It always shocks me how quickly this newsletter creeps up on me every month. Somehow it’s March, and we’re slowly but surely heading out of the tail end of lockdown.
The travel industry is already rearing it’s head again, so let’s hope that there’s a big chunk of budget being thrown at content and digital PR 💸.
With that in mind, there’s some great content pieces to dive into today.
Made something you’re proud of? I’d love to see it! Send it over to markprtr[@]gmail.com 💌
Must-see Content 👀
Mario World Maps 🕹️
These Mario World inspired maps are incredibly well done. It’s not an original idea, with people taking on the entire world before, but these are really well executed, which certainly helps carry the idea.
Discovered via Holly Paddon 🕵️
Valentine’s Day Complainers 💔
According to this piece, I’m highly likely to complain on Valentine’s day. It’s an interesting idea that looks at negative reviews to work out common complainers and which tourist destinations and cities are most complained about.
Influencer Investors 📉
I love the presentation of this piece. It looks at the accuracy of the information that’s spouted by ‘influencer investors’ (people who spend their time telling you how to get rich). The data behind it is really interesting, and the Q & A with a financial planner and financial psychologist at the end of the piece really reinforces its credibility.
Discovered via Sean Fitzsimons 🕵️
Norwegian Airlines Flag ✈️
It’s highly likely you’ve already seen this piece, but if you haven’t it’s actually from 2015 (h/t Vince Nero) and has recently been doing the rounds again. It is incredibly well done, and makes you wonder if similar can be done with any other flags.
Discovered via Richard Arrowsmith 🕵️
Cost of Beer Around the World 🍺
While we can’t even get a beer from a pub 5 minutes down the road, let alone in another country, this is still an interesting piece. It’s been done a few times over the years, and looks at the cost of beer around the world, as well as how much people spend on beer annually.
Rush Hour Traffic 🚗
Rush hour is currently a thing of the past, but as we edge closer to normality it wont be long until we remember the joys of sitting in slow moving traffic every morning. This piece looks at travel time data in city centres around the world, to work out where the worse rush hours can be found.
Railroads of the World 🚄
Another corker from /r/dataisbeautiful, this time visualising the railroads, and only the railroads, from around the world.
Modernised Famous Portraits With Current Beauty Trends 👄
This is a pretty fun idea that reimagines famous portraits using current beauty and makeup trends, including Frida Kahlo and Anne Boleyn.
Music Borders 🎵
This one’s hot off the press from The Pudding. Music Borders maps out the number 1 song in 3,000 cities and as always with The Pudding is presented really well. It’s really interesting to see certain songs have somehow leaked into other countries.
More Great Content…
- Where to Find Peace and Quiet in the UK 😴
- The Most Popular Water Sports Revealed 🌊
- The Topography of Vietnam ⛰️
- 10 Years Ago 🤯
- What Will It Be Like When We Go Back to the Office? 🏢
PR Stunts
The below campaigns may not have been intentional PR stunts, however they did attract substantial attention from the media.
Ikea Disassembly Instructions 🔨
In an effort to encourage people to extend the life of their furniture instead of lobbing them in the bin, IKEA have started to introduce disassembly instructions. It’s a nice idea that’s secured them some good coverage, however the original page for this seems to have disappeared and instead redirects to their spare parts page.
Must-read Articles ☕
- Why The Skyscraper Technique Is More Important Now Than Ever 🏙️ by Louise Linehan
- Digital PR Strategy: Industry Insights and The Methods That Secure Coverage in 2021 🎯 by Surena Chande
- The BEST Digital PR & Link Building Campaigns 👑 by Darren Kingman
Must-follow Marketer 👑
Who: Surena Chande, Content Writer & Journalist
Why: Surena’s content has been featured in the last few issues (including this one), and each one is an absolute must-read. She goes into incredible depth around topics we can all relate to as content marketers, and I always find her posts full of actionable info.
Drop her a follow so you don’t miss out on Surena’s future posts.
To Conclude
That concludes issue 23 of Content, Curated. It felt a little lighter on the content front this month but hopefully you’ve enjoyed it. I’ve been doing this for 2 years now and I’m at the point where I’m looking to inject a bit of freshness into it, so if you have any ideas (or criticism, I can take it!) please do let me know. As always feel free to send over any campaigns for consideration (markprtr[@]gmail.com).
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Cheers,
Mark.