Marketing News Publications: Global campaigns that reassert the value of journalism

With digital content increasingly colliding and merging with journalism, global news organisations have been asserting their importance and voice with major campaigns. We take a look at some of the communication tactics in place

The perception and consumption of journalistic content have changed drastically in the last few years. From citizen journalist accounts to curator accounts and the added plague of fake news - news publications have had to assert themselves harder leading to the creation of various Indian and global journalism campaigns.

The pandemic further, has been a great hit for journalistic organisations around the world. Both, from a commercial perspective and a cultural one. They had to aggressively adapt to the changing times, constantly fighting the increasing relevance of people-led content and journalism trumping institution-led content and journalism. It's almost an intrinsic need to stay afloat and in the business.

Here we take a look at some global journalism campaigns that advocate the consumption of verified news while highlighting the hard work and ethical approach invested by their own teams.

The Wall Street Journal

In 2019, The Wall Street Journal had released its 'Read Yourself Better' campaign. It was an attempt by the 130-year old paper to make people realise the importance of reading newspapers (trusted sources) in a world that's getting increasingly click-bait. Don't scroll endlessly, read better.

The campaign, which was developed by The&Partnership, included a TV spot, online video, social media, print, and display advertising. Publication's paywall was also lifted for three days to help people sample their journalistic work.

Justin Ruben, executive creative director for The&Partnership in New York had explained back then, “The idea behind 'Read yourself better' is to highlight how hard it is for consumers to navigate our overloaded media landscape and to figure out who to trust and what’s worth reading.

The New York Times

Over the last year or so, The New York Times has been working with creative agency Droga5 and media agency Hearts & Science to develop and add value to their 'Life Needs Truth' campaign. The Times' efforts are directed towards shining a light on how their journalistic work can help people navigate the various facets of life.

In the first phase of the campaign, the team had concentrated on the helpfulness of stories being written by the staff of The Times. It was about how these can help people tackle the uncertainties of quarantine. The follow-up video concentrated on stories that can help people make sense of the pre-pandemic world.

"Whether it’s helping with life at home; navigating a new economy; keeping current with culture; tracking a new administration; or understanding the vaccines, the new wave of ads from our campaign highlights how The Times can help readers navigate the biggest stories of the day and find moments of discovery and relief," the paper had said.

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Reuters

Created by brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R, The Source is a global campaign to reinforce Reuter's 'unique and vital role as the leading source for truths about our world'. With montages of some of the most beautiful shots and their photojournalists at work, the campaign video focuses on the company's 170-year old heritage of being a journalistic organisation.

The use of quotation marks in the creative signifies 'the universal symbol of reporting directly from the source'. They assert the importance of truth at the heart of Reuters reporting and how the journalists there let the story speak of itself.

The urgency in the campaign comes from the idea that the relevance of journalism is more pronounced today than ever before. "With the intense speed at which information travels and the proliferation of misinformation, people and organizations need a source they can rely on for the unfiltered truth. 'The Source' squarely tells them that place is Reuters," states Josh London, Reuters CMO and Head of Reuters Professional.

Back home too, publications have been actively marketing their stance to drive viewership/readership. In the last several months, The Financial Times has worked on expanding its editorial and opinion sections to stay ahead in the line, guiding people and organisations through the financial crisis. The Guardian has put in the efforts to heavily leverage their 200-year-odd history and heritage to connect with people. In August, this year, Hindustan Times released the #HTLegacyofTruth campaign, speaking about their role in the Indian journalism space weaved with the Indian Indepedence story.

Over the years, various Indian publications have marked their presence with cause-driven campaigns. The Times Of India's Sindoor Khela campaign, #NoConditionsApply, spoke about the rights of single women to be a part of this festive ritual.

Asserting the importance of their existence to help people get the crucial, unbiased and factually correct information is a major sentiment across such campaigns.