Custom Media Is Bringing Sexy Back (...and adding one more JT joke to the interweb)

It appears Custom Media is like that mousy girl everyone ignored back in high school, who becomes a supermodel ten years later: It’s always been attractive; People are just finally starting to take notice. In fact, in 2005 alone custom media grew 29.1%, according to a study by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, and is now the eighth largest media sector overall.

So, what is with the sudden love of all things custom media? Maybe it needed a cool name like MySpace or YouTube to get people’s attention, but, no matter whether you call it custom media, content marketing or branded content, it, as Joe Pulizzi, group director, custom media, Penton Media said, is a “dialogue of relevant information delivered to a targeted audience with the purpose of changing or fostering a behavior.”

Pulizzi joined other pioneers of content marketing at ABM’s Thought Leadership Breakfast, “The Identity Game: Custom Media Builds Brands” this morning, including Michael Hurley, VP custom publishing, Hanley Wood; Andrew Pancer, COO, About.com; Rebecca Rolfes, EVP new business development, Imagination Publishing; and Randy Roush, executive director, strategy & product development, Idearc Media, who showed how custom media works for them.

And apparently, it works hard:

• 80 % of consumers would rather get information from an interesting collection of articles than from an ad. (2005 Custom Publishing Council and Roper ASW)
• Custom media can be anything from a casserole recipe on a soup can to a podcast on heartburn, giving advertisers endless ways to reach their target audience.
• Just because you want to brand your content, doesn’t mean any advertiser can sponsor it. An ad for tooth whitening doesn’t belong on a custom Web site for dog training.
• Unlike traditional marketing, custom media gives consumers the opportunity to interact and engage with a brand.
• With a custom print piece you have about ten minutes to make someone pick it up; they didn’t ask for it in the first place, so it better be pretty damn appealing.
• Custom media is a win/win for everyone involved. The advertiser gets people interested in their product or service, and the consumer gets valuable information.

posted by Gail Hoffer