With all the talk these days among marketers and their agencies about channels — online, mobile, emerging, digital, whatever — you’d think content didn’t really matter anymore. Well, to paraphrase the first Clinton campaign spinmeisters, "It’s the content, dude!"

It really is the content, now more than ever. Whether it’s user-generated (the latest craze), or generated by the marketer and/or its agency, content is what matters. It’s the reason for all media, online, offline or otherwise. But it’s funny how we marketers sometimes forget that.

I was struck recently at the power of content while attending an event in Palo Alto sponsored by the newly launched Executive Council of Northern California. This group is an offshoot of the Executive Council of New York, founded and run by a true content loving entrepreneur named Bob Johnston. At the above mentioned event the two featured speakers discussed the centrality of content in this new digital age, but from very different angles. The first speaker, a senior exec from Disney, outlined his company’s strategy, which is built entirely on its unique and very valuable content. As a major entertainment company, Disney creates the content — lots of it — and then packages and repackages it in seemingly endless ways for a variety of different audiences (from teens and moms to tween girls and young families). How Disney delivers that content is certainly an important part of the strategy, but it is just that — a delivery system. The content is what’s important. It brings in the paying customers — both consumers willing to pay monthly subscriptions for online gaming sites, for example, and advertisers looking to reach the readers/users aggregated by Disney.

The other speaker at the Executive Council event was an exec from NTT, the giant Japanese telecom company. He provided a fascinating update on his company’s strategy to stay competitive in the hyper competitive Japanese communications market. While the NTT exec addressed topics that you’d expect from a telecom guy — new wireless technologies, huge infrastructure investments, digital technology, etc. — he really got fired up when he started talking about content. Even one of the biggest telecom providers in the world knows its future is not really about infrastructure or technology. NTT’s continuing success is increasingly dependent on how it connects to and with content that people want and need.

Here are several key points about content that we marketers should consider:

1. The more relevant, timely and valuable content you can offer up, the more success you will have with consumers and customers. It really is just that simple, but we too often forget it. Too many marketers still believe that they can get away with delivering inane, outdated, intelligence-insulting content. Guess what, they are wrong! This approach kills results and wastes a lot of marketing dollars in the process.
2. The web and mobile are just channels for delivering content. Neither represents a business strategy, per se. But, these digital channels are an increasingly important part of a content-driven strategy for engaging your target audiences.
3. Content has considerable value, but  you can’t always charge for it. It’s already pretty clear that, on the web, most content has got to be free. People are now used to getting so much of their online content free that they rebel against paying for it. But, they do willingly pay for digital music downloads (of course, they frequently don’t pay, which remains a big problem for the music industry), videos, online gaming and the like. But, some publishers misread this and blunder in their content business models. In my view The New York Times made a big mistake with its new "Select" service by charging for reading columnists like Maureen Dowd and Tom Friedman. I would bet the Times is not making enough on this "premium" content service to offset the negative reaction that it engendered.
4. Content is a smart marketing strategy. Whether you are doing B2B or B2C marketing, offering useful, timely, interesting and/or entertaining content is a winner for engaging customers and consumers. For example, authoritative white papers are a great way for businesses to demonstrate their thought leadership, and they also make great lead generation devices. Remember, though, the white paper cannot be self serving (at least not too much) or superficial. If you’re not willing or able to create a white paper with substance, then forget it. You’d just be wasting people’s time and turning them off, thus shooting yourself in the foot.
5. Content is no longer just the province of "professionals" or "experts." The old "black box" has also been exploded as it relates to content. People have demonstrated that they are just as interested (frequently more interested, because of the poor quality of so much "professionally" generated content) in consuming content created by "amateurs" just like themselves. User generated content is a movement that’s here to stay. Whether it be blogs, podcasts or videos, this democratization of content is a global trend that has many ramifications for marketers. Consumers enjoy "reality" in their content. But, if the reality turns out to be false or a front (e.g., the "Lonely Girl" series on YouTube or Edelman PR’s fake blogs for Wal-Mart), then people feel cheated and likely with turn on you.

So the answer to the headline that begins this post is definitely "yes." Content still is king. Long live the content king. Treat it right and it will do princely things for your marketing and your business. Misuse content and it will blow up in your face.

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