This month at Democracy, we welcomed ITV Granada Reports journalist Jahmal Williams-Thomas as part of our commitment to staying sharp on broadcast best practice.

There’s no substitute for hearing directly from the newsroom - how stories are shaped, what cuts through, and what gets spiked.

His visit serendipitously coincided with the release of Broadcast Revolution’s Many Waves of Broadcasting Report, which explores how PRs and journalists can navigate a rapidly shifting broadcast landscape while continuing to deliver meaningful storytelling for audiences.

Together, these conversations reinforced something we strongly believe at Democracy: the brands winning today aren’t necessarily the biggest - they’re the smartest about audiences.

Here’s how challenger brands can use audience intelligence to cut through and make the most of modern broadcast opportunities.

Broadcast is the starting point, not the finish line

Broadcast still sets the agenda. A live moment delivers credibility, scale, and establishes trust and authority - but its real value now lies in what happens next.

Impact no longer ends when the interview finishes. The real opportunity comes from amplification across the wider media landscape, spanning print, digital and social channels where stories extend their reach and spark ongoing conversation. Long-tail content sustains momentum, keeping stories alive through clips, commentary and podcasts long after the initial broadcast moment.

Modern broadcast success therefore starts long before airtime. Stories must be designed for momentum from day one - built for clipping, sharing and reuse across platforms. Strong visuals, credible expertise and tangible proof points make stories easier for journalists to use and easier for audiences to pass on.

Success is no longer about landing a single story or hitting a KPI; it’s about creating narratives that travel across platforms and over time.

Precision beats volume in newsrooms

It’s no secret that newsroom capacity is tighter than ever. As editorial teams become leaner, producers increasingly need clarity, relevance and stories that already demonstrate an understanding of their audience.

This is where challenger brands gain a distinct edge. Rather than relying on volume pitching, they should focus on precision - identifying where extended impact will happen before the first interview even airs.

That means considering which programmes align with the right audience mindset, understanding what producers need and why, recognising when they are most receptive to a story, and planning how audiences will continue engaging once the broadcast moment has passed.

Brands and PR teams that think like media planners - analysing consumption habits and continuously monitoring conversations through social listening - build smarter targeting strategies.

The result is work that stands out in producers’ inboxes, arrives with clear news value, and earns attention in an increasingly competitive broadcast environment.

Human stories travel further

People respond to people, not messaging. Human-first storytelling - rooted in lived experience, emotion, warmth and even humour - connects directly with audiences, sparks conversation and drives sharing behaviour.

For challenger brands in particular, authenticity becomes a natural advantage. Without the weight of legacy perceptions or bloated advertising budgets, they can lead with real voices and relatable experiences that audiences genuinely want to engage with.

Case studies are invaluable, especially for reaching broadcast audiences, and to build out case studies that connect with people, brands need to understand who their customers are, the challenges they face, and where they can provide meaningful value. This is where data plays a crucial role - informing authentic storytelling that resonates, turning attention into connection, and connection into sustained conversation.

Audience intelligence is the challenger advantage

Strong broadcast storytelling has always been about people. But in an increasingly competitive media landscape, the advantage lies in understanding exactly what makes those people engage, trust and share.

Challenger brands are uniquely positioned to benefit from this. They don’t win by being louder; they win by being smarter about audiences.

Understanding not just their audience, but how they consume content, who they trust, and where conversations continue beyond the initial broadcast moment allows brands to punch above their weight.

At Democracy, this thinking sits at the heart of our proposition and approach to media planning.

Our audience insight team collates integral data that informs campaign decisions from the very beginning: identifying the environments where stories will resonate most strongly, understanding audience mindset, and ensuring narratives are relevant rather than promotional.

This allows our clients to show up as credible experts within conversations audiences already care about, rather than interrupting them with messaging.

True broadcast success is about sustained influence. When challenger brands use audience intelligence to guide both storytelling and placement, broadcast stops being a single moment of exposure and becomes a catalyst for ongoing impact.

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