We are facing a highly challenging, uncertain time. For businesses, things are moving quickly and it’s essential that action is taken quickly.

As business leaders, we need to be as transparent and supportive with our teams, customers and partners as possible. It’s a time for agile, authentic communication - without creating more fear.

In the days following 9/11, Rudy Giuliani set out a communications framework that can be useful in the COVID-19 situation we face today:

  1. With total transparency, tell them what you do know.
  2. Tell them what you don't know and what contingencies you are thinking about.
  3. Be human while showing strong leadership.
  4. Ask for calm and collaboration, by providing clear action steps.
  5. Give hope and show a sense of resilience.
  6. Let your audience know when you will be updating them again on the situation.

These wise words have helped the team at 3rdspace devise an agile communications response strategy, to help our clients through this time.

3rdspace now offer an agile, virtual production resource.

In response to the rapidly changing situation, we have upped our resources to help our clients create agile, in the moment content, through a virtual production strategy.

We have enlisted a PR crisis expert to work with our clients on tailored, phase-by-phase messaging, allowing for a range of contingencies for both internal and external customer communication.

An editorial team available 24/7.

In these uncertain times, we’ve taken action to ensure we’re here when, and if you need us. Our editorial teams are available 7 days a week. 3rdspace are now working on a split roster basis across Australia and the UK to provide 24/7 support for our clients. To ensure their wellbeing and safety at this time, all of our team members can work remotely.

Talking the talk.

Film is a powerful, emotive way to communicate your brands actions. That’s why we have developed a safe plan to create quick turn-around film, utilising graphics, voice overs - recorded remotely and a vast array of footage libraries to create film in more responsive agile ways. Plus, our team of creatives and editors are working remotely to ramp up as the situation changes.

This will allow brands to create up to date videos and editorial content for channels such as EDM, social media and traditional platforms to inform customers of the action you are taking as the situation changes across the globe.

Our podcast studio is also set up to record audio and voice overs off-site.

At this stage we also have an in house crew who have not travelled in the last two months to direct, shoot and edit in a manner that is in line with the NSW Department of Health so they are aware of their responsibilities.  

It’s a time to reassure, not ignore.

While we are finding new agile ways to communicate day by day, it’s also a time to hold true to your brand’s purpose, maintaining a long-term view. During periods of isolation, customers and potential customers will likely be spending more time online looking for both practical up to date information and escapism.

From a brand perspective, while the first reaction may be to cut back on your marketing and content creation, it’s important to consider the benefits of dialling up your content presence. By holding true to your tone of voice and the product attributes, your brand content can serve as a much-needed tool to reassure and remind consumers that things will get better.

 It’s a time for innovation and demonstration.

Times like these can be incredibly unsettling, but they can also lead to sparks of innovation. Use this time to think about how you can do things differently. Is there anyone you can collaborate with? Are there any ideas you’ve previously discounted that might work now? Are there any innovations in the pipeline that you could fast track that could help individuals or communities today?

Stay on purpose.

Now is the time for dialling up why your business exists - its core purpose. One of the best approaches to surviving uncertainty is to set yourself apart and dial up the value that your brand offers – the thing your business is most famous for. A fast and cost-effective way of doing this is to create compelling, authentic content that brings that purpose to life, reminding customers and potential customers that you are still here and very much still in business, so when the time is right you will be at the top of mind.

We hope these thoughts help in uncertain times.

Please get in touch if you think we can help you in any way.

Rob Logan
CEO and Founder
0419 722 151
+61 2 8354 1527

What are Insta stories?  

Instagram stories provide a short glimpse into share-worthy moments. Whether it’s a fun team lunch, updating your customers on your newest collection installment or back in stock items, Instagram stories connect you with your audience on a more personal and spontaneous platform. 

Since its launch in August 2016, countless features and functions have been introduced, making it one of the most effective forms of both organic and paid media.  

How many people are really using them? 

Instagram stories are visited by half a billion users each day. In 2019, the list of brands on Gartner’s Social platforms and influencers report, saw a 13% increase on brands using the feature from 2018

How should you use them?  

Swipe up links are an easy way to direct consumers to your website, encouraging buying behaviour through product education (keep in mind that your account needs to have at least 10,000 followers to have access to the ‘swipe up function). Boost audience engagement on your stories with polls and questions, reactions and swipe up messages. Swiping up on stories allows users to engage in direct messaging, also known as ‘Instagram Direct’ which has evolved to become one of the most popular messaging apps to date, drawing in 375 million users. According to TechCrunch, one in five Instagram stories shared by a brand receives a direct reply, facilitating direct audience contact.

Story highlights on your profile page allow brands to save notable stories. Bulk relevant stories together in labelled categories. Small icons can be used to quickly identify what the stories contain. Be sure to keep your highlights to a minimum, about seven highlights is usually enough to cover all your content and not overwhelm your audience.  

