John Lewis Christmas content marketing – Content24

Welcome to Content24. Why is it different? Because it’s a digest of the stories that have made an impact over the past 24 hours, and not just a platform for recycled content marketing. Today we’re looking at John Lewis, journalism and TalkTalk

Reveal of John Lewis Christmas ad

Christmas will soon be upon us. Or is already here, if you’re in high street marketing. One of the big events of the year is when the major retailers reveal their Christmas campaigns. Of these, John Lewis is probably the most eagerly awaited.

Talking about the forthcoming ad, John Lewis marketing director Andy Street made an interesting point about how changes to consumer viewing habits are leading the retailer to use its own platform.

Street said: “Our ad now launches on social media. It used to be on The X Factor, but the big reveal now is on social media and YouTube.”

John Lewis, a major practitioner of content marketing, also confirmed that it would be raising its spend on social media over Christmas. Content marketing may well increase as well, because the two often go in hand for John Lewis.

Yes, journalism is badly paid

OK, we all think our work is undervalued and that we are underpaid. However, recent research shows that journalism is becoming unsustainable as a career choice. According to figures from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), one in five people are earning less than £20,000 a year.

Before you use words such as ‘NUJ’, ‘axe’ and ‘grind’, for those who have worked in news media these figures are broadly in line with what we know anecdotally.

But this is not about doing a job for the NUJ. It is what it is. The thing to bear in mind is the effect this is having on the media and the quality of publications.

It also presents an opportunity for brands to hire such people – or at least the ones who are trained up – to produce work that is better journalism.

TalkTalk’s response to the hacking scam

TalkTalk has been reasonably open with the media about hackers stealing reams of customer data. However, the company’s response to its own customers who are probably worrying about the security of their bank accounts has been interesting.

The company has produced a series of updates and a video featuring TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding explaining what has happened and the depth of the problem.

We’ve stated before that content marketing can help in a crisis. In a situation like this, it is understandable that people might want to hear what the company has to say, rather than rely on news coverage. Likewise, it is a good way for TalkTalk to get its own story out.

As you can see from the video, it was an easy job to put together. Yet it could prove invaluable in mitigating the fallout.

Other links to view:

Video is top for content marketing conversions