Brand Journalism Taps Hearts, Opens Minds

Tap people’s hearts and burst into their minds. Exceptional brand journalism can do just that. Open up thinking, hit a pause in judgment, illuminate new views ... by reporting directly to the public. Stories based on facts.

A good story pings heart strings. For instance, what do you feel when you read about this experience –

It was a horrible day in North Carolina when a tornado spun off from a weakened hurricane, striking a bus stop where children waited to board to go to school. Forty miles away, at the closest emergency room with trauma capabilities, an overwhelmed staff made do with the tools at hand – using a Sharpie marker to make notes on the bed sheets of each child, coordinating triaged care in a chaotic situation. These were the heroes of this story – the hospital staff who worked to save them – and the storm the villain. Emotions swirled on all fronts – the physicians, residents, nursing staff as well as the EMS workers and parents.

A brand journalist wrote it. She says, “From hurricanes to horrible diagnoses, any topic you encounter as a storyteller can be told by using the fundamentals we learned as children. There are heroes and there are villains. Every good story has them. There’s a cadence to a story, too – with a plot line and details that will take readers along a journey. Good storytelling tells people about the situation. Great storytelling shows them through active word choice, detailed (and relevant) description, and dialogue. You want your readers to feel and see the action around them.”

The writer is Cheryl Welch, who manages Health Beat, for Spectrum Health in Michigan. Health Beat readers learn about personal health through the stories about other people. Readers often need to have tissues handy, too.

Brand journalism stories have purpose. In some way, each story ideally inspires readers to relate and take action. “People like to read stories about people, not things. Readers want to feel the emotions those people felt as they encountered adversity or a situation in their lives. They connect with that, and that humanity is what makes stories sing,” says Cheryl.

I saw the term “narrative transport” used to describe what storytelling can do. (Source) Engage emotionally and create empathy. Sit beside the subject of the story, not across the table, or arm’s length.

“Show me!” should be the slogan framed on the wall of brand journalism creators. Don’t explain it to readers. Show them. Show them in a way that makes sense, makes meaning.

Show me dedication: In My husband, the lineworker, is a superhero, Duke Energy went inside the household of a lineman who is called out for duty when others retreat into the safety of their homes. (Illumination)

Show me expertise: In Flexible Supply Chain Solutions for Advanced Therapies, UPS went inside the world of clinical trials and patients to explain how logistics create efficiencies and hope. (Longitudes)

Show me empathy: In Heart on the line, Spectrum Health told the story of a patient whose bariatric surgery allows her to now run, swim and play with her 9-year-old daughter.

On June 25 brand journalists from American Express, Duke Energy, Spectrum Health, Salesforce and UPS will teach at: Brand Journalism: How to Create and Deliver Your Own News. It is a workshop for The Conference Board in New York City. Brand journalists can learn about touching hearts and heads to move their stories forward. Learn about it and register here.

Images sourced from Spectrum Health (Health Beat), Duke Energy (Illumination) and NOAA