Catherine Bennett, Executive Editor
Company: Utah Business
Website: utahbusiness.com
Industry: Publishing
Stage: Established
Founded: 1986
Catherine Bennett has worked on both sides of the content world, from journalism and agency life to in-house marketing and media leadership. Along the way, she learned that content isn’t just something companies publish to drive clicks or fill an editorial calendar. Done well, it’s one of the most effective ways to build trust, strengthen relationships, and create a sense of community.
In this profile, you’ll learn:
- The classroom moment that completely changed how Bennett thought about content.
- Why traditional digital marketing often misses the mark with certain audiences.
- How shifting the spotlight away from your business can actually create stronger business results.
- Why authenticity matters when founders decide how visible they want to be.
- What happens when content becomes an act of service instead of self-promotion.
Like many people who studied journalism, Catherine Bennett started her career with a fairly narrow definition of content.
Content was writing.
It was articles, press releases, website copy, newsletters, and marketing materials. Branding lived in a separate category made up of logos, colors, and visual identity. Content was simply one task among many, something marketing teams planned, produced, and distributed.
Then graduate school challenged that assumption.
During a content strategy class, Bennett’s professor asked a question that caught everyone off guard: Could a taco truck be considered content?
Most of the class thought the answer was obvious.
Of course not.
Then the professor offered a different perspective. If a company like IBM used a taco truck to demonstrate its technology by allowing algorithms to create custom taco combinations, wasn’t that taco truck communicating an idea? Wasn’t it helping people understand what the company did in a memorable way?
Suddenly, content looked much bigger than words on a screen.
It could be an experience, an event, a conversation, or any touchpoint that reinforced a company’s message and helped people connect with it.
That idea stayed with Bennett because it fundamentally changed how she viewed the role content plays in a business.
When Content Started to Matter
Years later, Bennett found herself putting that lesson into practice while leading marketing for a Utah-based manufacturing consultancy.
The challenge quickly became obvious.
The people she needed to reach weren’t sitting at desks all day scrolling through LinkedIn or keeping up with industry newsletters. They were managing production schedules, solving problems on factory floors, overseeing teams, and making sure operations stayed on track.
The usual marketing playbook wasn’t working.
It wasn’t that the campaigns were poorly executed. The audience simply had different priorities and different realities.
Bennett realized she couldn’t market to them the same way many companies market to office-based professionals. Instead of asking how to get more attention, she started asking what these business leaders actually needed and whether there was a way to provide it.
The Friction Most Businesses Create
One of the easiest mistakes companies make with content is assuming that other people are as interested in the business as they are.
Organizations naturally want to talk about their new offerings, recent accomplishments, internal milestones, and company updates. The problem is that audiences are usually more focused on their own challenges.
They’re trying to solve problems.
They’re looking for ideas.
They’re trying to make difficult decisions with limited time and information.
At the consultancy, Bennett realized there was another story hiding in plain sight.
The manufacturers she worked with were doing impressive work. They were adapting to changing conditions, building successful businesses, and creating opportunities in their communities. Yet very few people were telling those stories.
The issue wasn’t a lack of content channels.
It was a mismatch between what the organization wanted to say and what its audience actually cared about.
The Turning Point
Rather than doubling down on promoting consulting services, Bennett decided to try something different.
She stopped leading with the pitch.
Instead, she launched a podcast called Making Utah and invited manufacturing leaders to talk about their experiences. They discussed the challenges of running operations, the mistakes they had learned from, the pivots they had made, and the realities of building businesses that people outside the industry rarely hear about.
The response was immediate.
People wanted to participate.
Not because they were being sold to, but because someone was genuinely interested in what they had to say.
In the process, Bennett discovered something that has shaped her approach ever since.
Content isn’t valuable because of how much of it you produce. It’s valuable when it fills a gap, answers a question, or gives people something they can’t easily find elsewhere.
By shifting the focus away from the organization and toward the people it served, relationships developed naturally. Trust grew before there was ever a business conversation.
How Content Changed the Business
Today, Bennett brings that same philosophy to Utah Business.
The organization has grown far beyond its origins as a print publication. It now operates across multiple channels, including digital coverage, social media, live events, and business awards that all work together to support its larger mission.
Across all of those efforts, Bennett has noticed the same pattern repeatedly.
People connect with people.
Routine company announcements may generate some interest, but stories about individuals overcoming obstacles, navigating setbacks, and building something meaningful tend to resonate on a much deeper level.
Those stories create loyalty.
They give audiences a reason to trust the brand behind them.
That trust encourages people to attend events, participate in the community, and stay engaged over time.
In other words, the stories that feel the most human often end up driving the strongest business outcomes.
The Lesson for Founders
Many founders hesitate to share their experiences publicly because they worry they’ll come across as self-promotional.
Bennett understands that concern.
For a long time, she had it herself.
What changed was realizing that sharing what you’ve learned isn’t necessarily about drawing attention to yourself. Sometimes it’s simply about being useful.
If you’ve navigated difficult decisions, learned lessons the hard way, or gained insights that could genuinely help someone else, there is value in sharing them.
At the same time, Bennett doesn’t believe every founder needs to become the face of their brand.
Authenticity still matters.
If someone is naturally private, forcing them into a highly visible role will probably feel uncomfortable and perform poorly.
The strategy has to fit the person.
The goal isn’t exposure for its own sake. It’s finding an honest way to contribute.
Closing
At its core, content isn’t really about promotion.
It’s about helping people.
Whether it’s a podcast conversation, an event, a profile, or a personal reflection, the best content gives people something of value. It answers a question, offers perspective, sparks connection, or makes someone feel understood.
For leaders trying to build an audience in an increasingly crowded landscape, Bennett’s advice is refreshingly simple: pay attention to what people actually need, share what you genuinely know, and focus less on being interesting and more on being helpful.
The businesses that build lasting trust aren’t always the loudest ones in the room. More often, they’re the ones who consistently show up with something worth giving.