High-Rise    How to Create a Content Hub

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High-Rise How to Create a Content Hub

The team behind the film High-Rise have amplified the noise around their stylish movie and effortlessly created a content marketing hub on Tumblr – the site beloved of millenials. And they've created it in a way that educates, engages and enthuses. In lovely snackable chunks. I thought I'd share my thoughts on it, because if you need a content hub and can identify what to link to - then this is a brilliant blueprint.

The laser focus and broad remit of the High-Rise Tumblr is so simple and so perfect. They have concentrated on the disparate headline aspects that surround the film and investigated each one - mostly using curated (ie FREE) content. All held together by short and insightful features.

Those aspects (and that shared content) include the author of High-Rise J G Ballard:

NB: Links to symposiums will not be a feature of the next Marvel film's promotional efforts.

NB: Links to symposiums will not be a feature of the next Marvel film's promotional efforts.

There is focus on style and design (in their many guises) to echo the fact that film is a visually stylish offering.

Coverage of the coverage: Creative Review looks at the film and they look right back.

Coverage of the coverage: Creative Review looks at the film and they look right back.

Architecture, specifically Brutalism, features in the film and below is a header image they created for their own content and it's perfectly in keeping with everything else on the Tumblr. It's stylish, it's about architecture, it features a shot of a recognisable London landmark, it talks about the Balfron Tower that influenced Ballard. And they get their message across in under 100 words.

Themed headers for their own content.

Themed headers for their own content.

Another focus is the film's star – Tom Hiddlestone, who – at the time of writing – is plastered all over the media. In fact there has to be praise here for the fact that they didn't turn the entire site into a Topless Tom Hiddleshrine (which is how half of Tumblr looks right now).

 

Tom Hiddleston in Time Out

After all of this amazing content curation and amplification they also cover the business of going to see the film.

They remind you now and again why they are here.

They remind you now and again why they are here.

They've added snackable, clickable quizzes.

Of course the look and feel of the quiz is as slick as everything else.

Of course the look and feel of the quiz is as slick as everything else.

And they let you know when there is merch to be bought.

They even add reviews. That is they share the community's reviews. And why not? This is a community site. It has more in common with a millenial's obssessive site: talking about and sharing everything that is their passion.

This is a great idea and, using a good art editor, it's created quickly.

This is a great idea and, using a good art editor, it's created quickly.

This is a brilliant site - it knows its audience, it knows its product and it is SO simply done – although to be fair they have been working on it since before filming so it has been a labour of love - not just brute commercialism

I can't think of any creative launch that wouldn't benefit from a content hub that operates in the same way - one that encourages fans to be fans and educates lost souls who have wandered across from social media.

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Trump: Startup King of Content

Startups wanting to learn anything from Donald Trump should heed this: GO LOUD

Startups wanting to learn anything from Donald Trump should heed this: GO LOUD

If Donald Trump was a Startup, and frankly in terms of politics, he is. Then is there anything to learn from him?

Right now, every morning across America and Europe people are waking up to a new statement from Donald Trump. It’s on your Twitter feed, on your Facebook, it’s on the TV news and in the newspapers. It must be worth billions.

There is no escape.

So how does he get that kind of coverage? The easy, lazy answer is that he’s gone out and trolled like crazy. He’s identified liberals and now he’s just trolling away, fingers in his ears, until they can’t help yelling back on mass. But that isn’t all Trump is doing. Sure he’s aware that each of his statements will get noticed by liberal commentators and denounced but by then he'll be on to his next topic. He’s also positioning his messages perfectly: he is unscripted. He talks to fear (and right now there’s a lot of that about). He has positioned himself - to his supporters - as the only sane voice in a sea of apologists. As a new kind of presidential candidate.

Right now there are 925k tweets about Donald Trump… the hashtag #DonaldTrump is also closely followed by #DonaldTrumpRacist but also #DonaldTrump4President so he's splitting the audience. But then he owns the audience. In the long run his strategy may well fail or change but right now does anyone else know who the other candidates are? Or anything else that’s happening anywhere? Trump has hijacked the news agenda and you don’t have to like it but you can stand back and wonder.

The lessons from this are simple to my mind. If you have a message and want to get noticed. Do just that: target your audience. See how they talk. See what they are saying and go and do likewise and louder. Find out what your audience are worried about and talk to that. Take points of view to logical conclusions. Stretch ideas to their extremes. Go All In on everything. For a startup to go out and challenge every norm in its marketplace to drown out the competition you’ll have to do some research but when you switch to broadcast mode: GO LOUD.

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The Monotype Recorder

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The Monotype Recorder

The Monotype Recorder (Volume 43, Number 1, Summer 1964 - Precision in map making). This mag was 'sent gratis to every printing office with 'Monotype' machines.' Or you could buy it for five shillings.

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