CONTENTS:
Erica Osher – Vice President, NPR Sponsorship Products & NPM Creative, National Public Media
Stephanie Chang – Editorial Director, The Trust Wall Street Journal Custom Content
Aaron Tabas – Head of Creative Strategy at Vox Media, Inc.
Ben James – Creative Director, T Brand, The New York Times
Hosted by Fara Warner – award-winning journalist and digital media expert

Important points:
Studios work with partners during the global pandemic
The coronavirus has forced all publishers to be flexible and adaptable to create relevant and trustworthy content. It has been important to talk to partners about how to deliver messages during this time. Solution-focused content is in demand and people want to know what brands are doing to fight the virus internally and externally. Publishers are working to make this possible.

Publishers support the brands’ next step
Publishers and trusted media partners are offering data-driven best practice strategies for leadership, engaging with the public, empathy and more to support the brand-publisher relationship and protect its value. In addition, many are looking ahead and preparing for how brands should present themselves when we return to some degree of normality.

The halo effect
The ethical standards upheld by media brands acting as publishers give brands the opportunity to indirectly benefit from the sheen of those ethical standards. While it can be challenging to work with a brand whose requirements fall outside of strict journalistic integrity, a brand can ultimately trust that it is in its best interest to work within the publisher's model of fact-based authenticity.

Authenticity cannot be faked
The data collected from all publishers suggests that anchoring purpose-driven messages in actions is the best way to demonstrate authenticity and purpose. There is a huge gap between words and actions, especially in a moment full of homogenous messaging. The brands that stand out are those that back up their words with actions like resource donations, community assistance, sustainable programs and the like.

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