Few would argue about the power and value of educational content – whether a blog, an e-newsletter, a white paper, or a how-to video. However, some brands have taken this concept further by developing full-fledged classes and curricula for their audiences.
Let’s look at eight brands that give their audience opportunities to get an education in unique and entertaining ways.
Renasant Bank: Marketing strategy takes step above boring classes
Renasant Bank, a 113-year-old Mississippi-based regional bank, had been offering financial literacy classes and support to local universities for some time. Although it didn’t need name recognition – the bank has that – it did want to find a way to be recognized as offering more than checking accounts.
Two years ago, Renasant took a page from the popular TV show, Shark Tank. “For years, we’ve partnered with universities to do business competitions. After looking through their pitches, giving students ideas, and realizing that no one knows this is going on, we thought, ‘What if we got a partner to do a TV show?’” says John Oxford, Renasant’s director of corporate communications.
The show, Brand New, was produced with the help of Mabus Agency, and aired its first episode in June 2017 on MPB, the Mississippi PBS affiliate.
Students from the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and Southern Mississippi submitted business ideas, which a panel of judges from Renasant and local business partners narrowed to six. Spotlights on those students, their ideas, and the competition that followed were filmed and featured in four 20-minute episodes.
“Banks are often perceived as boring, but as far as content goes, you can help differentiate yourself by taking a calculated risk to show what your brand does,” says Oxford. The ability to distribute your story across multiple channels makes it even more effective, he adds.
From conception to airing took about two years, with a production time of three to four months. “The challenge is always getting buy-in, but everyone at Renasant loved the idea. You don’t hear about a lot of banks doing things like this,” says Oxford.
It helped that those involved in the project and the marketing for the show came up with a well-thought-out multifaceted concept, explains Oxford. “We are able to chop up segments and get shorter pieces of content to share on Facebook and various social media. We can also email it out to our customer base,” he says.
Another tactic has been targeting each participating university with mobile and social ads. “Students on the show are also promoting it to their friends, and the schools are promoting it on their websites,” says Oxford. “It’s a key market for us. The millennial market is really who banks like ours are looking to connect with.”
Renasant not only helped create and produce the show, but it paid the prize money (a few thousand dollars) to each of three winners. “It was never a product campaign; it was a straight goodwill campaign. We want to be looked at as a partner that helps drive entrepreneurism in our state. Even though Mississippi is often looked at as rural, these students are coming up with ideas that are as cutting edge as anywhere,” says Oxford.
Widen: Online courses bring higher customer retention rate
Widen, a digital asset management company, launched its educational arm WidenUniversity in 2014 to help customers master the complexities of topics like metadata, governance, and analytics. Through the educational portal, the company offers everything from free webinars to three-day paid live training courses. The sheer volume of educational content available to customers and buyers is a huge differentiator for Widen, says Courtney Roe, customer experience strategist.
