Emotional Storytelling

Brands are built around stories, and stories of identity – who we are, where we’ve come from – are the most effective stories of all. This is a powerful way to bring them to life. 

In psychology, there’s a saying: ‘People who like you tend to be like you.’ In other words, their values, beliefs and ideas are similar to your own, which leads to a natural bonding.

Likewise, when a brand is adopted through captivating stories, meaningful business relationships can be developed with customers who are in alignment with your beliefs, stance and worldview. And those are the customers you need to concentrate your efforts on.

In 2007, adidas launched its ‘Impossible is nothing’ campaign. Many forms of media were used and aimed at encouraging everyone to take a step closer to reaching their dream. The campaign featured stories of real people, (YES CELEBRITIES ARE REAL PEOPLE) successfully attempting to overcome insurmountable obstacles, and through their stories adidas hoped to inspire people to think about their own difficulties and how to overcome them.

A handful of professional athletes were asked to critically tell their story about a pivotal moment in their lives.  From David Beckham to Gilbert Arenas; adidas humanized the athletes by allowing them the platform to draw their story.

Not once, did you hear about product attributes; quality of material, style of the gear etc….. This was an exercise in driving emotion.

It was a story and it was full of emotion. Told by celebrities who were either a national or international brand.

A story that motivates,  is one that you internalise, one that you can buy into.

Understanding comes after Experience

I am a competitor.  I fight for things I want.  I was raised to be a competitor….. A gladiator if you will.  A modern day Markus Aurelius…. yes!  That describes my spirit perfectly.

 That may be a bit of a stretch; nevertheless i will continue.

I never had trouble with change…… I was happy to switch from my commodore 64 to Texas Instruments.  I let go of my Atari when I first laid eyes on Nintendo.  As I got older, I resisted change a little bit.  My PC did the job, and I refused to engage myself in activity with any Apple products…… why was I fighting this???

Recently I got married, and for our first Christmas together as a married couple we would exchange gifts under the tree on Christmas morning.  I was all excited about giving her my gift…. I bought her Tiffany earrings as well as a Tiffany necklace.  The whole process of purchasing items from that store could be another blog in itself…..

  Anyways; my wife Flo insisted that I open my gift up first.  I knew this had to be good.  Why else would she insist that I open up my present first? All these thoughts ran through my mind…..

Lakers tickets? Trip to the Superbowl? Poker night with Michael Jordan and the rest of the 1990 USA Dream Team? The suspense was killing me!

I opened up the box…… I looked down; squinted my eyes so that I understood exactly what I was looking at…. Something so foreign to me; I know I have seen this before, I have heard of it, but not really ever played with it….. it looked like an iPhone; but it wasn’t.  She bellowed ‘It’s an iPod Touch!!!’

I said; ‘Gee, Thanks….’  She looked astonished that I didn’t give her the reaction she expected.  I felt bad; but to be honest, I never had any urge to own Apple products.

No iPhone has ever made me want one.  No Mac laptop has ever peaked my interest. I never had any use for the iPod.

I was wrong.  I am amazed at what I have been missing.  I am excited with all I can do with this gadget…..in fact I feel like I am belittling it by calling it a gadget.  It is a powerful media device.

There is only one way to recap this blog, and this falls perfectly in-line with experiential marketing.  It is a quote by Confucius in 450 B.C.:

            I HEAR AND I FORGET

            I SEE AND I REMEMBER

            I EXPERIENCE AND I UNDERSTAND

In most ways being a fighter is a great thing; however until you experience what you are fighting, you will never allow yourself that opportunity to understand.

She loved her Tiffany necklace and earrings, and I don’t understand 😉

Message in the Music – Chester French and Diddy

‘Don’t keep me out of this bar….I’m a Ciroc Star’

This is the first line of what i am forced to call Diddy’s latest venture…. his core positioning of the Diddy brand as an aspirational lifestyle brand. 

In October 2007 he started a potentially lucrative project with Diageo and its Ciroc Vodka brand. The difference between this deal and the usual celebrity endorsement of a product is that Sean Combs will take part in the marketing and development of the Ciroc brand of vodka for a 50% share of the brand’s earnings. This is estimated to be worth around $100,000,000 to Combs and his company Sean Puff Daddy Enterprises, during the life of the contract. The final figure, of course, depends on how well the Ciroc brand performs.

