Kristine
Long before the internet was created or the concept of content marketing was a thought on anyone’s mind, the John Deere brand launched what would eventually become the longest marketing campaign in American history. For over 100 years, this company managed to not only survive the test of time but establish itself as an industry expert and leader along the way.
To understand just how John Deere became such a well-known and trusted brand, let’s take a look at the core values of the business and how company leaders have held fast to these guidelines since the late 1800s.
Origins of the John Deere Brand
John Deere was actually a blacksmith who began to make plows for farmers back in 1837. He went from making 10 plows in 1839 to making 100 plows in 1842 alone. Despite the popularity of his product, Deere didn’t incorporate his brand until 1868 in the hopes of establishing a lasting family business.
Under the incorporated name, Deere & Company, the first trademark featuring the iconic jumping deer was officially registered in 1876. The logo looked a bit different then, showing up as a detailed sketch with the location “Moline, Ill.” featured under the deer. Although the details have slightly changed over the past 145 years, the simple silhouette of a leaping deer, often framed by a green background, is still instantly recognizable as the John Deere brand. This consistent use of imagery is just one example of John Deere’s evergreen content marketing strategy.
First Example of Content Marketing
In 1895, the John Deere brand decided to create and publish a magazine called The Furrow, which was designed to be a useful and relevant source of information for American farmers. The content was so educational and informative, in fact, that The Furrow was being distributed to 4 million readers by 1912. Farmers appreciated the advice included in these regular journals and liked that there were no blatant advertisements asking for them to purchase new products.
Just like content marketing today, John Deere strived to provide expertise and guidance for their audience with high-quality content. Even though search engines were over a century away, content marketing was still a great way to reach new customers and foster relationships with current customers. Now, because of the internet, quality content can be distributed to more people than ever before.
Modern Marketing Strategies
Today, The Furrow is still a widely appreciated publication that’s translated into 14 different languages and distributed in over 100 countries. Its useful advice continues to benefit farmers by keeping them updated on the latest innovations and news within the industry.
Beyond the print magazine, John Deere has also welcomed the diverse tools of modern technology to spread their content further. The Furrow is available to read online, featuring interesting stories, new products, and relevant industry news. It’s well-branded and features lots of beautiful, colorful pictures of John Deere products and peaceful agricultural scenes.
Beyond The Furrow, John Deere has expanded to other publications, including:
- The Dirt. This publication focuses on construction and excavation, featuring products like the 944K Wheel Loader.
- The Landing. This publication focuses on forestry, with a sleek green design and articles that talk about product tracking, safety, and logging.
- Industrial PowerSource. This publication talks about John Deere’s engines and how they power machines with all sorts of different applications.
- Marine PowerSource. This publication focuses on captains and boat owners. It includes customer spotlights, information about livelihoods on the water, and of course, details about how John Deere’s products can help.
All of these publications are kept up-to-date online with relevant industry news. They also frequently feature stories about customers and employees that relate to the brand.
The brand also frequently shares original content on their social media pages to stay relevant to a more tech-savvy audience and make sure their posts have a broad reach. Their content creation is strategically adapted for each channel where they are present, posting behind-the-scenes photos of employees and illustrations on their Instagram and jokes on their Twitter.
Another social media platform where John Deere has an excellent presence is YouTube. They consistently posts video content on their YouTube channel that is fun, helpful, and on-brand. In addition to brief promotional videos featuring their products, John Deere also shares pieces of content that will improve user experience, like tips on how to use certain products and tutorials about how to use their software. They also share fun and helpful content for families, such as their video last December about how to build a gingerbread tractor. They post on YouTube several times a week, so they are consistently at the top of subscribers’ feeds.
Although the method of distribution may have changed since the company first started sharing content, John Deere is proof of the fact that content marketing can help any business appeal to consumers for generations! If you’re curious about how content marketing could work for your business, book a demo with us to see how content can help your business grow.
