The Rise of the Brand Newsroom - Mynewsdesk redpaper

THE RISE OFTHE BRANDNEWSROOM#brandnewsroom

WHEN THE LIGHTS4. Find your tone of voiceWENT OUT...This is especially important when looking for contentthat will work across multiple digital channels, including...at the Super Bowl last year, a metaphoricallight bulb went on above the head of one of the editorialmarketers working for Nabisco, makers of the Oreocookie. And in that moment, real-time content marketingBrands have to work really hard to getaudiences to engage on Facebookand they don’t do it by pumping outglossy information about themselves, niceimages went of mainstream.their execs and of their products,”says Stephen Waddington. “They do it bytappingIn perhapsinto somethe smartestof the emotionalexampleinsightof “newsthat’sjacking”goingtotodate,generatethe cookiea responsecompanyfromtheircombinedaudience.”quality creative with a killer lineof copy: “You can still dunk in the dark.”[1] The process was agile, delivered atspeed and proved highly effective –it resulted in thousands of Twitter retweetsand Facebook shares while, in a perfectconfluence of owned and earned, the storywas picked up by dozens of media outlets inthe days that followed.Two things are often forgotten in the retellingof the Oreo story. First, the company hadalso paid for a conventional, multi-milliondollar advertising slot to run during Americansport’s richest event [2], hinting at a futurewhere guerrilla marketing and conventionaladvertising will coexist.Second, the company’s rapid response wasonly made possible by months of planning.The Super Bowl exemplar was part of aHe advises a more relaxed style ofcommunication, something that is “moreinformal and direct”. It means telling storiesthat work at a human level.“There is an art to getting it right,” saysNeville Hobson, independent consultant andco-presenter100-day projectof the[3],Fora productImmediateof productionReleaseand meticulouspodcast.preparation, of governancealready in place, sign-off processes agreedand editorial practices honed in advance.This is the untold story of successful contentmarketing and brand journalism.We'll look at best practice examples, hearfrom practitioners and examine thecircumstances when it will work foryour brand.But we’ll start with...

3 #brandnewsroomA brief history of content marketingThe story of content marketing – or brand storytelling assome prefer – stretches back well over a century, fromJohn Deere’s The Furrow in 1890s, a magazine whichtaught farmers how to use new agricultural tools; to theMichelin Guides of the early 20th century; from the preandpost-war radio and television soap operas; to thecustomer magazine boom of the 1980s and beyond.In the digital age, content marketing in itsmany guises (see glossary on page 30)has been shaped by an unforeseencollision of events. First, digital has provideda platform which is disintermediated in mostrespects while, post Web 2.0, it has becomea social channel through which messagescan be shared, stories amplified andconversations joined.At the same time, says Tony Hallett, formerpublishing director at CBS Interactive andnow managing director of CollectiveContent, we’ve witnessed a challengingmedia landscape where conventionalbanner and classified advertising rates havedeclined sharply. Not only has this led topublishing houses seeking alternativeadvertising models, notably nativeadvertising, it has also resulted in acontraction of the journalism market – fewerpublications and fewer journalists on staff inthose publications that have survived.The result? “You now have a lot of thoseprofessional content people working onthe type of content that proves effectivewith an audience. But instead of purejournalistic work, they are doing it as amarketing project for a client, or as acampaign on the pages of Forbes or theHuffington Post,” says Hallett.A plentiful supply of skilled communicators,a digital platform that allows brands toconnect directly to their audience, a meansof social distribution and a challengedadvertising market have combined to movebrand newsrooms and other contentmarketing forms up the marketing andpublic relations agenda.But don’t mistake this for a proactive pushby large brands, says Stephen Waddington,European digital and social media directorof Ketchum. “It’s the market that’spushing organisations to do thingsmuch better,” he says. “The whole thingis being driven by the consumerisationof media. It’s very much the audiencethat’s in the driving seat and it’s themarket that’s responding to theaudience demand.”“If that’s the opportunity,the challenge is to makeit happen.”