I enjoy music; especially new music.  About a year ago, i came across  a band called Chester French.  They are a couple of young College friends who were looking to make it big with their unique sound.  They signed a deal with Pharell Williams and the Star Trak label, and have yet to release a full lp.

Sean Combs meet Chester French.  Chester French meet Sean Combs.

In an interesting way to gain exposure, Chester French released a ‘mixtape‘ today where they offered the download for free.  On this mix tape, was a series of skits and songs.  Injected on the download was a voice over directing people to purchase their singles from iTunes.  I thought this was a great idea; but i found something even more creative on the download:

A track called ‘Ciroc Star’.

Sean Combs is a rapper, performer, producer and writer with his own record label, clothing lines and two restaurants. He is also a brilliant marketer.

Chester French delivered a solid sound, and Sean Combs drove this project with the help of great artists, including rapper Jadakiss.  Combs found the medium to deliver this aspirational message, and the Chester French fans are the ones listening to this story.  Drink Ciroc, be like the young stars, live the life you always wanted, and on and on.

The song is catchy enough to keep listening to, loaded with positional messaging of the Diddy brand, smart enough to give a lift to the young artists involved, legitamized by artists with mass appeal, corny enough of a hook to sing along to, and produced by a heavyweight in the industry; and there really isn’t a knock against this initiative.

In the music industry today; this is a smart partnership. 

Curious to see what other alcohol brands will participate…. Courvoisier? No.  They already did this with somebody named Puff Daddy 10 years ago…. that name sounds familiar….

Capturing Emotion

Fresh off a trip from Toronto to Chicago for IEG’S Annual Sponsorship Conference, i was headed back home, and in search of a book from an author that presented at the conference.

The airport bookstore didnt have it in stock; but i did come across another book that featured the following quote:

The average person looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness…. and talks without thinking.

What i found incredible about this quote is that this embodies how our world has lived since these words were uttered.  About 500 years ago, Leonardo Da Vinci captured the essence of humanity with this quote.

Fast-forward 500 years and the average human is a little more intuitive than our predecessors.  We have changed as a race in terms of fulfilling our wants and needs.  Companies are forced to adjust in our ever-changing techno-world…..  Facebook was created so that the world could connect, Twitter was created so we could stay up-to-date with with details in one’s life, Flickr was created so we could document these experiences, Myspace was created to feature our lives and express our individuality.

Companies and Brands need to connect, adapt, engage, and target the emotions of their customers. 

Nike does a fantastic job at developing a passionate brand that instills an emotional and passionate connection with a captive audience. 

Nike has created a true community of runners – all centred around the Nike brand.  They also offer a community forum to connect with other runners around the world, and compete against runners.  There is a race blog, uploaded photos of racers – and even a 10 K race planned for all users called ‘The Human Race to 10k’ where runners will be ranked and countries will compete – all virtually using the data entered into the Nike Plus runners website.

This is one brand that gets it.  The brand targeted the customer, engaged them with a website unique to this corner of the marketplace, tapped into the emotions of these runners by focusing on the unique needs and wants; thus creating a community that has embraced one another.

Interesting to know that the keynote speaker i was referring to is a futurist; and his name is Rolf Jensen.  The book i was looking for but couldn’t find at the store is entitled Dream Society.

Society has developed  a need to ‘feel’…. a need to ‘connect’…. and what that means is that we as marketers need to tap into the emotions of our consumers in ways they may have touched; but haven’t felt…..

Romancing the Brand

I should be upset.  In fact, I should view what happened to me today as a waste of my precious time.  I should look at my experience as pain in the ass, and a sense of being wronged…. The reason why I don’t feel this way you ask? 

 

Well, it’s because I am in love… BRAND LOVE. The ultimate Brand Romance you could possibly have.  A feeling that came over me the moment I laid eyes on it.  I knew this was something special.  A bond was created at that moment…. 

 

This morning I had to bring my beloved experiential transportation medium to the dealership to have the linkage on my wiper blades replaced.  This was supposed to be a grueling 2 hour operation, in which I was supposed to feel agitated, disgruntled, angry, and upset.  Instead I didn’t feel that way.  The Audi brand has never made me feel that way.

 

From the moment I first saw the Quattro, I knew I loved it.  My first vehicle was a Volkswagen, just because it was from the same family.  16 years later; it was the aspiration of owning the Audi that kept me focused. 

