The vital yet tragically forgotten context behind "content is king"

Content is king. Content is king. Content isn’t king. Blah, blah, blah.

Those three little words were literally everywhere in the early days of my content marketing career — as were the contrarian takes that something else was king (or queen).

Annoying as the abundant use and misuse of it was at the time, the ambiguous catchphrase was a sticky idea that paved the way for content marketing to become the dominant force that it is today. Besides, the novelty of “content is king” eventually wore off and became akin to telling grown adults the sky is blue, which is another way of saying it was a surefire way to not be taken seriously in marketing.

But nearly a full decade after the previous spike in usage, “content is king” is making the rounds again halfway through 2024. I see it frequently in my feeds and Google Trends shows a search queries for the term doubling over the last year.

I won’t waste time hypothesizing why people are coming out of the woodwork to say “content is king” again. Maybe it has something to do with the current state of content marketing or the growing creator economy.

But I’m fed up with people parroting those three words like a hollowed mantra with zero regard for its context — especially in B2B marketing, where the context behind “content is king” may very well be the prophesied “playbook” everybody’s been waiting for (and it was right there the whole time, outside the marketing echo chamber).

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The context behind “content is king” matters more now than ever

Before we dive into the forgotten context of those three little words and explain how to apply the lessons extracted from their context, allow me to tell you why B2B marketers should put an end to their misuse once and for all.

B2B marketing is going through some stuff, okay. Even if you’re not entirely sure what’s causing it, you know something ain’t right.

• You’ve been told the traditional content marketing playbook is DOA.

• Maybe you’ve seen or participated in the petty, pointless squabbles over the root causes.

• You're probably even exhausted (I know I am) by all the random new terms being thrown at you, each promising to be solutions to modern problems.

The reality is: B2B marketing is now muddled with declining referral traffic, privacy norms, ever-changing consumption habits, and audience fragmentation.

But we've been here before. Well, not exactly here but in a very similar pickle, so to speak. Those who remember the early days of content marketing know there was another time when B2B marketing found itself in possession of a playbook that didn’t work anymore.

The solution back then was to "think like a publisher" — a mantra that proliferated B2B businesses with the notion that the best ideas from newspaper, magazine, and book publishing were the new way to market to and get customers.

Content marketing owes its existence to the publishing mindset imbued by the extremely talented journalists-turned-content marketers whose shoulders you and I stand on today.

But at risk of ruffling some feathers, I need you to know the “think like a publisher” mindset that’s ingrained into the ethos of content marketing is no longer sufficient in 2024. Because we need to accept that it's time to "think like a broadcaster" if we want to overcome the challenges plaguing B2B marketing today.

And if you’ll allow me the opportunity to enlighten you with the context behind marketing’s favorite banal platitude, I think you’ll agree.

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Content's coronation and the broadcasting revolution

You either already know Bill Gates said “content is king” or you’re just finding out. But it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read the essay Gates published to the Microsoft blog January 1996, you won’t have the full context behind those three words until you’ve been formally introduced to Sumner Redstone.

Have you ever wondered or been asked — who died and made content king? Well, (so far) that would be Sumner Redstone, who died in 2020 and was famously known for saying “content is king” before Gates.

In the late 1950s, Redstone joined his father’s business, a regional chain of theaters in Massachusetts called the Northeast Theater Corporation that would promptly be renamed National Amusements. Thirty years later, in 1987, Redstone acted on a radical idea and acquired a majority, controlling stake in a subsidiary of CBS called Viacom.

Why was Redstone, who the CEO of his family’s regional movie theater operation at the time, so adamant about buying a company that owned MTV, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Simon & Schuster, and a collection of local CBS radio stations? Legend has it that the budding media mogul sensed a seismic shift was about to change the media landscape like never before.

You see, prior to the 80s, the three major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) controlled distribution of content to American households while the major Hollywood studios were at the mercy of movie theaters like the ones National Amusement operated. But by the end of the decade, Redstone began to see the writing was on the wall for the old gatekeepers.

Two emerging distribution technologies were about to flip the script on traditional media business models and shift the power dynamic towards content owners: Cable television and home video. The former allowed for many more channels beyond the broadcast networks, creating more demand for content to fill airtime on these new cable networks. The latter allowed movies and TV shows to be purchased and viewed at home for the first time after the initial theatrical/TV run. Together they shifted the power dynamics in media back towards content creators and the acquisition of Viacom gave Redstone’s National Amusement a bouquet of cable networks, production studios, and intellectual property to feed a plethora of nascent distribution channels hungry for content.

It was around this time Redstone became famously known for repeating "content is king" to articulate his intent for Viacom to meet the growing demand for content across an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

After the hostile takeover, Redstone appointed himself chairman of Viacom and proceeded to acquire Paramount Communications (aka Paramount Pictures) in 1993, Blockbuster Video in 1993, and the remaining assets of the CBS Corporation in 2000, transforming a modest family business into the world’s largest media conglomerate. Today the company, which recently renamed to Paramount Global, owns the fourth largest market share with 10% and generated fifth largest revenue in 2023 compared to its competitors.

