When Content Dreams Big
When building Just Cook Magazine—ButcherBox’s branded food publication—I had one goal in mind: Aspire to earn a James Beard Award nomination for media.
Could you let that sink in? A subscription meat company’s content marketing efforts were built on a foundation of competing alongside Food & Wine and Bon Appétit for the highest honor in food media journalism.
Was this a fool’s errand? Likely. But that aspirational goal became the filter through which we made decisions on everything that followed—from applying genuine editorial standards to brand storytelling to how to build a thematic editorial calendar.
The results? We didn’t win a James Beard (though that wasn’t entirely in our control), but we did create a digital food magazine that ended up pulling in close to 500,000 unique page views per month. That’s half a million new users engaging with the brand through content aligned with brand goals.
That approach can be replicated, but it requires work, vision, and time. Creating content worthy of respect and recognition—not just marketing material—demands more than launching trackable digital campaigns.
Most companies miss this opportunity entirely.
The Aspiration Gap
Most B2B companies approach content like they’re checking a box. Blog posts optimize for SEO keywords. Social media posts hit posting schedules. Email newsletters fill inboxes on predetermined days.
But consider what happens when brands think bigger:
- Away’s Here Magazine was compelling enough to be sold at airport news stalls as premium travel reading.
- The Red Bulletin Magazine became a must read lifestyle magazine for the adventure-minded.
- Patagonia Films creates work that inspires and wins awards, often without mentioning the brand backing the project.
These aren’t marketing campaigns disguised as content. They’re editorial products that happen to be created by brands.
These are bold experiments. Some evolve (Away’s Here became “The Away Pages”), but the aspiration itself drives better decisions.
The companies winning attention today aren’t creating more content—they’re creating content worth caring about.
If this seems like something you’d want to build at your company, reach out.
I’d love to help you, mainly because the world deserves better. And so do your target customers.
Story Goods 