- Corporate storytelling is becoming essential for brands and organisations.
- The concept isn’t new—examples date back to the early 1900s.
- Today’s shift is driven by brands as publishers and broadcasters using owned media.
- Owned media alongside earned media are core to reputation and influence.
- PR professionals must use corporate storytelling to influence AI answers using GEO and AEO.
Will corporate storytelling be the backbone of your communication strategy in 2026?
This weekend, I listened to Sam Barcroft, the new group CEO of SWNS, being interviewed on Tellycast about his plans for the media group.
Sam’s interview really resonated with me and even more so when I read a Wall Street Journal article that said the percentage of LinkedIn job postings in the US that include the term ‘storyteller’ doubled in the year ended 26 November.
Once upon a time storytelling was the next big thing in brand and corporate communications. It was 2005 when former FT journalist Tom Foremski coined the term EC=MC or Every Company is a Media Company. In 2013 I did a fireside chat event with Tom to talk about it. In 2013 Microsoft hired its first Chief Storyteller.
One of the most famous early examples of EC=MC was Nissan which hired traditional broadcast media journalists to create its own online media channel to produce original video content. It was primarily about news and adventure, not stories about Nissan.
The origin of corporate storytelling
But corporate storytelling or content marketing are even older than that. One of the earliest examples, which remarkably is still being published today, is The Furrow from agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere. It started in 1895 as a print magazine and has constantly evolved into new digital formats and a podcast.
If you’ve ever wondered about the origin of Michelin stars, it’s because in 1900 the Michelin brothers wanted to sell more tyres. They hit on the idea of a guide with lists of garages and crucially restaurants (it was France after all) to encourage people to drive farther to increase tyre wear.
Have you ever asked how soap operas got their name. It’s not because they are full of old soap. Originally they were funded by fast moving consumer goods companies such as Procter & Gamble, Lever Brothers, and Colgate-Palmolive. The aim was to reach homemakers with engaging stories that seamlessly integrated their products. They started on radio in the 1920s and started to transfer to TV in the 1950s. The growth was fueled by sponsorship by the FMCG companies with stars of the shows also appearing in advertising.
In the digital era Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” YouTube series (launched in 2006) was one of the first corporate viral sensations. Blendtec’s founder Tom Dickson blended everything from iPhones to golf balls, to demonstrate the power of the product in a way that was entertaining, shareable, and highly effective. The campaign generated hundreds of millions of views and a reported 700% increase in sales, proving that brand publishing can be both creative and commercially transformative.
I’ve advised clients and included brand and corporate storytelling in my training courses since way back then.
Corporate storytelling today
Fast forward to 2025. One example Sam Barcroft gave was CarWow, which resonated as it is an example of content marketing I often cite. CarWow’s content is a mix of in-depth car reviews, drag races, consumer advice, and entertainment. Across all its video channels it has almost two billion annual video views, with more than one billion on YouTube alone. As a further indication of its scale and success CarWow has also acquired established traditional media brands such as Auto Express.
It was listening to Sam’s interview and reading the WSJ article that sparked me to write this.
The WSJ article shows that these new ‘storytellers’ aren’t doing anything radically different. They’re simply doing activities PR professionals have always been meant to do. Blogs, case studies (customer stories), podcasts, videos and more. Owned media in all its forms.
I say “meant to do” because too often PR and comms professionals get trapped in silos so become obsessed with media relations (earned media) or hijacked by marketing so instead of telling compelling stories resort to marketing fluff.
Microsoft, Google and OpenAI are just some of the companies that have recruited chief storytellers or similar roles this year. Another is US military financial-services company USAA which is recruiting its fourth storyteller, less than a year since it hired its first.
“It’s so much more than a copywriter,” Tara Ford Payne, vice president of communications and public affairs, tells the WSJ. “This is truly bringing to life scenarios, situations and opportunities to advocate for our members.” She also said a USAA storyteller might write a guide to mental health benefits or help work some real-life experiences into an executive’s speech.
Payne’s quote and examples rather prove my point that ‘storytellers’ are simply public relations professionals doing their jobs properly.
This year LinkedIn in the USA had more than 50,000 “storyteller” roles listed under marketing and 20,000 under media and communications. This reinforces a point I’ve made for years: content marketing — and now storytelling — are largely inventions of the advertising and marketing industry to justify their relevance in today’s society and economy.
Public relations and communications have always done the things that are now called content marketing or corporate storytelling as they’ve always dealt in facts, reality and authenticity.
PR tells factual stories and needs to learn how to do it far more creatively. Advertising makes up ideas and tells them in incredibly creative ways. Because audiences are looking for truth and authenticity, advertising and marketing had to create content marketing and storytelling to maintain their relevance.
Why is corporate storytelling happening now
There are a number of reasons why corporate storytelling is happening now.
The changing media landscape is undoubtedly the main one. The space to create factual content is changing. Sam Barcroft cited how independent documentary makers once pitched an idea to a broadcaster and if they were successful got a bucket of money so they could go away and make it. After it was made and could be aired and the rights sold to other broadcasters they’d get more money. Similarly traditional print publishers are now predominantly online but are still struggling with old models so are shedding journalists.
Another reason for the growth in corporate storytelling is because we are increasingly bombarded with AI slop. Instead of thinking about how to use AI to create content, think about how to influence AI answers.
This means content that is recent, relevant and reputable. Good corporate storytelling can deliver all three of those. The Hold the Front Page—Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI white paper that Purposeful Relations published in partnership with 72Point outlines why influencing AI answers matters and how to start doing it. The Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white paper is an in-depth analysis of the multiple research papers into Generative Engine Optimisation (GE) and Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO).
The future of corporate storytelling is in owned content published on your own platform and in the rapidly growing third-party social media platforms.
Niche specialist interest media outlets are growing. Vertical video is growing. Owned media is growing.
Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Substack enable brands to directly reach their audiences. The WSJ article references another article about brands directly financing their own entertainment shows.
Will 2026 be the year that corporate storytelling truly takes off? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
