How to create authentic brand experience and content distribution beyond borders adapted to current times? Giles Robertson MA, Fellow of the Marketing Society and Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Bedfordshire Business School, explained this exciting change in the delivery of content marketing measures at the Centre for Tourism, International Business and Marketing (TIBAM) event on June 4, 2020, in his lecture "From Fortnite to Food. New Models of Content Marketing."

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The ongoing digital transformation is opening new markets and opportunities from which companies were still miles away, even a few years ago. Thus, in the digital world, entire parallel worlds exist in so-called communities, which can represent an expanded target group.

Content marketing goes beyond the provision of content only and now allows recipients experience the brand dynamically. Mr Robertson demonstrated how well brands can use digital platforms and networks.

The immense success became clear with the vivid example of the appearance of the popular American rapper Travis Scott in the popular co-op survival video game Fortnite with the well-known Battle Royal mode.

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For me, it was exciting to see how much potential is still to be found, especially in the gaming industry. The BBC Strategic Model, developed by Giles Robertson (2020), illustrates the strategic approach of the brand and provides information on the integration of the various differentiated media types within the content marketing approaches in the digital video game environment.

Click here to to enlarge the image. Source: Giles Robertson's presentation.

Also, the diversified generation and distribution of content in the digital world can lead to the desired brand vitality. Not only do people involved experience brands and their events in real time directly in the game, but along with everyone else, they can experience them later across various social networks, platforms and blogs such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitch or Reddit.

Click here to to enlarge the image. Source: www.riseatseven.com.

Click here to enlarge the image. Source: www.statista.com.

The creation of user-generated content is the best possible way of making dynamic connections for brands and is a particularly distinctive form of earned content in the video game industry.

Click here to see the full presentation from the event.

Written by Selim van Winssen, MSc Digital Marketing student, University of Bedfordshire Business School