HOW TOBUILD ANEWSROOM12345678910Define your audienceEstablish an editorial proposition (aka “News you can use”)Don’t fall for the myth of viralityFind your tone of voiceBuild a teamUse the diary…but be ready to react to newsDefine a workable sign-off processEstablish no-go areasGive them what they want

5BRANDS #brandnewsroomAS NEWSROOMS1. Define your audienceIf you don’t have a clear idea who you arewriting for, your brand newsroomexperiment will fail.That target audience mightconsist of a single cohort(journalists, for example)or multiple overlappingaudiences (journalists,investors, customers, potentialcustomers, employees, futureemployees). If it is the latter,establish an understanding ofwhat unites them. In bothscenarios, establish areas ofcommon interests. Oneeffective way to do this is tocreate a persona of your idealreader: give him or her a name,ascribe attributes and personalpreferences and define needs.Then every time you considerproducing a piece of content,test it against your persona.Would he or she want toread/watch this? What anglebest serves his or her needs?And so on.

6 #brandnewsroom2. Establish an editorial propositionKetchum's Stephen Waddington says “Brands typicallywant to talk about themselves. The challenge is toalign yourselves with the issues that really matter toyour audience.”And herein lies the paradox ofsuccessful content marketing – themore a brand talks about itself themore likely it is to turn a potentialaudience off.Apply what Will Sturgeon, executive directorof strategy at GolinHarris, calls the“nobody cares test”. He says: “Once youget into a world where brands becometheir own editors, there’s a sense thatnow is the opportunity to fill the spacewith all the stuff that those journalistswouldn’t write because nobody wasinterested.” Resist the temptation.

7 #brandnewsroomIn other words, news you can use...Instead write around your subject, providenews and information that is useful andvaluable for your target audienceBroadcast media has long talked about“news you can use”, stories that have apractical, rather than a shock, value.Personal finance stories are a goodexample of this genre and it is these storiesthat underpin the proposition behindMoneysupermarket’s content marketingsuccess (see case study on page 26)“It’s very much a soft sell,” explainseditor-in-chief Clare Francis. “As ajournalist I don’t see myself asproducing content just to sell to people.I’d much rather be producing the contentthat they need, that they find useful.” ForFrancis the editorial proposition is clear:“helping households save money”.Another example of a brand publisherproviding news you can use is AmericanExpress with its Open Forum [5] site (tagline: Exchange Advice. Make SmartDecisions”).“They have a community of thousandsof small businesses reading thousandsof pieces of useful content, very few, ifany, are about which charge card shouldwe get for the company,” explainsCollective Content’s Tony Hallett.Moreover, consider, as American Expresshas, curating the best of other people’scontent. This can be professional and nonprofessionaljournalism or a combination ofboth. Equally, it can be hosted on youronline newsroom or linked to from socialchannels. Either way, the material will notonly provide a valuable resource to yourcustomers but will allow you to cover muchmore ground than if you were producing itall in-house. Other exponents of curationinclude Intel (IQ by Intel) [6] and Pepsi(Pepsi Pulse) [7].“Align yourselves withthe issues that reallymatter to your audience.”Stephen Waddington,European Digital & Social Media Director,Ketchum

8#brandnewsroom3. Don’t fall for the myth of viralityIf your content goes viral and gets read or watched byhundreds of thousands of people, that’s great but oftenentirely unnecessary.As Tony Hallett points out: “If you’reBuzzfeed you have it baked intoyour DNA … but for brands it’s notalways about virality. It’s about reachingthe right people.”Take Red Bull and Cisco as two examples.Both, says Will Sturgeon, understand howto use content marketing channels properlyand for Cisco, providing technology newsand information at The Network [8], thatmeans appreciating that the audience sizeswill be very different.Indeed, as Ramya Chandrasekaran, ChiefCommunications Officer of QNET - one ofAsia's leading direct selling companies,states "The key is to live and breathequality content. Make it the heart of youronline presence and a reliablemouthpiece for your brand."

