So, here’s Thought Experiment #6

August 22, 2014September 18, 2018 / Editrix Steph / Leave a comment

There’s always time for lateral thinking.

By now, if you write or market or create, oh, anything, you’ve heard of the elevator pitch. Forbes has covered ’em. Entrepreneur has covered ’em. This page has the best image choice ever for ’em. We can safely conclude that critter is here to stay.

But you don’t want to craft an elevator pitch for your brand. Ugh. Boring.

Nah. You want to craft a movie trailer for your brand.

Please note: I’m not saying go make one (though you could and it would be awesome and if you do please send me the link immediately.) But think about it. What’s your music? What’s the voiceover text? Does stuff blow up?

(Oh, man. Stuff should blow up. Unless maybe you sell Unexplodable Widgets. Then…yeah. Don’t do that.)

Why would I ask this?

Because you, buddy, should start thinking about how you want to manage perception of your brand.

Run it up the flagpole. See if it waves.

So, do you ever think about magic?

August 18, 2014August 29, 2014 / Editrix Steph / Leave a comment

Oh, man. Only all the time. And you should, too. Especially about this French cat named Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. If his last name looks familiar, that’s because an American escape artist and magician by the name of Ehrich Weiss paid homage to Robert-Houdin in his stage name, Harry Houdini.

Yeah. Dude’s kind of a big deal.

Why? Oh, I love it when you ask the perfect questions. Continue reading →

So, what does storytelling require, anyway? Part 3

August 15, 2014August 29, 2014 / Editrix Steph / 1 Comment

We’re back again. Together. You and me, ol’ buddy ol’ pal. Here to check out those classical Western storytelling tropes and how they can make your marketing awesome. We’ve already covered the protagonist vs. society and the protagonist vs. antagonist, so today, we’re going to take a look at…

Protagonist vs. Self, ie: Crippling Self-Doubt, Tony Stark’s Default State, Gregor Samsa’s Bad Day, Me Trying Not To Eat A Whole Tin Of Smoked Oysters On Crackers With Hot Sauce Don’t Judge Me They Are Delicious. Continue reading →

So, here’s Thought Experiment #5

August 8, 2014September 18, 2018 / Editrix Steph / Leave a comment

There’s always time for lateral thinking.

One of the great and abiding tragedies of the modern world is the cancellation of a show called Firefly. This brilliant study in character and world building, helmed by Avengers director Joss Whedon, lasted a paltry eleven episodes, though fourteen were filmed.

Y’all, it was good. So good. “Best BBQ you’ve ever had washed down with an icy cold beer” kind of good.

One of the best things about the show was how it took genre expectations and tweaked them. Sure, there were spaceships and far-flung worlds and a galactic empire. But it wasn’t Science Fiction. At its heart, it was a Western.

Which brings me to my thought experiment: What genre is your business? And should you subvert it?

To return to the imaginary flower shop we’ve discussed, it would be easy to define them as a Romance (in the modern, not classical sense). But could they twist that around, set themselves apart from the competition? What about a Science Fiction approach? Easy enough to establish with imagery. Beakers. Clipboards. Very Serious People in Very Serious Lab Coats. All of that would stand out against a background of pastels and petals.

Why would I ask this?

Because you, buddy, should start thinking about intelligently subverting expectations.

Give it a think. See what occurs to you.

So, what does storytelling require, anyway? Part 2

August 5, 2014August 29, 2014 / Editrix Steph / 2 Comments

When we last left our intrepid hero on the road to narrative success, I was breaking down the four classic narrative tropes. Not just out of the goodness of my heart, though. Nope. Out of a desire to help make marketing that doesn’t suck. And as luck would have it, there is an incredible of excellent marketing that concentrates on the next trope. So let’s take a look at…

Protagonist vs. Society, ie: The Man Can’t Keep Me Down (Unless We’re Talkin’ Orwell Because In That Case Yikes), Fighting the Good Fight, Plucky Hero Battling Overwhelming Odds, Me vs. An Entire Culture Set Up For Folks Who Are Morning People Where Is My Coffee Continue reading →

So, here’s Thought Experiment #4

August 1, 2014September 18, 2018 / Editrix Steph / Leave a comment

There’s always time for lateral thinking.

Storytelling is my obsession and my life, sure, but not all stories need to be on the list of the longest novels in the English language. Ernest Hemingway famously was issued a challenge to tell a story in just six words. Here’s his reply:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Heartbreaking, mm? All that pathos crammed into six words. Extraordinary economy.

And that’s exactly what you need in social media storytelling. Can you do it for your brand? Let’s say, for example, you have flower shop.

“You’re in trouble. We can help.”

That’s a little too easy, isn’t it? Plays to negative stereotypes about how men and women interact. Can we do better?

“Rainy days need color. Send flowers.”

That’s a little better. Reminds folks to use your service for Just Because, not just Special Events. But maybe we can do better than that.

“She’s wondering. Answer her with flowers.”

There we go. Nice. Concise. Worth the price.

Why would I ask this?

Because you, buddy, should start thinking about making your message fit the medium.

Give it a shot. See what you get.

So, can you tell me more about this brand-as-character idea?

July 28, 2014August 29, 2014 / Editrix Steph / 2 Comments

I got an email from one of you lovelies asking for a little detour. He wanted me to circle back around to an earlier concept and flesh it out. So let’s get crackin’.

Storytelling is fundamental to how the human brain understands the world — especially fundamental to how we remember information. And why would you spend money and time on marketing material, traditional or social, that’s hard to remember? There’s a reason we teach kids the alphabet with a little song that has a narrative. This happens then this happens then that. Monty Python got in on the action with their Oliver Cromwell song, which rumor has it John Cleese wrote to help one of his kiddos study for history class.

But it doesn’t take musical genius (or silly walks) to make something stick. Continue reading →

So, what does storytelling require, anyway?

July 22, 2014August 29, 2014 / Editrix Steph / 3 Comments

I’m so glad you asked! You’re my favorite. Don’t tell the others. It’ll be our little secret.

The short answer is that storytelling is narrative and narrative is driven by conflict. The long answer? Let’s dig into the guts of that.

Traditionally, conflict comes in the form of the big four: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Nature, and Man vs. Self. (But since this is 2014, I’m just going to go ahead and use the term Protagonist, or even Protag, because c’mon. There’s also some other X vs. Y ideas, and we’ll delve into those too.) What do each of these categories mean, especially in terms of marketing? We’ll take ’em one by one. Starting, in this post, with… Continue reading →

Storytelling for Success

Don't be creepy.

marketing

So, here’s Thought Experiment #6

So, do you ever think about magic?

So, here’s Thought Experiment #5

So, what does storytelling require, anyway? Part 2

So, can you tell me more about this brand-as-character idea?