Conveying Your Message – The Importance of Brand Journalism

By Mark Eber (@markeber) – President and Partner, IMRE

Everyone is a “journalist” now.

What we traditionally consider journalists – the tireless, fact-checking, truth-gatherers from years ago – no longer applies in the current digital landscape. Anyone with a phone, a platform, and even just an opinion can write and talk about news, current events – and most importantly for you, your client or brand.

Several athletes are already taking control of their message. Tiger Woods announces all of his news via his website. Athletes take to Derek Jeter’s “The Players’ Tribune” to tell their own story. The most marketable athletes tend to also be the ones actively telling their stories on their digital platforms.

Brands need to grasp the same opportunity to tell their stories to fans in interesting ways. Blasting out press materials in hopes that writers and bloggers will pick it up is – at best – old fashioned, and at worse, increasingly ineffective.

The future of cutting edge media relations strategies are centered on the brand as a storytelling engine; a news outlet in its own right. Forward-thinking brands are taking control of where, when and how they tell their stories online by being more assertive and deliberate in how they use their owned properties as branded destinations.

Brand journalism is a vehicle that organizations, especially those invested within the sports category, must use to reach consumers.

This is a new and fundamental shift for many well-established brands in how they engage their audience, how they view media relations, and their standard roles in communicating with key stakeholders. As communications experts who work with clients and within organizations, it’s critical that we effectively educate why brand journalism is a worthwhile investment.

Here’s why:

• It positions the brand as an industry authority through thought leadership content.
• It allows the company to highlight corporate news and product information in a new way – by featuring rich stories, not just headlines.
• It gives stakeholders (media, consumers, employees) a reason to believe in the brand.

Some top brands are already moving towards this model. Target’s “A Bullseye View” has served as a hub to house pertinent information around celebrity spokespeople, company news and their sports sponsorships – including their 2014 partnership with Major League Baseball for their All Star Teachers Campaign (DISCLOSURE: Target is an IMRE client). Coca-Cola’s Journey website is a dynamic storytelling vehicle for the brand, and dedicates an entire section strictly to its sports news.

We’re finding increasing success in working with our clients to produce their own brand journalism hubs. We see greater consumer recall, better engagement with their core audience, and richer and more positive conversation amongst fans socially.

Everyone may be a journalist now. That makes it even more important for brands to be journalists too.

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