State of Content Marketing

With a content marketing strategy dating back to its first LEGOLAND theme park in Denmark over 40 years ago, and its long-running LEGO Club Magazine, the leading subscription publication for children in the U.S. today, LEGO is a study in marketing transition and evolution.


“What is fascinating is that as we evolve branded content by harnessing channels such as the Web and video games, our growing community of fans are doing the same—if not more—by posting their own product displays and animated films to photo and video sharing sites,” says Moynihan, adding that “we remain mindful that our ambition is for content to support our marketing strategy, not the other way around.”

Brand Storytellers

Another enterprise utilizing the consumer as brand storyteller is Texas-based Baylor Health Care System, through its custom publication 
BaylorHealth. Featuring actual patient stories in each issue (with differentiated content for each 
of Baylor’s nine main hospitals), BaylorHealth 
effectively drives consumer action in other channels including BaylorHealth.com, telephone support, videos, podcasts and interactive games. “In addition to achieving the highest overall brand recognition among North Texas healthcare providers,” said Patricia Reupke, Baylor’s director of Customer Relationship Marketing, in a recent interview, “we are also viewed as a provider of original, reliable health-related content.”¹⁵

In financial services, Charles Schwab & Co.’s On Investing client newsletter puts the customer front and center, answering client-generated questions in three different editions segmented by customer life stage. It’s part of Schwab’s heritage—in 1963, Chuck Schwab and two partners launched the advisory Investment Indicator newsletter—with the contemporary version rich with action calls to the Schwab website, telephone support, online customer testimonials and more.

KLM Airlines and Air Canada have tapped into the convergence of publishing and the Internet to great effect. Integrating flash and video content into the customer experience iFly, the Dutch flag carrier’s engaging digital magazine is proven to drive repeat ticket sales while Air Canada’s transcendent enRoute—among Canada’s most popular publications by readership and revenue—anchors a dynamic online content strategy that reinforces brand messaging on a spontaneous and continuous basis.¹⁶