SHRM and Turner's Courageous Tap Into Issues via Relevant Branded Content

Kathy Newbergeramp160 Michal you39re one of the founders of Courageous CNN39s inhouse studio for brandsamp160 Why is branded content so relevant todayMichal Shapiraamp160 In today39s climate marketers increasingly want to stand for something and tell their brand stories in a way that breaks through the clutteramp160 They often want to showcase values that are meaningful to them and to their consumers and that means going beyond traditional advertising and sponsorshipamp160amp160We39re seeing that branded content can connect with audiences in ways that traditional more disruptive advertising of the past really can39t achieveamp160 And the trusted environments that we provide across our news division CNN HLN and Great Big Story have proven very effective for our advertisersamp160 SHRM was particularly interested in capitalizing on the big cultural moment of the upcoming midterm elections with this campaignNewbergeramp160 From SHRM39s perspective what were the goals for this initiativeJeaneen AndrewsFeldmanamp160pictured at rightamp160 This is a pivotal time for the workplace and the workforceamp160 Some of the most critical issues that are affecting society today really show up at workamp160 Our goal is to convene a global conversation on three issues that you see across the headlines every day closing the skills gap modernizing employmentbased immigrationamp160and creating organizational cultures that prevent workplace harassmentamp160 We set out to use very compelling content to help showcase a conversation between SHRM the leader in all things work and the Fortune 500 executives who deal with people issues every dayNewbergeramp160 How does the SHRM campaign compare to other projects Courageous has doneShapiraamp160 Since we launched Courageous about three years ago we39ve produced branded work for clients across every major ad category though we do have a significant number of B2B clientsamp160 It can be a challenging category and the more conventional approaches commonly used like publishing whitepapers are interesting but usually not the most dynamicamp160 In order to really bring these topics to life a brand needs to tell their story in an original and creative wayamp160 We at Courageous are uniquely positioned to do that through our brand journalistic approach and specialization in videoamp160 And then of course leveraging our audience and the relevant environment of CNN where this content is going to live is incredibly valuable as wellamp160I believe other B2B brands like Pitney Bowes American Express and KPMG have also worked with us because they realize real emotional stories break through in a way that more traditional marketing strategies can39t achieveamp160amp160But it39s not all B2Bamp160 We executed a really exciting campaign for Volvo around the solar eclipse that was shot live and in virtual realityamp160 And MassMutual partnered with us for a campaign around stories about real people worth celebrating to close out 2017 which culminated with a live ad during CNN39s New Year39s Eve programamp160 They were both compelling executions wrapped around cultural moments that drove significant client resultsamp160The possibilities are limitless for brands to get involved in real conversations with their audience in an authentic wayamp160 We39ve been fortunate to have our work in this area recognized by the industryamp160 In 2018 alone we39ve received 41 awardsamp160and a recent Advertiser Perceptions study ranked us as one of top branded content studios including first in 83 of the categories including engaging breakthrough ideas and achieving clients39amp160KPIs and goalsNewbergeramp160 The CNN brand is arguably more culturally relevant and important to our society than everamp160but your company has some powerful critics Michalamp160 amp160Is there ever a conflict between telling the story a brand like SHRM wants toldamp160and respecting your own brand39s reputation for the truthShapira pictured at rightamp160 Journalism is more important to our society than it ever has been before and we hold ourselves to the same high standards that the CNN editorial staff doesamp160 When we launched Courageous producing branded content through a very specialized lens of brand journalism we hired awardwinning talent to build the studio from scratchamp160 I think what we do best is look at things through different angles findamp160stories that haven39t been told or tell stories in different and unique ways to make them more engaging to a broader audienceamp160 The work we did for SHRM demonstrates just thatamp160This studio was established to uphold the separation of church and state and the journalistic integrity of CNNamp160 We clearly label everything that is branded content regardless of the platform that the creative sits onamp160 We39re very careful to make it apparent that what you39re watching and engaging with is branded contentamp160 Our standards and practices department reviews everything vets everything blesses everythingThe SHRM videos are currently taking over full commercial pods on CNN during New Day and Inside Politics two relevant programs that are anchored in thought leadershipamp160 They are also running on CNN Airport Network and across our digital and social channelsamp160 The distribution strategy is very deliberate to ensure we39re engaging SHRM39s target audience for this campaign in a meaningful wayNewbergeramp160 How did this campaign compare to others you39ve done in the pastAndrewsFeldman amp160We39ve certainly employed branded content as part of our strategy before but this series rose to a whole new levelamp160 I39ve worked with a number of different agencies in the past and I39d say the caliber of Michal39s team and their ability to quickly ascertain what we were trying to get done and to synthesize our messages in a way that came across clearly in twominute videos was tremendousamp160 Courageous was an ideal partnerPhoto credit topamp160 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SHRM and Turner's Courageous Tap Into Issues via Relevant Branded Content

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Kathy Newberger

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SHRM and Turner's Courageous Tap Into Issues via Relevant Branded Content

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Kathy Newberger

Tomorrow Will Be Televised: “Buy It Now”, ZipWave TV & Quincy Jones Tribute Episode - Listen Live Today at 2pm - By Simon Applebaum

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