Creative ways to tell the same old story

Where do stories come from? How can organizations find more creative ways to tell them?

These are the questions that keep most communicators, both internal and external, up at night. Brand journalists sleep a little bit better. They’re trained and practiced in the creativity needed to keep readers engaged, especially with stories that may seem routine or humdrum.

The idea behind brand journalism is to publish your best stories instead of relying on someone else to tell them. Here’s our occasional roundup of some of the best in brand storytelling, with a focus on new ways of reporting, creative use of humor and helping your leaders develop their expert voice.

1. Go where the news is.
Moffitt Cancer Center’s brand journalism site, Endeavor, provides a mix of stories that highlight Moffitt’s work in treating cancer patients and researching cures. One of the news team’s many strengths is to turn medical conferences into news.

Veteran reporter Kim Polacek translates complicated cancer research into stories the rest of us can understand. She scores again with her latest, “New AI Tool Offers Hope for Early Detection of Cancer Cachexia.”

Polacek begins by simply explaining cachexia, a term few understand but a condition that afflicts many cancer patients. Her opening paragraphs establish the tension in the story:

Cancer cachexia is a serious condition that impacts up to 80% of people with advanced cancer. It leads to extreme weight loss, muscle wasting and fatigue. Unfortunately, simply improving nutrition isn’t enough to reverse cachexia.

Despite being common, cachexia is hard to diagnose. It can significantly affect quality of life, treatment outcomes and survival rates, and often it isn’t recognized until it has reached an advanced stage.

That’s the problem. Here comes the news:

Now, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biomarker model that could change how cachexia is identified. The tool integrates imaging scans with routine clinical data to provide a more accurate and timely diagnosis. Findings from a study validating the tool were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

A few notes here: Polacek didn’t lead with the meeting. BORING! She didn’t even lead with her own institution. Instead, she set up the story with a few paragraphs that explain a problem that will interest her readers.

Tip: Annual meetings, conferences and other events often generate news. Send your writer to report in real time from the event, conduct video interviews, and post on social media. If your writers can’t be there, schedule video interviews during the event to enhance your coverage. These stories alert your audience (including the news media) that you are the go-to source in your industry.

2, Shoot a music video.
Some stories come around every year because they’re important. But they can also be tiresome for your audience. For Denver Water, one of those stories is the annual summer watering rules. The public understands the need for watering restrictions in Denver’s semi-arid climate, but that doesn’t mean they like it or want to hear about it all the time.

The watering rules are boring, but the news team at Denver Water’s TAP have found creative ways to reinforce the message.

This spring, TAP brought back a 2024 spoof of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” The utility’s Splashstreet Boys’ sing, “I Water That Way.” Here’s the lede to the story introducing the video:

Oh my gosh, they’re back again.

Summer watering season is here and the Splashstreet Boys are reminding the community to water the right way in 2025.

In case you missed it in 2024, Denver Water created a music video parody to showcase the annual summer watering rules in a … unique way.

The story links to the actual watering rules. The video posted on YouTube has generated 135,000 views and 271 comments.

Tip: Discover the hidden talent in your organization: amateur singers, musicians, improv performers and others ― including your leaders ― would love the chance to contribute to content that connects with your audience and sets tongues wagging.

2. Help leaders find their voice.
Steve Wyett is the chief investment strategist for BOK Financial. He’s a smart guy, to be sure, but corporate America is flush with business-savvy leaders who can’t communicate in simple, clear and engaging ways.

Wyett is a big presence on the bank’s brand journalism site, The Statement, and on social media because he has a distinctive voice.

In his weekly “By the numbers” segment, Wyett offers clarity and insight:

How is the housing market? If you are already in the market and have owned your home for some period, you may not see a problem. That’s because you likely have a low-rate mortgage from a purchase or refinance that you did during the ultralow mortgage rate period associated with the pandemic. Since then, home values have increased substantially, meaning your home equity is positive.

However, for those trying to get into the housing market, it is a mess. Home mortgage rates hover around 7%, and home prices, on a national average, continue to increase, making affordability hover near all-time lows.

With all this in mind, our chart this week shows several measures pertaining to the housing market . . .

He brings that conversational style to his media appearances, including as the inaugural guest on “Your Money Matters,” a segment on a Tulsa news station

In addition to being a good source, Wyett also has shown himself to be a good interviewer, guiding BOK Financial’s experts through discussions of the volatile American economy. He brings great energy to these conversations.

Tip: You have experts, and they know stuff. But they need your help conveying it to the rest of us. Win their confidence with writing, coaching, ghostwriting and media training.