag fascinates me. In my mind, it’s the new frontier of
personalization - having your brand so strongly represent something that
users incorporate it into self-identification. Completely fascinating.
This is about a fundamental shift from content that is campaign based to
content that is designed for an always-on environment... We have fully
transitioned to a consumer-controlled pull environment. Consequently,
the biggest challenge marketers face today is how to populate their
ever-growing ecosystems with content that engages. It is less about the
delivery mechanism and more about the content that is being delivered.
Kiersten Lawson of Waggener Edstrom
Craig Heimbuch of Barefoot Proximity
Steve Kerho of MXM
10

11
3
Chapter
Inspire
CREATIVE
STORYTELLING

Chapter 3: Inspire Creative Storytelling
“
“
“
I look toward film/TV/commercial directors. I find that they are at a great
intersection of creativity and discipline. Someone who can tell a beautiful
story in 30 or 15 seconds. With media consumption what it is today (and
where it is going), the short form storytellers of our time will be inherently
great marketers.
I’m a big believer that too much time spent online or consuming other
marketing is counterproductive to your own creativity and output. For
inspiration and ideas, I get offline. I just bought a house in the country
and I’ve found that spending a lot of time on my back deck, thinking
and observing, really helps me stay creative and fuel new ideas. Also,
consuming information and projects completely outside of the marketing
world is something that I’ve felt has helped me.
It’s not about finding or contriving ways for brands to inject themselves
into a content category; it’s about focusing on what’s driving the most
meaningful results. That has spilled over into my personal life as well and
will probably continue to be a big influence. I have a note stuck to the wall
next to my desk that reads: “Content, even great content, is dead until it’s
found, consumed, shared, and acted upon.” It’s sort of our motto. Content
can’t be done in a silo; it has to be the connective tissue for a brand’s
digital ecosystem.
Lisa Barone of Overit
12

Chapter 3: Inspire Creative Storytelling
“
“
“
I have been able to consistently carve out or seize new opportunities to
drive the evolution of how the agency helps clients tell and elevate stories
that deliver breakthrough results. Curiosity is a core value of WE, and one
I share with passion... I’m a firm believer that creativity, innovation, and
contentment are best fueled by an eclectic and tireless consumption of art
and information.
Agency innovators are, people who filter and make sense of information
with a business hat firmly on (and then use that to speak to people in
ways that are useful, entertaining, or informative) and are champions of
creativity... In a typical agency structure, there are multiple specialists -
digital, SEO, social, client services, planning, design, and so on - who are
extremely talented at their specific roles. But what stands out for clients is
the impact of the agency’s willingness and ability to defend creative ideas
on creativity itself.
We always joke that good digital content takes a village. Well, so
does innovative problem solving. I have seen creative teams develop
groundbreaking ideas about measurement. And analytics teams that have
created brilliant campaign ideas. This is only possible when teams work in
an environment where this type of problem solving is not only respected
but also encouraged and rewarded.
Anjali Ramachandran of PHD UK
Steve Kerho of MXM
13

14
4
Chapter
Explore New Models To
SOURCE
CREATIVE TALENT

Chapter 4: Explore New Models To Source Creative Talent
“
“
We rely on our local office practice heads to dictate who and what we
need. We try to drive our digital standards from our HQ in NYC, but the
local offices build on top of that.
The most difficult challenges are the obvious ones: bridging the cultural
and logistic barriers, and understanding how one piece of web content
plays in one market and how it needs to be adjusted in another. The
local platforms are not as relevant as the web content. Also, everyone
talks about the time difference often being an advantage because one
team can work while the other sleeps, but that never really works well.
Collaborating humans need as many real-time touch points as possible.
Waiting eight hours to ask a colleague a quick question just slows things
down.
I came to the agency while doing what every journalist does out of habit:
googling job opportunities. Barefoot Proximity was getting set to launch
ManoftheHouse.com and had a listing for a “Men’s Magazine Editor.” Since
I was one of only two people in Cincinnati who could make that claim, it
seemed like a natural fit. The work has evolved over the course of time.
It was, in a way, kismet that a person of my background could suddenly
have access to such knowledge and tools and has been a real boost to my
career, let alone my enthusiasm.
15

16
5
Chapter
Build
SCALABLE
PROCESSES
For Content Creation
“
The biggest problem organizations face around content is how to deliver a meaningful
and relevant content experience for their users. This means starting with a strategy that
clearly defines which content is necessary, identifying the mechanisms to support it, and
providing up-to-date and timely content for the many channel outputs to which their
users engage. Now and in the future, the largest challenge will be how to support the
content required to deliver meaningful, relevant and timely experiences. Or succinctly
put, getting the right content to the right user at the right time.
Kevin P Nichols, Director and Global Practice Lead,
Content Strategy, Sapient

Chapter 5: Build Scalable Processes For Content Creation
“
“
“
The technology that interests me the most is around governance
and workflow. As a marketer, you’d think it would be technology for
automation, customer acquisition, contests, or sweepstakes. Content
and marketing governance is a huge challenge today and many brands
struggle with it. Having a workflow that has built in controls from content
ideation to creation to curation to approval to distribution and then
optimization are much more important in my mind.”
I’m particularly excited about a product we’ll be launching soon that will
provide customizable packages of content marketing techniques for
companies to implement to boost their bottom line. Our solution will
suggest precise, easily implementable and scalable content marketing
components based on the business priorities, budget parameters, and
unmet opportunity areas unique to each organization that engages with
us.
What needs to change at traditional agencies is the pace at which they
work. A lot has been said about agile planning... but being flexible and
quick to listen and respond to the needs of people is more important than
ever before, whether this is through product or communication.
Michael Brito of WCG, a W2O Company
Anjali Ramachandran of of PHD UK
17

