Content may be king but it’s getting harder to be heard in a world where everyone from cereal makers to stamp collectors feel that have something important to say.

The 90s were a golden age for traditional media, as the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the USSR triggered a new era of neoliberal turbo-charged globalization. The media’s euphoria was short-lived however as a digital revolution soon transformed the media landscape. Instantly connecting people to content that interested them for free, search engines and social media networks soon captured the bulk of advertising dollars without having to invest in producing content. The ensuing consolidation of traditional media created a giant gap just as firms realized PR and marketing were losing their ability to engage consumers.

The solution? Brand journalism. Leveraging the tools of journalism – from the use of objective stats and credible sources to the power of storytelling – brand journalism helps firms shape customers’ perceptions by associating their products and services to causes ranging from sustainability and diversity to moral values and animal protection.

Today, many brands now rely on brand journalism to share their beliefs, align with issues they feel matter, and inspire their audiences by producing stories like Microsoft’s 88 acres while media companies like venerable UK paper The Guardian make their creative resources available to corporate with initiatives like The Guardian Labs.

Please take a look at this recent piece to see how 10 companies use brand journalism as a core component of their marketing strategy.