9#brandnewsroom4. Find your tone of voiceThis is especially important when looking for contentthat will work across multiple digital channels, includingsocial networks.“Brands have to work really hard toget audiences to engage onFacebook and they don’t do it bypumping out glossy information aboutthemselves, nice images of their execsand of their products,” says StephenWaddington. “They do it by tapping intosome of the emotional insight that’sgoing to generate a response fromtheir audience.”He advises a more relaxed style ofcommunication, something that is “moreinformal and direct”. It means tellingstories that work at a human level."There is an art to gettingit right. Many marketersthat I encounter in bigorganisations speak likethe brochures that theyproduce and that makesits way into the writing.It's easy to laugh at thembut with a bit of helpsome of them can tellgreat stories."Neville Hobson,Consultant and co-presenter of theFor Immediate Release podcast.

10#brandnewsroom5. Build a teamOnce you’ve established an editorial proposition for adefined audience, it’s time to build a team.The size of the team will depend on thestated output which in turn will bedriven by your goals (see below) butit’s likely you will need specialist writers,web producers, designers, video producers,sub-editors and a pool of freelancejournalists to draw on.The editor who will oversee the team willmost likely report into the chief marketingofficer or similar and be granted sufficientautonomy to take content ideas frominception to publication, knowing when torefer up or when to refer to a lawyer. Acompany lawyer, therefore, should alwaysbe on hand to adjudicate on potentiallycontentious matters.If you work for a small or medium businessit is unlikely you will have a huge marketingbudget to spend on hiring video producersand freelance journalists but you can stilladopt a newsroom approach. As you buildup your marketing team make sure to hirepeople with versatile skill sets who canadopt various roles.

11 #brandnewsroom6. Use the diaryThe deployment of an editorial calendar to pinpoint“diaried” stories that connect with an audience will be aconcept relatively familiar to marketing professionalsused to managing campaigns.It is an essential but, as we’ll see, not anexclusive part of the newsroomstorytelling process.So for Clare Francis at Moneysupermarketit means providing stories about ISAs aheadof the new tax year or tips on buying anew car as new registration platesbecome available.Equally, a pet’s charity might producediaried stories in the run up to FireworksNight (dealing with loud noises) or in the runup to Christmas (“a pet’s for life not justfor Christmas”).And for a technology provider, it might bethe introduction of a new operating systemor the launch of a new breed of hardware.

12 #brandnewsroom7. …but be ready to react to newsSometimes the campaign mindset won’t do.If you want to take advantage of anongoing conversation, manage a crisis inreal time, react or add perspective to anongoing news story or, as Oreo did, hijack abreaking story then a different mentalityis required.As Rita Suttarno, Social Media Manager ofQNET, stresses "you can't plan too muchahead. Things will change and you'llhave to respond to it. Especially ifcustomers are involved, you need toengage fast.”The story of how Oslo Airport’scommunications department dealt with a fuelcrisis in September 2012 amplydemonstrates how a newsroom can bedeployed “live” (see case study on page 28).Asked if he was concerned about the risksof this approach, the airport’s media advisorJoachim Westher Andersen replied: “Norisk, only possibilities.”Moreover, a study by Edelman found thatreal-time branded content generated four tosix times the level of engagement of atypical post. [9]"Being ready to publishand distribute content onthe fly - whether inreaction to an opportunityor a crisis - requires skill,confidence, authority andeffective technology.Having a digitalnewsroom platform likeMynewsdesk makes iteasier to deliver real-time,multichannel andmultimediacommunications to theaudiences you want toreach and influence."Adam Cranfield,Head of Marketing, Mynewsdesk

