TikTok is at the forefront of shaping Gen Z’s online experiences, says CPL One senior account executive Chessie Cronk.

Unlike any generation before it, Gen Z  – anyone born between 1996 and 2010 – has been shaped by digital technology. What’s also clear is that Gen Z’s routes and habits for online discovery and exploration are different, with TikTok starting to slowly make inroads into Google’s near-monopoly on search.

According to Insider Intelligence, 44.7% of TikTok users are from the Gen Z age group – me included, being born in 2001 (sorry if you squirmed at that!) – and I am definitely ‘guilty’ of opening TikTok and searching for answers there, rather than Google. 

And I’m not alone; a study by Adobe, which surveyed more than 800 people, found nearly one in 10 Gen Z-ers were more likely to rely on TikTok than Google as a search engine, and 64% of Gen Z respondents say they have used TikTok as a search engine. 

While one in 10 relying on TikTok over Google doesn’t seem that significant, it is still a relatively high number when you consider TikTok’s primary function – to provide a platform for users to showcase their creativity and share it with a wider audience via short-form videos – and this will no doubt continue to rise. TikTok has an undeniable role as a primary source of information and entertainment for this generation. As marketers, it’s important we harness this and use it to our advantage. 

Why does Gen Z prefer TikTok to Google?

Gen Zers want quick, interactive and visual content, and TikTok’s infinite scroll of short-form videos is the perfect vehicle for it. But the easy-to-digest videos aren’t just about entertainment – Gen Z is also using TikTok for learning and inspiration. 

For example, I often use TikTok to search out restaurants or activity recommendations when I am visiting somewhere new, and I find it a great way to see just what to expect from that place (i.e. you get to see exactly what the venue and the food looks like).

By doing this, I’m bypassing traditional search engines for quick answers. And with videos being uploaded constantly, the platform is also providing me with real-time information.

Are you using TikTok for your marketing strategy?

In 2023, TikTok hit a whopping 1.92 billion users, a 16% increase on the previous year. There are more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, with no sign of this slowing down. According to Statista, only 26% of marketers are using TikTok, despite the app being expected to hit some 2.25 billion users by 2027.

There will, of course, be challenges for brands and organisations that want to harness the power of TikTok, and how you use it will depend on your industry and what you want to showcase. 

If TikTok isn’t in your social-media strategy, perhaps it should be. Maybe now is the time to explore its potential, particularly if you are targeting Gen Z?

If you’d like to find out more about how CPL One can help you incorporate TikTok into your content planning, please do get in touch.

CPL One director Sarah Simpson outlines some of the opportunities and challenges currently faced by the customer publishing sector in a piece for InPublishing’s Publishing Partners Guide.

“During 2023, we saw many clients, perhaps driven by the desire to reduce costs following the pandemic, adopt a more creative attitude to different ways of doing things,” she writes. “They have become braver and bolder with their content, requiring agencies to be creative with how that content is distributed and how income is generated from it.”

She says that “creating great content is all very well, but if it’s not distributed with a well thought-through campaign, it will not get the visibility it deserves”.

And while the number of print magazines reaching audiences may have declined since 2020, the amount of content created has increased due to the continuing growth and range of digital outputs.

You can read her full article here: https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/opportunities-and-threats-customer-media-22869

In creating a campaign to recruit care workers, we tapped into the real, emotionally driven reasons why people get satisfaction from the work.

Hardly a day goes by without media talk of a crisis in our care sector. 

The common theme, invariably, is recruitment.

At CPL One we work with local authorities to create powerful, emotionally resonant campaigns that help encourage people to apply for roles in care. 

It’s an area we know and understand, and this type of marketing with social purpose is rewarding for both our agency and client teams.

Staff turnover in the adult social care sector is running at around 28%, and there are more than 150,000 vacant posts in England at the moment.

Care providers say they struggle to find people who want to work with vulnerable, elderly, people with disabilities and high care needs. 

