Since watching Phill McGowan and Sadie Baron's presentation at Passle's CMO Series Live event last month, the idea of content franchises has stuck with me. 

What is a Content Franchise?  

A content franchise is a recurring series of content that focuses on a specific theme, topic, story, or author. 

It makes so much sense for any topic worth covering in substantial detail. Moving away from generating ‘random acts of marketing’ around a topic, approaching content from a franchise perspective means that you can start owning the subject and precipitate a lot of interest in it. 

How is the Sporting-World Capitalizing on this Strategy?

For anyone excited about the upcoming month of the Olympic Games (starting with the opening ceremony in Paris tomorrow), there has been an intriguing shift in the digital strategy to promote the various events. The Olympics represents the pinnacle for many of the sports featured, and over a billion people are expected to tune in and watch the Games over the next month. 

Now, I, for one, fall into the camp of getting massively invested in sports I don't follow outside the Olympic Games. At Tokyo 2020, BMXing and fencing found their way unexpectedly onto my screen. What I've noticed in the build-up to the 2024 Games, more than any prior Games, is an active attempt to get potential watchers engaged early AND more than on a purely competitive basis. There has been a very effective content franchise plan.

Documentaries like ‘SPRINT’ and ‘Simone Biles Rising’ have been hitting streaming services, getting viewers invested in the people and personalities behind these sports. The same has happened recently with Formula 1 (Drive to Survive), Tennis (Break Point), and Golf (Full Swing), and it is becoming an increasingly effective vehicle to build an audience of heavily invested viewers. 

This approach aligns precisely with a content franchise strategy. Getting your audience interested in an event in the build-up to and following a particular event is far more effective than trying to cobble some content together after the event you're covering has already concluded. 

How is this Applicable to Legal and Professional Services Marketing?

When it comes to Legal Marketing, an example could be around regulatory updates or case rulings that you know are going to impact your clients' businesses. Rather than just writing a summary as an afterthought, think about how you can lead the topic using the ‘content franchise’ approach. 

You can start writing thought leadership focused on your selected subject-matter, building these into a series of posts, or work on leveraging different media types, such as videos and podcasts. When it comes to packaging these insights together, you can do so on a landing page or content hub, by sharing them with your social networks, as well as curating them into regular newsletters. 

This approach does require more effort and thought in terms of how you will cover the topic and the channels you will use to promote your content. However, the outcome creates far superior value for your clients and prospects. It will help you build a significantly more invested audience and increase your reputation as the ‘go-to’ domain expert.

For more reading on building Content Franchises, refer to the links below: 

1. Content Marketing Hierarchy: Bonding With Your Content Franchise
2. Franchise Content Marketing – 8 Highly Effective Tactics