Why the Latest Lump of Content Marketing From Enterprise Rent-a-Car Is a Movie About Hockey
If you happen to find yourself in Warroad, Minn., and need to rent a car from Enterprise, we have bad news: There’s no pick-up location anywhere near the place. That said, there’s a good deal of Enterprise Rent-a-Car in the heart and soul of the little Midwestern town, as NBC Sports Network viewers will find out this evening.
The 60-year-old car rental brand has put its money and its name behind a fresh documentary called The Road Through Warroad: Hockeytown USA, which will air at midnight eastern (9 p.m. Pacific time). Cannonball, Enterprise’s creative agency of record, produced the film.
As the title makes plain, this is a full-length showcase about hockey. Specifically, it’s about how Warroad, this speck of a town six miles below the Canadian border, has bred more professional hockey players than basically anyplace you can name. Despite its puny size (population: 1,778), Warroad has given America over eighty Division I players, five NHL players and seven Olympians. In fact, no Olympic men’s hockey team has ever won gold without a player from Warroad.
Which is fascinating, of course, tho’ it doesn’t fairly response the question: What does any of this have to do with renting a car?
Well, nothing really—and slew. Late last year, Enterprise redirected its brand positioning to become a total-transportation-solutions company (more on that below). As part of that strategy, Enterprise also shifted its marketing energies to producing content. It began with Pursuits with Enterprise, a digital magazine mighty on travel and destination topics (which makes sense, since you need a car to do that stuff). Now that content strategy has expanded into film, however the thematic link to cars is far less apparent. Actually, it`s not truly there.
As Enterprise’s vp of North American marketing Lee Broughton explains, the days are gone when a brand like his could get away with making a direct pitch about workaday stuff like Enterprise’s friendly service or its choice of midsize sedans. “The brand ideal [now] is to create emotional connections,” Broughton said. “You don’t just want to know [a brand] to purchase it, you want to practice it. This content does precisely that.”
Enterprise has already been an official sponsor of the NHL for seven years, so there’s already a link inbetween sport and brand. Even so, a 30-minute documentary is notable, even in the annals of content marketing. Why not just make a brief movie and stick it on YouTube?
That’s sort of how the idea got commenced. “We didn’t set out to create a documentary,” Broughton said. Originally, Enterprise had a four-minute brief in mind. But as the creative team sorted through all of the footage, it concluded that the human stories were so good that longer form was in order. “We found there was so much more to the story viewers would love to see,” is how Cannonball CCO Steve Hunt put it in a ready statement.
“We were sitting on something that was more than a snackable chunk of scroll-through,” Broughton explained. Besides, he added, “content for content’s sake isn’t going to find its way into anyone’s heart and mind.”
What’s driving Enterprise’s shift to a content-marketing strategy in the very first place? Broughton won’t accede to the suggestion that app-driven ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are cutting into the traditional car rental segment. (In fact, last October, Enterprise Holdings exposed that its revenues from airport rentals were up ten percent in 2015.) Even so, it’s very likely no coincidence that Enterprise has fully diversified to suggest car sharing and rail sharing. These days, it even sells cars. “We’re transcending the category of car rental,” Broughton said.
As of today, the company has transcended further—into a kind of arts patron, almost. But alas, the connection to possible transactions is never far off. “It`s a natural extension to develop a group of forty million NHL fans and ice hockey paramours,” Broughton said, “into customers of ours.”
Why the Latest Chunk of Content Marketing From Enterprise Rent-a-Car Is a Movie About Hockey – Adweek
Why the Latest Lump of Content Marketing From Enterprise Rent-a-Car Is a Movie About Hockey
If you happen to find yourself in Warroad, Minn., and need to rent a car from Enterprise, we have bad news: There’s no pick-up location anywhere near the place. That said, there’s a fine deal of Enterprise Rent-a-Car in the heart and soul of the lil’ Midwestern town, as NBC Sports Network viewers will find out this evening.
The 60-year-old car rental brand has put its money and its name behind a fresh documentary called The Road Through Warroad: Hockeytown USA, which will air at midnight eastern (9 p.m. Pacific time). Cannonball, Enterprise’s creative agency of record, produced the film.
As the title makes plain, this is a full-length showcase about hockey. Specifically, it’s about how Warroad, this speck of a town six miles below the Canadian border, has bred more professional hockey players than basically anyplace you can name. Despite its petite size (population: 1,778), Warroad has given America over eighty Division I players, five NHL players and seven Olympians. In fact, no Olympic men’s hockey team has ever won gold without a player from Warroad.
Which is fascinating, of course, however it doesn’t fairly response the question: What does any of this have to do with renting a car?
Well, nothing really—and slew. Late last year, Enterprise redirected its brand positioning to become a total-transportation-solutions company (more on that below). As part of that strategy, Enterprise also shifted its marketing energies to producing content. It began with Pursuits with Enterprise, a digital magazine intense on travel and destination topics (which makes sense, since you need a car to do that stuff). Now that content strategy has expanded into film, tho’ the thematic link to cars is far less apparent. Actually, it`s not indeed there.
