From Hard News to Branded Content: An Interview with Daniel Edward Rosen

Daniel Edward Rosen is the founder of DER Strategies, an exciting new content marketing consultancy launched earlier this year. Prior to founding DER Strategies, Daniel spent 9 years as Editorial Director for SJR, a leading content consultancy and part of WPP.

Daniel has led strategy, editorial direction, account management, and content creation for several Fortune 500 companies in the tech and finance spaces. As a hugely experienced writer, editor, and journalist, Daniel's writing has appeared in Esquire, The New York Times, and New York Magazine, among others.

DER Strategies is a content consultancy that works with brands, creative agencies, corporate newsrooms, and C-level executives across a broad range of industries to help them craft messaging and stories that resonate with their audiences.

In this episode:

• The Journalism Foundation: Dan reflects on his time as a journalist covering New York City’s vibrant and complex landscape. He explains how the rigor of hard journalism laid the groundwork for developing high-quality branded content.
• Shifting to Marketing: We explore the challenges Dan faced transitioning from journalism to content marketing, including the evolving relationship between marketing and communications teams.
• Training for Content Strategy: Dan highlights lessons learned from his hard news days and how they informed his approach to branded content and thought leadership. He shares his work with Fannie Mae—explaining how thought leadership helped rebuild trust post-financial crisis.
• The Value of Content Audits: Dan discusses the importance of profiling target audiences and conducting thorough content audits. He shares how working closely with sales teams provides invaluable, unfiltered customer insights.
• Founding DER Strategies: We dive into what inspired Dan to establish his consultancy and get his thoughts on the evolving future of branded content.

Finally, shout-outs to:

Sarah Parada – Fanie Mae

Alex Jutkowitz – Founder of SJR

Matthew Van Dusen, Gabe Gold and Mitch Stoller – Literate AI 

Steve Hirsch and Evan Leatherwood – Hirsch Leatherwood