Content - From Selling to Helping : A case study of how ICA's content marketing efforts can assist the consumers' consumption practices

Abstract: As a response to the increase in selective attention and to the changing marketing landscape, a marketing trend has emerged whereby marketers have acknowledged the importance of moving from selling to helping the consumer. This trend is called content marketing, and although it is growing in importance, there is a lack of research within the field as existing literature merely aims to explain what it is, and thus, does not create an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon in relation to the consumer. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the consumption of content is intertwined with the consumers’ consumption practices. The study is of a qualitative nature, whereby a single case study of the Swedish grocery retailer ICA was performed, and primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Further, the study explored the phenomenon through the application of the Uses and Gratifications theory and the Practice Theory, in order to analyse how various content forms are used and whether these assist in the consumers’ consumption practices. The findings revealed that the consumers’ obtain three gratifications through ICA’s content marketing efforts, and that the choice of content is affected by mediating factors. Further, three main components derived from the Practice Theory are identified as important parts of the consumers’ consumption practices within this study. It was also identified that these components are intertwined with the gratifications sought and obtained. Thus, the study arrived at the conclusion that this intertwining is what determines how ICA’s content marketing efforts assist in the consumer’s consumption practices.