13 #brandnewsroom8. Define a workable sign-off processAnd because you will want to publishin a timely fashion, you need toensure you’ve established a sign-offprocess that everyone understands,everyone buys into and that can bedeployed even on the busiest of days.Culturally this may prove difficult but it isessential in order to benefit from the realtimeopportunities of digital publishing.“There’s no such thing as a deadlineanymore,” says Stephen Waddington. “Atopic trends on Twitter or Facebook for aperiod of time and if you want to be partof that conversation you can’t wait 24hours to get some content signed off.”Will Sturgeon pinpoints the root of theproblem: “Because this isn’t heartsurgery, every CEO, CFO and CMOthinks they know what makesgood editorial.They’ll tell you that it needs to read morelike Harvard Business Review becausethey read Harvard Business Review on aplane once and thought that it was kindof cool.Everyone brings their subjectiveopinions to bear which is fine so long asyou get that all out of the way in theplanning process. But you can’t haveevery piece pulled apart by committee –it slows things down, gets messy andgets expensive.”"You can't have everypiece pulled apart bycommittee - it slowsthings down, gets messyand gets expensive."Will Sturgeon,Executive Director of Strategy, GolinHarris

14#brandnewsroom9. Establish no-go areasIn addition to a sign-off process, define upfront thesubject areas you are willing to write about and thoseyou should avoid.Stephen Waddington says: “You have to have areas of no-go – topics you cantalk about, topics you can never talk about and topics you can only talk aboutwith legal sign-off.”

15 #brandnewsroom10. Give them what they want“[Brand journalism] needs to be as interesting asanything else someone might be reading in their lunchhour irrespective of who they are,” says Will Sturgeonof GolinHarris.“A CEO of anorganisation shouldn’taccept that 60 per cent ofthe media he or sheendures is boring. Itdoesn’t work like that –CEOs are just as likely toenjoy 25 cats onBuzzfeed as the rest ofus. So you have to policeyourself to make thisstuff interesting.”Will Sturgeon,Executive Director of GolinHarrisMeanwhile, listen to the wordsof Ashley Brown, global groupdirector, digital communicationsand social media at The Coca-ColaCompany. “If there is one thing I want todo, it’s kill off the press release,” Brownsays. “For the first time ever our PRteams are challenged to think beyondthe press release … They have to think,‘What is a two minute, really high-qualityvideo that someone would actually wantto share? How do I package up thatannouncement as a story that someonewho doesn’t work at Coke and whodoesn’t care would want to read it andshare it with their friends?’We developed a 10-point frameworkthat’s a guide for when you are thinkingabout storytelling. Does it spark anemotion? Is it something new ornoteworthy? Very basic things that ajournalist would go through.” [10]

8 STEPS TONEWSROOMSUCCESS12345678Secure buy-inEstablish success measures firstDefine workable timelinesIntegrateReadListenDon’t forget mobileInvest

17 #brandnewsroom1. Secure buy-inSiloed thinking and siloed action is the quickest path tofailure with a project like this, says Neville Hobson.Instead you need to do everything in yourpower to lobby for support within theorganisation, explaining goals andobjectives and gaining approval.“That requires diplomacy and a lot ofcourage,” Hobson says. “This ismarketing 101. You need to understandyour organisation … people, behaviours,attitude, and support.”

18 #brandnewsroom2. Establish success measures firstWhat does success look like? If you don’t know beforeyou start you won’t know when you’ve finished.So embark on a cost benefit analysis,decide how much you are preparedto invest and define a suitable returnon investment (ROI).In reality, measurement is not alwaysstraightforward. For example, your objectivemight be to warm up an audience as part ofthe sales process but the gap betweencontent consumption and the sale is likely tobe a long one.This is the case with Moneysupermarketwhich knows that the prospective sale mightbe weeks or months away. “From a contentperspective it doesn’t matter if peopleare using us to research, what matters isthat they then come back when they areready to buy,” says Clare Francis.Moneysupermarket spends much of its timeimproving calls to actions and improvingconversions to sales to ensure this happens.At a more basic level, your measure ofsuccess might mean increasing the trafficthat passes through your site. As media firmTrensic demonstrated there is directcorrelation between the volume of highquality content you produce and publish andthe amount of traffic your site will receive; a1,000 per cent increase in traffic in oneeight-week experiment which involved theproduction of 50 blog posts. [11]So where possible, define success. As WillSturgeon points out: “For Red Bull it wasreally simple – did 300 million peoplewatch Felix Baumgartner [12] jump out ofa balloon at the edge of space? Yes. Wasthe name Red Bull plastered around it?Job done.They are playing a game that isanalogous to advertising. It’s abouteyeballs and association. Withsomething more niche, then you need tolook at engagement. How are you gettingthe material in front of the right people?”If you are struggling to apply a metric forsuccess, consider the counter factual –what would happen if you didn’t act? Toquote Joe Churnov, VP marketing atKinvey: “How many shipwrecks dolighthouses prevent?” [13]

