The demise of Coolest Cooler may give crowdfunding a bad name, but don’t blame Kickstarter. It’s merely the platform for allowing such projects to potentially happen, and it offers value in other ways, too. In this episode, I explore its slightly zany digital magazine, The Creative Independent, and discuss why interviews with poets, musicians and artists contribute to one of its core mandates as a brand.

Links to sources in this episode: 

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2019/12/coolest-cooler-calls-it-quits-admits-thousands-of-backers-will-never-get-their-coolers.html

https://www.technavio.com/report/global-crowdfunding-market-analysis-share

https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-the-creative-independent

https://thecreativeindependent.com/

https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2016/08/89204-kickstarter-supported-creative-independent-officially-launch-september-2016/

http://www.bkmag.com/2017/01/13/process-exposed-inside-creative-independent-editorial-site-artists-kickstarter/

https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/the-empathy-economy-by-damian-bradfield/

Its first attempt at content marketing -- a quarterly print publication called Pineapple -- lasted only one issue. With Airbnb Magazine, however, the company best known for disrupting the hospitality space has tried to do something similar with one of the most hackneyed genres: Travel writing. 

In this episode I journey through some truly exceptional pieces of writing, while also taking into consideration the stories left untold that pose considerable challenges for a brand like Airbnb. 

Links from this episode: 

https://www.fipp.com/news/features/hearst-magazines-airbnbmag-encourages-readers

https://www.airbnb.ca/magazine?locale=en

https://www.hearst.com/-/hearst-magazines-new-airbnbmag-encourages-readers-to-be-at-home-in-the-world

https://skift.com/2016/11/20/airbnbs-new-magazine-and-the-evolution-of-old-school-content-marketing/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-what-happened-to-pineapple-airbnbs-one-off-print-magazine-1449684006

https://medium.com/airbnbmag/inside-madagascars-battle-for-belonging-908a09b98b54

https://medium.com/airbnbmag/welcome-to-camp-thunder-thighs-5812e8a41a07

https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news-c/news-airbnb-damage-2020-ipo/

It's billed as "The Voice Of The Game," and with a new partnership with Minute Media, the sports platform co-founded by Derek Jeter is set to become even louder. This has not been a storytelling property without its challenges, however. Although it may not fit the normal definition of owned media, I think the Players' Tribune's ups and downs offer a lot of perspective for content marketers trying to create a similar showcase for subject matter expertise.

Links In This Episode:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/derek-jeter-the-next-five-2019

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/21/sport/derek-jeter-players-tribune-sale-mlb-spt-intl/index.html

https://digiday.com/media/no-accountability-went-wrong-players-tribune/

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/jose-bautista-bat-flip

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/sports/athletes-finding-their-voice-in-derek-jeters-digital-venture.html

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/michael-vick-atlanta-falcons-super-bowl-li

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kevin-love-everyone-is-going-through-something

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/sue-bird-megan-rapinoe-uswnt

If Equinox is "a temple of well-being," (as the brand describes itself), Furthermore magazine is probably almost like a bible for its true believers. 

The luxury fitness company has been producing the publication since 2016, and it has steadily expanded into subject matter that includes not only  tips for working out but style and travel. There's also a lot of great video and social content, but in this episode I'm taking a deeper look at the stories that form the magazine's core -- just like one of its trainers would probably focus on strengthening the core of your body before moving onto "mirror muscles." 

What does Furthermore really offer Equinox members, though? And what about those who aren't members? Join me in exercising some critical thinking skills and maybe get your own content marketing efforts in better shape. 

________________

The Owned Media Observer is a podcast for content marketers who want to do better work, for media professionals who want to size up their competition, and audiences of all kinds who want to better understand all the new sources of information popping up everywhere around them. I'm Shane Schick, a journalist and content marketer focused on business, technology, marketing and fashion. 

Notes: 

https://fashionista.com/2016/01/equinox-wellness-magazine-furthermore

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/equinox-announces-launch-of-furthermore-brand-300207060.html

Articles mentioned in this episode: 

https://furthermore.equinox.com/articles/2017/11/pleasure-happiness

https://furthermore.equinox.com/articles/2016/10/neck-yoga

https://furthermore.equinox.com/articles/2019/11/breathing-quiz

https://furthermore.equinox.com/articles/2019/11/patrick-chammas-the-heroes-project-climbing-expedition

"Bro bibles like GQ, Esquire and Playboy seem poised to do a backpedal of Michael Jackson moonwalk proportions from the formula that kept them perched at the publishing pinnacle for a half-century," according to a Nov. 2 story that ran on the New York Times. The same, however, cannot be said of Mel Magazine.

Produced by Unilever-owned Dollar Shave Club, Mel Magazine not only seems to be continuing the path laid out by those more traditional publications, but to be maintaining standards of journalism and quality that others have had to sacrifice. Yes, there's still a bit of "bro" tone in there, but it is too much? What are the details that really make the difference? And what can other brands -- even those who aren't targeting a specific demographic like men -- learn from Mel Magazine? I explore these questions and more in this first full episode of The Owned Media Observer. 

Notes: 

Mel Magazine: https://melmagazine.com 

(FYI: I make a comment later in the episode about not seeing a lot of LGBTQ content. I've since learned there's actually a whole section of such content here: https://melmagazine.com/?s=LGBTQ). 

NYT: As Men Are Canceled, So Too Their Magazine Subscriptions: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/style/mens-magazines.html

Brands are acting more like publishers than ever before, but we lack a traditional form of media criticism to suss out examples of who's truly serving their audience who's innovating and who could set the bar for others. 

This is a podcast for content marketers who want to do better work, for media professionals that want to get a better sense of their new competition, and for audiences of all kinds that want to assess these new sources of information that are emerging everywhere around them. 

In this episode, host Shane Schick looks back on his decision to expand beyond traditional journalism to content marketing, the inspiration of the Owned Media Observer podcast and some ground rules for how future episodes will work.