Storytelling
613 posts
Tiny Markets Of Someone
Mr Ryan owned a corner shop in the tiny Dublin suburb where I grew up. It supported his family and employed his children while they studied for over 20 years. He didn’t seem to worry when yet another big supermarket opened close by. Sure, he knew some of his customers would go there for special…
The Best Brands Are Mirrors
The genius of the ‘Dove Sketches’ campaign wasn’t that it highlighted the issues women have around body image and beauty, it was that it held a mirror up to every one of us. It tapped into our collective vulnerability on a visceral level. Brands like Dove, Instagram, Harley-Davidson, Virgin, Nike, M
Want To Make And Impact? Just Add Context
The path to success is littered with great ideas that don’t fly. Even a good idea won’t catch on if people don’t see the value in it. It’s not enough to have an idea that might change everything, you have to find a way to help people buy into it. The truth is it doesn’t…
What If You’re Neither Closer, Faster Or Cheaper?
There was no size 12 in stock, but there were two identical black dresses showing on ‘the system’, one in the City store the other equally far away (but not there in reality as it turned out). In a world of infinite choices where faster and cheaper is two clicks away, and free overnight shipping…
Intangibles Have A Real World Value
Once upon a time earphones were ‘functional black’, until Apple changed everything by adding a layer of meaning to what was once a commodity worth nothing more than a few dollars. By making earphones ‘accessory white’ Apple gave iPod owners a way to be noticed and to belong. The most famous roof lin
The Competition Isn’t Your Competition
Bread Society is a beautiful artisan bakery in Singapore (the website doesn’t do it justice). At the back of the store the bakers roll, and knead and prove in full view, whilst just in front an assistant packages delectable breads. Self serve cabinets filled with Chocolate Melon Brioche, Honey Lemon
The Most Powerful Person In The World
During the summer of 1994 while on a lunch break at his new company NeXT, Steve Jobs struck up a conversation with some of his team in the lunch room about power. Here’s what he told them. “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda…
10 Things A Brand Does
A brand….. 1. Creates meaning around your product or service. 2. Determines what you sell, where and when. 3. Dictates the price range you can sell at. 4. Influences the kind of customers you can sell to. 5. Changes how people feel about commodities. 6. Sets expectations. 7. Affects the kind of staf
The 20 Keys To A Brand Story
A brand story is more than a narrative. The story goes beyond the copy on a website, the text in a brochure, or the presentation used to pitch to investors. Your story isn’t just what you tell people. It’s what they believe about you based on the signals your brand sends. The story is a…
The Fortune Cookie Principle. The Keys To Telling Your Brand Story
I’ve been working to get my new book into your hands for the past nine months, so I’m thrilled to let you know that The Fortune Cookie Principle: The 20 Keys to a Great Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One is now available on Amazon. The Kindle edition is on sale at the…
You Don’t Need A Marketing Plan
Every business has a plan. Even if it’s written on the back of a Post-it note. The plan talks about the idea. Who it’s for. How to bring it to market, at what cost and how to get the word out. That final piece of the puzzle is your marketing plan, and yes it’s usually…
What’s The Story They’ll Tell About You Tomorrow?
Don’t let anyone kid you. Telling your story, or the story of your business is hard and most people struggle with it on some level (how to write an about page is one of the most visited posts on my blog). But there’s a trick to tapping into the heart of your story. Start where…
Why More Is The Wrong Place To Start
The end goal of all marketing is more. More customers or subscribers. More sales and increased profits. This is the reason business strategy questions and answers often begin, (and end) with the ‘how to’ of getting more. But more is the wrong place to start for two reasons. When you begin by asking,
What Kills Big Companies?
For over a century Kodak knew that what was important to its customers was “Kodak moments” not their innovation and patents, (well their marketers did anyway). And yet they failed to translate that knowing into staying relevant to their customers. “Sales + Customers = Nothing Broken is the formula f
Why Your Brand Doesn’t Need A Unique Selling Proposition
In the 90s Pampers’ ‘unique selling proposition’ (USP) claimed it was driest nappy on the market. Procter & Gamble prided itself on this benefit, investing heavily in research and development to maintain its USP. In the end that singular focus blinkered the company’s understanding about what mothers
What Does Disney Do?
Only one thing. They set out to make people happy. The Mickey Mouse balloon sales are a pleasant side effect of that. A souvenir of that time when the visitor felt the way she wanted to feel. In business we often set out to sell the cause, forgetting that what’s really valuable is the effect.…
5 Ways To Tell A Better Brand Story Today
It turns out telling your brand story is more about doing than telling. Here are five things you can do today to begin telling a better brand story. 1. Review and rewrite your about page. A great about page isn’t all about you. It should communicate how you can help or delight the reader. That’s…
If You Don’t Like The Story Tell A Different One
The manager at Muffin Break is frustrated. Yet again she’s discovered a customer from the jam-packed sushi bar opposite sitting at one of her tables eating lunch. Of course she wastes no time asking the sushi-eater to leave. I wonder what would happen if instead of angrily telling people to move on,
10 Ways To Make People Fall In Love With Your Brand Without Having Donald Draper On The Payroll
In the 60s there was no distinction between advertising and marketing. Everything has changed. 1. Create something that’s not for everyone. If you’re speaking to everyone you’re getting through to no one. Sanuk, shoes that are not shoes. Dollar Shave Club, shave tech for the enlightened. 2. Make a b
Using What You Don’t Do To Tell The Story Of What You Do Well
So a customer walks into an artisan bakery and says… “Hey your bread looks great and smells divine, but do you know how hard it is to make a sandwich for my kid’s lunch using those unevenly shaped unsliced loaves? Why don’t you make them in square loaf pans like everyone else?” But since you…
