THEN:

Content was a product.

Content drew people, the people drew advertisers, and the advertisers paid to make more content/product.

Advertisers had to latch onto the content/product because it was the cheapest way to get to the people, and it wasn’t cheap…just cheaper than becoming a content/product itself.

NOW:

Content is still a product.

Content still draws people and still draws advertisers.

Advertisers can now create their own content cheaply. They can broadcast and publish with no need of another content/product as long as they can build their own audience.

CONCLUSION:

• You don’t have to pay $100/month for a small ad in the Yellow Pages.
• You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to be in a local coupon booklet.
• You don’t have to pay a thousand dollars for a full page ad in the newspaper.
• You don’t have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for television commercials.

Still not sure? Check out Rhett & Link. They’re a product. Their content is their product. Their product is their content. General Motors saw their content/product and hired them. Who might buy your product if you start getting into the content business and out of advertising?

An infomercial is supposed to be information in the form of a television commercial. These tend to be hard sells where the goal is clearly to get someone to buy right now (or in the next 30 minutes to receive a bonus pack of whatever they’re selling.) The focus is clearly more on the promotion than the information…meaning the information is only important in conveying the sale.

Contrast that with edutainment which is not overtly commercial in nature, rather it’s teaching something in an entertaining way. I always like Bill Nye the Science Guy for this approach (though I actually grew up with Mr. Wizard and Mr. Rogers.)

And we can’t forget infotainment, which we’re quite accustomed to now. This is a most often a tv show where news is given but dressed up to entertain us simultaneously. I think that was what the whole Dateline NBC, To Catch A Predator thing was supposed to be…maybe.

Given all these portmanteaux (yes, I looked that up) I want to add another one to the mix: the contisement. A content advertisement. The contisment is a commercial or advertisement in the form of content that has value and interest to the target audience. I think Super Bowl ads go for this approach. Clearly they’re trying to entertain (that’s the value) but they’re equally advertising whatever the product or service is.

I go into all of this because even though I think the contisement may be a legitimate category of approaching advertising, it’s still a little different from a pure content promotion strategy. A pure content promotion strategy isn’t overtly commercial. It’s primarily focused on delivering valuable content and only very minimally focused on the promotion. The promotion isn’t any single blog post, podcast, or online video. The promotion is what comes in time after you have earned people’s time, trust, and attention. You don’t stop selling with a content approach. You don’t quit promoting either. You just take the time to build a relationship before you make that sell or give that pitch.

All that being said, if I have to choose a secondary approach after a pure content promotion, I’ll take a contisement any day.