And when they do find them, it is hard to keep them as they can easily be lured elsewhere, often attracted by better pay and more sociable hours. 

Be a Care Worker is a campaign we launched with Cambridgeshire County Council.

It was aimed at ‘people people’ – those who are motivated by the emotional and personal connections they make with those for whom they care. 

‘Be a care worker’ features images of people such as:

• “A maths teacher, 94, (who) now needs a bit of helping working things out”;
• “A women’s rights campaigner, 84, (who) now needs someone to look out for them”; and
• “A lifelong Spurs fan (who) now needs someone to moan to.”

Caroline Townsend, head of commissioning partnerships and programmes for Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, said: “Attracting new people to the care sector in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is a huge priority for us. We needed an agency that could understand the needs of care providers, show real empathy with carers and those being cared for, and create and deliver a compelling campaign within a tight timeframe. The members of CPL One’s team have once again come up trumps.”

Sophie Hewitt-Jones, director – client services for CPL One, added: “After working on previous campaigns to recruit people into very specific roles, such as social and reablement workers, it has been fascinating to put together a broader programme that pinpoints the reasons why those who care have a passion for what they do. 

“Our team has worked in partnership with the councils involved, and with care providers in the region, to create a striking and emotive campaign that highlights the transformational and rewarding work that carers do.”

Beyond this year’s headline-making trends in marketing, there are some insights that are here to last.

According to the 2024 prediction lists, the big trends in marketing in the coming months range from the increasing impact of AI to the Gen Z preference for ‘social as search’. 

Marketing insights like these are often aimed at consumer retail brands, but which of them cross over to make an impact for B2B brands or for membership organisations, for example?

This year at CPL One, among the hype, we can see three drivers that resonate through the headline trends and have particular relevance for our clients and their audiences’ needs: community, authenticity and value. Together, they can work to bring people together around a brand or organisation, in a place they feel they belong.

Community

Communities help us to make sense of our world. From local business meet-ups and YouTube tutorials, to the way we organise our conversations on WhatsApp and Tik-Tok – group activity, shared learning, support and fun are increasingly the ways we make sense of our world and the basis for community-building. 

Fostering and engaging communities can help your business understand customer needs and pain points, leverage brand awareness, boost acquisition and loyalty, and turn customers into brand advocates. Communities, therefore, are an active and responsive mechanism that provides insight and direction for your business.

Finding fresh and relevant ways to support your customer communities should be a priority for supporting your business’s future.

Authenticity 

Authenticity powers togetherness and belonging. A strong community can be a place where people feel they belong together and have a future together, but that doesn’t always mean they share the same backgrounds, experiences, ambitions or abilities. It might seem counter-intuitive, but individuality is vital for the togetherness of any community. 

This is where authenticity comes in. Authenticity is about having the opportunity to be true to ourselves. It’s about supporting our individuality and helping others, so we can all become the people we want to be. 

People join communities when they feel that within that community they can live more authentically. And they leave when they can’t. 

When a business communicates and supports individuals within its customer or member communities in a more personalised, meaningful way, and its offering meets the needs of the individual as well as the group, then it empowers that individual’s sense of authenticity. In turn, that can increase loyalty and engagement. As a consequence, the whole community is strengthened – and so is the value of your product or service.

Value

Value is the real benefit gained from a product or service in relation to the price paid.

In other words, ‘value’ doesn’t directly correlate with ‘cost’ – and offering value for your customer isn’t done through price alone. 

It also means that value-delivery doesn’t end with a conversion at the point of sale or sign-up – it’s an ongoing challenge that must be constantly supported, meeting customer needs throughout your relationship with them. 

