Before becoming the Head of Marketing for streaming service Mailchimp Presents, Talia Gerecitano acquired 18 years’ experience in TV, films and content creation.

Her passion was always in entertainment, moving with the opportunities that arrived as the industry developed with the years. Talia subscribes to the concept, “Just try new things and go where the industry is going.”

Content creation is where she has seen the entertainment industry going, thanks to technology development. Her Shiny New Object is the use of original content as marketing, which is all about capturing the spirit and the emotional side of how a brand is looking to connect with its customers.

In the case of Mailchimp Presents, Talia isn’t producing content in order to simply sell or market a service. Rather, Mailchimp Presents is a collection of content to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in whatever way it may manifest itself: from musicians talking about the one song that changed their careers on a podcast with Shirley Manson of Garbage fame, to a mini-series on essential workers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in the US.

Why start to produce original content in parallel with a brand’s more traditional marketing efforts?

As Talia explains, “you can connect with people in a different way when you’re using content versus an ad.”

Mailchimp is mostly looking for a sentiment – a positive emotional connection with their brand.

Will other businesses feel the pressure of producing original content as marketing and will it become the norm? There are already some who are doing this successfully, such as Airbnb and Tinder.

However, Talia believes that producing original content has to align with the brand’s ethos and it needs to suit the brand strategy.

For more on Talia’s advice to new marketers, her favourite producers of original content and her tips for creating content on a budget, check out the podcast in full here.

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