4. “It Gets Better” featuring Apple employees; campaign for The Trevor Project
Click here for Video Link
Wednesday, May 29, 13
5. Stories help us understand how our world works.
What are stories?
‣ Stories are patterns; almost always about
people and problems
‣ The most common pattern involves heros
confronting trouble; struggling to overcome
adversity
‣ Stories = character(s) + predicament(s) +
attempted extrication(s)
Wednesday, May 29, 13
6. Storytelling is a way of organizing information.
What is storytelling?
‣ Storytelling is an amazingly powerful way of
conveying emotion, often by improvisation or
embellishment
‣ It is most often used by parents, teachers,
and information professionals to make
information accessible to others
‣ Storytelling is used to entertain, educate,
preserve cultural and moral values, and to
build community
Wednesday, May 29, 13
7. We’re wired for them. The human mind is a story processor.
Why stories?
‣ Case in point: The Wason Selection Task
‣ Solved correctly by fewer than 10% of people
when presented as a logic puzzle
‣ Solved correctly by 70-90% of people when
presented as a story
Wednesday, May 29, 13
8. There are seven archetypal themes that recur frequently.
7 Types of stories
‣ 1 Overcoming the monster
‣ 2 Rebirth
‣ 3 Quest
‣ 4 Journey and return
‣ 5 Rags to riches
‣ 6 Tragedy
‣ 7 Comedy
Wednesday, May 29, 13
9. 1 Overcoming the monster
The underdogs take the stage
‣ Us vs. the machine
‣ David vs. Goliath
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11. 2 Rebirth
Reappearing after a decline
‣ Back to basics
‣ Renaissance
‣ Revival
‣ Regeneration
Wednesday, May 29, 13
12. Chipotle: Return to the traditional approach to farming
2 Rebirth
Click Here for Video Link
Wednesday, May 29, 13
13. 3 Quest
On a mission to change things for the better
‣ Research, investigation
‣ Seeking a better solution, improvement
Wednesday, May 29, 13
14. IBM: Making a smarter planet
3 Quest
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15. 4 Journey and Return
Moving from one place or idea to another; growth
‣ Literally, a voyage, trip
‣ Figuratively, maturing or developing
Wednesday, May 29, 13
16. Expedia: Find your story - Understanding
4 Journey and Return
Wednesday, May 29, 13
17. 5 Rags to Riches
Rising from poverty to wealth
‣ Obscurity to fame
‣ Youth to maturity
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19. 6 Tragedy
An unhappy ending, usually involving the main character
‣ Drama showcasing the consequences of a
tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to
cope with unfavorable circumstances
‣ Is best used to illustrate an unhappy, but
meaningful ending
Wednesday, May 29, 13
21. 7 Comedy
An unhappy ending, usually involving the main character
‣ Dramatic work featuring a light, humorous
and/or satirical tone
‣ Irony, derision, wit are used as tools to attack
or expose folly, vice, or stupidity
‣ Is best used to illustrate a happy ending or to
convince the viewer that something is
untrue, incorrect or erroneous
Wednesday, May 29, 13
23. Some additional approaches
Other Archetypes
‣ 1 The music video
‣ 2 Explaining how to
‣ 3 Simplifying complexity
‣ 4 The plot twist
Wednesday, May 29, 13
24. 1 The Music Video
A short film integrating a song and imagery
‣ An excellent marketing device
‣ Animations, live action, documentaries
‣ Is best when the lyrics are catchy or
otherwise well-known
‣ Often used in a hybrid approach; combined
with other archetypes
Wednesday, May 29, 13
25. The London Metro: Safety campaign
1 The Music Video
Wednesday, May 29, 13
26. 2 Explaning How To
Assists in understanding how to perform a task
‣ Provides needed detail
‣ Reveals relevant facts, ideas
‣ Meant to be helpful
‣ Best used to convey basic instructions or
directions to someone seeking to do or
understand how something works
Wednesday, May 29, 13
27. CommonCraft teaches us how to prepare for an emergency
2 Explaning How To
Wednesday, May 29, 13
28. 3 Simplifying Complexity
Make something much easier to understand
‣ Provides less complicated instructions than
other mediums
‣ Reduces to the basic essentials
‣ Is clear, concise and well organized
‣ Best used to help others understand
complicated processes, situations, products,
or ideas
Wednesday, May 29, 13
29. Common Craft explains how information technologies work
3 Simplifying Complexity
Wednesday, May 29, 13
30. 4 Changing Minds
Designed to reverse or alter opinion
‣ Designed to open minds to new ways of
thinking or behaving
‣ Can be a major force for change
‣ Often uses a delayed “ah-ha!” moment
‣ Can be effectively used to alter individual
behavior, shift public opinion, create social
change
Wednesday, May 29, 13
31. Real stories used to dramatically shift public opinion
4 Changing Minds
Wednesday, May 29, 13
33. Seems straightforward, but it often is not
Strategic video storytelling
‣ What do we mean by strategy?
Wednesday, May 29, 13
34. A method or plan designed to bring about a desired future
What is strategy?
‣ Goal-oriented
‣ Part art, part science (mostly science/math)
‣ At it’s most basic, it’s how you will marshall
your resources to accomplish your goals in the
most effective and effecient way possible
Wednesday, May 29, 13
35. The lifeblood of your organization
What is content?
‣ All the information used to run your business
‣ Whitepapers, webinars, research papers,
infographics, training, sales literature,
brochures, slide decks, on-hold messages,
advertisements, blog posts, tweets,
photographs, podcasts, videos and so much
more
Wednesday, May 29, 13
36. Content strategy is a repeatable system that governs the
management of content throughout its entire lifecycle.
What is content strategy?
‣ Content strategy is about envisioning the
future of content.
‣ It deals with the planning aspects of managing
content throughout its lifecycle, and includes
aligning content to business goals, analysis,
and modeling. It influences the development
Wednesday, May 29, 13
37. Content strategy is not about implementation.
What content strategy is not
‣ The development, management, and delviery
of content are the tactical outcomes of a
content strategy that need to be carried out in
order for the strategy to be effective.
‣ Content strategy is NOT about style guides,
fonts, tone, voice, blogs, branding, webinars,
tweets, clicks, friends, fans, or followers.
‣ Content strategy is NOT content marketing ...
not even close.
Wednesday, May 29, 13
38. A clear, concise and easy-to-understand vision of the future.
What is vision?
‣ Your vision should be encapsulated in a
statement that spells out, unambiguously,
what you want your content to help you
accomplish in the future.
‣ And, it should include specific measures you
will use to determine success
Wednesday, May 29, 13
39. Vision statements are needed to measure success.
Sample vision statements
‣ “Create and distribute content that helps us
become the largest retailer (by sales volume) of
smartphones to Latin Americans living in the
United States by end of fiscal year 2014.”
‣ “Develop and distribute content that help us
improve customer satisfaction scores by 30%
and reduce returns by 20% by Q1 2015.”
Wednesday, May 29, 13
40. A technique designed to drive profit
What is content marketing?
‣ “Content marketing is a marketing
technique; a way of creating and distributing
relevant and valuable content to attract,
acquire, and engage a clearly defined and
understood target audience, with the
objective of driving profitable customer
interaction.”
Wednesday, May 29, 13
