Content Weekly by the CMA

Hi , I hope you're having a great start to the week.

We have made several changes to our CMA newsletter and will continue to add new features. We will also bring you the latest news and views from the content industry. One of the new features in our newsletter is polls. This week, we are asking for your thoughts on AI. This will help us understand the opinions of our community and assist us in creating an upcoming feature.

In this week's newsletter, we provide insights from Dialogue Content Marketing on AI that you won't want to miss. Additionally, we celebrate as New Media and Woolworths' TASTE magazine reaches an incredible milestone of 20 years!

Finally, a quick update on this year's International Content Marketing Awards: we are currently working with our first round of judges who are diligently creating this year's shortlist. The shortlist announcement will be made later this month, followed by our second round of judging. We will also be launching our 2023 Content Marketing Grand Prix.

📣 VIRTUAL AWARD CEREMONY ANNOUNCED

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we’ve decided that 2023’s award ceremony will be held virtually. We know how much the community loved the in-person event, and how good those nights used to be so we’ll be working hard to bring this event back for 2024.

The decision to hold this year’s ceremony virtually wasn't one we made easily. Event costs have risen significantly since our last in-person award ceremony in 2019, as well as tighter budgets and changes in work patterns from those in our community.

Following feedback from last year’s virtual event, we’ve decided to hold this year’s awards at the end of the working day, so you and the team can come together and watch as you wait to find out the results of this year’s International Content Marketing Awards.

Our virtual ceremony will take place at 16:00 on Thursday, 23rd November

💭 WHAT EFFECT WILL AI HAVE ON THE CONTENT INDUSTRY

These are exciting but volatile times in the content industry, and that’s because the introduction of generative AI is causing the greatest upheaval since the introduction of the internet. That’s not hyperbole; navigating this upheaval and its consequences is probably going to be the ongoing, defining challenge of this entire generation of content professionals.

We’re still only in the earliest stages of this upheaval, though, and one new startup’s ingenious breakthrough could turn the world upside down tomorrow. That’s why trying to answer this question by focussing on a particular platform that’s one update, buyout or court ruling away from changing dramatically is probably not the right approach.

Instead, let’s examine the major opportunities, the biggest hazards and where the jokers in the pack might be, and how you can wisely respond to them. Bottom line up front? Even though it may feel like science fiction come to life when the conversation turns to AI, we recommend keeping your feet firmly on the ground.

🎉 WOOLWORTHS TASTE: 20 YEARS AND STILL COOKING!

Launched in 2003 by New Media on behalf of Woolworths, with the intention of becoming “the best food magazine in the world”, Woolworths TASTE celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.

Woolworths TASTE has always been the highest selling and most commercially successful premium food magazine in SA, despite being a customer magazine. “In this area – as in so many others – Woolworths is a pioneer,” says editor-in-chief Kate Wilson. “They understood the power and importance of true content marketing long before other SA brands.”

For the past five years, TASTE has consistently been the top-selling magazine of all monthly print titles on Woolworths’ newsstands in its first week of sale.