Learn from Giants! How Apple and RedBull do their content marketing?

 

They market, they conquer. Giants are miles apart from average. They have mastered the art of content marketing which makes them stand apart from average. There are many companies who are successful in their business, but very few companies are as successful as Apple and RedBull when it comes to marketing. Actually, their content marketing strategies have become a benchmark in advertising agencies. We will delve shortly into their marketing techniques, but let’s first understand the basics of content marketing.

Topics:

• What is Content marketing?
• Why Content Marketing?
• The Apple Way 
• The RedBull Way
• Conclusion 

What is content marketing?

The shortest definition would be – the art of storytelling. Anyone can make a product but very few can market them successfully. That’s why many businesses with great products fail to scale up in the long run.

The content marketing has become a buzzword with the explosive growth of internet, but the concept has been around for thousands of years. For instance, the Edicts of great Mauryan emperor Ashoka were placed in all over ancient India from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. These edicts described moral and social percepts (kind of law) for ordinary citizens. Was it content marketing? Of course, it was. As an emperor, Ashoka wanted social harmony and loyalty from citizens. The edicts spread the awareness about the emperor’s offerings, and they citizens have to subscribe otherwise face punishments.

Similarly, businesses too want to spread their offerings and sell their products or services.  And for that they need marketing, kind of Ashokan edicts to spread their words. Business can’t force the customers to subscribe their products, but they definitely can influence their buying decisions.

The Growth of Digital Content Marketing

The traditional media outlets such as TV, newspaper and radio dominated the content delivery mediums in the 20^th century. Enter 21^st century, the internet has replaced the newspaper and radio, and competing neck to neck with TV. In many countries, if we look at the total advertisement spend by medium (TV, newspaper, internet, etc.), we can see how digital platforms are outperforming the traditional mediums:

Country	Total Ad Spend	TV (out of total ad spend)	TV Ad in %	Internet	Internet Ad in %	Newspaper	Newspaper Ad in %
Japan	US $38.42 billion	$1.126 billion	29.3%	$1.034 billion.	26.9%	$280.466 million	7.3%
United Kingdom	£20.868 billion	£4,359 million	20.88	£7,100 million	34.02%	£1,424 million	6.82%
Germany	€17,624 million	€4,545 million	25.78%	€5,491 million	31.15%	€3,694 million	20.96%
Brazil	$16,481 million	$11,812 million	71.67%	$1,768 million	10.72%	$1,032 million	6.26%
France	$13.675 billion	$3.962 billion	28.97%	$5.381 billion	39.34%	$944 million	6.90%
India	Rs 60,908 crore	Rs 23,432 crore	32%	Rs 11,705 crore	19%	Rs 19,457 crore	32%

 

Source: Advertising Spend Breakdown by Medium (2018)

The above data depicts how digital mediums are fast becoming a get-to-go platform for content marketing.

Why Content Marketing?

Every business has one ultimate goal, profit. And in order to generate profit they must sell their products and services. To sell, they need to market their offerings so customers can buy their products. On the other hand, customers’ buying cycle consists of mainly four steps: 1. Recognition 2. Exploration 3. Comparison 4. Buying

1.       Recognition: Spreading awareness about the products and services is the first step. Customers might have a need or looking solutions for their specific problems, but they don’t know about your product.

2.       Exploration: Once a customer recognizes your offerings, they will start researching about it. For example, a traveler has to go Mumbai from Delhi. He will explore transport options such as rail, air and bus services.

3.       Comparison: Now customers will compare your offering with other business offerings. Customers look for best services at affordable price. So if the traveler decides to go via air then it will compare the prices of various airlines offerings.

4.       Buying: Ultimately, customers, according to their need and budget buy the best product available at reasonable price.    

Traditional marketing techniques work great when it comes to the last two steps of buying cycle. Content marketing comes into play for the first two steps – spreading awareness and educating customers about the products and services. Now, let’s dive into how giants’ way of content marketing. 

RedBull Way

Great companies never let you know they are selling their products. They tell you a story, their uniqueness, and their value proposition. They spellbound you to hook on their products. Our first giant, RedBull is a market giant in energy drink segment. Some say, they are marketing agency first and energy drink manufacturer, second. 

RedBull devotes 30% of its revenue on marketing efforts. Its content marketing strategies revolve around – creating appealing visuals, sponsoring extreme sports and music events, exploiting social media for better reach, and influencer marketing.

