John Deere’s The Furrow — The Epitome of content marketing

Once upon a time, a blacksmith came to the rescue of farmers who struggled to turn the heavy and sticky prairie soil with conventional plows designed for the light and sandy soils of New England. This blacksmith was John Deere. He caused a chain reaction that would later revolutionize the fields of agriculture and marketing. Although his demise occurred before he could witness his company transform the marketing realm by inventing content marketing through ‘The Furrow’, his name lives on in the company name. Even before content marketing was mainstream, the company came up with an idea to market their products through ‘The furrow’ which was initially released as a “journal for the American farmer”. John Deere’s ‘The Furrow’ was way ahead of its time and it quickly grasped the attention of the people to become the most widely circulated farm magazine in the world. The magazine provides to the reader a mix of current issues in farming with both local and international background, and best practice examples as well as exclusive news and facts on John Deere products and company strategy.

How did The Furrow achieve this?

The Furrow‘s first issue was printed in 1895, and its reader base grew drastically in the immediate years that followed. The magazine focused on educating the farmers about the latest advancements in the field and also shared solutions to problems that existed then. Longtime Furrow art director Tom Sizemore associates the success of the magazine with their content strategy that focused on the farmer’s problems rather than on John Deere products.

What were their strategies?

Versatility is a key factor that played an undeniable role in the success of the magazine. Over time, the content creators started focusing on creating short and crisp content to retain the attention and interests of the readers. The unique and attractive pictures also had a deep impact on the minds of the subscribers. The company has also invested a great deal of money to create quality content.

Today, John Deere’s The Furrow is published in 4 languages across 115 countries and it has expanded its reach to web magazines and social networking websites. As The Furrow celebrates its 121th year of existence the print version of the magazine is still in wide demand in this digital era.

What makes John Deere’s The Furrow the epitome of content marketing?

Without using any marketing resources or platforms that exist today, John Deere’s Furrow cleverly marketed the company’s products and created a prominent brand image from scratch. Current editor of The Furrow, David Jones explains The Furrow as a portal into a brand that people feel passionately about-to the level that kids are wallpapering their rooms with John Deere’s tractors.

The main strategy of the magazine has always been to tell stories that people enjoy reading and provide them with knowledge that they can apply in their operations.

John Deere’s The Furrow has a rich heritage of documenting the rise of various technological innovations that fill the minds of the people with wonderment, pride and respect.