NewBase Marketing Priorities 2017, a global survey of over 1000 brand marketers, agencies and publishers, reveals that content marketing is no. 1 marketing preference among the Asia-Pacific businesses.

Stressing on the overwhelming importance of content marketing the survey report says that content marketing remains the number one marketing consideration globally – 49% in 2017 compared to 44% in 2016.

A big reason why businesses and marketers are relying more on content marketing and less on conventional media publishers is because through content marketing they can directly be in touch with their audience rather than through a medium. A brand doesn’t need a New York Times or the Wall Street Journal to reach its audience these days. It can create its own media platform to do so. In that sense, every brand can become a publisher and create its own media empire.

The surge in content marketing is being driven by publishers in 2017

This is not surprising. Major publishers already have the needed expertise and the platform needed for full-fledged content marketing. The focus of leading publishers on content marketing has increased to 61% in 2017 from 45% in 2016.

The emphasis on content marketing has fallen from 43% (#1) in 2016 to 38% (#4) in 2017

What does it mean?

It’s worldwide.

Although there has been a surge in content marketing becoming one of the topmost marketing modes, the dust has begun to settle after the initial storm and content marketing has become a serious initiative rather than a cool tool in the hands of a few.

More stress is on ROI and accountability. 93% of global marketers agree that there needs to be a strong component of ROI and accountability in content marketing and 53% strongly agreed that ROI and accountability are more important than ever.

In 2017, statistically, content marketing, more stress is on accountability, measurement, and personalization.

In the preceding years advertising had taken a beating from content marketing, but with increased customization and personalization, it seems to be gaining some ground.

Content quality is getting at the center stage

Among the top marketing priorities, in 2016 content quality was just behind content marketing, again, since the dust has settled content quality has slipped to #8. It’s not that the importance of content quality has diminished. It’s because content quality is default. It’s no longer an issue. When you think of marketing based on content, quality is given. Most marketers agree that the higher the quality of content, the more likely it is to attract and engage consumers, build loyalty, and encourage an advertising response.

Here is a bird’s eye view of top 15 global marketing priorities in 2017, by region: