The G.R.E.A.T. Tips of Storytelling
No Comments
Written by admin on July 3, 2008 – 6:34 pm
Remember that a great story has five things in common, the G.R.E.A.T. tips of storytelling.
1. G A great story provides GLUE; connecting our message to what consumers already believe is true; an accepted wisdom. Great stories tie directly to the target market’s understanding of the world. Different groups of people have different viewpoints. People have common needs and wants housing, protection, recognition, hunger, social interaction, to have children and protect them, etc. Yet while there are underlying sets of needs that all people have, there are many different paths that people take to achieve these needs. For example, people of equal incomes don’t all drive the same car, drink the same beer, live in the same neighborhoods, or even vote for the same candidates.
Marketing needs to explain the differences. To do that, the marketer needs to understand that different segments of people have different values and thus different viewpoints that explain their universe. Some people believe in strong individualism and others that “it takes a village.” Some individuals believe that environmentalists help save the world and others that they are misguided obstructionists. Effective stories provide glue and thus an attachment to a specific set of beliefs. A story won’t be great unless it is glued to a strongly held set of beliefs that are fundamental to your target market.
2. R A great story provides a REWARD. Great stories promise rewards like sex appeal, weight loss, financial success, better athletic performance, security, popularity, job advancement, among many others. People always want to know what’s in it for them. People will listen if you offer them something that will reward them personally, help their life, or fulfill a dream. Great message strategies help customers see their best self in the brand.
3. E A great story connects with EMOTIONS. All great stories appeal to our emotions, not our rational selves. Stories have shaped the history of the world. We believe George Washington was honest, because of the story about his honesty when he was confronted after chopping down the cherry tree. While George Washington may have been honest, the cherry tree story is actually nothing more than a fable. This story about him could be quickly told and remembered. It relied on emotional hooks rather than rational facts. Emotional stories helped shape the brand called The United States of America. They are the key to shaping your brand, too.
We’ve all heard the term “elevator story.” Emotional stories can be told between the lobby of a hotel and the ninth floor to someone who casually asks, “What’s unique about your business?” They are simple, compelling, and are about ideas, not facts. Rather than telling your elevator companion that your company is known for dependability and hard work, you could tell a story about the founder, who started the canning company on a shoestring after his dust bowl parents drove out to California in a flatbed vegetable truck.
For the first 10 years, he grew, picked, and canned all the vegetables by hand never missing a day of work or a promised delivery. Without directly stating the key attributes or benefits of your company, your elevator partner will understand that you work at a company whose people understand the meaning of hard work.
4. A A great story is AUTHENTIC. A great story doesn’t have to be totally factual, but it has to be based on the emotional, authentic truth of the brand and the values of the people running the business.
Humans get confused with facts, but they remember ideas. The story of Nike as a performance company is authentic, because one of the founders, Bill Bowerman, was the track coach at the University of Oregon and he coached one of the cult track stars of our time, Steve Prefontaine. The story of performance is authentic to the brand. Years ago, the brand LA Gear developed as a fashion brand, enjoying tremendous success as a fashion athletic shoe.
The shoes were authentic to their name. Then, right at the height of popularity, they contracted one of the greatest basketball players of all time to represent the brand, Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The shoes were making a statement that wasn’t at all authentic with their history, the reality of the shoes, or the expectations of their customers. The brand failed in subsequent years only to resurface years later as a low-price brand.
A group of disgruntled IBM employees, who felt there was a better model for computers, started Compaq. Their story is also authentic and also provides a benefit (faster, more entrepreneurial products, and an easier-to-work-with company).
The magazine Fast Company was started after the editor of a wellknown established business journal toured Japan and became convinced there was a new business model emerging. Fast Company’s founders saw a world of collaboration instead of top-down direction, an embracing of technology, and an entrepreneurial spirit that made the typical bureaucratic business obsolete. The editorial content of the magazine was very authentic to the new way of doing business. This insight into the future and the editorial that was consistent to that vision was the basis for one of the most successful new publication launches of our time.
5. T A great story focuses on a specific TARGET audience. To be effective, a great story has to be relevant. To be relevant, direct your stories to a segment of people that share the same attitudes, opinions, and lifestyles. As in all marketing, you can’t be all things to all people. Some people like sports, others don’t. We’ve all heard people who tell sports analogies when making a point. This technique is most effective when aimed at a target audience segment that understands and loves sports. This technique is relatively less effective with the target audience segment that doesn’t like sports and doesn’t understand the references being used.