 

As I sat in the dealership waiting for my baby to come back like new, I sat in a comfortable chair, with more than enough cushion.  I had my choice of which newspaper I could read.  I was offered 7 different choices of beverages, ranging from coffee, tea, water, carbonated water, espresso, latte, juice.  I was given options in terms of breakfast snacks; some healthy, and some sweet.  I was given updates on the progress of my vehicle every 20 minutes, even when I didn’t request one.  I plugged in my lap top, and began working.  I was able to work. 

 

I wasn’t harassed by sales people off in the distance.  They understood I was experiencing the brand at the most awful time a consumer should experience their brand:

 

When the product has an issue.

 

This aspirational brand understands that the sales process in never-ending.  The automotive industry is so fickle, unless you’re dedicated to your brand; unless you love your brand, unless you feel an attachment to your brand, most automotive manufacturers can say bye-bye to their consumers…in fact they have.

 

I am very proud to own my Audi.  Not only because of the way it looks, or the way it drives; but each and every time I am in the dealership for service, whether it be routine maintenance, or something major – I feel that my business means something to them.

 

I have not built a relationship to the people at the dealership.  I don’t care to.  I do know that the experience I get when driving the vehicle is the same experience I should have when I am in the dealership.  It is the Audi experience they provide full circle; as the dealership is an extension of the vehicle, is an extension of the brand, and is the extension of my passion.

 

The point of this entry is simple: aspirational brand experiences…..

 

Stories are not effective if they are simply told.  They need to be experienced.

How to lose a pitch, annoy the client, and not understand why…

Here is your resource:

It is exactly 11:45am and I am sitting in the 12th row of a 13 row plane. Fresh off the end of the 2009 Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Quebec City, QC; I’m headed back to Toronto full of ideas, refreshed from some interesting best practises heard from Canada’s marketing elite, and a little hungover.

This is my first Blog.

The inspiration for this Blog doesn’t so much come from a revolutionary idea that hit me at the conference; but definitely stems from the lady in front of me who represents a property and is trying to sell sponsorship to an executive from a fortune 500 company. The business of story telling was never more apparent than the discussion/conversation that I was forced to listen to.

The ‘500 Man’ as I will now refer to him, was astute, charismatic, and real interesting to listen to. He actually showed that he cared about the lady who felt the need to verbally assault the 500 Man with basic questions about his business, and then decided to answer the questions for him. With every word the 500 Man was allowed, the Property Woman cut him off with one word, and it was the same word everytime. This one word she uttered was timed perfectly. It flowed out of her mouth at the very instant the 500 Man opened his mouth. That word, my friends is ‘yah’.

The 500 Man didn’t know who I was. I sat behind him, and had excellent view of the property woman. She was in her early 40s, somewhat attractive; but didn’t have a clue and tried to mask her inability to add value to the conversation by contributing the word ‘yah‘ any chance she could.

The word ‘yah’ says more about her intelligence than it does her ability to carry a conversation. What I mean is that crying ‘yah‘ at each note ultimately means that one is scared to listen and unable to think on the spot. The strategic information that this 500 man was divulging was invaluable, and unfortunately for the Property Woman; she just didn’t listen.

As he said ‘no‘, she said ‘yah‘. As he explained his strategy for the brand, she said ‘yah‘. As he divulged information on properties he was thinking of sponsoring, she said ‘yah‘. As he explained why he wouldn’t be able to sponsor her property, she said ‘yah but why’. He explained and she said ‘yah I understand, but what about getting your beak wet’. He said ‘excuse me?’, and she said ‘yah‘.

The moral of the story is to listen when someone speaks. Allow them the opportunity to finish. Clients love to discuss their successes, and why not? They are proud business people that are changing the landscape of how business is done. Let them speak. Use the information you hear, and there you have your ammunition for future plans.

People love to talk about themselves…. Especially business men and women. If you are an agency, or a property its not often that you get to spend a 2 hour flight with a senior level executive. I can assure you that he doesn’t want to be pitched. In fact, he doesn’t even want to talk shop.

The smart thing to do use that time to find a common interest, and build a lasting impression (one that speaks to that particular interest, and not to his or her business). Wouldn’t it be great if you could give that 500 Man a buzz in a couple weeks, touch base with that common ground, and then pitch the business in the right setting?

The answer is um, well, ‘yah’.