Your Content Team Doesn’t Need Superstars. It Needs This.

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And that’s a wrap of the week ending Aug. 30, 2019

This week I’m thinking about who’s the most important person on your team … whether Allstate’s new content internal team is in good hands … how to structure content teams to support innovation and collaboration … and about how Agile processes lead to sharper teams.

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I’ve changed the Wrap’s format and length this summer, bringing you more insights and ideas each week. So, let’s wrap it up:

One deep thought (2:10): When you assemble your content dream team, are you calling the most skilled people you know? That approach seems to make sense. But superstars rarely save teams. It’s not always the people with the top skills who make a team really work. To really ramp up team performance, you need this one kind of player.

Superstars rarely save #content teams, says @Robert_Rose. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

A fresh take on the news (8:26): Crain’s Chicago Business ran an interesting article this week that touches on a topic I’ve written about: the rise of the internal agency model. The Crain’s article talks about how Allstate (a company I’ve worked with) has formed a 200-person internal creative team with plans to bring more marketing in-house. As part of the move, the company is parting ways with its external agency, Leo Burnett, which held the account for 62 years. I explain why I believe the content team at Allstate is in good hands, but I’m not necessarily a fan of the internal agency model – even though a streamlined set of creative services, production capabilities, and even media buying can be an extraordinarily productive strategy. (Think lead rather than serve.)

.@Allstate parts ways with its agency of 62 years to form in-house team, @CrainsChicago. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

This week’s person making a difference in content (13:80): Laura Hamlyn built a team that embodies the idea of content-as-leader model. I’ve worked with Laura in her role as head of content strategy and content marketing programs for Red Hat, which was recently acquired by IBM. At Red Hat, she manages a global team responsible for web content strategy, content marketing programs, content operations, translations and localization, and content messaging and governance. And, she’s a finalist for 2019 B2B Content Marketer of the Year.

We talk about how Laura grew her team from a handful of content creators to a centralized, 40-person powerhouse focusing on four pillars of content expertise. Laura explains the importance of embracing change, “selling” your content throughout the organization, and measuring the value of content over time.

If you’ve ever wrestled with how to structure a team, how to get the business to embrace your team, and how to prove the value of the team’s work (both organic and campaign content), don’t miss this part of the show.

Listen in, then learn more about Laura’s work by:

Attending the Technology Forum Sept. 6 at Content Marketing World
Browsing through the Red Hat website (she’s open to your feedback)
Reading about her work on the CMI blog

One content marketing idea you can use (34:57): If you missed this post on Agile marketing earlier this year, look at it now. Andrea Fryrear explains how the values behind Agile marketing can help your team work smarter.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Your 2020 Mission: A Unified Strategy for Content in Your Marketing

Love for this week’s sponsor: Content Marketing World

The largest content marketing event in the world returns next week (Sept. 3-6), with closing headliner Mindy Kaling. It’s not too late to join us in person – you can still register with ROSE100 to save an extra $100.

If you can’t be there, make sure to follow #CMWorld to join the fun from afar.

The wrap-up

Tune in next week for another deep thought, a fresh take on the news, an interview with one brilliant person making a difference in content, and a great content marketing idea you can use. And it’s all delivered in a little less time than it takes Apple’s new credit card to become nonfunctional.

.@Apple says clean Apple Card with a microfiber cloth, avoid contact with leather and denim https://t.co/rGtJui0qAX pic.twitter.com/i94BuhpWPW
— AppleInsider (@appleinsider) August 21, 2019

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Author: Robert Rose

Robert is the founder and chief strategy officer of The Content Advisory, the education and consulting group for The Content Marketing Institute. Robert has worked with more than 500 companies, including 15 of the Fortune 100. He’s provided content marketing and strategy advice for global brands such as Capital One, NASA, Dell, McCormick Spices, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Robert’s third book – Killing Marketing, with co-author Joe Pulizzi has been called the “book that rewrites the rules of marketing”. His second book – Experiences: The Seventh Era of Marketing is a top seller and has been called a “treatise, and a call to arms for marketers to lead business innovation in the 21st century.” Robert’s first book, Managing Content Marketing, spent two weeks as a top ten marketing book on Amazon.com and is generally considered to be the “owners manual” of the Content Marketing process. You can catch up with Robert weekly on his popular podcast – The Weekly Wrap. Follow him on Twitter @Robert_Rose.