19#brandnewsroom3. Define workable timelinesAgree the timescale for a proof of concept, a pilot or afull blown launch across which you will assess themerits or otherwise of the project.Bear in mind that these timelines maybe longer than is traditional withinsales and marketing.“A lot of people’s frame of referencehere is advertising and advertising isquite a quick win,” says Will Sturgeon.“You announce a special offer andpeople are either queuing up outside theshop tomorrow or they’re not.”An editorial effort will take longer, not leastto build up a loyal following. Allow for this inyour plans.

20 #brandnewsroom4. IntegrateUse each communications channel within theorganisation to amplify the message, increase yoursocial media footprint and search engine authority.Moneysupermarket’s Clare Francissays: “We work with the PR team,the SEO team, the social team,the brand team and with the CRM team toensure that from a content perspectivewe’re integrated. And that we have a planfor campaigns throughout the year.”The big social networks such as Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ should play akey part in disseminating content andamplifying your message.However, don’t forget smaller – and oftenmore powerful – consumer forums thatoperate around your subject area.Appreciating the reach of the likes ofMumsnet (parenting) [14],Moneysavingexpert (personal finance) [15]and PistonHeads (automotive) [16] in theUK and similar forums elsewhere matterswhether you are in storytelling or crisismanagement mode.

21 #brandnewsroom5. ReadConsume as much digital journalism as you can to seewhat is working.Pore over the editorial and executionof brands such as Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola Journey) [17], Cisco (TheNetwork), American Express (Open Forum)and Intel (iQ by Intel).Examine the most compelling nativeadvertising on Forbes.com [18] and theAtlantic spin-off Quartz.com [19], amongothers. And look at the best of the pureeditorial plays online from Daily Mail toBuzzfeed, via Politico and the Guardian.Learn, adapt and execute.

22 #brandnewsroom6. ListenMonitor what others are saying about your brand onsocial networks, blogs, forums and other social media.Establish how often your brand istalked about, the sentimentexpressed, the nature of the praiseand the nature of the criticism.Understand the language of social media sowhen you are ready to tell your own storiesthrough brand newsrooms or other contentmarketing vehicles you will have developeda tone of voice that reflects your brand andtalks to your audience(s).Kings of content: 6 brands who stand outRed Bull aims to appeal to extreme sports lovers and create extreme PR stuntsand media frenzies, such as the Stratos space jump, to reflect this. They alsohave their own TV channel and magazine full of extreme sports articles.Coca-Cola has been leading the way with their newsroom and Content 2020plan. Their 'liquid storytelling' strategy aims to link business objectives and thebrand with consumer interests to provoke conversation and secure the brand'splace as part of popular culture.Colgate - their online Oral and Dental Health Resource Centre is a dedicatedsection of their website which is full of videos, interactive guides, hundreds ofarticles and value added content.DollarShaveClub shows just how valuable a sense of humour can be. Their$4,500 video spoke jokingly of the hassle and expense their service alleviatesgaining the startup not only 23,000 followers on Twitter and 76,000 Facebookfans but also 12,000 new customers within 2 days.Lauren Luke - a former taxi cab dispatcher dreamed of having her own make-upbusiness, so she cashed in her savings and began producing a series of how tovideos on YouTube, she now has more viewers than Estée Lauder and herproducts are stocked by Sephora in the US.Of a Kind - with a former senior editor of a magazine as a co-founder it's littlewonder this startup has mastered the newsroom approach. They select onedesigner at a time and share a series of stories about them including whatinspires them, their personal life, taste, training and so on. They have alsomanaged to gather over 2,000 pins on Pinterest.

