A Lesson on Creative B2B Campaigns from MailChimp
by MGB2B
UPDATE: We know an awesome campaign when we see it, congratulations to MailChimp for scoring a Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2017. This campaign was recognized for being the best example of a full-blown campaign with digital at the center.
Mail Shrimp? Fail Chips? Snail Primp? What could all of these wacky phrases have in common? They’re all part of MailChimp’s new advertising campaign “Did You Mean MailChimp?” The campaign flies in the face of any preconceived notion that you need to play it straight with B2B ads.
Founded in 2001, MailChimp quickly made a name for itself in the email marketing software industry. Known for their easy-to-use email templates and quirky monkey mascot, Freddie, MailChimp is a top competitor in the B2B email marketing sphere. However, they’ve never made an advertising splash on a national scale, until this campaign.
It All Started With A Meme
The “Did You Mean MailChimp?” campaign was inspired by an ad that ran during the popular podcast, Serial, where the announcer famously mispronounced the word MailChimp. Hundreds of memes like the one shown above popped up online. MailChimp wondered: what other weird things sound like MailChimp? From there, the entire campaign blossomed.
Random Products and Trends… Not So Random After All
MailChimp launched the campaign with three quirky, but mesmerizing short films: JailBlimp, MailShrimp, and KaleLimp. After the kickoff, the brand began to set other components in motion. Taken individually, they seemed like random trends or disconnected products at the time, but for those in the know, everything was cleverly connected.
One seemingly random execution was MaleCrimp: a fake fashion trend of men with crimped hair. The brand teamed up with Paper Magazine and published a photo story online called “Cool Kids Crimp” right before New York Fashion Week. It also linked to the Tumblr MaleCrimp page, with some sly MailChimp branding at the bottom.
Another example of an over-the-top execution is FailChips. This new chip brand popped up throughout New York, offering a new brand of chips that consisted of the crunched pieces at the bottom of a bag of chips. Upon closer inspection, the packaging had the MailChimp monkey printed on the outside of the bag.
These are just a few examples of seemingly random executions, that were not so random after all. Overall, MailChimp put out eight executions of the campaign.
Why Did This Work?
There’s nothing traditional about this campaign whatsoever, but it worked. Why?
From their inception, MailChimp has established themselves as unique; among the many email software companies vying for the attention of businesses, MailChimp has firmly planted their brand flag, saying “this is who we are.” Yes, this may scare away some potential clients, but that’s okay.
MailChimp didn’t need a direct marketing campaign; they’re already known to be a top player within their industry. What they needed was an out-of-the-box brand awareness campaign that elevated MailChimp to a larger stage and let consumers know who MailChimp is, on a personal level.
Quirky, creative, funny, modern, original – these words describe both the campaign and MailChimp’s company values and brand personality. And it makes them unforgettable, even in the B2B world.
Continue ReadingThe Anatomy of a Perfect B2B Persona
by MGB2B
Personas are a key part of any content marketing plan. For the purposes of content creation, a persona is a fictional character who represents a buyer in one of your audience segments. Each piece of content you create should be written for a specific persona. Let’s say you’re a manufacturer with prospects in five different verticals, two of which are defense and medical devices. Each of the five will have a different persona for whom you create content. This is because the content that appeals to your defense prospects is not going to appeal to your medical prospects and vice versa.
The more relevant content you share with the defense guy, the more he’s going to keep coming back for more. Send him something that doesn’t resonate, and you may lose him for good. You might even create different personas for job titles within each vertical (Purchaser, CEO, etc.).
So now you know why you need personas. But do you know exactly how to create a B2B persona?
Here are the Elements that Make Up a Perfect B2B Persona:
The Name. Get creative with it. Give them a personality. No-Nonsense Nancy. Type-A Todd. Decisive Dave.
The Photo. A lot of brands skip this step, but it’s nice to put a face with a name. What does Decisive Dave look like? What does he wear? You’re only using this internally, so feel free to find a picture online and use that. Visualization can help your content team write the appropriate content.
Age, Title, and Type of Company. These are likely demographics you’re already targeting. But no persona should be without them. They are the perfect jumping-off point for the rest of your persona development.
What His/Her Day Is Like At Work. Sitting in front of a computer all day is not what we’re looking for here. You want to have an idea of how they interact with staff, what their short- and long-term goals are, and what they need to help them do their jobs better.
At What Point He or She Is Involved In Decision Making. This is important. Is this a person that introduces ideas to their boss? Or the person that makes the final decision about purchasing? Is it someone who is more concerned with money than quality or vice versa? Are you talking to engineers or IT people? That’s a whole new ball game. All of this can and should influence your content.
Media Consumption. How does this person find new products? What do they read when they need insights to help them thrive in their position? When do they read articles online? How often?
What Home Life Is Like. This may seem irrelevant, but it’s not. Does Nancy have a husband and two kids or is she single? Is Todd married? Does he spend too much time commuting? Any little bit of personality you give to your personas is helpful (as long as it’s not completely off-base).
What He or She Does in His/Her Spare Time. Does Decisive Dave spend a lot of time on the golf course? Is Nancy a world traveler? Again, this stuff is gravy, but it can make a big difference for certain types of content. For instance, let’s say you’re targeting doctors, and you have solid information that the majority of doctors like to golf on the weekends. Amidst all of the insights you send their way, you might mix in a comparison between a golf game and the manufacture of medical devices. This is a unique B2B approach that will draw them in and keep them engaged.
These are the elements you need to look at while creating your brand’s B2B personas. Getting them right is one of the most important things you can do for an effective Content Strategy. Need help getting started? Drop us a line.
Continue ReadingB2B Monday Myth: Creating Content Is All You Need To Do
by MGB2B
The Myth: All I need to do is create good content, and people will find it.
The Truth: Content found organically is wonderful, but you’ll need to distribute it in other ways to get more quality leads.
In the last few years, the role of content marketing has grown exponentially. Many businesses, large and small, have poured a hefty share of their marketing budgets into content creation and have increased conversion because of it. But is creating quality content with great SEO all you need to reach your target? Accomplished content marketer and author of The Content Formula, Michael Brenner, puts it this way: “Even great content needs a push.” So what are the best ways to push your content?
How to Distribute B2B Content:
Paid Search
Paid Search, also referred to as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), is one of the best ways to reach prospects with your content. That’s because you are reaching people who are actively searching for what you have to offer. Plus, when done correctly, it can help you secure a spot on Google above organic listings. Although it can be a bit costly, the benefits are well worth the investment.
One of the main benefits is that you can make real-time changes to your messaging. Arguably the best feature of Paid Search is that you can target your messaging, and then easily change it up at a moment’s notice. You can run several different ads to see which copy drives the most prospects to your content, then cut out the ads that aren’t performing and sink that money into the high-performing ad to drive more quality leads.
You can also geo-target your ads, so that you are reaching people only within the markets you want to pursue. If you have a limited Paid Search budget, this feature can be very useful.
Paid Social
A close relative of Paid Search is paid social. The major difference is that instead of advertising on search engines, Paid Social allows you to advertise on social media. Paid Social allows you to reach beyond just your followers. Facebook in particular, really enables you to narrow your target. You can actually have a Custom Audience made up of your database of prospects. If you have over 100 people on your list and they are on Facebook, you can serve up ads directly to them. You can also retarget people who have visited your website to capture those who have shown interest in your product or service, but maybe weren’t ready to convert yet.
You can also target your ads in order to add new people to your prospects list. You can target by demographics and location, but also by categories like Employer and Job Title, so your content is getting directly into the hands of people who will find it useful.
Trade Publication Programs
While the consumer magazine industry may be dying, the trade pub industry is alive and well. And a good relationship with your industry trade pubs can be a great tool to have in your arsenal. Getting access to their lists is one of the best ways to grow your list of qualified leads. These are people who are already in your world, looking for content that is relevant to them. Some publications already have elaborate content distribution programs in place. All you have to do is give them your white papers and infographics, and they’ll circulate it to the right people in their database for you.
Creating compelling and relevant content is only the half the battle. Paid media strategies greatly improve the chances of your content being seen by the right people at the right time. And that translates into highly qualified leads for your sales team. It’s an effort that is easy to fine-tune and well worth the money.
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