Content marketing has firmly established itself as a newer marketing discipline in the communications mix of many companies. If we look for a definition, the literature describes it as a form of marketing used to address a selected target group through advisory, informative and entertaining content. But don’t we know that from somewhere? The allusion becomes clear: agenda setting. But are content marketing and agenda setting really the same thing?

The answer is clear: Yep. What both marketing disciplines have in common is that they are essentially about placing their own topics and information in target groups. They serve to arouse the curiosity of customers and to build trust.
Content marketing, especially in the online context, serves to provide users with information that ideally causes a viral process. As a result, a pull should be generated in which the target group itself searches for the offer. The most popular channels are own websites, blogs, social media or online magazines.

In comparison, agenda setting describes a concrete topic setting in the mass media, through which consumers are made cognitively and emotionally aware of topics and content. Of course, against the background of increasing fusion, today’s definition of mass media and its channels must be taken into account. Starting from the communicator, a push takes place, as is familiar from classic marketing instruments. For example, in collaboration with client LG Electronics, B+D initiated a study on the washing behavior of Germans for the launch of the LG Styler, a high-quality steamer, the results of which made headlines in the BILD newspaper.

The proximity of content marketing and agenda setting clearly shows the extent to which communication channels and disciplines are increasingly merging with each other, making it increasingly difficult to draw a line between them. What is and remains important above all is one thing: using an appropriate strategy to reach target groups along their individual customer journey thanks to the right selection of instruments and measures.