23#brandnewsroom7. Don’t forget mobileThe growing adoption of smart devices – smartphonesand tablet computers – is fundamentally changingdigital consumption habits.Clare Francis of Moneysupermarketsays, for example, that over 50 percent of visits to her site come frommobile devices, predominantly users startingtheir journey from an email newsletter.This is a trend that is reflected across theconsumer web from online newspaper sitesto takeaway pizza websites via YouTubewhere 40 per cent of traffic now comes frommobile devices. [20]It’s a trend that should inform any approachto content marketing.First, it should change the way marketersdesign their websites. Any site that doesn’twork in multiple form factors – 10 and 7 inchtablets, Samsung S3, iPhone 5 and so on –is going to turn off prospective visitors.Lower clicks per visit will result.Responsive design is one answer to thischallenge.Second, smart devices means more trafficat weekends and evenings than everbefore. If the intended audience of brandnewsroom journalism is in consumptionmodeat these times, the newsroom shouldprobably be open for business at thosetimes too.

24 #brandnewsroom8. Invest“Stick some money behind it,” says Will Sturgeon.Why? Because the newsroom is representingyour brand.Content marketing can ultimately be acost effective way of reaching theright audience, he says, but somepeople get carried away with what shouldbe achieved yet put almost zero money intoit. You get out of it what you put in.Make it premium.

CASESTUDIES123Moneysupermarket.comOslo AirportS Shazam

26 #brandnewsroomMoneysupermarket.com“We’ve got three editors, four writers,six publishers and two videoproducers. We’re a team of 16 inhouseand then we use freelancejournalists each week.” Clare Francis runsan editorial team that would be the envy ofmost magazine editors and section editors.The reason for all this effort? Three reasonsin fact – to increase engagement, toimprove search engine rankings and tobuild brand trust.First, engagement. “We’re not a companyyou need to purchase from every week.We’re not a Sainsbury’s or a Tesco. Whatwe want is that when people are in themarket to buy – whether it’s their carinsurance, a new credit card or whatever– they think of coming to us. So, ifthey’ve got a relationship with usthrough content … then when they are inpurchase mode they think of coming tous rather than to somebody else.”Finally, it is about building trust which in turninforms the nature of the content.“I see it very much as journalism,” saysFrancis. “Yes we work for a commercialorganisation but the content is notinfluenced by the commercialrelationship – it’s independentand impartial.The purpose of it is to say, ‘We’re here tohelp you and you can trust theinformation we are giving you.’ Hopefullythat will build brand trust and loyalty.”"Google now requires thatcontent on your website isrelevant to your audience."Internal metrics tell her that customers thatengage with the content are “worthconsiderably more” than those that do not.The second reason for producing so muchcontent is to ensure high rankings onsearch engines, most notably Google.Recent changes to Google’s algorithms thatdictate those rankings – the Panda andPenguin updates – mean "You need to domore than just have keywords on yourwebsites. Google now requires thatcontent on your website is relevant toyour audience."

