The News Environment is an Essential Place for Storytelling, HPE’s Marissa Freeman

A couple of years back, Hewlett Packard Enterprise partnered with CNN-backed video site Great Big Story to make a series of mini-documentaries about innovation, The Dreamers

For Marissa Freeman, it’s all part of a trend in which she sees appearing in a news environment as moving the needle.

“For us, it’s all about being in service to the reader or the viewer – when we’re producing branded content, we are journalists,” says Freeman who is chief brand officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), in this video interview with Beet.TV.  HPE is the business solutions unit of the computer giant.

“If you’re talking about technology that’s going to change the world and do something great for business, for humans, for society, that’s newsworthy and that belongs in a news environment.

“Depending upon what your brand is, I would say it’s a really smart place to be for some advertisers.”

The last two years have seen a sometimes-toxic political climate and a growing trend for some advertisers to shun news publishers and broadcasters.

But the news organizations lately are fighting back to make their case – news, they say, is where high levels of audience engagement can be found.

For Freeman and Hewlett Packard, it seems like the kind of engagement found in news is rubbing off.

“What we’re trying to do with our storytelling is build a trusted relationship and leave a lasting impression and reinforce the positive brand attributes that we already have in the minds of our customers and prospects.

“We tell stories. ”

This video is part of a Beet.TV series exploring the dynamic news landscape and opportunities for marketers.  The series is sponsored by CNN.  For more from the series, please visit this page.