The era of efficiently leveraging content marketing is coming.

A Journalistic Approach to Delivering Interesting Information to Others

Yamamoto: I feel that the big data-based marketing gaining attention lately, in a sense, contradicts aspects of Marketing 3.0 and beyond. Professor Kotler states that Marketing 3.0 signifies the "Age of Participation." This means marketers and consumers collaborate as partners. However, attempting to leverage big data risks falling into a mere optimization process. Essentially, it creates a scenario where marketers try to control consumers through optimization.

Kotler: It is undesirable to view big data as a tool for controlling consumers. Big data is a tool for identifying and leveraging segments and trends of varying sizes. Big data tells us nothing about what kind of relationship marketers should build with the individuals they wish to engage.

Companies must make an effort to engage consumers and build relationships. They must engage by addressing consumer needs and interests. This mindset has given rise to a new movement: content marketing.

In the past, whenever a company sent customers a message, it inevitably included a sales pitch. "We're currently running a 3-day limited sale! Buy now!" But today, companies must send more engaging content, maintaining an attitude that says, "We know what interests you and what matters to you. We have plenty of information you'll find valuable, and we're happy to share it." There are high expectations for the use of content marketing. In a sense, it resembles journalism—a method of delivering information that is genuinely interesting to the recipient.

That said, it's actually not that different from what many salespeople used to do. Imagine a salesperson who befriends a buyer at a client company and learns they're a passionate soccer fan. The salesperson then makes a point to gather interesting soccer stories whenever possible.
"Hey Joe, I heard this really interesting soccer story. You might be interested too..." That sort of thing. As a result, their relationship grows even stronger.

Turning Shared Memories Between Companies and Consumers into Content

Yamamoto: Content marketing is meaningful for both consumers and brands. Are there any guidelines or tips for effectively utilizing it?

Kotler: Content marketing is a new concept. Sufficient guidelines haven't yet been established to judge how much it strengthens customer relationships, where the line is for overdoing it, or even whether it's necessary or unnecessary in the first place. Going forward, we must establish methods to measure effectiveness – did it truly impact buyers? Did buyers actually view the content? However, I'm confident that within the next year or two, we'll enter an era where content marketing can be utilized efficiently.

Yamamoto: For example, companies might uncover many emotionally resonant elements by digging into their own old records and history. I think this tendency is particularly strong for Japanese brands. Japanese consumers have lived alongside the growth of the Japanese economy. Japan achieved its economic recovery through the journey of domestic brands.

Kotler: That's an interesting perspective—companies uncovering shared memories with consumers, turning them into content to evoke emotion.