Internal Agencies Kill Your Content Marketing
Internal agencies are all the rage when it comes to content marketing operating models. They're also one of the biggest indicators of a strategy in trouble.
It’s Tuesday, Robert here - and it’s time for TCA’s LENS.
So, Sam Altman - the CEO of OpenAI made all kinds of news last week when he said that:
“95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today will easily, nearly instantly and at almost no cost be handled by the AI.”
Sheesh. That was enough to make anybody have a toxic freakout.
But, interestingly, everybody sort of directed their gaze at the traditional agencies and creative consultancies that are so often hired for just those kinds of strategic programs.
The ANA reports that 82% of their members report they now have an in-house agency. So - why didn’t we think about them.
Is it because we don’t consider internal agencies uh…. strategic?
Hmmm… But quickly - before we move on…
<quickly changes into khakis and blue sports coat>
We’re doing a bunch of interesting new things at TCA. We’re content and marketing services now. Simply said: we’re here to roll up our sleeves and help you with your marketing and/or content challenges as a fractional partner. We can not only help you roadmap your approach, but we can serve as a fractional member to get it implemented, managed and measured. Check this out if you want to learn a little more.
<removes khakis and coat, and back into jeans and sneaks>
Okay… in today’s edition.
Internal Agencies Kill Content Marketing
Celebrity Backed Brands are the newest.. uh.. Celebrity.
80% of consumers say fandom brings them excitement and joy
Let’s roll….
ZOOM LENS: INTERNAL AGENCIES KILL CONTENT
Internal Agencies are one of the most common operating models for content teams these days. They are also the biggest indication of a strategy in trouble.
Why?
Well, sometimes the internal agency operational approach incorporates what is loosely called “planning”, but is usually just getting internal “stakeholders” to request their wish list of content, and decide on any significant themes. But just as often, there is no planning or prioritization. The content calendar (to the extent that it should even be called that) is a to-do list with dates based on ad hoc requests from various other teams. The content team becomes Kinkos, racing to churn out assets as orders pour in.
Eventually, the content teams (the internal agencies) fail to live up to expectations, the content is imbalanced, and the creators and producers burn out.
So, when the content marketing strategy needs a reboot – and it will – how do you align the new content approach with internal customers’ expectations?
One of the most valuable things you can do is to stop acting like an on-demand and thinking of stakeholders (or letting anyone else think of them) as your customers.
Internal Agencies: stakeholders are investors, not customers
In marketing, we throw around the term stakeholders to refer to people affected directly by our efforts. That list is long – content and marketing touch almost every other function (business leaders, IT, sales, communications, public relations, product, and external groups like partners and investors).
But a funny thing happens when I ask a content teams that have been structured as internal agencies if they consider themselves to be stakeholders in sales or comms. The content team leaders laugh softly and say, “Oh no, they’re our customers.”
That’s not ideal. I recently worked with a B2B tech company where the content marketing team existed to respond to the product marketing team’s requests for “thought leadership” to accompany new product launches. But the product marketing team viewed thought leadership as lightly veiled customer success stories or fact-filled technical schematics of how their product worked.
How did this approach work? Not well. The product marketing team loved the content. But the potential real customers didn’t.
Content teams achieve consistent success only when they’re elevated to stakeholder status. In other words, content strategy and content marketing teams only succeed when they lead strategic content efforts alongside their peers instead of serving as on-demand content production resources.
Marketing and content teams are skilled practitioners of a professional discipline. They’re not there to “service” the stakeholder groups but to learn, align, and work with them to achieve a common goal. Those stakeholder groups are invested in content’s success because it means that, as a result, they succeed.
Internal stakeholders (also like investors) can serve as independent sources of information. They can offer details to inform priorities and insight to improve processes, and cooperation to attract new investment. Or they can also sabotage every effort you make and profit from your misery.
It’s funny. When a company hires an external creative or strategic agency, the internal teams see that team as a strategic investment. They are there to lead our strategy, and we are there to get return on our investment by benefitting from their guidance.
So – why is it that we so rarely treat the internal agencies to that same kind of relationship? Why are the internal agencies just an on-demand machine of every whim that executives, sales, product, and other teams can come up with?
Check out the rest of my article here.
Have an awesome week.
WIDE ANGLE LENS: MARKETING SNAPS
Let’s get it all in frame. Shall we?
🧑🏭 80%+ - The number of consumers that say their fandom brings them excitement and joy. Interesting. The power of “fandom” is something quite remarkable. A new report shows the power of fandom and how it’s a “super power” for sales.
Uhhhh…. yeah, so should we just fold up our tents and go home. While I totally understand why Sam said it - here’s why I think quotes like that are so dangerous.
💰 8.3 million - The TV-only average audience of the NCAA Mens Basketball tournament across TV-only. That’s the second biggest number behind 2021.
🧑🏭 265 The number of product brands started by celebrities. The report says that at the rate they are growing now, more than 100 actors will have launched a CPG brand by the end of 2024. Are B2B Influencers next?
LENS FLARE: - TCA Events & Happenings For You
Robert Is Speaking At Digital Summit Next Week In Chicago
Hey if you happen to be going to Digital Summit in Chicago, reach out. Robert will be speaking on AI and integrating it into marketing (shocker). Should be a fun couple of days. Here’s the info if you’re interested in the event.
Don’t Miss Our April Webinar
What the actual you know what are we doing with Social Media these days. Let’s have a look, Cathy and Robert will host our April Webinar and it’s about how to craft a cuttting edge social media strategy in 2024. It should be alot of fun.
LENS CAP: Let’s Finish With A Flourish
The strategist and author Eli Goldratt once wrote, “Tell me how you measure me, and I will tell you how I will behave. If you measure me in an illogical way, don’t complain about illogical behavior.”
Seeing content teams as internal agencies built only to delight internal customers sets the wrong objective. It encourages the idea that all internal stakeholders are the same as customers – and that success means meeting all their needs.
But while all customers are stakeholders, not all stakeholders are customers. Most are better treated as investors – a key constituency that benefits from a co-created approach to content as a strategy.
Don’t serve them. Instead, lead them. That’s how you’ll make their investment of time, money, effort, and information more and more valuable.
And extra bonus - you can be worried about the Sam Altman quote the same as the rest of us.
It’s your story. Tell it well.
Again, if you need some help - we can help you sort that out - let us know.
Our aim is to help you build YOUR internal capabilities, not have you rely solely on ours. Talent. Training & Trusted Insight.
See you next week.
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