Although we think content marketing is brand new, telling stories to attract, convert and keep customers is actually one of the oldest marketing disciplines. The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) dates content marketing back to 1732 when Benjamin Franklin published his first almanac.
But is there an even earlier example of content marketing? Was Benjamin Franklin the first to produce a publication to promote his business? Franklin spent 2 years in England at the beginning of his career learning the print trade in London’s printing houses. Could there be an earlier example of content marketing in England in the 1700s? When was content marketing first used in England? These were the questions I was asking as I set off on my quest to find the earliest example of British content marketing.