Business news doesn’t have to be boring. While the Pew Research Center notes that 54% of Americans get at least some of their news from social media, many business publications haven’t figured out how to build engaged social audiences. According to Morning Consult, that’s even more of a priority for Gen Z, 76% of whom use social media as a news source at least once a week. As Gen Z begins their careers, this future generation of business leaders needs information and education that meets them where they are.
At Morning Brew, we bring a creator-first, human approach to our social video strategy. We create scroll-stopping videos that cut through the noise and leave audiences informed and satisfied. In July 2025, social video producer Annie Bennett developed an idea for an evergreen series spotlighting the stories behind beloved consumer brands. While this could lead to dry, boring content in the wrong hands, Annie’s top-notch storytelling led to a pilot video with viral reach, strong engagement, and a point of view audiences won’t find anywhere else.
To tell a story about Costco’s business properly, Annie had to head to the store itself (yes, we did let her expense a Costco membership). She braved sweltering summer heat to shoot in their parking lot, weaving critical details about Costco’s business strategy into a script punched up with clever jokes. Though Annie could have easily read her script directly to camera and called it a day, she meticulously developed visuals that would keep up the pace of the video and keep viewers engaged. She used items from Costco’s food court for data visualization, blending physical production with additive motion graphics. Annie captured plenty of B-roll inside the store, and had multiple direct-to-camera setups that added variety and visual interest to her delivery.
The video was one of Morning Brew’s biggest hits of the year, earning over 7.4 million cross-platform views and 322K engagements. Audience sentiment was extremely positive, with many commenters not only praising Annie’s creative production choices, but also sharing reasons they love Costco. In a moment when many people are experiencing news fatigue, this positive business story cut through the noise.
Given the overwhelming audience response to the video, Annie has continued to cover similar stories throughout the year, spotlighting businesses like Uniqlo, IKEA, and Trader Joe’s. This video was more than just a Costco profile – it gave us critical information about the kind of content our audience wants more of, and helped us strengthen our content strategy to maximize reach and engagement.