Tag: Arjun Basu

The worlds of media, publishing and communications have changed immeasurably in just a few short years. And the consumers of media have changed too with  mobile devices altering the way we consume content and also affecting how we create that content. The appointment of Arjun Basu as Content Director, providing leadership and direction across all our publishing and media interests is a strategic step for us as leaders in the custom content market. I’ve asked him a few questions about his new role and about the brave new world of Content Marketing.

What exactly does a Content Director do?

I used to get that question a lot when I was Editorial Director, too. Let’s step back a bit and examine the word “content.” It’s both misunderstood and overused and that’s a dangerous combination. But it’s also important. Because I believe we live in a world where almost everything is content. Everything – from shoes to television – throws content at us and it is this content that make up the stories of our lives. That sounds grandiose, I know, but think about it. Nike, for example. Nike is a content provider. Sure, they were providing content when they printed “Just Do It” on t-shirts but now their shoes are content too. In fact, one could argue that Nike running shoes are social media hubs. A few years ago that sentence wouldn’t have even made any sense at all and now it’s indisputable. Not only can the shoes sync to an app and measure the development and rhythm of your jogging regime, your shoes can broadcast this to the world. So Nike shoes are content. At Spafax for years we’ve said that airlines are content providers. Flights are immersive media experiences only now we’re understanding this fact. And at Spafax we can harness varied media to create an unbroken narrative of content to a consumer. I think we’re seeing this with hotels, as well. And if one can let their imagination go, this is true of almost anything: any place where people congregate, whether it be virtually, socially or for purely commercial reasons, can be and are content hubs. What Spafax does is content marketing, and the Content Director’s role is to ensure that brands are leveraging their own narratives in compelling ways to successfully engage with the population. Did I answer the question?

What exactly is Content Marketing and how is that different from Custom Publishing?

Custom Publishing was kind of a less sophisticated form of Content Marketing. Even the term “Custom Publishing” refers to a time when an overall media solution wasn’t really something anyone could wrap their heads around. And let’s face it, “publishing” is still perceived as being a print word exclusively. Until recently, media was created in silos. So you had your web team doing one thing, your print team doing something else and so on. We still see that now in some companies, where communications, marketing and branding are housed in different departments and each department is competing for budget. And then within these departments, someone is responsible for print and an entire infrastructure has grown around a “web” team that was originally constructed as a kind of IT support staff – but now they control web communications. All this to say that Custom Publishing was a kind of “either/or” affair with little integration between print and web (or, later, mobile and apps). Content Marketing sees a bigger picture and gets to the heart of what “custom media” has always been – a more sophisticated, more immersive, branding and marketing tool.

What change will your customers see?

I’d like to think our customers have already started seeing changes from Spafax. A few years back, we created Spafax Interactive to develop and curate our digital properties for our customers; the majority of our clients now have combined print/digital communications strategies (and let’s not forget they all started with a print only strategy). We’ve been preaching this for a while now. If there’s a change, our customers, both current and future, will see us really talking about a broader idea, the story of what they want to say distilled as content – we’ll worry about the format later. The format will fit the content marketing strategy. In the past, in many ways, the strategy fit the format. That’s been reversed.

For more information or to talk to Spafax about Content Marketing solutions, please contact Arjun Basu abasu@spafax.com or Katrin Kopvillem kkopvillem@spafax.com

From guest lecturing at colleges and universities to volunteering on industry committees and boards, we believe it’s important to contribute to the development of a strong publishing industry in Canada and in all the markets where we operate.

Arjun exemplifies this commitment. He’s been volunteering on the Board of the NMAs for 2 years and has recently been elected President of the Foundation. He tells us a bit more about the awards here, but you can also send him a note at abasu@spafax.com or follow him on twitter @spafax_arjun and @arjunbasu

Q: Arjun, tell us about the NMAs (Canada’s National Magazine Awards)

The National Magazine Awards Foundation is responsible for administering the National Magazine Awards, Canada’s largest and most prestigious awards program for magazines. It is run by a volunteer board of magazine professionals from across the country. You can find more information here.

Q: How many publications participated in last year’s awards program?

A lot! Most of the publications in Canada, from the smallest literary magazine to major consumer publications like Chatelaine, submit their magazines for the awards. Last year, we also opened up the awards to digital publications and I can see us moving more and more toward an integrated program incorporating both print and digital.

Q: What role have they played in the evolution of a healthy Cdn magazine industry and what role do you want the NMAs to play moving forward?

The National Magazine Awards is a celebration of the industry, of the excellence and talent found in the pages of Canadian magazines. It’s a chance for the industry to pat itself on the back, but also for the public to discover new talent and hidden excellence. The Canadian magazine industry is unique in the world. Firstly, it is bilingual. In many ways, there are two industries. Secondly, Canada is a saturated market. Not only do we have Canadian consumer and custom publications, our newsstands and mailboxes are home to American publications, as well as those from, say, the UK and France. Very few other countries have this kind of international presence in the consumer media marketplace. So the industry here faces unique challenges. The Awards are an affirmation in that sense, of the tremendous work being created in Canada, in both English and French.

Moving forward, I want to reach out to the rest of the country. The NMA’s by their nature will always be held in Toronto – the vast majority of the industry is located there. But I want to see if we can’t go to the rest of the country, with the winning entries for example, for a kind of road show. Perhaps in association with the regional magazine associations. And have a series of roundtables about the industry and where it’s headed. We’re also going to incorporate more and more digital work into the awards. The very word “magazine” implies print, but the work that magazines perform is also happening online. That’s going to be an interesting integration.

Q: Branded content / custom publications are playing an increasingly large role in the lives of readers. Are there any plans to increase the representation by custom publishers and custom magazines in the NMAs?

I’m probably the first President of the Foundation from the custom media world. I don’t imagine I’ll be the last. As custom grows, and grows in quality, we’re going to see more members from that industry on the board and certainly on stage, winning awards.