ABOUT THE CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE

Welcome to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). Our goal is simple: we want to help you with the how-to of content marketing. We believe the more you know about content marketing, and how to integrate it into your organization, the better you will market…attracting and retaining more and happier customers.

We teach marketers how to own their media channels instead of having to rent them through advertising. We do this through educational events like Content Marketing World (the largest content marketing event in the world), media properties like Chief Content Officer magazine (the leading trade magazine), and strategic consulting and research for some of the best known brands in the world (like AT&T, Tyco, PTC and others).

A little content marketing history

Before evolving into what is now the Content Marketing Institute, we were known as Junta42. Junta42 launched in 2007 as the industry leader in content marketing matching (which means when brands needed a content marketing vendor, we found them a trusted one, regardless of the content marketing project).  From 2007 to 2011, Junta42 matched over 1,000 print, web and event content projects for some of the leading brands in the world, including Orbitz, Citrix, RIM (Blackberry), Oldcastle and United Methodist Church (among others).

Although Junta42 was a great service, more brands were coming to us for content marketing education…and we listened…developing what is now CMI, Content Marketing World and CCO magazine.

Joe Pulizzi Keynoting in Slovenia

Junta42 (and now CMI) was founded by Joe Pulizzi, the leading evangelist for content marketing.  Joe, an entrepreneur, speaker and author for content marketing, believes passionately that there is a better way for brands to market than how they’ve done it in the past.  CMI is a culmination of those beliefs.

Although we’ve accomplished a lot in five years, there is still so far to go. CMI will not stop until the need for content marketing education does not exist anymore.

If you are unfamiliar with content marketing, please review this definition of content marketing, as well as the video below on the history of content marketing.

How we can help

Educational resources

We have educational resources to help you navigate how to get started or improve your content marketing efforts: 

• Daily blog posts: We have a fabulous team of bloggers (over 65 experts from all over the world) who provide advice on all aspects of content marketing.
• Case studies: Read detailed stories on how companies are approaching their content marketing. We guarantee you’ll get some good ideas (we did!).
• Original research: Do you wonder what others are spending on content marketing or how many people are outsourcing? Find out!
• Magazine: Read about the latest trends and tools in content marketing.
• White papers: Check out our white paper library for some of the best content marketing insight around.

• Content Marketing World:  Content Marketing World is the largest and leading content marketing event on the planet. The 2012 event takes place at the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus Ohio, September 4-6.
• Content Marketing World On Demand: If you missed any of the sessions at Content Marketing World 2011, you can view them here on-demand for a limited time. 
• Content marketing events: See a list of other content marketing events.
• Webinars: Join us for our monthly webinars about content marketing. 
• Magnum Opus Awards: Check out the “best of” content marketing from our leading awards program and submit your own projects. 

Consulting 

While you can’t overstate the importance of learning, many marketers simply need help. If you are wondering where to get started or if you have a specific task in mind, our talented team of consultants can help. 

How we really got started

People ask us all the time how CMI came to be. It’s simple, really. Despite the abundance of good blogs, books and other resources on content marketing, we’ve found that people have a lot of questions about content marketing.

Here are just a few of the questions we hear all the time:

• How do I develop a strategy?
• How do I create content that my audience will find valuable?
• How do I manage the process of creating all of this content? If I decide to outsource, how do I do that?
• How can I measure what’s working (and what’s not) to make changes?

Here’s the thing: While many people know how to do some of this well, very few people have the knowledge—or time—to be a master of everything.

We launched the Content Marketing Institute as a meeting ground for the brightest minds to give you real-world how-to advice about content marketing in any venue: online, mobile, in-person and in print. No fluff, just practical insights.

Marketers thanked us for the feedback, but some wanted more help. That’s when we started working with clients to help them with their content marketing strategy.

Take a look around the site and let us know your thoughts. If there is something we could do to help you learn more about content marketing, we’d love to help.