We really wanted to do a documentary.  It’s the one thing we hadn’t tried yet – told us Joe Pulizzi, founder of CMI. Results of work will be shown in September – premiere is planned at the conference Content Marketing World in Cleveland.

The video shows the evolution of content marketing: from its beginnings (e.g. case study of iconic magazine “The Furrow”), through the way it is perceived today, up to (and focusing on) the future and the “arrival of new marketing”. Leaders in marketing tell about the “magic of content” and the changes that should be made in the way we think about marketing. Among them previously mentioned Joe Pulizzi, explaining the reason behind this film…

We want more organizations to understand the benefits of content marketing, but the real reason is that not many people really understand the history of content marketing.  We really worked to bring in older content marketing case studies into the future so that marketers can clearly see that content marketing is not a passing trend.

and the high hopes he has for it:
I believe viewers will find out new things about marketing and communication, and be inspired to change the way they communicate.  The movie is at a level so that any person in business with get value out of the movie.  Our highest hopes are that marketers can use this as buy-in for senior members of their organization, so they can see why we need to change how we communicate with customers.

It looks like his wish may come true, as the trailer includes some inspiring and thought provoking material, with a few valuable thoughts.

People know when they’re being advertised to, when they’re being sold to (David Jones, Publications Manager, John Deere)

You can’t rely on the media. You have to become the media (Lasse Hogfeldt
Director of Communication, Jyske Bank)

Everybody can duplicate your product or service. No one can really duplicate your unique point of view and the way that you actually keep that (Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer, Content Marketing Institute)

It’s not as much as storytelling, as it is about telling the true story really well (Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs)

But beyond the concept, there is still a realization. We asked about that Amanda Subler, the Public Relations Manager at CMI and also the producer of the documentary:
We spent roughly 9 months shooting interviews and other broll (video) for the film.  We traveled across the U.S. including Salt Lake City, Utah, Boston, Massachusetts, Washington D.C.,  and even Munich, Germany and Silkeborg, Denmark to gather interviews for the documentary.  ​
We spoke to about a dozen thought leaders in the content marketing space, including Joe Pulizzi, Robert Rose, Jay Baer, Ann Handley, Scott Stratten and many more.  We also spoke with marketing leaders at some of the world’s biggest brands to showcase their work including, Marriott, Kraft, GE, John Deere and more. ​By far my favorite interview was with the team at Jyske Bank in Denmark who created their own online financial TV station.

Here are some photos from this set! (Jyske Bank, Denmark)