Pay for a Personality, or Create Your Own?

content-marketing, campaigns, content-agency, content-strategy

/
Jun 01, 2016

by Rob L

[views]

No Comment

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.

---

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

Author

3rdspace acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
3rdspace 2022 © All rights reserved | Privacy
eyeuserbubble linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram