The notion of having a large-scale content studio in-house would be radical for many brands but that’s just the opening scene for David Beebe who “set out to establish [Marriott] as the largest producer of travel lifestyle content.” A veteran of Hollywood, Beebe has turned Marriott into a content powerhouse by “not asking for permission all the time” and by focusing initially on “really premium storytelling.” Noting that successful content needs to be scalable, built around a community and have a commerce component, Beebe advises, “You’re not making a commercial, you’re not talking about yourself and your features anymore.”
Meet the Guest
David Beebe leads Global Creative and Content Marketing for Marriott International’s portfolio of 19 brands, which includes Marriott Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Bulgari, EDITION, Renaissance, Gaylord Hotels, Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, Moxy Hotels, Delta Hotels, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Spring Hill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Protea Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club with over 4,200 hotels in 82 countries.
Beebe leads a global creative + content marketing group responsible for the strategic and creative development of consumer facing creative, content marketing, influencer marketing, and real time marketing with teams in Bethesda, MD, Hong Kong, London, and Dubai across four divisions, including Marriott Creative Agency (MCA), and in house agency and Marriott Content Studio (MCS) an in house studio that develops, produces, distributes, and monetizes original content including webisodes, documentaries, short films, television shows, magazines, books, animated series, and live programming. In short, when it comes to content, he’s a king.
What You'll Learn
- The importance of having the backing of the CEO when investing big into content
- The difference between ad campaigns and content marketing
- Contents role in the overall marketing mix
- How great content can also drive sales
Quotes from David Beebe
- My outlook and what I focus on is getting stuff done.
- We launched the content studio and immediately set out to establish ourselves as the largest producer of travel lifestyle content.
- Our strategy has really been focused around starting with the why versus just making stuff and throwing it against the wall.
- The biggest challenge for us is helping brand marketers understand how is what we’re doing different and how can you compare the success of the different worlds?
- But [CMOs] don’t know where to start because they don’t understand the fundamentals of storytelling versus what’s actually a campaign.
- Brands are storytellers and media companies now.
- Content marketing is very long-tail, built around a strategy which we call 3 Cs: scaling content of all types, building a community around that content, and building commerce around that content.