CONTENTUM creates content for CITRUSDAL WINES

27 July 2013

When digital content specialist, CONTENTUM, was approached by Citrusdal Wines in February 2013, the brief was clear: Citrusdal Wines wanted to upgrade their website content in order to a stronger association with their international and local audiences and their Fair Trade certification.

The brand was stagnating while some other modern wine brands were building strong online communities and engaging through useful and constantly updated content.

CONTENTUM were excited leaped at the opportunity to get involved in the strategy phase, a rare starting point, where the client generously shared their thinking and plans. This brand story had so many legs that we were able to portray the authentic voices in video content, giving credibility to their new positioning statement, “Changing Lives.” For the benefit of their international audience, all the video content had English sub-titles as the local dialect would have been lost in translation.

We love hearing the ‘seedling’ thinking as this really puts our minds where the client is. This makes a big difference in the quality of content and depth of communication we are able to supply,” comments Contentum Director, Lize Sadie.

Initially, we sat in inspiring places discussing the brand, its users and the possible brand voices, compared to the multitude of wine brands out there, some shouting loudly from the rooftops.

It was really important to ensure that the Citrusdal Wines brand sound unique and true. We needed to tell the brand story through a simple, humble but creative voice to which both the local and international markets could relate”, says Contentum Director, Gillian Loos.

However, once Sadie and Loos found a clear brand voice, the content wouldn’t stop coming.

We still have a couple of ideas for this brand; it is really exciting to be working on such a different wine brand with such unique and emotional qualities.”

Citrusdal Wines presented an opportunity for Contentum to explore their writing talents in the very competitive wine industry, especially internationally.

We have grown attached to the Citrusdal Wines brand and are grateful to the client for giving us the wonderful opportunity to work with them; it has been such a joy!

 

 

The new website launched in May 2013 and client, Diani Smit, is delighted with the result:

We have found Contentum to be a great asset and contributor to the project. Gillian and Lize are very professional and a pleasure to work with. We are delighted with their work and their interpretation of the brief. They played a pivotal role in this project and we are looking forward to using them on future projects.

 

 

 

The website can be viewed here: www.citrusdalwines.co.za.

ISSUED BY CONTENTUM (PTY) LTD

For more information please contact LIZE SADIE at lize@contentum.co.za or call 083 463 7094

ENTREPRENEUR SA magazine

June 2013

Walking the Tightrope: Women Entrepreneurs Lize Sadie and Gillian Loos

For many entrepreneurs, starting their own business is a dream come true. Lize Sadie and Gillian Loos are no exception. Contentum Content Marketing is the culmination of years of building up a network, contacts, skills and business acumen.

Read the full article, click here

The Art of Brand Storytelling

19 September 2012

Bad communications is bad for business, right? Yet so many businesses do not communicate clearly and consistently. Many businesses do not use the opportunity to teach the consumer something about their brand every time the consumer encounters the brand.

CONTENTUM delivers crafted, strategic content across multi-media platforms as a means of converting prospects into customers and customers into repeat buyers.

We use the art of brand storytelling to convey the brand’s unique heritage and environment, and to ensure a relationship with consumers by building trust and your brand’s authority on the subject. – Directors and co-founders, Gillian Loos and Lize Sadie.

Gillian comes into this partnership with extensive retail and publishing experience at Woolworths and Media24. She is currently a part-time lecturer at Vega Brand Communications School.

Lize cut her teeth in the advertising world, working as a media strategist at advertising agencies before jumping the proverbial fence into publishing at Touchline Media.

Hard sell is dying. Consumers no longer relate to intrusive messaging via different media platforms, every minute of every day. The era of interruption marketing is over. Consumers filter, avoid and at best, only selectively pay attention to messages they actually want to receive. Marketers need to be far more subtle and serve useful, relevant information to a targeted consumer.

There has been a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour:  Consumers are now more in control of what information they receive and how or when they receive it. They are relying on Google, their social media networks and their friends to source reviews and recommendations on products they plan to buy. This is why traditional advertising is no longer capable of doing the job it once did. This is why it is crucial to have sufficient product information available on the internet and to ensure that this information is engaging, relevant, updated and shared. The bottom line is that if you don’t offer the information the consumer is looking for, a competitor will. In addition, Google now places larger emphasis for website ranking on shared, engaging content and on brands that appear in multiple areas of the internet, i.e. social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

While the main purpose of most marketing efforts is to drive sales, content marketing employs a ‘softer’, indirect approach. The focus is on educating, entertaining, and delivering value to the consumer and nothing is more engaging than a compelling story. Using the art of brand storytelling, we convey the brand’s unique heritage and environment in a compelling way. By telling an engaging story, we build the brand’s authority on the subject and a relationship of trust with the consumers.

Content marketing is the development of well-crafted, relevant content and strategic distribution through owned media channels. It is targeting a specific audience and converting them into customers.  Content marketing subscribes to the notion that educating the customer results in the brand’s recognition as a thought leader and industry expert. Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. This can take the form of digital content, websites, custom magazines, print or online newsletters, white papers, video clips and events, etc.

CONTENTUM’s services also include analysis, insights, reporting, social media, brand strategy and media channel selection.

The key benefits to be expected of a successful content marketing campaign are lead generation, thought leadership, market education, improved brand awareness and retention, increased interaction with the brand and improved brand loyalty.

THE END