Stories are also an effective way to post trends and news segments within your industry. For smaller news breaks that need to be sent out quickly, or that aren’t big enough for an entire blog post, put it up on your story. Add a questions sticker or a trending hashtag to encourage engagement. And that’s it! Your brand is now a go-to for up-to-date industry news.  

So, whatever industry your business falls in, and with this handy cheat sheet, we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for your daily Instagram stories.  

Cutting through the overload of ordinary content clutter is a challenge we take to heart at 3rdspace. This was a first for us and a first for the industry too. We’ve just launched Australia’s First Travel Industry Gameshow!

Travel agents from across the nation turned out for the coveted battle for Globus family of brands’ Travel Champions title. The nation’s top travel agents took to the stage as TV presenter James Kerley put them through their paces, quizzing contestants on geography, travel and their product knowledge about the Globus family of Brands: Avalon Waterways, Globus, Cosmos and Monograms. It’s wasn’t a poll or a quiz. It was a real live Travel Game Show!

The Background

A large percentage of Globus Family of Brands holidays are sold through travel agents – they are a vital part of telling the brand’s story. We needed to find an innovative way to inspire them to want to tell that story and build their product knowledge about the Globus family of Brands: Avalon Waterways, Globus, Cosmos and Monograms. To do this we needed to firstly step back and look at the cultural context.

The reason so many people are attracted to the travel industry is not just that “they love travel,” but that they also love dealing with people and being well-informed about the wonderful places and experiences in this beautiful world. And most importantly, being involved in an industry that allows you to have some fun along the way!

The 3rdspace Approach

90% of the content in the entire world was generated within two years alone (Forbes, 2018). With no signs of stopping and statistics increasing each year, it becomes even more important to have a strong content strategy that brings the brand’s tone of voice to life in a way that is different from the competition and involves the audience.

The approach is still the same. Ensure the content lines up with our strategy and the Globus Family of Brands’ content mission that allows you to ‘Go Live It’. We also needed ensure it reflected the brand’s tone of voice. Most importantly in the execution, we really needed to think about how we could provoke action and involve the audience.

Sourcing the Contestants

An initial launch film was amplified to travel agents across the country, creating hype and driving them to a dedicated competition microsite where travel agents were required to answer a series of travel related questions to qualify to be a part of the game show.

Teams featured travel agents from all states and territories across Australia, including representatives from Flight Centre, Bicton Travel, Helloworld, Travel Managers, italk travel, Devonport Travel & Cruise and RAA.

Trade Support

Industry trade site KarryOn was excited to come on board as the exclusive trade media partner for this truly unique event and helped to build anticipation and excitement for the event right up to the night. With access to a limited number of passes to the chic pre-event party at Urban Winery and seats in the studio audience, KarryOn ensured travel agents knew it was the hottest ticket in town!

The Gameshow

Our ten teams headed to our purpose-built TV game show set in Sydney, ready to compete in front of a live studio audience of industry peers, to become the Globus Family of Brands’ Travel Agency Champions.

After a gruelling six rounds of tough questions, it was Pat McKinnon and Liam Lavery from Flight Centre Ballarat that took home a trophy; winning an amazing night out for their whole agency and most importantly, the prestige of being dubbed the best in the business.

Following the team competition, it was time to determine who would take out Globus Family of Brands’ Travel Consultant Champion. Five individual consultants were randomly selected and invited to “Come On Down” from the studio audience to battle it out against the top five contestants from round one.

Round two saw some intense competition but ultimately it was Rowan Muller from Flight Centre Marion that triumphed, scoring themselves a luxurious river cruise for two with Avalon Waterways.

The Response

The feedback and engagement within the travel industry has been fantastic, including take overs on industry travel blogs, a massive wave of entries and hyped conversation on industry social sites. A dedicated amplification plan ensured our event content would receive extensive coverage across the travel industry with social amplification providing even greater scale during and post the event.

Globus Family of Brands Director of Marketing Chris Fundell said “3rdspace had the answer and we absolutely loved working with them for their non-traditional approach. They knew just how to capture the attention of our audience in a way we know will have a lasting impact, communicating our key messages in an extremely entertaining way.”

Like to hear more?

We look forward to partnering with ambitious and brave brands like Globus to create more innovative projects in the future. This is an example that we hope may inspire you to do your content marketing differently to the rest of the pack. If you’d like to know more about how it came about, drop us a line.

Pay for a personality, or create your own?

That is the question.

You’ll notice a couple of pieces of 3rdspace work recently, that uses "a face" for the content.

Our content piece for Pepsi Max to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Top Gun utilises the talents of Chaz Mostert, one of the drivers Pepsi Max sponsor.

