Reviving Your Brand: The Magic of Content Marketing to Help Failing Brands Thrive

Companies fail and fade away for all sorts of reasons. Not enough cash flow, bad press, terrible leadership, product/market misalignment, the list goes on.

One of the areas I see companies missing out most, however,  as far as opportunities for growth, is in marketing. They do marketing, but they don’t do it well, or they make it “all about me” (too salesy).

Bad marketing leads to lack of growth and the rise of your competition. But there’s one marketing activity that’s key to the success of your corporate revival efforts that you just might be overlooking,

You scratch your head, pondering, ‘What is it?’

Well, I’m glad you asked.

The key to helping struggling businesses find new life can be found through the magic of content marketing.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the creation and distribution of compelling articles, videos, infographics, social media, and other types of content that is aimed at adding value for your target audience to build relationships with your brand.

Today, content is the most powerful tool you have at your disposal. If used properly, content can not only dig you out of the hole your company is in, it can propel you to the top of your market.

To help inspire you on your content marketing journey and get those creative juices flowing, we’ll analyze how companies have defied the odds, rising from the brink of failure or going from zero to sixty fast, thanks to the power of captivating content.

Let’s take a look at some of the key things that make content marketing successful and apply those findings to a few popular brands that leveraged content to thrive.

Content With a Comedic Twist

Content marketing isn’t just about selling products; it’s about building genuine connections with audiences, captivating their hearts and minds with compelling stories, and turning skeptics into loyal fans.

One major ingredient in successful content marketing is humor. Grabbing attention with something your audience just didn’t expect can put smiles on their faces and earn some respect for your brand.

Brands that aren’t afraid to inject humor into their content marketing can revive and thrive quickly with even just one major hit. Old Spice serves as the perfect example.

Case in Point: Old Spice’s Epic Comeback

Pre-2010, Old Spice was struggling with an aging image. The brand desperately needed a makeover to survive in the competitive world of personal care products.

Rather than throwing in the towel or accepting mediocrity, Old Spice made the decision to be bold. What they came up with was the now-iconic “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign.

You know this one. This is the one featuring the iconic “Old Spice Guy” riding shirtless on horseback.

With wit and absurdity, the fading brand was invigorated, capturing the attention of a younger audience (18-34) and sparking new interest from the brand’s current users.

The campaign resulted in a 107% increase in product sales in the short time following the launch of the campaign.

As the years went by, Old Spice continued to use content to boost its brand image and sales.

In 2024, Old Spice reported a 30% increase in sales and a 25% boost in brand sentiment, proving that the right content can reignite a brand’s spark.

The key ingredients for Old Spice’s content strategy through the years have been a mix of humor + swagger. They even introduced the School for Swagger, aimed at helping high school-aged males navigate the trickiness of those years, resulting in more kids staying in school, graduating, and having better opportunities in life.

Old Spice is a wonderful example of the power of content in helping revive your brand.

The Art of Storytelling

At the core of content marketing lies the art of storytelling—a skill that goes beyond advertising and resonates deeply with audiences.

Whether through blogs, social media, or videos, storytelling humanizes brands, making them relatable and authentic.

By crafting narratives that evoke emotion and inspire action, companies can build lasting connections with their audience.

Crafting a story that makes your brand more relatable and more human can help build strong relationships and forge brand loyalty. If you craft your story the right way, you can truly stand out in a crowded market.

Case in Point: Airbnb’s Storytelling Success

The hospitality industry is saturated with lodging options for travelers, from luxury resorts and tropical bungalows, to camping sites and 2-star motels.

Airbnb saw an opportunity to be something different. The company was launched to change the way people stay when they travel, but it was fighting an uphill battle, launching into a market with no shortage of options.

Struggling to find its footing in the bustling  hospitality industry, Airbnb turned to storytelling to breathe life into its brand.

Airbnb officially launched in 2008, and by 2009, the now wildly successful brand was close to shutting its doors, barely generating enough revenue each week to keep the lights on.

The turnaround started when the brand began sharing videos on its YouTube channel of “Hosts” telling their stories and talking about the homes they host. By sharing the unique experiences of hosts and guests, they transformed from a lodging platform into a global community.

Years later, Airbnb continued its focus on content through their “Belong Anywhere” campaign. This campaign focused on acceptance and belonging, and it really grabbed people’s attention.

Airbnb tapped into the universal desire for connection, leading to a 35% increase in bookings and a 20% rise in revenue in 2023. The power of content is evident in the brand’s significant and continued growth.

The brand told a story of community, of belonging, of freedom with which the audience really resonated.

The Role of SEO and Data Analytics

Content marketing isn’t just about creating captivating content—it’s also about reaching the right audience at the right time, understanding how they act and what they do online, then analyzing all that data and activity to develop a more focused content strategy.

To help your brand develop a clearer picture of your audience, SEO and data analytics play a key role. By leveraging keywords, data insights, performance analytics, and other key information, companies can increase their visibility and tailor their content strategies for maximum impact.

Taking the time to audit your current content and analyze audience insights can help guide your content strategy so that you ultimately are able to increase your conversions and leverage the power of content for growth.

Case in Point: HubSpot’s Data-Driven Triumph

HubSpot, a leader in inbound marketing and automation, isn’t really a story where the company was failing and rose out of the ashes. It is, however, a company that realized the power of content right from the start, and as a result, revenue rose from around $29 million to nearly $2.2 billion in just 12 years.

HubSpot sprinted out of the gate and never looked back, using data to fine-tune its content strategies. From the start, HubSpot founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, understood that chasing cold leads doesn’t work.

Instead, they chose to attract new clients by providing educational and actionable content that helped people and brands solve issues and grow.

Video, blog articles, social media, and so much more. HubSpot was on top of it. They offered free (and paid) training courses, which helped people learn how to use inbound marketing more effectively.

And guess what!?

HubSpot just so happens to offer one of the top Inbound Marketing tools on the market. So, once people were hooked on the brand’s content and had that strong connection through the content, they were a lot more likely to take that next step and become customers.

HubSpot has one of the best marketing blogs online, and their YouTube channel is filled with priceless information ranging from customer success and startup stories to overviews of the platform and insights from the brand’s annual conference.

But the story doesn’t end with the content production and publishing. HubSpot takes things to another level, analyzing results thoroughly and then tweaking their process and content over and over to ensure the results continue to improve.

By analyzing user interactions, they identify trends and opportunities, driving engagement and conversions. With a data-driven approach, HubSpot saw a 40% increase in leads and a 30% boost in ROI in 2023, proving that when data meets creativity, magic happens.

Revive Your Brand and Thrive With Content Marketing

With captivating storytelling, data-driven insights, and a touch of creativity, companies can overcome failure and achieve success. So, embrace the power of content marketing, and breathe new life into your brand.

Don’t be afraid to add a little humor and personality into your content. Look no further than Old Spice for inspiration.

Tell the story of your users like Airbnb to connect on a deeper level. Storytelling allows you to help your audience visualize themselves using your services or product.

Follow the lead of content marketing masters like HubSpot. Get a plan together, use data to uncover insights, and then continue to tweak your content strategy to constantly improve your results.