Value drivers include:

• Understanding people’s changing needs and desires 
• Helping people discover useful solutions and apply them to the challenges they face
• Offering your support and guidance, and helping them gain support from peers
• Creating platforms and places for engagement, to encourage a sense of togetherness and belonging
• Helping people build confidence in how they use your products/services, and in their ability to apply new knowledge and experience and become advocates in what they do

At CPL One, we help clients strengthen their value proposition so their customers come together around their products and services in meaningful and authentic ways. 

That might sound like ‘marketing-speak’, but behind the jargon it’s really about supporting real people doing real things in the real world. When we do that, we help people belong. And that’s not a trend, it’s a principle we can use for future-proofing our businesses.

The year in review: from connecting communities and commercial strategy, to the power of video and demonstrating member value, here are our top 12 hot topics from 2023.

1. It’s time to put people first

The audiences we create content for are often professional experts in their fields. It’s paramount that our editorial features reflect that. But those audiences also consist of real people with real-world concerns – and that needs to be reflected too. The specific industry may set the context, the agenda, and define the detail, but across those considerations it’s time to put people first when it comes to deepening the connection between member and organisation, or audience and brand.
Read how we take a people-first approach with CIBSE Journal.

2. Multichannel content drives momentum

In the past 12 months, we’ve seen some clients increase the frequency of their printed editorial content, while others have reduced it. So, who’s right? We would suggest that it should never be thought of as a binary opposition of print vs digital. Good research and understanding the target audience helps you to shape your approach to multichannel content, while benchmarking what success looks like can help you to measure progress.  With a little strategic thinking, digital and print should work in harmony.
Read about how we are combining digital and print solutions for the ACT.

3. Good content cuts through the noise

In April, CPL One was in London for the 2023 Content Marketing Association B2B Summit. What did we learn? Well, lots of things. If there was a key insight from the sessions, it would be that we live in very uncertain times with a changing world of work and rapidly advancing technology just two of the challenges we face. Amid all that insecurity, our clients want us to help them cut through the noise, disentangle and declutter their messaging, and help them to focus on the things that will let them achieve their goals.
Here are 12 take-outs from the day.

4. AI remains a hot topic, with unanswered questions

In May, the conversation was all about the potential impact of ChatGPT. At the time, CPL One managing director Mike Sewell wrote that software like ChatGPT had the potential to help us (among many things) drive efficiencies and speed up the initial stages of web-based research for our journalists and sales teams. He also warned that it probably shouldn’t be trusted to provide information that is either correct or original. So, did we get it right?
Read our full set of predictions.

5. Video excels at storytelling

Video can deliver real impact for your organisation. What’s more, creating short films doesn’t always need a Barbie-level budget. With our smartphones at our sides, ready to record and share special moments, aren’t we all moviemakers now? So, while some videos that we shoot at CPL One incur costs such as location and actor/model fees, others deliver successfully against the brief with a mobile phone and a little initiative. Is it time to schedule some video into your comms calendar?
See how we used video to drive a recruitment campaign.

6. Our mission is to help people belong
In the middle of the year, we officially launched the new visual brand identity for CPL One. Its design reinforces our primary business purpose, which is that ‘We help people belong’. And when we say ‘belong’, we are thinking of three audiences: the people who engage with the content we create on behalf of our clients; the individuals who work for our clients and from whom we learn so much; and all the team at CPL One – our most important asset.
Here, managing director Mike Sewell outlines the latest phase in the CPL One story.

7. Flexibility is a foundation for success
Talking of ‘belonging’… whatever work takes priority at CPL One, we want everyone here to feel supported in what they do, with the freedom to express themselves and reach their personal goals. We were delighted to win another Gold accreditation as a Best Employer, reflecting our focus on: having the right working environment to develop creative solutions for clients; ensuring everyone feels supported as individuals; working together in teams to maximise the positive difference we make as a company.
See how flexibility supports creativity, individuality and togetherness.

