This week, the Daily Mail, global advertising and PR company WPP, and Snapchat, announced their formation of a new content agency named Truffle Pig. So what can we hope to expect from this new partnership?

The announcement was made at the annual Cannes Lions Festival currently being held, and confirmed that the agency’s role will be to develop, plan, create and amplify content for its clients. It will first be established in the US, with future plans for global expansion. Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP’s Chief Executive, stated that Truffle Pig would be “a next-generation company”, in order to meet the demands of consumers’ desire for quality content. We imagine that this will be paramount, with the company able to utilize the Daily Mail as a media partner, with access to a wealth of content and contacts worldwide, while WPP is the mother agency behind top international campaigns and clients. Having Snapchat on board is also crucial because that is the app where users head to for extended brand content on mobile. Coupling this with the demand for interactive and short-form video, and it is clear that the agency has covered all bases.

We like the premise behind the brand, and especially its name, which Daily Mail North America Chief Executive, Jon Steinberg, stated came about because a truffle pig “finds the rare and tasty.” When applied to content, that means we can hope to see some unique and innovative digital campaigns with story-telling at the core. We can see a definite need for brands to improve the quality of their content marketing in line with what fans have come to expect- whether that be different video forms, social and multi-channel campaigns, especially when it comes to showing what they stand for. Indeed, this year’s Brand Storytelling Report found that eight out of every ten UK adults felt that brands needed to tell more stories in their marketing campaigns, as research also showed that 85% of people couldn’t even give an example of a memorable brand story they particularly liked.

With this in mind, is it fair to say that advertising is getting in the way of authentic marketing? We think that this might be having an impact on the decrease in quality content, as sponsored posts, promoted tweets, and influencer marketing tactics have come to represent a big part of a brand’s strategy. Often, consumers are more than aware of ad-bombing, whether that be in their digital newspapers or social media feeds. This trend is only going to rise, especially as social platforms offer greater visibility to brands who pay for content. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that paid content can’t be high quality and authentic, and if businesses keep in mind that they must tell stories and convey their brand personality rather than just using promotional language, there’s no reason for fans and consumers to be turned off. We’ll be looking forward to seeing if Truffle Pig can tap into this, and how they will deliver some striking new ideas and campaigns for their clients.

What do you think of the concept behind Truffle Pig? Do you think consumers now expect the best digital content and story-telling campaigns from their favourite brands? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.