As Enterprise’s vp of North American marketing Lee Broughton explains, the days are gone when a brand like his could get away with making a direct pitch about workaday stuff like Enterprise’s friendly service or its choice of midsize sedans. “The brand ideal [now] is to create emotional connections,” Broughton said. “You don’t just want to know [a brand] to purchase it, you want to practice it. This content does precisely that.”
Enterprise has already been an official sponsor of the NHL for seven years, so there’s already a link inbetween sport and brand. Even so, a 30-minute documentary is notable, even in the annals of content marketing. Why not just make a brief movie and stick it on YouTube?
That’s sort of how the idea got commenced. “We didn’t set out to create a documentary,” Broughton said. Originally, Enterprise had a four-minute brief in mind. But as the creative team sorted through all of the footage, it concluded that the human stories were so good that longer form was in order. “We found there was so much more to the story viewers would love to see,” is how Cannonball CCO Steve Hunt put it in a ready statement.
“We were sitting on something that was more than a snackable lump of scroll-through,” Broughton explained. Besides, he added, “content for content’s sake isn’t going to find its way into anyone’s heart and mind.”
What’s driving Enterprise’s shift to a content-marketing strategy in the very first place? Broughton won’t accede to the suggestion that app-driven ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are cutting into the traditional car rental segment. (In fact, last October, Enterprise Holdings exposed that its revenues from airport rentals were up ten percent in 2015.) Even so, it’s most likely no coincidence that Enterprise has fully diversified to suggest car sharing and rail sharing. These days, it even sells cars. “We’re transcending the category of car rental,” Broughton said.
As of today, the company has transcended further—into a kind of arts patron, almost. But alas, the connection to possible transactions is never far off. “It`s a natural extension to develop a group of forty million NHL fans and ice hockey paramours,” Broughton said, “into customers of ours.”
Why the Latest Chunk of Content Marketing From Enterprise Rent-a-Car Is a Movie About Hockey – Adweek
Why the Latest Lump of Content Marketing From Enterprise Rent-a-Car Is a Movie About Hockey
If you happen to find yourself in Warroad, Minn., and need to rent a car from Enterprise, we have bad news: There’s no pick-up location anywhere near the place. That said, there’s a good deal of Enterprise Rent-a-Car in the heart and soul of the lil’ Midwestern town, as NBC Sports Network viewers will find out this evening.
The 60-year-old car rental brand has put its money and its name behind a fresh documentary called The Road Through Warroad: Hockeytown USA, which will air at midnight eastern (9 p.m. Pacific time). Cannonball, Enterprise’s creative agency of record, produced the film.
As the title makes plain, this is a full-length demonstrate about hockey. Specifically, it’s about how Warroad, this speck of a town six miles below the Canadian border, has bred more professional hockey players than basically anyplace you can name. Despite its puny size (population: 1,778), Warroad has given America over eighty Division I players, five NHL players and seven Olympians. In fact, no Olympic men’s hockey team has ever won gold without a player from Warroad.
Which is fascinating, of course, however it doesn’t fairly reaction the question: What does any of this have to do with renting a car?
Well, nothing really—and slew. Late last year, Enterprise redirected its brand positioning to become a total-transportation-solutions company (more on that below). As part of that strategy, Enterprise also shifted its marketing energies to producing content. It began with Pursuits with Enterprise, a digital magazine powerful on travel and destination topics (which makes sense, since you need a car to do that stuff). Now that content strategy has expanded into film, tho’ the thematic link to cars is far less apparent. Actually, it`s not truly there.
As Enterprise’s vp of North American marketing Lee Broughton explains, the days are gone when a brand like his could get away with making a direct pitch about workaday stuff like Enterprise’s friendly service or its choice of midsize sedans. “The brand ideal [now] is to create emotional connections,” Broughton said. “You don’t just want to know [a brand] to purchase it, you want to practice it. This content does precisely that.”
Enterprise has already been an official sponsor of the NHL for seven years, so there’s already a link inbetween sport and brand. Even so, a 30-minute documentary is notable, even in the annals of content marketing. Why not just make a brief movie and stick it on YouTube?
That’s sort of how the idea got embarked. “We didn’t set out to create a documentary,” Broughton said. Originally, Enterprise had a four-minute brief in mind. But as the creative team sorted through all of the footage, it concluded that the human stories were so good that longer form was in order. “We found there was so much more to the story viewers would love to see,” is how Cannonball CCO Steve Hunt put it in a ready statement.
“We were sitting on something that was more than a snackable lump of scroll-through,” Broughton explained. Besides, he added, “content for content’s sake isn’t going to find its way into anyone’s heart and mind.”
What’s driving Enterprise’s shift to a content-marketing strategy in the very first place? Broughton won’t accede to the suggestion that app-driven ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are cutting into the traditional car rental segment. (In fact, last October, Enterprise Holdings exposed that its revenues from airport rentals were up ten percent in 2015.) Even so, it’s very likely no coincidence that Enterprise has fully diversified to suggest car sharing and rail sharing. These days, it even sells cars. “We’re transcending the category of car rental,” Broughton said.
As of today, the company has transcended further—into a kind of arts patron, almost. But alas, the connection to possible transactions is never far off. “It`s a natural extension to develop a group of forty million NHL fans and ice hockey paramours,” Broughton said, “into customers of ours.”