THE CUSTOM CONTENT COUNCIL OF AMERCIA'S NEW SURVEY SHOWS CUSTOM CONTENT MARKET SPEND AT $40.2 BILLION
Branded Video Leads Pack in Growth of Distribution Channels.
While print still captures the majority of money spent on custom media – $23.6 billion – the combination of electronic, video, and other forms reached an all-time high spend of $16.6 billion in 2011, with 52% of marketers saying they now use branded video. Eighty-seven percent of companies use print to convey content, followed closely by web sites at 82%.
Survey trends indicate that print will relinquish its dominant role in the next few years, though it will continue to be a sizeable component in overall spend well into the future.
The “Characteristics Study: A Look at the Volume and Type of Content Marketing in America for 2012,” the 12th annual industry study by the Custom Content Council and ContentWise, compares usage of content marketing among all different formats from 2009-2011 including print, web, email, video, virtual events, white papers, podcasts and e-Zines. While print declined from 91% to 83% in three years, video rose from 37% to 52% and email went from 66% to 71%. For the ninth year in a row, titles targeting external audiences exceeded those targeting internal audiences at a 73% vs. 27% ratio, with the USPS confirmed as the preferred distribution method (75%).
“All metrics show a solid commitment to custom, no matter what the form of distribution. Funds that were previously earmarked for print are being shifted to video and web content, though print remains a dominant part of the overall spend,” said Lori Rosen, Executive Director, Custom Content Council. “There is no doubt that content is king; there are now many different queens, knights, duchesses and dukes in the castle.”
Posted by Kaz on Fri, 11 May 2012
Why collaborate? Collaboration amongst creative groups is common in the industry. In Design Council research, 54% of designers questioned said they collaborate with external groups or designers to complete/win work.
One obvious benefit of collaboration is that it widens the skills base and that various relevant stakeholders with synergistic interests and shared dynamics can provide a rich pool of complementary ideas.
Collaboration as the ultimate business tool has critical mass support and wherever possible, I urge clients to work with their various stakeholders to maximise cultures of knowledge sharing, creativity and innovation.
Three key themes of collaboration, as defined by 'Live Work Ltd' –
People - at the heart of services. Networks - enabling services through new relationships between organisations, people and things. Sustainability - connecting the people, information and physical elements of an ever-evolving service.
Four key themes, defined by 'NBBJ - global architecture, planning & design practice' –
Vision - Collaboration - Communication - Delivery.
NESTA:
www.nesta.org.uk also provides plenty of inspiring evidence of the benefits of collaboration and partnership-working. Particularly interesting from a creative perspective is NESTA’s report "The Vital 6% - how high growth innovative businesses generate prosperity and jobs”.
Thomson Reuters has explored the positive and negative connotations of collaborating; identifying "VUCA" ('volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity'). The definition comprises a great word soup as follows:
Alliances, Volatility, Competition, Fragmentation, Web 2.0, Time-to-Market, Perpetual Beta, Uncertainly, Information Explosion, Complexity, Co-opetition, Software vs. Hardware, Innovation, Ambiguity, Commoditisation, Convergence, Risk Management, Integrated vs. Independent, Synergies, Strategy vs. Tactics.
There are numerous other points of reference relating to creativity and collaborative practices. I'm certain to have missed out many, so do please contribute:
Tony Buzan is the inventor of Mind Maps®, one of the most powerful 'thinking tools' of our times.
The Creative Education Foundation is the centre for Applied Imagination – helping individuals, organisations and communities transform themselves as they confront real-world challenges.
Creativity Based Information Resources is a literature database containing over 12,000 references of works focusing on creativity.
Creativity and Innovation Day is a global celebration of our ability to generate new ideas, use imagination and make new decisions in every sphere of life.
Mycoted is dedicated to improving Creativity and Innovation for solving problems worldwide.
CREA Conference offers time and space to be creative, while learning how to live and work creatively.
Creativity and innovation portal.
Collection of idea generation methods from across the web.
The European Association for Creativity and Innovation contributes to a better understanding, practice and acceptance of creativity and innovation in Europe.
The home of the inventor of Lateral Thinking on the web.
The website dedicated to bringing you the best in business ideas, opportunities, leads.
KickStart is a non-profit organization that develops and markets new technologies in Africa, enabling the poor to climb out of their poverty forever.
Helps organisations all over the world implement change faster and more successfully.
Scans the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts.
Provides professional support, advice and guidance to organisations wishing to utilise formal programmes to capture suggestions and creative ideas from within.
Aims to promote and disseminate good creative ideas to improve society.
An independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and business ideas.
Allows starting entrepreneurs to post, discuss and find new ideas, trends and opportunities.
An idea commodity market, a creative exchange forum, and a hosting service for innovators and businesses.
A one-of-a-kind creative environment that fuels new product development, in a vibrant and inspirational atmosphere.
Posted by Kaz on Fri, 11 May 2012
