Speaking at Media360 in Brighton today, Newsworks CEO Jo Allan explained how “against all odds” the news brand industry came together to support the government as it conveyed vital messages and information to the public throughout the coronavirus pandemic
“We worked with the agility, speed and rigour of a newsroom” to create the All Together campaign, which comprised of more than 80 content briefs in 600+ national and regional news brand titles over a two year period, she explained. “It really showed [the news brand industry] at its best.”
“It was a phenomenal feat,” echoed Dominic Carter, EVP, publisher of The Sun, News UK. Talking to Gideon Spanier, editor-in-chief at Campaign magazine, at the first in-person Media360 event for a couple of years, the panel explained how the content-led partnership came about during a frantic Easter weekend back in 2020.
“It was a complicated time for everyone,” Emma Callaghan, sales & invention director at Reach Solutions, said. “There was so much information, which changed constantly, it was important for us to simplify it for our readers.”
Carter explained that briefs from the Cabinet Office would come in and it was vital for each publisher to fine tune the content to align with their readers and to ensure the messaging was accurate and in the right tone, language and style of each news brand title, so the readers would recognise and relate to it.
It’s that relevance to readers which ensured the key campaign metrics including recall, trust and behaviour change remained consistently high across the two years, added Allan: “Tracking and insight was key; it informed the content throughout the campaign.”
The Team Nation approach is now available to brands wanting to reach large scale, trusted and engaged audiences. “There’s a wealth of opportunity,” Callaghan said. “It isn’t a one size fits all, we can create bespoke campaigns depending on a client’s needs.”
“We have demonstrated our ability to collaborate as a news industry,” Carter added. “If an agency and client is willing and brave, we can act quickly. Ultimately it’s about the power of content and context, which equals engagement and attention; news media is best at doing that.”
For more information on All Together, please get in touch.