Chapter 5: Build Scalable Processes For Content Creation
“
“
We have several custom products and services including customer
engagement measures, a mobile readiness score, and a highly refined
customer journey and content audit methodology. We jointly leverage
consumer insights, through syndicated and custom research, to better
understand our target. And we jointly work on various content, media,
and engagement assignments. The media and marketing services arena is
only coming closer together.
First off, we have as many face-to-face meetings as possible. While the
time difference is tricky, we have regular weekly Skype calls with Asia and
the UK. We also make sure to use rigorous project management software.
It is the soft (people centered) and hard (tools) approach that works best.
We also ensure our business benchmarks are setup at all times, so we can
always see how profitable a project is in real-time.
Steve Kerho of MXM
18

19
6
Chapter
To Drive Content Startegy
LEVERAGE
DATA

Chapter 6: Leverage Data To Drive Content Strategy
“
“
The human race now produces over 800 exabytes of information a year.
To put that in perspective - and I always find it fascinating when I see this
bit of information - we created only five exabytes of information between
the dawn of civilization and 2003. We are now a data-obese generation, as
Google’s chief economist Hal Varian says. To make sense of all this data,
we need filters in agencies as much as we do in our daily lives - and that
information needs to be distilled and translated into a usable form.
I’ve worked really closely with our measurement and optimization team
on two key innovations. The first is called Content Efficacy, which is a
proprietary algorithm that measures content value to specific stages of
the path to purchase - discovery, engagement, and conversion. It helps us
identify what content is working hardest to drive specific business results
and helps us understand the relationships between individual pieces of
content as it relates to overall effectiveness. We use this data to drive
optimization - which we call Content Darwinism - soup-to-nuts, everything
from headline treatment to individual authors, content partners, topics,
formats, and lengths.”
Anjali Ramachandran of PHD UK
20

21
7
Chapter
Quantify The ROI Of
CONTENT
MARKETING

Chapter 7: Quantify The ROI Of Content Marketing
“
“
“
“
Success in general can be measured in innumerable ways. To us, the
key is to ensure each campaign’s discovery process takes bottom-line
business objectives into consideration and that some form of KPIs have
been identified so the value of the effort can be later measured, and
future content efforts can be informed by those findings. The payoff of
content strategy thus multiplies over time.
A content audit is the ideal tool to identify and prioritize content gaps.
Content gaps that are aligned with ROI opportunities along the customer
journey should be the first priority. Savvy clients are able to model the lost
revenue for these ROI focused content gaps.
How do you identify the opportunity for ROI with content...
...Working with an agency that offers content marketing services can
help you get your ducks in a row and get that process and strategy down
so you can focus on the content. But many agencies will start creating
content without that initial planning. And that’s where bad things can
happen - like lost dollars.
The key to measuring content performance is through engagement
measures. We create custom engagement measures for our clients. We
incorporate the unique features of each client and their ecosystems into
our engagement scoring process. In general, engagement is based on
a combination of recency, frequency, and depth of interaction for each
channel, both individually and in aggregate.
Steve Kerho of MXM
Lisa Barone of Overit
Steve Kerho of MXM
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Skyword - Agency Content Innovators - Conclusion
Conclusionby Ruben Sanchez
Director of Marketing at Skyword
Each interview confirmed that more clients are explicitly asking their
marketing agencies for content. Built into these requests for content is a
desire to transform the way brands relate to people. In order to begin to
genuinely engage audiences and form lasting relationships, brands have
to translate their value into digital experiences and digital content.
Since 2010, Skyword has built software and a services team committed
exclusively to helping agencies create original quality content for their
clients. We’ve done this because we believe that now is the time for
agencies to illuminate a clear path for clients invested in building brands
online. In order to help leading agencies shine a light on effective
solutions for publishing content, Skyword has developed a number of
content marketing frameworks that align to the marketing goals and
objectives that matter most.
In addition, we work with our agency partners to clarify their own
perspective and approach to delivering content services. This is because
- beyond providing the infrastructure for successful content publishing -
agencies must also provide a vision for content marketing success.
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“
Connect with Ruben:
www.linkedin.com/in/rubendsanchez
Follow Skyword: https://twitter.com/Skyword

Agency content marketing is an exciting area that shows huge promise.
Each new #agencyinnovators interview confirms this for me. As a former
agency marketer, I’m energized to learn about the unique value and
powerful delivery that agencies are bringing to their clients.
As a marketer at a technology company, I’m thrilled to pass our collective
learning on to you. Thank you for reading.
www.skyword.com
http://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/
You can find the original agency interviews in their entirety here:
http://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/innovator-series/agency-innovators/
Contact Skyword
+1.855.SKYWORD
+1.855.759.9673
sales@skyword.com
“
Skyword - Agency Content Innovators - Conclusion
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