Brands have the opportunity to use the Flipboard app to curate interesting stories that support key brand attributes.
Flipboard’s recent addition of user generated “Magazines” has added a new dimension to content curation on mobile devices. Flipboard’s rich user interface makes it easy to flip through links of stories organized around specific themes.
Some brands are jumping on this content delivery idea, which I’m guessing is a primo “cheap and cheerful” way to manage content.
GE Minds + Machines: Brilliant Reads
A great example I’ve come across recently is GE Minds + Machines, “Brilliant Reads” magazine on Flipboard. The magazine doesn’t only feature GE news. It celebrates and curates the fascinating topic of “Minds + Machines”.
Of course, GE adds some of their own content into the mix. As a reader who is interested in this topic, I’m far more likely to engage in GE-specific content when I come across it in this context. It’s as if GE has, through this curated topic, built a bridge into my mind that bypasses my “reject advertising and marketing” gene.
A lovely story about an employee’s passion about an oddly interesting topic
The video (link below) is a great example of how to do branded content that humanizes a brand. It takes a devoted employee with a personal mission to do good in the world, and presents an entertainingly engaging story that leaves one much more aware of a topic that’s not usually discussed (toilets, etc). The video also gives points in GE’s favor because of their choice to present such an interesting character discussing such a taboo topic.
Oh, and guess what? GE also won points by encouraging me to share the “Mr. Toilet” story with you, as well as for prompting me to explain why I think it works so well.