The content campaign for NRMA is fronted by the loveable Deirdre, NRMA’s Do it Your Selfer, a character that is unique to the brand.

Both have had fantastic shares and positive sentiment for each brand.

It highlights a challenge many marketers face - to use a known personality that will likely bring instant credibility and social reach to the brand, or create a character that optimises the essence of your brand. Both have merit. Here’s a few thoughts that may help you make the decision on what’s best for your brand.

The Pepsi Max team have done a great job with their sponsorship of Chaz, finding an innovative intellectual property to reinforce the relationship that’s not a sticker on a helmet. The content taps into a wider audience outside of motor racing, and his personality and presence on camera really brings the brand essence to life.

What we learn from this is, if you’re going to do a personality endorsement or sponsorship, build a strong relationship with the talent, find out what the talent is into outside their core known skills and build a story that has wide appeal. Chaz’s fans have loved the clip, and even Holden drivers gave it a like and a share.

If you’re going to create your own personality, the content strategy and back story have to be developed thoroughly before the camera rolls.

NRMA haven’t just used loveable Deirdre as the face of a product campaign, they’ve been open to extending the story and involving consumers in the conversation.

Her personality and how we add to her back story with the content helps build longevity, which is where the challenge is for brand custodians. With so many changes in the market place and within the business they work for, marketers are always tempted to create something new, and walk away from the hard work they have put into developing a character. Other campaigns and characters can come into the mix, but if you have a character who is building a connection with your audience, think about how their story can evolve with your brand.

To share some thinking from my days running media brands, we would allow 2-4 years to build up a personality, knowing it takes time to build a deep emotional connection with the audience. Whether it’s a new show, a media personality or a character for the brand, make sure the personality you create is planned out, just like you’d plan out a campaign. Map out the journey for the character; have them not just selling a product, but living their purpose through the content.

With the right content strategy and innovative evolution of the characters story, your content can pay off bucket loads.

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Rob Logan is the founder of 3rdspace – where brands with purpose create content of value.

At 3rdspace, we are always talking to our partners about the importance of developing a powerful content purpose as a way that can help guide the content team and marketing team from the inside out.

But where does it all go from there?

We’ve found a lot of brands talk about their content pillars and feel they've nailed their content strategy. The truth is, while it may mean a lot to the business and brand, that strategy and those pillars will not resonate with consumers.

There are also a lot of stakeholders when it comes to content, and everyone thinks their piece of content is the most important.

So, we’ve designed some innovative tools to help businesses not only define their content mission, but also create content that brings to life that mission in a way that has value to the audience.

We have also created 5 simple criteria to help select the best content.

  1. Is it relevant not only to the brand, but to the person we want to view it and share it? For content to connect it needs to express how our audience think and feel in a way that is more dynamic than how they would express it themselves.
  2. Does it have an “emotional gift”? Is it helpful, inspirational or does it generate humour that is reflective of the brand’s personality?
  3. Does it reinforce our brand purpose in a way that is easily understood in the language of a trusted friend?
  4. Does it start a conversation? Content should always evolve a brand story arc, but more importantly, if we can inspire our audience to share their stories, the content has more value than a “share”.
  5.  Is the format and the channel we are presenting the idea in the best way to tell the story? Sometimes a still image or a thought provoking editorial piece or quiz can be more appropriate and time relevant than a produced film. Also consider taking the idea into newer channels where you may not have huge following but can have great impact.

Always focussing on what most strongly connects you and your consumers – your Core Purpose.

Rob Logan is the founder of 3rdspace - where brands with purpose create content of value.

Content Agency 3rd Space has recently started working with the lovely people at Crust Gourmet Pizza. In our first campaign, Crust needed a localised solution for South Australia to prompt brand awareness and trial.

So…. we employed two new delivery drivers for them. Meet Travis Boak and Tex Walker, the two local rival AFL captains.

Our solution embedded the brand in the parochial and passionate minds of South Aussies, who being a two team town, LOVE their footy!

The value offer: The Captains’ 2 for $30 Deal.  All customers have to do is jump online, order the deal and pick their captain for the chance to have one of the boys deliver direct to their door.

The timing has been perfect leading into footy finals, not only with the two captains being the new Crust ambassadors, and also the fact that pizza is the natural go-to food for watching the footy.

We kicked off the campaign with a short clip of the two Captains delivering Crust Gourmet Pizzas to fans across Adelaide, with plenty more deliveries and surprise content still to come: https://www.facebook.com/crustpizza

The campaign seems to have ticked a lot of (pizza) boxes for Crust – Surprise, Celebrity, Passion, Finals, Rivalry, Fun and so far, the most commented and shared social campaign on Crust Gourmet Pizza’s Facebook page - so we’ll tick the engagement box too.

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