Content Strategy

All businesses revolve around content. It includes just about everything from financial details in an accounting system, to product information in a Web catalog, to streaming audio and video for presentations.

Content is found: On Web sites: public Internet, client extranet, corporate intranet, industry marketplaces and ecommerce; In printed materials: annual reports, press releases, articles, product sheets; In business systems: client histories and case studies, product specifications, training manuals and video; In advertising agencies: collateral, TV spots, interviews, promotions; In the hands of suppliers: delivery schedules, trade volumes, terms and conditions.

The scale of content is extremely variable. It may be brief pieces of product information and graphics placed on a Web catalog-many small items that change frequently; or, content may be entire manuals of detailed schema accessible in print and on CD-ROM-a small number of very large, complex documents that are authored once and rarely updated.

Content is not limited to text. It includes graphics, audio and video clips, images, and drawings. Collectively, content comprises the entire knowledge base of a company.

Characterizing an organization's content and understanding the underlying opportunities and risks that content presents is critical to developing an effective approach to content exploitation. DeepBridge's content strategy specialists understand the opportunities that content represents and the resources required to manage the the entire content lifecycle.

With a deep knowledge of marketplace fundamentals, business processes and changing technology dynamics, DeepBridge helps clients define content strategies that fit their business model and establish increasing competitive advantage. Used effectively, content provides unique opportunities to:

Increase customer loyalty Challenge: Customers have become accustomed to timely information tailored to their needs both on the Web and in print. Opportunity: Personalizing content for each customer allows companies to target the message, deliver the right information to the right person at the right time, and segment down to the lowest unit-one customer. Example: Amazon.com leverages its customer behavior database to draw a road map for content customization content, creating a rich experience resulting in strong brand loyalty.

Improve sales cycles Challenge: A decision tree is seldom simple. Different participants require different information: technical specifications, purchasing terms, product functionality and competitive reviews. Opportunity: Rich customer content tied to user profiles give companies a competitive edge and enable smart delivery of all the unique information needed to satisfy each person Example: Victoria's Secret's behavior modeling and dynamic content drive efficient purchasing for women who know what they want and suggestive selling for men who haven't the vaguest idea.

Dominate a market niche Challenge: Niche market leaders receive the lion's share of new revenues in a growing market. These firms define the set of characteristics by which competing products are judged. Opportunity: By leveraging proprietary, third party and user generated materials to provide the best mix of content and context, a company becomes the trusted infomediary for the sector. This defines the product and the market to new buyers. Example: American Lawyer Media's Law.com content has made them the de-facto destination for the legal sector.

Shorten time to market Challenge: Approved content is often the bottleneck slowing down new product launches. Opportunity: Organized content and defined workflows improve productivity, reliability and scalability of enterprise marketing and communication efforts. Example: Staples' contentbase has shaved significant time off catalog production cycles, improving revenue recognition.

React to competitive threats Challenge: Brick and mortar extensions and new Internet companies can change the market environment dramatically. Opportunity: Redefine business through channel extensions (Web, wireless, PDA) for differentiated experience and service offerings. Example: Britannica.com has leveraged proprietary and outsourced content to diversified business lines to include a primary Web information portal.

Reach new markets Challenge: Shareholder value creation requires persistent revenue and earnings growth despite the level of market maturity. Opportunity: Content transcends markets, reaches new vertical segments, expands geographic touch points and creates cross-sell/up-sell extensions. Example: BMW's multiple Web properties repurpose content and design to provide local information within a global brand.