27 #brandnewsroom“We have a catch-up every morning tolook at what’s in the news today that wecan produce content on because that’snot only important for the site being upto-datebut that’s also important from asocial perspective: content thatreflects what other people are talkingabout today.”Twitter and Facebook are important, ifmarkedly different, channels, she says.Facebook is more about “digestible ‘5 toptips’-type material” while the Twitteraudience tends to consist of more industryinsiders: other journalists, rival companiesand analysts among them. That demands adifferent tone of voice.Notably, however, social media is not themain means of disseminating content forMoneysupermarket. Every week, 3.2 millionMore Money email newsletters are sent outand this drives a significant volume of trafficto content.The ongoing newsroom strategy isdesigned to drive more traffic from socialand, crucially, from organic search results.Among the advice she offers others thinkingabout the newsroom approach is to knowwho you are producing content for. “Whodo you want to talk to? It’s all aboutrelevancy. If you get the content right,the rest should follow. It’s good stories,it’s good videos, it’s things people wantto consume.”"If you get the content right, the rest should follow."

28#brandnewsroomOslo AirportWhen Oslo Airport suffered a majorfuel shortage in September 2012the whole operation went intocrisis management mode.For Joachim Westher Andersen, theairport’s media adviser, and the team it wasabout getting the latest news and updatesout in the most effective fashion.For Andersen there was an addedcomplication: he was on holiday at the time.But by liaising over the phone with head ofmedia Vegar Gystad, the two men wereable to construct a communications strategythat kept the print, online and broadcastmedia – and, by definition, would-bepassengers, family and friends – updatedon delays and cancellations.Armed with an iPad, Gystad made his wayto the departure lounge to conduct a seriesof TV interviews. In between times heposted the latest updates to the airport’sonline newsroom, provided byMynewsdesk.“The effect was enormous,” saysAndersen. “Only minutes after hepublished an update, we could see itcoming through all the major onlinenewspapers … also, [Vegar] couldchoose to publish a link to our Facebookand Twitter pages.”Was there a risk in communicating in thisreal-time way? “No risk, onlypossibilities,” Andersen says.“We managed to create a sense ofunderstanding because we were honestabout the situation. We did not try andcover up anything and we kept peopleupdated as soon as we had news totell them.”"No risk, only possibilities."

29 #brandnewsroomShazamIf rule number one of content marketing isknowing who your audience is thenShazam, the media engagementcompany that most people know for itsmusic identification service, can happilymove on to rule number two.For PR and communications manager RicaSquires, who manages a Mynewsdesknewsroom integrated into the main Shazamwebsite, her primary audience is the media.“If consumers stumble upon it then greatbut the media is my foremost concern.I’m not sure many consumers are goingto want to trawl around a series ofannouncements.”What Squires wanted from her newsroomwas a service that allowed her to publishmore than just the words on a screen.“Every announcement we do has somekind of visual with it,” she says. “It’sabout linking visuals with pressreleases. If we are talking about adding anew feature [to the Shazam app] we wantto show what it looks like in situ. Wealso produce videos and other assetsthat help illustrate the app or provideinformation about the company, somaking it easy for journalists to accessand download them is paramount.”Because of this primary audience – andShazam’s profile – search engineoptimisation is low down Rica’s list ofpriorities. She knows her audience ofjournalists will find her content. She adds:“We have a Twitter feed just for themedia.” Twitter is, she says, the bestsocial network for reaching the media.“It’s a press ‘circle’,” she says.“Facebook is much softer andfriendlier. It’s much more targeted tothe consumer.”"Making it easy forjournalists to access anddownload videos andother assets isparamount."

30 #brandnewsroomGLOSSARY OF TERMSBrand journalismWhere journalism meets brand marketing. Brand journalism tells the story of a companyand / or brand in a timely and transparent way. The storytelling will be ongoing and theconversation two-way.Brand newsroomAkin to a traditional newspaper or broadcast newsroom, a brand newsroom is where ateam (sometimes of ex-journalists) commission, research, create, publish and disseminatebrand journalism. Many of the disciplines of traditional journalism – high quality contentwritten in a timely manner – apply here. This can be done by any brand regardless ofits size.Content marketingThe creation and dissemination of useful, valuable and relevant content. The end goalmight be acquiring new customers and/or making sales. The focus is often, but notexclusively, on owning rather than renting the media.Native advertisingContextual material that appears alongside editorial content within a publication orplatform, usually online. The content may be text, video, a slide show, infographic or othermedia. In this respect its antecedent is the advertorial. LinkedIn’s sponsored updates,promoted Tweets and Facebook posts are other examples of native advertising as arecontextual Google Ads that relate to specific search queries and appear alongside organicsearch results.NewsjackingCapitalising on a high profile news story to the benefit of the brand. The ability topiggyback on stories in the news requires agile marketing teams and quick sign-off.Sponsored contentA form of native advertising (see above), labelled as such or similarly, within publicationsor platforms.