Redstone hedged against a bet the family business in favor of a future where a critical mass of new distribution channels would give content creators the upper hand.

Redstone's “content is king” strategy was not just a call to acquire content but also understanding the importance of content programming and performance. He recognized that to keep audiences engaged, Viacom needed to offer a diverse range of content and continuously measure its performance to refine their strategies. This approach is echoed in the principles of content programming and performance measurement, where broadcasters plan their content to engage audiences and measure performance to refine their strategies.

Which leads us to the next guy who famously said “content is king.”

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The digital crown turns the dial from networks to Netflix

The year was 1996, and as the cable broadcasting industry disrupted over-the-air's control over content distribution and Redstone’s betting the family business paid off, another emerging technology promised to open and decentralize content distribution even further: the internet.

Broadcasters downplayed the internet's significance at first. And, given the state of internet progress in the late 90s (especially compared to 2024), their public dismissal seems rational.

• Less than one percent of the world’s population was online.

• Slow dial-up modems were the norm.

• Websites were crudely basic and text-heavy.

• And, most importantly, the internet’s commercial viability had yet to be proven.

But Bill Gates, then Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft, saw the potential of the technology in a way others didn’t at the time. And so in January of 1996, he published an essay to the Microsoft blog that co-opted Redstone’s catchphrase as its title.

Gates’ “Content is King” essay is arguably a modern day prophecy. If you’ve never read it or want to revisit it to refresh your memory, go ahead read it. Just make sure to come back and learn why all you need to know is captured in the greatest opening thesis of all time, where Gates' said:

By evoking the history of television broadcasting, Gates was saying that history would repeat itself and the internet would spark a gold rush for content creators. He saw the internet, much like broadcasting, enabling messages to reach a mass audience almost instantaneously and at a fraction of the previous cost.

But while the major content creators gained power during the broadcasting revolution, Gates predicted the open internet would allow individuals and smaller organizations to compete with the establishment, saying “One of the most exciting things about the Internet,” he said, “is that anyone with a PC and a modem can publish whatever content they can create.”

Gates also understood the potential versatility of the internet, explaining that the definition of “content” on the web was so amorphous that even computer software constituted as content.

Gates' vision aligns with the principles of thinking like a broadcaster. Just as broadcasters understand the importance of audience research, content programming, multichannel distribution, content diversity, and performance measurement, Gates recognized that the internet would require a strategic approach to content creation and distribution. He foresaw that the internet would democratize content creation, allowing anyone with a computer and an internet connection to become a content creator, much like how cable television and home video democratized media distribution.

Like Redstone, Gates put his money where his mouth was and the following year, in 1997, Microsoft invested $1 billion in Comcast, which was the nation’s fourth-largest cable television operator at the time. The investment set off a cacophony of hot takes from within the tech industry and throughout the broadcast industry. Many in the former camp questioned why Microsoft was directing significant resources towards old media and feared it was a distraction that would dilute the company’s profitable software business. While the broadcasters dismissed the investment as an odd pairing and doubted the value Microsoft (or any tech company) could offer Comcast.

We all know how the story plays out from there. Over the next decade, the internet alter the media landscape in ways even Gates couldn’t fathom back in 1996 like:

• Smartphones transformed media creation, enabling high-quality video/audio capture and editing capabilities in the palm of one's hand.

• New revenue streams like audience subscriptions, brand sponsorships, advertising rev-share and digital tip jars enabled individual creators to actually build sustainable media businesses around their content and personal brands.

So while the internet represented a democratizing force when Gates hypothesized the future of the internet at its infancy, the vertical integration and capital requirements of television production would have made it difficult for him (or anyone in the late 1990s for that matter) to envision a world where a teenager could generate millions of fans and dollars from their bedroom.

If you're still trying to wrap your head around that reality I’m describing, grant yourself some grace. The major media giants still dominate the media landscape. But the future Gates’ prophesied where anything constitues as “content” on the internet" is rapidly coming to fruition. Just compare the revenue of the big 6 media conglomerates to content providers that didn’t exist until nearly a decade after Gates declared content king (and many of you probably don't ever think of when you hear "media company") in the table below.

Top "media company" revenue 2023

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The future of B2B (not just B2B marketing) remains paved with content

This context is crucial for B2B marketers, leaders, and investors to understand: The internet, like cable television and home video before it, has created a vast array of new distribution channels. To succeed in this new landscape, B2B marketers must "think like a broadcaster" and "think like a publisher."

Most already know a lot about the former, so I’m going to shed some light on the latter.

