Welcome to issue #24 of Content, Curated. It’s April and the pubs are open, the sun is remembering that the UK exists, and there’s a tonne of awesome campaigns to look at (mostly because this issue is slightly later than usual…!).
On the personal news front, I’m thrilled to announce that I have re-joined the Screaming Frog team as Head of Marketing. They’ve been pushing out some awesome campaigns over the last year or so and it’s been great to catch up on what’s been working well.
On to the content.
Made something you’re proud of? I’d love to see it! Send it over to markprtr[@]gmail.com 💌
Must-see Content 👀
Invasive Apps 🕵️
This is a great data-driven piece that delves into a topic of growing relevancy. It looks at which apps are the sharing the most personal data with third parties, highlighting which ones are the likely culprits for those creepy, super targeted instagram ads.
Discovered via Digital PR Examples 🕵️
The Most Googled Artist in Every Country 🎨
I was pleasantly surprised by this piece when I ran it through Ahrefs.com. I thought it was a pretty good piece and well designed, but the idea didn’t exactly blow my mind. However, it’s currently sat on over 140 linking root domains, including lots of high value graphic/web design sites which have some relevancy to the website in question.
Video Game Sneakers 🎮
These game inspired sneakers are really well done. These types of campaigns always seem to go down pretty well when executed correctly, and they’re fun and light-hearted.
Discovered via Gisele Navarro 🕵️
The Naked Truth 💄
The Pudding have performed an incredible deep dive into the names of complexion products. In doing so, they’ve revealed a bias in beauty, and like all pieces from The Pudding it’s very well presented.
Discovered via Mairead Folan 🕵️
Spending Elon’s Money 💵
It’s not often you see game content pieces as they can be hard to build links to. This one has taken inspiration from Neal Agarwal (former Must-follow Marketer), instead looking at Elon Musk. It’s really well done, and Musk always seems to be relevant these days, though I can’t believe they didn’t include some cryptocurrencies to buy.
Every Country’s Most Popular Pokémon 🎴
Pokémon is absolutely timeless. 23 years later and it’s still a relevant topic that people are receptive to. This map highlights which Pokémon is the most popular within each country, using Ahref’s keyword explorer.
The Most Expensive Sleep Money Can Buy 🛏️
This is an interesting data-driven piece that looks at the affordability of property across the US for single buyers. It compares the price of a studio versus a 1 bed apartment across various cities, highlighting where single buyers are priced out of the market.
Discovered via Patrick Langridge 🕵️
An Analysis of the Beatles 🎵
Ever wondered which Beatles member had the largest vocabulary or wrote most of their songs? This piece made using Tableau is a great example of clean and well presented data visualisation.
Discovered via Jess Peace / Amanda Milligan 🕵️
The Most Popular Dog Breed in Every Country 🐕
There seems to be a lot of dog orientated pieces recently, and this one looks at what the most popular dog breed is in each country. The global map coupled with the more granular maps works really well.
Design a Wig 👩🦳
I spent way too long playing with this cool interactive, that lets you style an 18th century haircut, complete with decorations and powder.
Discovered via Vince Nero 🕵️
More Great Content…
- How the UK Has Changed Their Homes During Lockdown 🏘️ Discovered via James Dart 🕵️
- Incredible Castles in Every State in the U.S. 🏰
- Rising Tides: The Tourist Destinations at Risk From Surging Seas 🌊 Discovered via Hannah Marshall 🕵️
- The Best Of the British Isles 🏝️ Discovered via Shannon Keary 🕵️
- The Names of Donald Duck’s Nephews in Various European Languages 🦆 Discovered via Amanda Milligan 🕵️
- Most Pampered Cities in the US 💅 Discovered via Matt Lindley 🕵️
- Floral Map of the UK 🌼 Discovered via Julie Smith 🕵️
- Ever Given Ever Ywhere 🛥️ Discovered via Rory Marsh 🕵️
- Jumping the Shark 🦈 Discovered via Jess Peace 🕵️
- The Cheapest Michelin Meals in the World ⭐
- 7 German Words That Describe Pandemic Life Perfectly, Illustrated 💉 Discovered via Rebecca Moss 🕵️
- The Top Female Founder In Every Country World Map 👩⚕️
PR Stunts
The below campaigns may not have been intentional PR stunts, however they did attract substantial attention from the media.
Renaming Burgers 🍔
Good Fortune Burger, a Canadian burger restaurant, recently renamed the burgers on their menu so that they could be expensed. It’s a genius idea that’s drummed up lots of PR attention for them, even if it is tax fraud.
Must-read Articles ☕
- Beginners Guide to Digital PR 🤓 by Darren Kingman
- Campaigns That Make the Headlines 📰 by Mark Johnstone
- 3 Playful Content Marketing Examples Show Brands Getting Their Game On 🎮
- Ultimate guide to creating cutting edge campaigns with social media 📣 by Dan Bermingham-Shaw
- Are PR Stunts Still Relevant in 2021 🚴♂️ by Rich Leigh
- Earn Press Coverage for Your Brand in 5 Steps 👣 by Domenica D’Ottavio
Must-follow Marketer 👑
This is actually the most time consuming part of this newsletter as it’s so hard to decide on someone each month, there are too many good people to recommend. As such, I’m skipping over this section this month and potentially for good. I’ll be sure to replace it with something in case of the latter! If you have any suggestions, either for a must-follow marketer or for it’s replacement, I’m all ears!
To Conclude
That concludes issue 24 of Content, Curated, posted on a glorious Friday afternoon, where pubs are open and a renewed sense of hope is in the air. Enjoy!
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Cheers,
Mark.