Now that marketing has become a truly revenue and data-driven discipline, we marketers can rejoice in the fact that we're able to make a tangible impact on our businesses. But this also means that we're accountable for hitting revenue targets that are, in most cases, going to be exponentially larger this year than they were last year. Thankfully, we no longer need to sell our organizations on the value of content in meeting these goals, especially in B2B. Content in all its forms has demonstrated its value along the entire marketing funnel. However, the idea of a content marketing "department" …

History sometimes repeats itself. So those with longer memories may start to see parallels between the rapidly growing content amplification space, led by content marketing distribution platforms like Outbrain and Taboola, and the rise of the search engine marketing industry in the early 2000's. Will the CAA (content amplification agency) be the new SEM agency?

All due respect to the recent research to the contrary, content is not king in shopper marketing. In order for companies to hit any target -- whether it's a shopper, a seller or an influencer -- content marketing needs to embrace the concept of sustained relevance if it is to live up to its high expectations.