How a statewide newsroom known for long-form reporting turned to two Montana creators to build brand awareness in a market it was working to enter.
Montana Free Press has earned a strong reputation across Montana for long-form, in-depth written reporting. That style, however, has at times struggled to reach or resonate with specific groups of readers, even when the reporting would be important and impactful to them.
As MTFP expanded into Billings, the state's most populous media market, it became clear that reaching news consumers in a particular age group, specifically 35 to 44, would be central to a successful expansion. Billings' largest age demographic is 35 to 44, and through focus groups with Billings residents in that group, the newsroom found a real appetite for quality local reporting but recognized that discoverability and brand awareness would be the biggest hurdles.
Montana Free Press needed a new way to build brand awareness and promote its geographic expansion, beyond how it had marketed in the past, and to reach readers where they already are, in both platform and style of content.
To build both broad brand awareness and awareness for the local expansion, Montana Free Press chose to pursue partnerships with two Montana-based, Montana-focused creators.
The first was Jonas Nichols, a comedy and skit creator who makes videos about the amusing and absurd moments of living in Montana. What interested the newsroom was more than his inside-joke relatability and broad reach among Montana natives and expats who still hold the state dear. His content is broadly apolitical but occasionally nods to current events, and the newsroom saw an opportunity to promote its local newsletter products, launching in Billings as part of the expansion, to audiences who might otherwise see MTFP reporting and not identify with it.
The second creator, Mary-Kate Teske, is more traditional in how her content aligns with MTFP's objectives. She primarily produces social-first video essays on Montana history, and has recently moved toward videos on issues affecting eastern Montana, specifically the area around Billings. She was exactly what the newsroom was looking for in a creator who could reach younger Billings audiences on the platforms and in the formats they expect.
Adriana Lacy
Working with both creators proved much easier than Montana Free Press expected, and in almost every case its trepidations were unfounded. In early internal planning, many questions circulated about whether such partnerships made sense for MTFP, particularly around what could go wrong. After initial meetings with both creators, most of those concerns turned out to be overblown.
What surprised the team most, which in hindsight it calls fairly naive, was how professional the creators were. Mary-Kate Teske had worked with other newsrooms before and was very familiar with editorial review expectations for partnerships. She was happy to walk the team through her production process, timelines, and expectations. It was an important reminder that even with small or niche creators, the approach should be no different than any other professional partnership.
In the same vein, Jonas Nichols recognized on his own that both his comedic style and concerns about brand image could create conflict. He was also clear about understanding his audience and having a firm grasp of what will and won't succeed. A frank, open conversation at the outset, about MTFP's editorial review process for both the script and the final product, and about Jonas's own policies on creative control, produced a more confident outcome internally than when the team began.
As the partnerships move into production, Montana Free Press is watching to see how this approach to its brand and its reporting resonates with an audience it does not often hear from.
At a base level, the primary objective is driving sign-ups for the Billings newsletter. Beyond that, the team wants to observe the engagement and feedback it receives from both the creators' audiences and its own. On platforms like Facebook, still used by older readers, comment engagement is high. On Instagram, likes and views may be as high or higher, but comments and shares typically lag. The newsroom wants to see whether there is any meaningful increase in shares and comments on partner posts when shared on its own channels.
Throughout planning and production, Montana Free Press found that the best way for newsrooms new to creator partnerships to dip a toe in is to approach these relationships like any other freelance reporting contract. In its experience, there has been very little difference so far in how it vets, pitches, sets expectations, and manages creator relationships compared with many freelance relationships.
Just as important is remembering that these creators are professionals who know what they are doing. While no one in the newsroom scoffed at partnering with creators, there were real questions about whether the team trusted people outside the newsroom to represent it and its reporting. Those questions came from a reasonable place of uncertainty, but as the process moved forward, both internally and with the creators, many resolved themselves. As with the freelancer framing, recognizing creators as the professionals they are helped calm the waters.
In some cases the internal feeling around creator partnerships recalled the early days of TikTok, when a reporter or editor might joke that they needed to learn how to Floss to be successful, or even present, on the platform. Said in jest, it still betrayed a dismissiveness and a fundamental misunderstanding of what the platform was and the opportunity it offered to connect reporting to new people. To build a successful creator partnership is to recognize you are working with an expert in their craft, a professional who understands their platform implicitly and knows what works to reach an audience. Lean on that expertise.
Taking its first steps into creator partnerships has expanded Montana Free Press's vision of what future partnerships could look like. While its initial partnerships focused on brand awareness and targeted market expansion, the newsroom has seen how partnerships could also expand the scope of its reporting.
While researching creators, the team found one focused on Montana sports. It loved the work but initially struggled to connect the dots between its own reporting and sports content. As planning and outreach continued, and with the freelancer framing fresh in mind, the team found itself considering more openly what a partnership with that sports creator could look like.
Montana Free Press continues to work directly with both creator partners as it approaches the launch of its Billings expansion. So far it has no regrets about taking the creator partnership plunge, and it is looking forward to how relationships like these can help it reach people it might never have reached otherwise.
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