Most Interesting People 2015: Joe Pulizzi

Why he's interesting: Pulizzi calls himself a "content marketing evangelist." His informational site,  contentmarketing-institute.com, gets 200,000 hits a month, and his conferences on content marketing strategies, held in places such as Sydney and Singapore, attract thousands of attendees. His largest conference, Content Marketing World, draws more than 2,600 attendees from 50 countries to Cleveland each year.

Orange is the new black: Pulizzi doesn't step outside without a piece of orange clothing. His love affair with the color started in 2007, when he wore an orange company shirt every day. Two years later, he was hired to do a speech in Brussels, Belgium, but was asked by organizers to wear a tuxedo. "When I walked off the stage, everyone asked why I wasn't wearing orange. I hadn't realized how much I had branded myself to orange but realized I must be on to something. Any way you can get attention in this cluttered world, I'll take it."

father of invention: Today, "content marketing" is a trendy business phrase. But Pulizzi claims he helped create and popularize the term in 2001 when he worked in Penton Media's custom media department. "[Back then] the term we used in our industry was 'custom publishing.' But when most marketers heard the term 'custom publishing,' they thought we just did book publishing and dismissed us. So I thought, Why not just simplify what we do and call it content marketing?"

family business:After graduating from Penn State with a master's degree in communication in 1997, Pulizzi couldn't find a job. He was "five seconds away" from joining the family business at his grandfather's funeral parlor. Pulizzi had spent his college summers there, moving flowers from the viewing room to the gravesite. "I broke every law known to man trying to get the flowers to the cemetery before the cars got there."

One small step: The first content marketing conference Pulizzi ran was held in Cleveland in 2011. He hoped for 100 attendees — 660 showed up instead. "That was when I began to believe that I could make this happen." He gave the opening remarks in an orange astronaut costume.

Customer service: Although Pulizzi admits that content marketing does not "help feed the poor," he believes it's a noble calling. "If we can teach companies how they can help people's lives in some way and at the same time move the needle for them, I think we're doing good in the world. Because who the heck wants to see more advertising? Nobody."

Hot seat: At last year's Content Marketing World, keynote speaker Kevin Spacey spent five minutes roasting Pulizzi. "It was the highlight of my career."