NCGA Keynote 2011

Brand Story Mojo: Who’s the Hero of Your Story?
National Cooperative Grocers Association
Michael Margolis, Get Storied, @getstoried
© 2011 www.getstoried.com 1

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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POP QUIZ
Digging into Brand Perceptions
Study in 2009 by BBMG of 2,000 consumers asked
what brands they perceive as most environmentally
and socially responsible in America.

(c) 2009 Michael Margolis www.getstoried.com 3


BEST

POP QUIZ



BEST WORST

POP QUIZ



Your story
vs their story.
Perception is
reality.


consultant
speaker



consultant
speaker
author/publisher
podcaster
journalist
professor
dean
designer
curator


WHY STORY?



Everyone has a story to tell.

You are the narrator
of your life story.

Circumstance. Choice.
Consequence.


Visionaries.
Innovators.
Entrepreneurs.
‣How do you translate
something new and different
into mainstream acceptance?

‣How do you get others to
believe, see, and care about
the same things you do?



Consider the following:
People don’t buy
a product, service, or
idea - they buy the story
that’s attached to it.


PRIUS VOLVO

BENZ CIVIC



People don’t buy
a product, service, or
idea - they buy the story
that’s attached to it.



Do you feel co-ops are
valued, understood, and
widely appreciated?


Why Shop at a Co-Op?

Yes No



Your brand is only
as strong as the
stories that people
tell about you.



FINDING A
BIGGER STORY



No Longer Differentiators of the
Co-Op Grocers Movement



Don’t know our food sources


Your relationship to food mirrors your
relationship to life.

Co-ops can transform our relationships to
food, economy, society, and the earth.

Social media is relationship technology.

Storytelling is about the relationship
between things. Circumstance, choice,
consequence. How it all connects.


The Voice of a Movement



Food stories highlighting sustainable, small businesses across the state of New
York. A behind-the-scenes look at Milkmade, a subscription service for home-
made ice cream that never delivers you the same flavor more than once; lead us
to Long Island to meet Dan Machin and his self-titled farm ‘The Lone Acre’,
revealing his goal of living for 1 year as a solo man with but one acre of land
and the intention of growing over 100 varieties to sell at his first NYC market
stand; and last but not least, allowed us to spend time with urban beekeepers
based in Brooklyn who wanted to fulfill their desires to make home-made honey.



We live in a new age
of collaboration, connection,
and co-creation.


A co-op is a business owned and governed by its customers that
operates for their beneﬁt. When people need something they can't get
easily or at a reasonable cost, they can start a co-op to get it.
Cooperation is a powerful tool to help communities meet local needs.

Co-ops cultivate a sustainable development on a human scale, and
provide consumers with housing, health care, day care, elder services,
electricity and even banking services (credit unions) as well as food.
International co-op principles guide co-op business practices.
Natural food co-ops are a co-op success story. In the 1970s people
wanted organic and unprocessed basic foods that were not readily
available in grocery stores. They organized co-ops to get these
products and built connections with producers and vendors.
Thanks to those efforts we have a thriving organic and natural food
industry. Food co-ops are changing the way Americans look at food
and farming.
Source: The Wedge Natural Foods Co-Op



3 Inter-Related Dimensions

Redeﬁne
Identity Self

Share
Stories
Place Tribe
Discover
Connections



Aspirational Deeper Living
Lifestyle Mythos



BRAND STORY
MOJO



“A great brand is a story that’s
never completely told...Stories
create the emotional context
people need to locate themselves
in a larger experience.”

Scott Bedbury


Brand Everything
Brands come in every shape,
form, and size imaginable:

Products, Celebrities, Politicians,
Countries, Causes, and even YOU



3 Drivers of a Brand Story
1. Brand Origins: Back Story
2. Noble Cause: Point of View
3. Cultural Impact: Social Meaning


Legendary Notebooks


Brand Noble Cultural
Origins Cause Impact

Deﬁnition Back Story Point of View Social Meaning

Value Authenticity Identity/Beliefs Behavior Change

Reveals Motivations Ethos Worth

Are you for Do you really How is my
Question
real? care? life better?



Help people locate
themselves in a bigger story


Storytelling as a Matrix of
Perception and Reality
Beginning Middle End

Circumstance Choice Consequence

Past Present Future

Set-up Dilemma Resolution

Brand Origins Noble Cause Cultural Impact



Your Origins Deﬁne You
Consider the circumstances for how
you gained your powers.



Every brand needs
a backstory.



Product Back Stories
=> Food Chain


What are Superhero Traits?
1. Orphaned - must ﬁgure it out yourself
2. Idealistic - strong motivation/values
3. Constrained - overcome big obstacles
4. Evolutionary - must ﬁnd inner power
5. Outsider - free of social constraints
6. Healer - put the world back in order



Noble Cause



TOMS Shoes: Stands for Something



Point of View



The Ultimate Question




Are you trying to just sell
me something...?




Are you trying to just sell
me something...?

Or do you want to change
the world...my world?


Cultural Impact



Focus on 3 Questions:
On what basis or motivation was
your co-op established?
What is the noble cause and
riddle you are trying to solve?
How does your co-op transform
people’s relationships to...?







Question



THE HERO



HEROES

VILLAINS


Who’s the Hero?
‣ farmer
‣ food
‣ co-op
‣ shopper
‣ co-owner


“Tell a story people can identify
with as their own, and the need to
persuade, convince, or sell them
on anything disappears.”


The Hero Framework
Benefactor Goal Beneficiary

The King Save the Princess Kingdom’s Happiness
and Prosperity

Allies The Hero Adversary

Fairy Godmother The Prince The Villain



AARP Hero Framework

AARP Living a Fulfilled Quality Life Society’s Re-invention


Tools for Family, Boomers and Elders Traditional Norms and
Health, Wealth, Fun Safety Net Gone



The Hero Framework

The King Save the Princess Kingdom’s Happiness
and Prosperity


Fairy Godmother The Prince The Villain



Brand Story Engagement
How Audiences Locate Themselves in Your Story

1 2 3
Emotional Meaningful Pride of
capital experiences belonging

MOTIVATION PLATFORM OWNERSHIP
!!Mission !! Memorable acts !! Self-identification
!! Needs/interests !! Symbolic celebration !! Co-creation
!! Dreams/aspirations !! Social connection !! Status/recognition







Question



>>>
Having a story that’s
WORTH telling

<
HOW you tell the story


Personal Branding, Minus the Icky Stuff
Ofﬁcial Launch on May 9, 2011

Basic: $247 Deluxe: $597
www.thenewaboutme.com



Virtual Conf. on Future of Storytelling
November 11-22, 2011
$297 VIP Pass



Identity is destiny.


connect more:

@getstoried



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