“More than a decade after ‘content is king’ ascended as a central tenet of digital media, the very term itself – content – has become marketing’s biggest buzzword.” Forbes is right in saying that content marketing has certainly become the latest “talk of the town” in advertising. However, they fall short in noting one tiny detail: content marketing might be advertising’s biggest buzzword, but it is far from being advertising’s newest trend. But just like many other hot trends (social media anyone?), the Internet has not created anything new; it is simply boosting and expanding to an unprecedented level what already existed in the prehistoric pre-Netscape world.

Content marketing can usually be dated back to 1895 and John Deere truck company. Impressions on traditional print media were largely unsuccessful with farmers and could not really answer the main objective of educating them on new technology and machinery trends. John Deere decided to produce a magazine, The Furrow, still published today. Another immensely famous example is Jell-O’s recipe book that helped the brand achieve its first million in sales.

We also usually don’t realize that some items we know today and take for granted as mass consumption items are coming from content marketing initiatives. Ever wondered why soap operas were called “soap” operas? In the 1930s, most TV series were sponsored by brands and many soap manufacturers like P&G and Colgate-Palmolive launched the new genre. The Michelin Guides? Andre Michelin realized he needed to provide drivers with a resource to help them maintain their cars as well as enjoy their rides with lodging information. And why is Guinness associated with the World Book of Records? It was created in 1955 by Sir Hugh Beaver, then managing director of the Guinness Breweries and was only intended as a marketing give-away before becoming a huge money maker! Some of the media we consume today is directly coming from brands who realized before many that content is a much more engaging endeavor than a 30-second TV spot or a full-page newspaper ad.

The Internet and social media have definitely taken content marketing to another dimension. As consumers’ relationships with brands has evolved to a partnership instead of a simple buyer-seller transaction, users don’t want to be sold, they want to be convinced. Content marketing has a bright future ahead, but let’s not forget about its glorious past!

-Thomas Minc (@Mincky)

Strategic Branding Manager at Socialistic