"Think like a broadcaster" in a nutshell

What does it mean to "think like a broadcaster"? Well, I could go on forever but this essay is already begging to be called an ebook due to its length. So how about a few key distinctions worth calling out.

Audience research and segmentation: Broadcasters conduct extensive research to understand their viewers. B2B marketers must deeply understand their target buyers, their pain points, preferences, and consumption habits.

Tips for approaching audience research and segmentation like a broadcaster include but are not limited to...

• Segment the audience based on factors like role, job responsibilities, professional competencies, company size, buyer committee role, and stage in the product-awareness journey.

• Conduct extensive market research using surveys, interviews, focus groups, and data analysis to gain insights into target buyers' demographics, firmographics, behaviors, challenges, and content consumption preferences.

• Analyze website analytics, social media insights, and customer data to identify changes in behaviors and monitor brand sentiment.

Content programming and scheduling: Broadcasters carefully plan their programming schedules to keep their audience engaged. B2B marketers should adopt a similar approach to content planning.

Tips for approaching content programming and scheduling like a broadcaster include but are not limited to...

• Plan for a consistent cadence of content releases, much like broadcasters schedule their programming blocks.

• Coordinate content releases across different formats and channels to ensure a cohesive, integrated experience for the audience.

• Recognize the saturated media landscape where the data equivalent of 237 million years of music is generated online every day and how vitally important it is for content to signal its value then deliver it.

Multichannel distribution and amplification: Broadcasters distribute their content across various channels to reach a wider audience. B2B marketers should design a distribution strategy that targets owned, earned, and paid channels to amplify their reach and optimize content formats for each channel.

Tips for approaching multichannel distribution and amplification like a broadcaster include but are not limited to...

• Pursue earned media opportunities by contributing guest posts, expert articles, and thought leadership pieces to industry publications, trade journals, and influential blogs.

• Explore paid distribution channels, such as social media advertising, sponsored content placements, and influencer marketing collaborations, to amplify reach and target specific audience segments.

• Optimize content formats and distribution tactics for each channel, considering factors like character limits, and media consumption habits in addition to platform algorithms.

Content diversity and depth: Broadcasters offer a diverse range of programming to cater to an array of content JTBD. B2B marketers should produce a mix of content formats and cross-promote them across different channels their buyers are engaged to maximize visibility and engagement.

Tips for approaching content diversity and depth like a broadcaster include but are not limited to...

• Appeal to the emotional, social, spatial, and temporal needs of the audience, not just their informational needs.

• Atomize (repurpose, refresh, remix) and distribute content across multiple formats, ensuring a consistent message and branding while delivering the information in different ways (e.g., turning a topic guide collection into a video series or a live stream into a podcast episode).

• Invest in talent — subject matter experts, charismatic show runners, or influential employees — to author or host content that engages audiences to build a loyal following.

Measurement and optimization: Broadcasters closely monitor audience ratings and adjust programming based on viewership data. B2B marketers should continuously optimize content strategy based on comprehensive analytics tools and processes to track content performance metrics across all channels, including website traffic, engagement (likes, shares, comments), conversions (leads, sales), and revenue.

Tips for approaching measurement and optimization like a broadcaster include but are not limited to...

• Champion the use of mix modeling that employs advanced statistical techniques, such as regression analysis and time-series analysis, over commonly used marketing attribution modeling (e.g., first-, last-, multi-touch) to better inform resource allocation decisions, make timely cost-saving optimizations, and truly understand the impact of content on the business.

• Map out processes that involve multiple departments to identify touchpoints where content can add value establish service level agreements optimize the workflows internal and external stakeholders.

• Encourage the development of a shared set of goals and a common language to reduce silos and improve mutual understanding across departments.

• Set up structured feedback loops with stakeholders from different departments to gather insights on how content is impacting various areas of the business.

Hat tip to the other kingmakers like J.W. Click, Russell N. Baird, and John Malone

Other people have been credited with saying "content is king" besides Redstone and Gates:

1. J.W. Click and Russell N. Baird in the 1974 edition of Magazine Editing and Production (although I could not track down a copy to confirm).

2. John Malone, media mogul billionaire who calls himself the "Cable Cowboy," is known for saying it, too, apparently (I'll need to read his book).

While I look forward to learning the context behind their use of "content is king," it was Redstone and Gates that helped me see the future of content marketing towards the beginning of my career.

I’ve always wanted to ask Gates if he was influenced by or building upon Redstone's earlier articulation of “content is king” and potentially validate my interpretation of his and Redstone's use of the phrase. Both envisioned a Cambrian explosion of new distribution channels would benefit content creators and recognized the value of content ownership as the media landscape continued to change shape.

But it doesn't really matter if my interpretation is correct or not. Because the history and evolution of media shows all of us where the past connects to the present and leads into the future.

And all you gotta do is step outside the marketing echo chamber more often and you’ll see the kingdom for yourself.

Until next time,

♥️ Ronnie

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