Go East Eye Opener: Feed the Beast — Creating Content for Brands
Go East staffers Carla Januska, creative director, and Jennifer Manion, content strategist, presented the third Go East Eye Opener seminar on Thursday, March 15. Their presentation was designed to inspire audience members to think differently about content. Why? Brands are subject to new demands due to the prevalence of Facebook, Twitter and other social media, and consumers want to engage with brands differently than in the past. These factors create a need for new content.
Januska and Manion hypothesize that brands live in the culture, not in the marketplace. This is evidenced by people’s deep desire to associate with brands they love. People openly broadcast their lives online, and they expect brands to do the same. Januska and Manion believe brands can best respond to this desire for openness with rich content.
Rich content is relevant across multiple channels and is the result of approaching challenges creatively and viewing problems from a different perspective. This can lead to content that is so responsive and engaging that people feel it speaks directly to them, adding value to their lives.
Below is a diagram that illustrates how Go East views rich content:

Ultimately, rich content can add value to brands by:
- More efficiently generating word-of-mouth buzz
- Yielding a better ROI than traditional media
- Cultivating customers who are motivated to interact
- Driving sales through customer reviews
- Reducing costs, like customer-service costs
You can view the entire seminar here.
Go East’s next Eye Opener seminar will be Thursday, May 10. Jill Nicholson, our digital strategist, will discuss how to use social media to build your brand. For more information, contact Kate Wisser at kwisser@goeastdesign.com.






