Fortune Favours the Bold

CAFÉ COMMUNICATIONS LAUNCHED NEW BRANDED CONTENT DIVISION STORIES

Hungarian agency Café Communications has recently launched a new branded content division called Stories. that focuses on generation based content solutions. What is the purpose of Stories. and how is it integrated into Café Communications? These are some of the topics we discussed with Digital Business Director Gábor Varga and Creative Group Head Dániel Csirke.

Why did you launch Stories. now?

Gábor Varga: In recent years, we created plenty of content-focused campaigns and platforms for our clients and brands. We were pioneers in this field. It soon became clear that this kind of communication will not only stay but will also thrive. Our goal was that our team with years of expertise in the field could continue to work in a more focused and distinct way.

Dániel Csirke: We wanted to differentiate the digital knowledge of Café Group and present it on the market as an easily recognizable and modern brand. In my opinion, nothing is more authentic than if a brand dedicated to producing content creates its own content. It demonstrates that we not only talk about it, but actually know how to do it.

How is Stories. integrated into Café Communications?

DCs: Stories. is as a division with seven people, intertwined with other departments of Café Group. At the same time, we are trying to establish a more flexible framework to meet the challenges posed by the digital world and to develop more and more top-notch content.

GV: Stories. is a separate brand but not a completely separate entity within the organization. We all work on non-content-related campaigns as well, but the focus is now on storytelling. Our objective is to make Stories. the most-requested branded content team on the market, which certainly serves the whole group’s interest.

Which content marketing campaigns has the team worked on before Stories.?

DCs: We have numerous successful campaigns and pitches behind us. We built the largest influencer communication platform in Hungary for Coca-Cola and launched the first branded YouTube series for Fanta.

GV: Besides Coca-Cola, we worked for several clients, both small and large. The results speak for themselves. Over the last years, we produced more than 150 branded content videos, wrote more than 1000 articles and coordinated over 120 influencer cooperations for our clients.

Generation based – why is it important to highlight? How different are content solutions targeting different generations?

DCs: There is a growing pressure on advertisers to satisfy the demands of the Y and Z generations. They expect to consume content that gives them an experience, content that is for them and about them. They are very conscious in their choices and stand by these choices. They expect brands to work for them and not the other way around.

GV: I could go on about this for hours… It remains clear that consumers are ready: they demand to be addressed in a personalized and relevant way. However, not everybody on the market is prepared for this. Our work entails a great deal of education, something that we do with pleasure. It feels really good when clients are open and interested.

Best Digital Creative Solution of 2017, Digital Media Best Practice Award

What are the latest trends in content marketing? Are there specific Hungarian trends in this field that run counter to international trends?

DCs: In Hungary, the genre of social experiment is hip and trendy now, and there is still a great potential in live video campaigns. International trends prevail here too, but we tailor them as closely as possible to local needs.

GV: That’s the point. There are locally relevant trends, but they also usually originate from international megatrends that are then transformed and adapted. The same applies to content as to any other field: if something is a big hit in the West, you will see it here as well after some time. Our task is to help our clients to build on these trends and to foresee what it is worth to pay attention to.

Can Central-Eastern European countries adopt ideas and best practices from each other? How different are CEE markets?

GV: They definitely can and there have been many examples of this. I would not say that all CEE markets are the same since the culture, the market situation and many other factors can vary greatly. However, if something works well in a market, the concept, with a little work, can probably be adapted to another market in the region.

DCs: I love the campaigns of the Georgian agency Livingstone, of which the Old Irish social experiment was probably the most successful one. I would like to mention also the work of our Polish partner agency, Walk. The online PR film “I’m not asking to be a firefighter” is close to our hearts.

Do brands keep pace with the advancement of content marketing? Do they know and look out for these solutions or is there still space for education about this topic?

DCs: Content-based campaigns are becoming part of brands’ communication, but there is still room for development. Not only professionally but also in terms of courage. For this reason among others, we launched a content marketing course at Eötvös Loránd University (edited: one of the most renown universities of Hungary) with Café Group, so that we can evolve together with the next generation of marketing professionals.

GV: There is a continuous need to educate ourselves and our clients. Brands have understood that TV doesn’t work for everyone, banners will not generate clicks and not everyone looks at billboards. Content-based communication has to provide more great examples to become a mainstream solution. Until then, fortune favours the bold. We seek brave and progressive cooperations.

What are your plans with Stories.?

DCs: We would like to show to more and more clients that strong content-based campaigns can help brands to build a long-term, genuine relationship with consumers. We will prove this with plenty of successful campaigns.

GV: We want as many brands as possible to harvest the benefits of content-based communications with our help. There is loads of energy and knowledge in our team and, with conscious planning, we will continue to be one step ahead of the market. We want to create great works that meet the goals and bring results, just as before.

Dóra Pethő

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