A too-restrictive approach to reference content can mean your strongest stories look only as good as your weakest. Flexibility and planning can address this.

I worked on two stories recently. One featured a huge infrastructure project that will transform the lives of millions of people over the next 20 years. The second, a tech refresh at a mid-size organisation.

Both important stories, and strong references for the new technology being deployed. Both produced for the same client, written to the same length, and laid out in the same template. But not, on the face of it, the same weight of story.

The first featured transformative technology, technology that is almost unique to the client, that is being used by the customer in a novel way, and will be key to unlocking the power of AI long into the future. No question that the second story was a step-change for the customer, but it is not something that hasn’t been seen elsewhere. The first story certainly had more scrutiny from the client’s senior leadership.

This highlights the at times restrictive nature of reference content.

Global organisations want global consistency. There is value in reference content being a familiar length, style and layout. It is also more straightforward to produce content in this style: stakeholders understand the limits; set templates avoid scope-creep.

The downside to this approach is there is little room to go big on stronger* stories. Your strong stories have to look as good as your weakest. For some, the standard option is to upgrade a good written story to video – with a 10x hike in price.

There is a middle ground. Any of the actions below should enable you to elevate stronger stories, without breaking the bank.

1.     Accompany the case study with a written Q&A with the customer spokesperson. Commission a portrait photograph.

2.     Create a Supersize case study template. Say, a select 12 stories a year given the big treatment. Longer, more images, distinct content in a sidebar, higher profile exposure on the reference home page.

3.     Produce a podcast of your top stories, featuring an interview with the customer spokesperson. Again, one a month.

We know that AI-assisted content is making it easier to churn out content, and the risk is that heavily-templated content becomes samey. You can’t afford to have your best stories passed over. Anything that creates a point of difference is to be embraced.

*Yes, stronger can be subjective. It typically means stories that are more newsworthy, or feature strategically important technology, or higher profile clients, or those with a potentially higher deal values. The point is, you decide.