You might have seen a video 2 Wingsuit Flyers BASE Jump Into a Plane In Mid-Air, where two wingsuit flyers fly at unbelievable speed or, this one Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k where a man jumped from the edges of space. What these videos have to do with the content marketing? Actually, they are trying to sell this idea – the people who live dangerously drink RedBull. But they are not telling it directly, they indirectly enter into the psyche of audiences. And their target audience is 15 to 35 years old individuals.

What we can learn from RedBull?

1.       Tagline

RedBull’s tagline is “Red Bull gives you wings.” And the above mentioned videos show the “wings” to viewers. Maximize on your idea behind the tagline. And create videos around the taglines.

2.       Work on your visuals

RedBull YouTube channel has 9.63 million subscribers. Blogs used to be the great platform for content marketing efforts, but since the last 5 years, videos have emerged as the most engaging content format. Create short videos about how your product or service is solving a problem (it should be engaging not educating).  

3.       Focus on key content topics

RedBull key content topics are extreme sports, music, art, dance and a lot more. Their wide spectrum of content topics provide them leverage to their marketing efforts. Make consumable content for the right audience, and business will follow.

4.       Create content for audiences

Redbull’s videos and other visuals create an enthralling experience which customers would love to watch and enjoy the energy drink. Make your content around your business proposition which attracts the customers.

To sum up, RedBull is a storyteller that spellbound the audience with their visual contents. Content first, product second.

The Apple Way

In Aug 2020, Apple’s market valuation reached to a whopping $2 trillion making it almost equal to Italian economy (Italy’s GDP 2017= $1.99 trillion). Apple has registered phenomenal growth thanks to their spectacular products and unparalleled marketing strategy. Apple’s tagline “think different” sums up all the marketing mantra in one line.

When you see an Apple ad on YouTube, you will find that they are not telling you how much storage or any technical specifications. Their videos are centered on one thing – don’t sell a product, sell an experience.  This video Apple - Think Different, depicts how ‘crazy’ and ‘rebels’ (Gandhi, Einstein and others) who don’t subscribe to traditional societal norms have changed the world. Take another video, iPad Pro — Your next computer is not a computer, is another way of telling you that time of laptops are soon coming to an end. Apple products have created a status-symbol among millennial generation.

What we can learn from them?

1.       Simplicity

Whatever you do, keep it simple. Apple’s marketing team makes simple and consumable content. Their ads don’t tell you how much storage the device has or where you can buy it. They focus on one message in each advertisement. Don’t run for selling your product through ads. If they like your content, they will buy your product.

2.       Reviews are gold mine

If you look for Apple product reviews, you will see millions of reviews and ratings more than four stars (out of five) on average. Today, any product sold on the internet can’t escape from the scrutiny of customers. Reviews are testimony of your products and it helps the customers in making a purchase.

3.       Great value proposition

Apple products are quite expensive and even their older products’ prices have not come down. Why? Because they make sure everything they offer is of best quality.

4.       Stand out

People have a natural tendency to look different and act different. They want to be separated from the crowd. You probably don’t want to show off with a Micromax mobile (no offense!), but with an iPhone, you can flaunt without looking cheap. Remember, your products and services are not for everyone. So channel your content marketing efforts for the right audience segment.

5.       Sell emotions not products

Can you create an experience that invoke emotion and add sensory dimensions? Apple invokes emotions and RedBull adds sensory dimension while you watch their videos. Similarly, you should try to sell an idea through content. If you can create an emotional touch in your content, rest assured your products will be sold too.

6.       Influencer Marketing

Apple partnered with YouTibe Creators’ unboxing videos and sponsored Instagram posts. Apple provides early access to influencers on social media platforms, which creates huge demand for their products before the launch. Find the influencers for your products, and let them describe and create a buzz in the market.

Conclusion

Content marketing is an art of storytelling. It’s not a rocket science, neither an easy pursuit. But there are some elements which can be pursued effectively by anyone with right approach. Create simple and unique content that resonates with your target audience. Focus on the idea first then your offering. You can build a solid audience base through promoting your content on different digital platforms. You can create a blog or a YouTube channel which interest you. There are endless opportunities to create awareness and garner loyalty from your customers. Once you gain the trust, marketing becomes easy.

Remember, content marketing is all about creating valuable content for the right audience. Let me know your thoughts how you are marketing your content?