Defining Content Marketing's Return

Not only has the app provided a return on engagement—Kraft reports that 90 percent of people who use the app also go on to register at kraftfoods.com⁹—but it has also created a return on acquisition, too. “We have 25 percent men using the platform, which was surprising to us,” said Kaczmarek in another interview. “Also, over 90 percent of the people signing in to the iFood Assistant are new to the Kraft Foods environment so it has really been a great acquisition vehicle for us."¹⁰

Other examples of brands using mobile content to “monetize the audience” include eBay, which claims $400 million in sales from its iPhone app,¹¹ and Pizza Hut, reporting $1 million in sales from its “Killer App for your Appetite” ordering app.¹² The value can be intangible—Barclaycard claims 650,000 hours of brand engagement from 9.8 million downloads of its “waterslide” app¹³ while Mercedes-Benz is looking to “deepen engagement, loyalty and purchase consideration” via rich media ads on a new iPhone app from Motor Trend and by sponsoring AutoTrader’s mobile site. A company spokesperson reports that “the mobile ads performed better than click-through rates with online display ads."¹⁴

Dollar values and intangibles can be harder to measure in social media marketing, but as tech sector giant IBM is showing, creative content-driven social networking can pay handsomely.

Now Hear This

IBM has long encouraged its employees to “Think.” Today, Big Blue’s mantra is all about talking and listening. Relying on the Internet and social media vehicles including Twitter, Facebook and blogs, the company has established a sophisticated two-way B2B communication and interaction channel driven by custom content in the form of expertise and thought leadership.

“In the B2B space, you want subject-matter experts who are known authorities on particular topics,” explained IBM’s Ed Linde II in a case study on the program. “They’re credible experts on a particular area that people are trying to learn more about and make educated decisions on.”¹⁵