31 #brandnewsroomAbout usMynewsdesk is the world's leading all-in-one brand newsroom and multimedia PRplatform. Over 5,000 brands as diverse as Costa Coffee, Allianz, Volkswagen, Canon,Nectar, UNICEF, Sitecore, QNET and Virgin Trains use their Mynewsdesk newsrooms topublish and distribute their content, achieve greater visibility across search and socialmedia, connect with key influencers, and tell their stories.If you'd like to see how our newsrooms can enhance yet simplify your comms strategythen get in touch by tweeting us @mynewsdesk_uk, email us at uk@mynewsdesk.com orcall us on 020 7029 5785. Or pop into our office for a coffee and a chat. We're located at25 Farringdon Street, London, EC4A 4AB.About the authorJon Bernstein was deputy editor, then digital director, at the NewStatesman working across a portfolio of titles including Press Gazette andBlueprint; multimedia editor at Channel 4 News; ran the Channel 4FactCheck website during the 2005 general election; editor-in-chief ofDirectgov, working in the Cabinet Office’s eGovernment Unit; and editorin-chiefof dot com start up and technology website silicon.com.He was named Consumer Website Editor of the Year 2011 by the British Society ofMagazine Editors for NewStatesman.com and was shortlisted for the same award in 2010.He was also shortlisted for Web Editor of the Year at the 2012 Online Media Awards.With thanks to our contributors:Joachim Westher Andersen, Oslo Airport@JoachimWestherClare Francis, Moneysupermarket@clareefrancisTony Hallett, Collective Content@tphallettNeville Hobson, Consultant@janglesWill Sturgeon, GolinHarris@willsturgeonRica Squires, Shazam@ShazamNewsStephen Waddington, Ketchum@waddsRamya Chandrasekaran, QNET@ramyacRita Suttarno, QNET@mochachocolataAdam Cranfield, Mynewsdesk@adamcranfield

32 #brandnewsroomSources[1] http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/4/3949882/oreo-super-bowl-blackout-ad-is-a-winner[2] http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/3/3942234/watch-all-super-bowl-2013-ads-here[3] http://adage.com/article/digital/oreo-s-daily-twist-campaign-puts-cookieconversation/237104/[4] http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/[5] https://www.openforum.com[6] http://iq.intel.com/[7] http://www.pepsi.com/en-gb/d/[8] http://newsroom.cisco.com/[9] http://www.edelmandigital.com/2013/04/30/creative-newsroom-brand-storytelling-atthe-speed-of-social[10] http://tresnicmedia.com/the-blogging-magic-number-increasing-website-traffic-1000-in-8-weeks-case-study/[11] http://www.redbullstratos.com/[12] http://medialab.butlertill.com/post/60956120716/how-many-shipwrecks-havelighthouses-prevented[13] http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk[14] http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/[15] http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/[16] http://www.coca-colacompany.com/[17] http://www.forbes.com/find-more/brandvoice/[18] http://qz.com/[19] http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/17/youtube-goes-mobile/Interviews20 September 2013: telephone interview with Tony Hallett20 September 2013: telephone interview with Stephen Waddington23 September 2013: telephone interview with Clare Francis1 October 2013: telephone interview with Will Sturgeon8 October 2013: telephone interview with Rica Squires14 October 2013: email interview with Joachim Westher Andersen22 October 2013: telephone interview with Neville Hobson