How to Unify Content in a Multi-Brand Enterprise System

Mike Stiles, Global Content Strategy Manager for IHG, joins the Content Pros Podcast to discuss the fine art of overseeing and managing content for multiple brands.

In This Episode:

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Full Episode Details

Together But Separate

Managing the marketing for an enterprise system is a huge challenge. Multiple brands competing for attention in a crowded, noisy, online marketplace can overwhelm and exhaust the most seasoned professional.

For Mike, navigating the waters of multiple brands means taking a step back. Instead of being hands on and controlling each brand’s message, he takes a more consultant-like route and lets the brands carve their own path.

Trusting each brand to know their own audience allows them the flexibility to adjust quickly to the changing interests of their customers. The individual brand’s content becomes more impactful through relevance and this success reflects positively on the company as a whole.

This also frees up Mike to focus on the big-picture messaging that connects the brands together under one corporate umbrella. He is able to avoid the exhaustion and ulcers that accompany micro-managing a diverse portfolio, develop a cohesive and inclusive corporate voice, and reap the rewards of a thriving content marketing ecosystem.

In This Episode

• How juggling multiple brands can lead to content chaos
• Why empowering your enterprise means stepping back and acting more as a consultant than a manager
• How your brands can lead your content to success
• Why developing a solid marketing plan means investing in content

Quotes From This Episode

“While you want to give the individual brands the freedom to execute the kind of content marketing that they want to do, there are some guidelines so that we don’t operate an environment of content chaos.” —@mikestiles

“Global content strategy is there merely to advise each brand on how they craft their brand content strategies.” —@mikestiles

“We are trying to give them leeway into showing us, telling us what’s best in the ways in showcasing their hotel.” —@mikestiles

“Success, for us, looks like convincing the organization of the value of content marketing.” —@mikestiles

“The way you build an audience is to know that audience intimately and give them what they love.” —@mikestiles

“You have various phases of the buyer journey, from dream, plan, book, stay, share. You’ve got to have content that addresses people at each stage of that funnel.” —@mikestiles

“The only way to have a prayer of having anyone pay attention to what you give them is for it to specifically address what they’re going through at that moment.” —@mikestiles

“The quest is building audiences by creating content that genuinely entertains and informs.” —@mikestiles

Resources

• Mike Stiles on Twitter: @mikestiles
• IHG
• The Color of Discovery for Hotel Indigo
• Content Marketing Quickie
• Hug Your Haters

What is one key takeaway from Content Marketing World 2016?

So many brands and companies are talking about content marketing, but it turns out that they are actually doing advertising and calling it content marketing. They are not truly committed. They are not going all the way in terms of creating content that entertains and informs their customers.