Content marketing is not new. Brands have been telling stories to attract and retain customers for hundreds of years. The difference today is that the barriers to entry (content acceptance, talent and technology) no longer exist for brands to get into the publishing arena. From John Deere to Coca-Cola, the power of story has never been stronger, or more important for brands and its customers. This History of Content Marketing infographic is based on the Content Marketing World Timeline Video from the Content Marketing Institute.

1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF
For years brands
have been telling
stories to attract &
retain customers.
Here are a few
great examples...
John Deere launches
customer magazine
The Furrow launches in 1895 and now
has a 1.5 million circulation in 40 countries
and 12 different languages.
One of the first signs of
custom publishing found
in cave paintings
Loosely translated to “6 ways a spear
can save you from wild boar.”
P&G begins foray
into radio soap
operas with brands
such as Duz &
Oxydol - hence
the “soap opera.”3
Sears launches
World’s Largest
Store radio program
The station helped keep
farmers informed during
the deflation crisis with content
supplied by Sears’ Roebuck
Agricultural Foundation.
Custom
Publishing
Council is born
18954200 B.C.
1930s
1922
Michelin develops
The Michelin Guides
400-page guide, now with its iconic
red cover, helps drivers maintain
their cars and find decent lodging.1
UK Sees Boom
in Customer
Magazine
Market4
Jell-O Recipe
Book Pays Off
Jell-O distributes
free copies of a recipe book
that contributes to sales of over
$1 million by 1906.2
1900
1982
1985
1904 Burns & McDonnell
Engineering Launch
Benchmark
Kansas City engineering
and consulting firm,
Burns & McDonnell, launches
Benchmark magazine
(still produced today).
1913
1998
ᮣ Spend on Custom
Content Nears
$20 BILLION
ᮣ Penton Custom Media,
in Cleveland, Ohio,
begins use of term
“CONTENT MARKETING”
2001
CMI is Born
September 2011-
Content Marketing
World is born
2007
Microsoft
Launches
First Major
Corporate Blog,
Channel 9
Sherwin Williams
launches STIR magazine
for commercial interior
designers and architects
Nike+
Launches
2004
LiveVault’s
John Cleese
Video Goes Viral
Global Brands Nike & Apple
partner to create a product to
map runs and track progress.
2005
2006
Hasbro partners with
Marvel to create G.I. Joe
Comic Book - Leads to
Revolution in Toy Marketing
The comic book series launches in
1982, spurring the G.I. Joe pop
culture phenomenon. It was the
first comic book ever advertised
on TV and later led to a cartoon series.
LEGO launches
Brick Kicks
magazine
(Now LEGO Club magazine)
Placeware,
a spin-off of Xerox’s
PARC Laboratory,
starts offering web
conferencing services
1987
1996
Get Content
Get Customers,
the Handbook for
Content Marketing,
is released
American
Express
launches
OPEN Forum
Coca-Cola
Releases
Content 2020
Chief Content Officer
magazine
CMI launches
Chief Content
Officer magazine
in print and digital.
ᮣ 25% OF MARKETING
BUDGETS spent on
content marketing,
88% of all brands
use content marketing 6
ᮣ Content marketing
spend in the UK
nears £1 BILLION
7 of the top 10 UK Newsstand
Publications Are Corporate5
Red Bull
launches
Red Bulletin
magazine
Content Marketing
Books Flood In
2008
2010
2011
P&G launches
BeingGirl.com
P&G’s content site for teen
girls found to be four times more
effective than traditional
advertising by Forrester.
CONTENT MARKETING WORLD 2013
SEPTEMBER 9-10-11, 2013 • CLEVELAND CONVENTION CENTER • CLEVELAND, OH
WWW.CONTENTMARKETINGWORLD.COM
The Coca-Cola Content 2020 marketing plan
focuses on branded storytelling at the center of
all Coca-Cola marketing.
Video targeting IT managers
has over 250,000 downloads in
a few months (this is before YouTube).
Now key resource for small business,
pages views grow 23x in just 2 years.
Blendtec uploads
first video on
YouTube through
series Will It Blend?
Over 6 million views and
385 thousand subscribers.
Leads to 700% growth
in revenue.
WHAT
STORIES
SHOULD
YOU BE
TELLING?
Sources:
1 - Aprix Solutions - http://blog.aprixsolutions.com/2011/06/20/a-brief-history-of-content-marketing • 2 - http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa_CK0029
3 - http://www.pg.com/en_US/news_views/blog_posts/2010/sep/soap_opera_era_ends.shtml • 4 - http://www.magforum.com/custom_publishers.htm
5 - http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/785643/Top-100-Magazines/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
6 - http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2010/09/b2b-content-marketing/
Additional Sources:
http://www.rexblog.com/2011/05/19/23189 • http://www.pg.com/en_US/news_views/blog_posts/2010/sep/soap_opera_era_ends.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe:_A_Real_American_Hero_(Marvel_Comics) • http://www.magforum.com/custom_publishers.htm • http://info.cern.ch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website • http://www.americanbusinessmedia.com/images/abm/pdfs/committees/oppb2bpubs2003.PDF
http://channel9.msdn.com • http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/785643/Top-100-Magazines/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH • http://willitblend.com
http://blog.junta42.com/2008/02/pg-does-it-agai/ • http://thecontentlab.icrossing.com/post/6586774751/how-american-express-open-forum-rocks-content-marketing
http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2010/09/b2b-content-marketing/ • http://apa.co.uk/about-us • http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/chief-content-officer