The content marketing industry before and with Corona

Content marketing investment in the German-speaking world has increased by 17 percent since the last Content Marketing Baseline Study in 2018, doubling since 2012. "Still impressive growth," comments. Daniel Kaczynski, Swiss board member of the Content Marketing Forum CMF. According to the forecast of the investing companies, there is no end in sight: they expect another ten percent increase in investment annually over the next three years. At least that was the mood in the market before the Corona crisis began. The study data was collected in February of this year.

How much of this will remain after the crisis? Study director Clemens Koob puts forward three scenarios for this: "In the upper scenario, at nine billion euros, they almost reach the level forecast without Corona; in the lower scenario, investments could be reduced by more than 40 percent."

Total market and budgets in Switzerland

Companies in Switzerland now spend a good CHF 970 million on content marketing. At just over 800,000 Swiss francs (760,000 euros), the average budgets are significantly higher than those in the German market (680,000 Swiss francs / 640,000 euros) and in Austria (640,000 Swiss francs / 610,000 euros). "We are approaching the billion mark and are confident that, given the high level of effectiveness of content marketing, we will reach it in the next few years despite the Corona crisis," comments Kaczynski.

Print gains but still loses

"The haptic effect of print products remains irreplaceable. The value of print products is particularly appreciated in investor communication and B2B," says Kaczynski. Here, print still accounts for half (B2I) and just under half (43 percent, B2B) of content marketing investments. For the market as a whole, the share of print has fallen further and currently stands at 38 percent. In absolute terms, however, investments in print have also risen further in the past two years, from 3.4 to 3.6 billion euros.

Employee communication sees the greatest growth

Content marketing is increasingly in demand in employee communications (B2E). With an annual growth rate of 12 percent, this is where the greatest growth is to be found. B2E content marketing is also the frontrunner in the use of digital media: 70 percent is invested in digital media in employee communications, with B2C communications following with a share of two-thirds. Trend topics such as podcasts, the use of new technologies, the increasing number of relevant social networks and, last but not least, the possibilities of targeted content distribution and promotion go hand in hand with this development.

Insights into the relevant developments in content marketing

Whether in the organization and the content marketing processes, in the use of tools or also in the interaction of the commissioning companies with agencies and service providers: The Content Marketing Baseline Study 2020 provides exciting insights into where the journey is heading in all these areas. "Our goal is not only to provide our members with figures, but also to provide them with key figures and insights that will help them to become even more successful on the market in their field of business," says Regina Karnapp, Managing Director of the CMF.