?? Think Outside The Box: Get creative inspo, utilize in-house pros & optimize for conversions

Hey fam! It’s officially summer travel season and the SourceCode team is really out and about seeing the world. We have team members exploring London, Paris, the French and Italian Riviera, Canada, New England, Miami and so much more. We love a good ‘recharge your batteries’ trip! #sourcecodestrong

Even with summer in full swing, the team not on vacation (??)? has been working really hard on a few marquee client initiatives…with the support of two new SourceCoders (Thanks Jody!). If you know anyone awesome, send them her way . We still have a few open roles!

Breaking(ish) News - We launched the SourceCode Impact Dashboard to help marketing leaders more effectively monitor marketing initiatives to make better ROI-based decisions. We’re using it on ourselves as well and we can attest…it’s awesome! Ping Kevin if you’d like a demo.

We’ve also been squirreling away on our new website launch (act surprised when we show you in a month or so) and a few exciting marketing initiatives we think are going to help clients and prospects in value-driving ways. Stay tuned!

Shameless plug: check out the amazing work our Sonatype account team did newsjacking the CrowdStrike debacle. More than 40 pieces of coverage in 48 hours!?

Alright, this week we’re getting back to the basics. Our three stories showcase some unique marketing campaigns, highlight a trend towards using in-house influencers, and give us some real tangible tips on how to create better content.?

As always, dig in, enjoy, and tell us what you think!

Becky & Greg

Get creative: The campaigns from H1 2024 that were uniquely creative

TL;DR: With record low marketing budgets, brand creativity has been waning over the last year. Some brands continue to miss the mark with tone-deaf ads (*cough* Apple’s iPad crush ad cough), but other brands managed to take risks and win attention. Ads like CeraVe’s weird Michael Cera activation , E.l.f.’s edgy OOH diversity campaign, and Sprite’s nostalgic reinvention of its “Obey Your Thirst” messaging all signal a potential creative resurgence.

Takeaway: Somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost the fun of creating campaigns for audiences. Of course, lower budgets and more volatile times impact this— even ads that may seem safe on the surface (looking at you again, Apple) have the potential to be negatively perceived. But if you’re playing it safe, you often risk being drowned out by all the noise consumers are facing. Take some inspiration from these six standout campaigns to embrace risk-taking or contrarian thinking, and get those creative juices flowing.

Consider:

• The campaigns in this piece stand out because they’ve embraced outside-the-box thinking and taking risks. What is the obvious approach your brand could take? Challenge that and brainstorm what the contrarian approach could look like.
• What is stopping you or your teams from flexing your creativity? Make a list of what’s hindering you, so you can start figuring out how to foster more creative ideation.

Utilize in-house experts: How your pros can help your brand story

TL;DR: When we’re calling in your brand’s subject matter pros, it’s for a good reason: in-house experts can make a major difference in selling a story to a skeptical reporter. When done well, having a brand expert quoted in a relevant news article can help build your reputation and strengthen your brand.

Takeaway: Public relations pros (like our SourceCode team!) are often on the front lines of getting your brand’s story told by researching ideal outlets, pitching stories to journalists, and positioning brand messaging to the press. However, internal leaders are an integral part of the process of providing extra color to a story. Some brands may be timid to put their CEOs or in-house experts in the hot seat, fearing that an interview could go badly and be detrimental to the brand’s reputation – especially in crisis-driven responses. These are all fears that can be alleviated by PR pros (still our team!) who know when an in-house speaker is beneficial to a story, and who can prepare speakers with all the details they need to speak with a member of the press directly. Most of this honestly comes down to speaking to the journalist like they’re just another human and relaying your brand’s story in a passionate, approachable way.

Consider:

• The benefits of having a brand executive contributing to a press piece often outweigh the potential of something going wrong. What are your concerns about having an in-house leader or expert quoted in news media? Once you’ve identified those concerns, you can plan to ease them. For example, craft a media training plan to prepare your in-house leaders to know how to talk with members of the press (Psst… we can help with this!)
• Often, opportunities to comment on a news piece are urgent and arrive suddenly. Gather evergreen quotes from your leadership to be ready to respond when the moment arises. For example, what would your response be if something tragic happened in your industry? You might not be able to craft the exact response, but aligning on general approved copy (that can be tweaked later) can be a huge timesaver.

Crafting intentional content: Making content that leads to conversions

TL;DR: At the end of the day, content and comms are tools to increase brand awareness and lead consumers toward your product or service. While conversion-driven tactics are often reserved for SEO purposes, many concepts can be applied to content and comms, leading to more intentional content and less wasted efforts.

Takeaway: The article here mentions four tips to optimize content for conversions: use simple language, make the right offer, use discount codes, and include social proof. All of these can be co-opted into organic content or comms campaigns. Simple language goes a long way when relaying your brand story to an audience or a journalist. Aligning your offering toward the relevant audience’s pain points can help you better identify media targets. Discount codes may look a little different than in SEO strategy, but if you’ve got the perfect audience or press outlet, consider expanding the relationship to a sponsored partnership. Social proof can help bolster your brand’s reputation in a story. By approaching every comms effort with a goal of conversion, you’ll start to recognize which opportunities will help lead your brand forward and which ones aren’t the best use of time.

Consider:

• Approach every PR opportunity or piece of content with the goal of fostering more conversions. Ask yourself: will this bring me toward converting a customer?
• SEO concepts at their core are meant to optimize, and can often be helpful when applied to other areas of marketing. What tactics can you take to optimize your area of marketing or comms?

Here is what Kevin Dulaney, EVP and Head of Technology and Innovation had to say:?

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