Is the mainstream media getting desperate? Hard on the heels of the BBC – the most trusted brand in media – launching a content marketing arm, news arrives at Content Desk Towers of the Daily Mail getting in on the act. Mail Online, remember, is one of the world’s most successful newspaper web sites, with more than 200 million visitors a month.

As befits a media property of that stature, they’re not messing around. The new content marketing venture, Truffle Pig, is a joint enterprise with the world’s biggest marketing services company, WPP. And the world’s hippest social media platform [is this still true? ed.] Snapchat. What’s not to love?

Oh, OK. At the press call to announce the deal (at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, no less) multimillionaire WPP chief Sir Martin Sorrell ditched his usual Don Draper-esque polish for an awkward-looking grey T-shirt and iffy shades. And he’s presenting alongside people *wearing no shoes*.

So, the interesting bit. This deal says something pretty compelling about how content sits right at the heart of several “ecosystems” now. Here we have a huge media owner (with content skills and eyeballs to spare); a fresh platform in desperate need of “monetisation” (Snapchat doesn’t want to end up like Twitter); and a marketing services group that knows in this day and age, it must surf on the crest of the wave if it’s to keep billings up. After all, WPP makes money by bringing clients to a banquet – and there ain’t no feasting going on in the halls of mainstream media any more. TV, newspapers, paid magazines – they’re all on the slide.

People want interesting stuff to look at, stories to enjoy, concepts to understand. Well-crafted content is compelling. Truffle Pig – like BBC StoryWorks and several other initiatives from big media players – is a sign that story-tellers are shifting where they do their work and who pays for it.

But their craft is still a vital part of public discourse.