This month in content marketing: a marketing firm makes a browser extension that turns your boring Zoom calls in to a fun game, Reporters Without Borders sneaks around censorship with a Minecraft world, and a small business owner puts out a music video better than 99.9% of every SoundCloud rapper we know.
The marketing firm B-Reel has created a Chrome browser extension called Meeting Intruders. Tired of boring Zoom meetings? Meeting Intruders turns their video boxes into enemies you can destroy, just like the arcade classic Space Invaders. No one on your call really needs to know that you’re playing, unless you’re a very expressive gamer.
Want everyone to know who you are? Well, take a page out of B-Reel’s book, give us a game that makes Zoom calls more interesting, and you’re set.
Polygon is seeking a new video producer, so rather than settle for the standard cover letter and resume combo, Detric Cook decided he needed to apply with something better. So he threw together this two-minute video that showcases his skills and sense of humour. Clearly, creating content to market yourself like this to potential employers isn’t possible for all careers, but it’s an idea worth exploring.
Technically, this is content that hasn’t happened yet. But Domino’s has announced their Homemade Film Contest now so we’re talking about it now. Basically, they want people stuck at home to create their own commercials for Domino’s. It’s kind of COVID-related user generated content. As we’ve said before, user generated content can go sideways without adequate supervision, but the online submission form makes it look like they’re keeping close tabs on things.
Reporters Without Borders, champions of freedom of the press, have found a creative way to use Minecraft to bring reporting to people who live in countries were the news is censored. Essentially, they built a Minecraft world that people can download, share, and play, and it’s full of stories that are censored, suppressed, or otherwise unavailable around the world.
Let’s be clear: the vast majority of businesses shouldn’t rap. For some reason, dorky rapping became the corporate world’s pet rock in the nineties, and those were dark times.
However, Ben’s Burgers does it right. Ben Collier, owner, needed a way to tell the world that they’re back open after a couple of months, so he put together this fantastic video that proves even small businesses can leverage content in smart, engaging ways. Ben’s Burgers is in New Orleans, by the way. In case you’re in the area.
Okay, this isn’t content marketing, but we’ve had some thoughts on how brands should and shouldn’t market themselves during this pandemic, and this parody video pretty neatly summarizes every COVID cliché out there. So enjoy.