16. SHOW
• What does your About us
section look like on your
site?
• Is this pure information or
are you using stories,
personality or even
humour?
Solution: Video is a great
medium – convey complex
ideas, emphasize subtle
but important differences
Example: FiftyThree – pencil
(better stylus)
17. TOO MUCH JARGON
• Filling a story with technical
terms, acronyms and
superfluous words is the best
way to lose your audience
Solution: Keep it simple to cut
through the noise; marketing
around values
Key examples: Apple (think
different), Evernote (remember
everything), CSS Corp (Wired to
Support)
18. TOO
• Personalize the protagonist of
your story
• “People connect with other
people, so make sure you focus
on the real-life characters in your
story.”
Solution: share customer
milestones, connect your
customers needs in your story
Example: Subway (Jared Fogle),
Dropbox, Google at Work
19. BEGINNING
• There is no rule to start the story
from the beginning
• Let your story have an interesting
arc
• Events need to build, one after the
other, emotionally rather than
sequentially
Solution: create your story in post-its
and mix them up; then think like
a movie- maker – make people
feel. Engage the senses
Example: Bank of America –
chronology campaign
20. CONFLICT
• Screw-ups do happen
• But screw-ups also present
opportunities to shine by telling a
story of responsibility, apology
and remedy
Solution: customers more loyal to
brands that readily apologize
Example: Flipkart – billion dollar sale;
Leela Palace – entry to bicycle
debacle
21. FABRICATION
• Your story needs to be authentic
• Make stories part of your culture
Solution: Capturing moments,
good or bad, in story form can
authentically connect your
employees to your company, and
increase their commitment to their
work
Example: Cancer institute in
Washington (Audrey), Infosys
employee advertisement, staff
meetings – use them to connect with
employees
22. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
• Companies with a stranglehold on
what their corporate story is and
who can tell it are missing a world
of opportunities
Solution: Recognize the value in
stories from internal and external
sources, design ways to collect
them, and enable your customers,
advocates and employees to be
storytellers too; use social media
extensively
Example: ComCast (#ComcastCares)