I recently sat down with Joe Pulizzi, founder and CEO of Content Marketing Institute. We discussed his new book ‘Killing Marketing’, which is essentially about making marketing a profit center. Don’t believe me? Read on or watch my video conversation with Joe below.
What is ‘Killing Marketing’ About
Joe co-authored this book with Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer at the Content Marketing Institute. The rumor is that Joe and Robert Rose are out to “kill marketing” as we know it. In their new book, they discuss the future of marketing as a profit center, which is why they chose a provocative title. Because let’s face it – most marketers don’t think that way.
The book is about how to build a loyal audience and a business model to launch new revenue lines never thought of before. Rather than traditional, interruptive marketing, you can learn the needs of your audience because they want to share that information with the brand. Rather than just selling them our products, we can learn from them to discover new ways to serve them and generate revenue.
This strategy requires a 12 to 18 month investment – building a loyal audience doesn’t happen overnight. Most marketers would be skeptical about this approach to marketing, but now we have tangible examples of brands who focus on building an audience.
This approach to marketing is not for all brands, but the most innovative companies will do it. Some brands succeeding at this approach to marketing include RedBull, Pepsi, Kraft, Marriott, and Arrow Electronics. Kraftrecipes.com, for example, gathers data from their audience to spot trends and guide their new product developments. They’re treating marketing as an R&D department.
Who Should Read Killing Marketing
The intended reader of Killing Marketing is the marketing leader, the CEO of a smaller company, and sales and marketing practitioners. This is the new marketing. Some have had trouble selling “audience building” as a strategy to internal stakeholders. Killing Marketing will help convince the skeptics.
The book will be available September 19th, but if you’re attending Content Marketing World, you can buy your copy there. It’s time we start redefining marketing to focus on building an audience. The modern consumer needs a modern marketer. This book from two top marketing experts shows how businesses can transform their marketing strategies into a standalone profit center. You can preorder your copy on Amazon.