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As an integrated communications agency that solves business problems, we have seen content become an essential part of any PR, communications, marketing and even sales functions. Rich content is what makes a brand tastier than its competitors.
Tastier, you say? Well, coming up with great content is very much like baking a cake. It follows a recipe with a number of important ingredients and steps to get the best outcome. Leaving any one of them out can mean the difference between delectable and average — and why would anyone want to settle for an average cake?
Here at Hoffman, dry, spongy content isn’t our thing.
Our six-step recipe combines storytelling with tech, digital and marcomms expertise to create truly flavorful content.
01
Before you start baking, you need to decide on the cake. What you make depends partly on what you have to hand and partly on people’s appetites. It involves understanding the state of the given market and industry; the policy, economic and societal drivers and blockers; and the raw ingredients for content development.
Donning a toque is optional.
Choose a cake
that fits the occasion
Recipe
02
Assemble the ingredients
Audiences, competitors, influencers and thought-leaders make up your basic ingredients in much the same way as flour, eggs, salt and sugar. You need to understand the role each one plays in the baking process. We ask ourselves who we want to reach, what influences them, who our competitors are and how we compare with them. Then we ask how all these elements go together and build the framework accordingly.
03
Weigh things up
As any pastry chef will tell you, baking is a science: every ingredient needs precise measurement, or the cake will be a failure. Creating content isn’t quite so exact, but we also need a good sense of proportion if we are to achieve the reaction we want. To enter the conversation we want to be in, we look closely at what the media are saying; what people are sharing; who has the loudest and the most authoritative voice; and where we have credibility. This sets us up to bake a cake that proves different and hopefully better than everyone else’s.
04
Mix the batter
You can’t just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and hope for the best. Just as a chef whisks milk in gradually, adding our technology expertise is critical to achieving the right consistency as we mix everything together. We look at the role of technology in any conversation and its potential to change the game, while taking care to avoid a stodgy outcome.
05
Wait for the cake to rise
A good cake requires patience, just like coming up with a brilliant idea or unique story angle. Every brainstorm is like sitting by the oven and watching the cake rise. Then suddenly—’ding’—all that waiting is rewarded with something that makes us go, Aha! To achieve this breakthrough we first look hard for the white space, the areas of opportunity and a creative platform that makes the most of them.
Are you looking for your branded
content to look as appealing as cake?
Get in touch and let's get tasting.
06
Present with care
You can have the most delicious cake in the world, but if it isn’t served properly it just won’t be the same. Finishing touches such as icing or a cherry on top count for a lot; they make a cake appear as it should to the people who are going to eat it.
In the same way, we frame a piece of content through the lens of customer, market and societal benefits to ensure relevance and memorability.
Ultimately, we believe what differentiates a good cake, and a good piece of content, from a mediocre one, is attention to detail at every step of the process.
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