16. Hottest content marketer: Mitre 10
Nominees: Spark, Resene, Air New Zealand, Kiwibank, Supreme, Allbirds, Hell Pizza, Tourism New Zealand
Mitre 10 has put itself in the home-improvement media space with its own on demand platform. We talk to general manager of marketing Jules Lloyd-Jones about the strategy behind it.
When and why did Mitre 10 start making videos?
We started creating our own content in 2012 with our most popular series, Easy As. There was clear evidence that Kiwi’s DIY skills were in decline and as a home improvement retailer, we wanted to help Kiwis stick with their DIY roots and see Mitre 10 as their DIY partner. The videos are all housed on our YouTube channel and are supported in-store with dedicated screens and DIY project pamphlets.
Who does it work with to produce them?
We’ve been working exclusively with Augusto from a production perspective for the last few years. Its background is in TV production so they’re very nimble and can come up with solutions for most of our content needs. We then work with FCB who plan and buy our media strategy to support the content. All of this is co-ordinated and managed through our in-house content marketing manager.
How have those videos evolved over the years?
We started with our Easy As “how to” series which has the core focus on DIY and helping Kiwis do it themselves. We then moved into our Dream Zone videos which were more inspirational focused and showed people how to create specific looks and how to use Mitre 10 product to create these looks. From there we launched On Demand and our episodic entertainment-based layer of content. We also recently introduced our Easy As Garden series focused on providing an extensive range of gardening tips, advice and ‘how tos’. If we can inspire our customers into projects, get them the right tools and show them how to get it done, we feel like we’ve done our job.
Who is the audience?
We have a really broad audience. From flatties who are looking for affordable storage solutions, to homeowners wanting to do a full house renovation, to our very keen gardeners.
What has Mitre 10 learnt over the years?
Always start content development from the customer’s perspective. Our customers want practical advice and knowledge from us so we have now steered away from creating content that purely serves to inspire. Our heartland and what our customers want from Mitre 10, is help and confidence in bringing their ideas to life. They want to know how to get it done, what tradies they might need to use and basically how they can do it themselves.
What’s your advice to other brands looking to make their own content?
Customer research is key, so having great insights into what people expect and want from your brand, what they enjoy watching and making sure the content is the right t for the brand and the channels you plan to promote it on.
People’s choice: Tourism New Zealand
- We’ll be posting the rest of the Hot List over the next week. To get a print copy of the Hot List, subscribe here to NZ Marketing.
