Welcome to the first edition of The Long Tales – the best in marketing innovation content.

If you believe that marketing innovation is one of the most powerful ways for your brand to better connect with consumers, this may be for you. As a known Infovore, I am astounded by the vast amount of content out there on the topic of marketing innovation. With that, I’m even more astounded at just how average the vast majority of this content is. On a regular basis, The Long Tales will curate and comment on what has been happening in the world of marketing innovation… and why you need to care.

Keep your customers dreaming.

Technology and storytelling are funny things. Lots of brands think there’s nothing new to say to consumers, and can become somewhat paralyzed by the technology that they have, let alone all the new marketing and content marketing technology becoming more readily available every day. Then, a few weeks back, we looked to the stars as Elon Musk‘s SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy. Suddenly, the world began to marvel and dream again. This reminds us that great stories and great technology combined still grab our attention – even when commercial businesses are telling the story. And, while your brand may not have its own Falcon Heavy parked in the backyard, there are plenty of great stories waiting to be told, stories of how technology is changing the way you help customers to better connect. That’s where your brand comes in: to make sure consumers are never afraid to dream about their goals, and to help them along the journey.

Here are some of the best examples of how marketing innovation continues to shape brand narratives and change the marketing landscape:

• The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies – Fast Company. Every year, Fast Company pulls together a fascinating list of the most innovative companies. 2018 is no exception. Apple took the top position, while Square came in at number three (the highest ranked financial services business). Here’s why that’s fascinating: Out of five companies that made this list, the financial services sector had ten brands that made the Top 50 (a very high concentration, right?), but not one of them would be considered a traditional financial institution. What does that say about storytelling, building a brand and innovation?
• The Follower Factory  – The New York Times. Is your business hiring influencers for better reach and maximum impact? What if the data told us a very different story? What if some of the biggest celebrities and influencers were simply gaming the system (or getting played by the system?)? In this bombshell of an exposé, The New York Times uncovers how some individuals are getting all those likes, shares, and followers – and how this subversive behavior goes beyond influencers to impact the world of advertising, marketing and content marketing.
• The Merging of Advertising and Entertainment Has Led to Talent Shortfall  – DigiDay. Where does your business (or the agency that works for you) find the creative people and the internal talent to make your content work? Without a doubt, branded content has grown, and finding the right people to bring it to life is no easy challenge. For close to twenty years, our agency has been nurturing content culture over that of advertising and media. Still, our industry (and your business) is facing a new reality: content marketing spend is trending upward and access to talent remains limited. Here’s how brands and agencies are making it work. 
• Media’s New Business Model: Surveillance Capitalism – Medium. There is a new media reality. We’re just not (really) talking about it. Companies like Facebook, YouTube, Google, Twitter and Snapchat don’t simply allow brands like yours to access their audiences with advertising messages. In fact, these Silicon Valley behemoths won’t even call themselves media companies (they’re “technology platforms,” right?). Make no mistake about it, they are media companies. The problem is that they don’t just sell a platform to advertise on. They are in the “surveillance capitalism” space. They are really all about gathering, collecting and better understanding their users (and it’s not all that anonymous data, either) and that’s where the money is. Here’s are my thoughts on why that should concern you (and your business), and why it has already struck a nerve with big brands like Unilever and P&G.

Now, go get busy making innovation happen today.