What is content? For starters, it's not an ad
Everything that communicates is content, right?
Well, maybe.
Content has become one of those ad-industry buzzwords so ill-defined and overused that it has been stripped of meaning. It is used to describe everything from social media activity to native advertising (another awful phrase) to 30-second spots, web videos and what used to be called branded entertainment.
As someone who carries the increasingly common (though difficult to explain to civilians) title of chief content officer, I’d like to propose simpler definitions of content and advertising that underscore the key difference between the two.
Advertising, in this definition, is anything that gets in the way of an experience. Content is entertainment or information that you seek out and share.
That doesn’t meant advertising can’t deliver real value. And it doesn’t mean all content is worthy of people’s time. It simply means that advertising is, by its nature, interruptive while content is discoverable.
This difference was hammered home during a recent visit with my daughter in south Florida. We were sitting on a 24-floor hotel patio overlooking the ocean. As we chatted, I took in the beauty of the sun glinting on the water, the clouds drifting across a blue sky, the looping designs etched in white on the waves by the wakes of boats. Then a plane buzzed across my line of vision towing a bright yellow banner ad for an insurance company. It made a wide loop before coming back again. And again.
This motorized mosquito was the analog equivalent of a pop-up ad. It intruded on (read: detracted from) my experience, and added no value to my life. At least with digital banners there’s the trade-off of realizing the ad revenue from their sale subsidizes publishers’ ability to produce content. In this case, there was nothing but the interruption. Advertising at its worst.
I’ve experienced advertising at its most brilliant as well, the spot that comes on during a commercial break that provides an unexpected moment of poignancy or laughter, the one you rewind and replay for those who were out of the room when it came on.
Those ads, though, are still ads in the definition proposed above: they are not content you have decided to spend time with; they are the price you pay to get to the content you want.
Brand content doesn’t intrude on other experiences. It is the experience. It is the web series you search out, the TV show you tune in to, the headline you click on because you want to read the article, the Tweet you share with friends. It doesn't always prove itself worthy of your attention, but nor does every movie you buy a ticket to see.
I don’t get studies about whether audiences trust content from brands. It seems like the wrong question. The source of the content doesn't matter as much as its value and appeal.
The next time someone says they don’t understand what the word content means, keep it simple: it’s stuff people choose to spend time with.
With a deep-seated passion for teaching, educational design, and creative business, I am committed to building bridges between education and the entertainment industry.
2yFinally read this - love the distinction.
Managing Partner at Working Lands Investment Partners, LLC
9yAnd here I thought content was the opposite of agitated. You know, the feeling you get when your "interrupted", say like a sky banner buzzin by. Thanks for setting me straight - I fell a little more content already.
Snr Solution Architect | MIT Student | Cloud Computing & Data
9yHere I am day in/day out thinking how could I explain the difference between content and advertising to friends/family who aren't as marketing savvy without going on a long-winded rant which would probably have them spinning 5 minutes in....and this post sums it up with the heading "What is content? For starters, it's not an ad" Love it! Great article and thanks for sharing!
Brand Director, Nike | Chasing dreams and thinking big at the Swoosh
9yI reckon this viewpoint is a little bit outdated. Good advertising can blend seamlessly with the content experience and is (when done well), part of the content experience. Take this example: Say a fashion website is running a piece on 10 amazing watches that he/she knows their audience will like. Say all ten of those slots are supplier-funded but the products are chosen by the editor - where's the distinction? The content is valid, an editor has determined that those products are right for the audience, but in traditional terms it's ad-funded. This type of model is where most advertising-led websites are heading. The art of succeeding in it is being able to say no when the advertiser or product isn't the right fit and always acknowledging the trust between content provider and consumer. I think everything is content - love it or hate it. There's content in a PPC ad and how well that content is produced determines the success of that ad. This piece reads to me like content = stuff I like, advertising = stuff I don't like. If it's done properly, the distinction between content and ads cannot be that clear. And what about on YouTube? If I'm watching a movie trailer (advertising I've hunted out - therefore content by your definition) and the pre-roll is for another movie that it turns out I want to see, where's the distinction there? Both are pieces of advertising that are 100% content - one is discovered by search, another is delivered by an advertising mechanism. That's the only difference.
Scott Donaton Terrific piece. Based on your experiences and background on the content and advertising/marketing sides of the business you bring a great deal of credibility and objectivity to the subject. The line I like best (and there were a number of them) on content is "its the stuff people choose to spend time with". Best erich erich@erichlinker.com