Purpose-Based Marketing, Jim Stengel and Content Marketing

I've seen Jim Stengel speak many times and always enjoyed it.  For the past five+ years, the global marketing chief from Procter & Gamble seemed a regular on the advertising and marketing speaking circuit.  Now we know why.

Mr. Stengel has formed his own marketing consulting company called (appropriately) Jim Stengel LLC. Stengel states in this Wall Street Journal article that "marketing is in need of a major overhaul...trust in brands is at an all-time low."

Stengel's "new way" of selling is called "purpose-based marketing," which, according to the article, is "about defining what a company does - beyond making money - and how it can make its customers' lives better."

Although this is nothing new, it's nice to see this picked up in the Journal, and that a well-followed and successful marketing executive is carrying the banner of what we call content marketing.

Yes, Stengel's "purpose-based marketing" is "content marketing".

Here is what I wrote back in January on this topic:

Content marketing is not easy because you actually have to listen to your customers and know what their challenges are. You cannot solve your marketing woes through buying advertising space. You must make a connection to your customers, and get new customers, by focusing on their true pain points and healing them with information.

In the WSJ article, Stengel discussed how Pampers found its higher purpose: helping moms develop healthy, happy babies.  From that, P&G offered parenting advice (relevant content) and recruited experts on a variety of parenting topics (yep, that's content marketing).

The Results: the brand won market share. Pampers became not just a product, but a trusted resource through their use of content marketing.  They did it by telling a meaningful, relevant and compelling story.

Look, nothing against Mr. Stengel here, but this "new idea" has been the basis of the custom publishing (what I call content marketing) movement for over 100 years (since John Deere launched the first recognized custom publication called The Furrow in the late 1800s - and still in publication by the way - bless you John Deere).

Stengel's book release that expands on his idea (currently titled "Packaged Good") is currently in production.  While you wait for that one to hit bookstores, here's the original.

Comments

[Seamus Walsh]

Big brand marketing has been defining what companies do and telling us how they are going to make my life better for years. All without knowing anything about me. That's why there is eroding trust.

In today's economy I want to know about the value of a product and how the product is uniquely different. Telling me how it's going to make my life better is where traditional marketing goes wrong. Send the messages, but let me decide if and how it is going to make my life better.

[Joe Pulizzi]

Seamus...Amen!

[adam hartung]

Listening to customers can get you into a lot of trouble - even kill you. Look at GM and Ford right now. Read more at http://www.ThePhoenixPrinciple.com

[Michael D. Wentworth]

Right on Joe. In response to Adam's comment, there is a difference between listening to the customer and reacting to the customer. For example, does a President lead based on what the people want, or based on what the polls say that morning. Making decisions based on the polls is very dangerous.

[ErikJ]

We are all more informed these days as to what is going into a product so the companies need to change the Marketing to a more knowledge based plan.

[ErikJ]

We are all more informed these days as to what is going into a product so the companies need to change the Marketing to a more knowledge based plan.