8. Commercial strategies are due an MOT
Our in-house commercial and media sales team have a trusted process to increase revenues from magazines and websites. Increasingly, however, we find that to get the best from commercial opportunities, organisations need to think holistically, looking at multi-channel sponsorship packages, events, podcasts, recruitment portals and more. In challenging times, it’s about asking “What else can we do for you?” And whether that’s a solus email campaign or a sponsored drinks reception, it is about ensuring we find the best way to deliver tangible benefits for your target audience.
Take a look at our full range of commercial and creative services.

9. Brand evolution can bring a fresh start
Print magazines remain highly regarded by audiences as a vehicle for quality content. A redesigned or relaunched magazine can bring a fresh and more contemporary look, but it can also support a strategic repositioning of an organisation’s key offering in response to a changing world and an audience’s evolving needs and expectations. Could your printed matter work harder to support your business objectives?
Read how we relaunched a charity magazine to drive membership.

10. It’s about connecting communities
At CPL One, we know that in the medium and long term, engaging audiences and building loyalty is about developing trusted relationships and helping to build supportive communities. Those communities are a fount of knowledge and a place where vital experience is shared. Creating podcasts and chairing discussions at conferences is an increasing part of the job for CPL One editors – and it reflects our understanding that connecting communities helps create positive change for organisations.
Read about how we connect communities for CIWM.

11. Demonstrating value is key for membership organisations
Setting out to refresh your membership value proposition (MVP) can feel like a big, big ask. The same can be said when you set out to tackle other broad-based outputs of strategic marketing aimed at long-term transformation. Ultimately, your MVP needs to give your audience a reason to join, and then stay as a member. But does yours do this? And how do you know? 
Here are five tips to help kick-start your MVP refresh.

12. Your brand proposition needs to be delivered 52 weeks a year
To maximise the power of your brand, you need a relentless focus on ensuring customers and other stakeholders experience it in the same consistent way at every touchpoint. For our client Darley Stallions, we help create high-quality multichannel communications on a daily basis. Whether it’s an animated online ad, an exciting promotional film or a major physical installation at a racecourse, we focus on presenting the brand in the best possible light. That’s one reason why Darley has such a strong reputation in its field – and we’re delighted that during 2023 CPL One’s reputation as a leading content marketing agency has only been enhanced too.

In the third of an occasional and informal series introducing you to our work at CPL One, we hitch a ride with a London-based client.

So, who’s in the back of the cab this week? 

I see what you did there! Yes, it’s the official newspaper of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA). TAXI newspaper, which CPL One creates for the LTDA, is circulated in and around central London every fortnight. 

How many members does the organisation have?

With more than 10,000 members, the LTDA represents the majority of London’s black-cab drivers.

What’s the aim of the LTDA?

That’s quite simple: it’s the biggest trade organisation dedicated to protecting London taxi drivers’ livelihoods. Members’ subscriptions help pay for legal representation (should drivers need it), support with licensing issues, and campaigns against changes and legislation that may have an impact on drivers’ welfare or earnings. For example, earlier this year the LTDA legal team helped save drivers’ livelihoods after TfL changed its driver suitability policy.

And are they all familiar with TAXI newspaper?

The newspaper is well established – it launched way back in 1970 and has more than 35 distribution points across London,  including Euston, Paddington, Waterloo and Wimbledon. It can now also be downloaded as a digital pdf. So yes, it’s pretty well known. In fact, TAXI is a great example of a free publication model that continues to thrive.     

What’s in the paper then? Any celebrity gossip or humorous tales of the late-night drunk and disorderly?      

Of course not, that’s all confidential! In fact, there’s a mix of news and views on the big issues and topics that taxi drivers have to deal with. London cabbies are a close-knit and loyal community and they band together, for example, around issues such as road access and the future of the Knowledge of London.

Oh yes, ‘The Knowledge’. So TAXI brings the drivers’ perspective to the stories?

It does. But the big news stories are only part of the picture. There’s also room for lifestyle stories, ranging from theatre and film reviews, to satirical pieces, opinion and history features. It’s a real A-to-Z of news, views and leisure offers that cabbies can use.     

