We always recommend local media outlets create their own brand studio or agency to help local advertisers understand the power of content marketing and earn new revenue. This doesn't have to be a huge undertaking - it could just be naming your studio, defining your mission and promoting your work.
This week's Branded Buzz features Sales Development Manager Jenny Johnson and Creative Director Sean Haley from Foundry425 at Star Tribune. They offer advice on how to promote your brand agency while staying connected to your publication.
Sean Haley says Foundry425 at Star Tribune has positioned itself as an agency that produces great content to create an experience for a brand its audience. This is done through content, events and traditional advertising.
"Our point of view is we go out and tell your story, we create a good experience for the brand. Part of our thinking there is that as we head into the post-pandemic world, brand affinity is currency. Everything is a click away. We do these brand experiences. Our specialty is content marketing, but we can go and do that in any particular format," Haley said.
The name "Foundry" is a play on creation and building content and 425 pays homage to the old Star Tribune building location. They've also done a lot of external promotion to market Foundry425's incredible work and capabilities, including programmatic, SEM, and social media advertising, while also using its owned and operated channels to spread the word.
"When we were thinking of our logo and thinking of our brand we thought about, okay what can we do to still link us to the Star Tribune but also differentiate ourselves enough so we're not considered a newspaper," Johnson said of Foundry425 at Star Tribune.
They also find it's crucial to work with other departments at Star Tribune to evangelize Foundry425 and regularly discuss content opportunities for advertisers.
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The Branded Content Project is designed through a strategic partnership between the Local Media Association, the Local Media Consortium, and the Facebook Journalism Project to help facilitate additional growth, engagement, and revenue success for more publishers of all shapes and sizes.