Tell me more…

Amon Warmann, Empire magazine’s contributing editor, writes monthly film reviews; financial expert Emma Lunn offers advice on topical money-saving issues; and historian Rob Lordan crafts some weird and wonderful (and sometimes murderous!) tales of London’s colourful past.

So, as a cabbie might say: “you never know what you’re going to pick up”.

Essentially, the aim is to get the paper into the hands of cab drivers all over the capital, for both an informative and entertaining read. Each publication addresses the latest issues and covers the biggest news from the taxi world, while also offering content related to London life and its culture.

What does the LTDA say about TAXI as the go-to read for cabbies?

“Ask any driver – TAXI has more readers than the rest put together!”

And what does CPL One say?

The LTDA is a long-standing client for us and we love working on the newspaper and with the team there.

See our previous Five-minute intros to CPL One clients CIBSE and Nautilus.

As Zoom orders more of its staff back to the office, we look at how working practices at CPL One ensure we always support the people who work here – and our clients.

How do you get the most from your working day? Is it by being at your own desk in the office; meeting with your team around a collaboration table; or working quietly at home, on your own? 

Perhaps being productive at work involves a bit of all three. 

At CPL One, we find it depends on the type of work we are doing – and as a full-service agency, the work we do is varied. It could be writing an in-depth feature for a specialist magazine, brainstorming a fresh new design route for a client website or brand revamp, or putting in calls to meet media sales targets.

Whatever work is taking priority, we want everyone here to feel supported in what they do, with the freedom to express themselves and reach their personal goals.

Our purpose at CPL One is to ‘help people belong’, and that applies equally to the people who work here as to our clients and their customers. It means ensuring everyone can:

• Find the right working environment to develop creative solutions for CPL One clients
• Feel supported as individuals with their own personal needs and in their careers
• Come together in teams to maximise the positive difference we can make as a company.

We believe that if you support creativity, individuality and togetherness, you have a much better chance of achieving success.

Hybrid working at CPL One

Like many companies, CPL One operates a hybrid working policy that encourages our teams to work in ways that get the best results. This helps provide a supportive environment – one in which, hopefully, everyone can reach their full potential. 

With a few exceptions, we ask that everyone spends 60 per cent of the working week in the office. Exceptions? Well, some colleagues live only a few minutes’ easy walk away. Others have good reasons not to travel in regularly – our most ‘remote’ team member checks in from the Philippines.

Also, CPL One has offices in two locations – Cambridge and St Albans. We encourage people to work from a different office from time to time, so they can connect with the right people when they are working on specific projects. 

“Team get-togethers can facilitate this,” says director Sarah Simpson. “For example, we’ve recently held training sessions for our sales team, with one session in St Albans and the next in Cambridge.

“Whichever office people work from, we know that being together, as a group, helps to integrate teams – by deepening our understanding of the work and each other – and facilitate the sharing of ideas.”

Different teams have different needs

“For design briefings and collaborating on concept work, face-to-face interaction is still best,” says art director Kevin Reed. “But working from home is a great option when we are deep into day-to-day magazine layout.”

Wherever we work, finding support through the teams of which we are a part is a foundation of what we do, says Sarah.

“Our commercial team is a good example of this. It’s important for them to be around a bank of desks, putting in and answering calls. It brings a sales buzz that you can’t recreate at home. In media sales, building trust and rapport is a priority. We also know how infuriating it can be when key decision-makers at a company are constantly unavailable. So, wherever you work from, being present and available is a must.”

At CPL One, our thinking on hybrid working continues to evolve, and our latest employee opinion survey will help us continue to align our working practices and office environment to meet our teams’ – and our clients’ – needs. 

We think being open to evolution is key. If you want to help people belong, there’s no single or fixed way of achieving it. That’s why, when it comes to the way we work, we always continue to listen, learn and adapt.