Here’s a headline you don’t see every day: How A Startup Grew 600 Percent By Telling The Story Behind Products I’d call this an endorsement for the power of storytelling. The article captures the essence of AHALife and its founder Shauna Mei. Her team of curators travel the world looking for cool stuff that you won’t find stocked …more
Thanks to media coverage worthy of a royal wedding, everyone now knows that Apple’s balance sheet looks better than the U.S. government. Not exactly an earth-shattering revelation – and Steve Jobs didn’t get married – so why all the fuss. Reverse engineering the hoopla illustrates the storytelling that can come out of a single dot-connecting moment. First, look …more
As shared time and time again, I’m a fan of visual communications and particularly infographics. So it should come as no surprise that I like the infographic created by the Horn Group called “What CMOs Want in an Agency” which you can see below. One piece of data caught my attention. When asked what is the most important factor …more
I’ve pointed out that advertising gets narrative. That’s why when an ad badly misses the market – like the country of Georgia touting its corruption ranking – I tend to notice. So it is with this ad from Oklahoma City that appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Out of all of Oklahoma City’s assets that might appeal …more
I’ve established a new feature called “Friday Levity.” Humor enhances business storytelling. Jargon kills business storytelling. Kenn Durrence passed along today’s ditty which comes from a site that specializes in comic strips, Abstruce Goose. Enjoy.
Words matter. To be more specific, our choice of words goes a long way in determining the perception of others (just ask Netflix). This concept beautifully comes to life in the video, “The Power of Words.” Andrea Gardner, who heads the online marketing firm Purplefeather based in London, created the video. Her sense of storytelling …more
How can you not like a guy who puts in his official bio: As an entrepreneur, he has founded dozens of companies, most of which failed. Seth Godin brings many dimensions to the marketing discipline not the least being levity. A believer in the art of storytelling, he penned the book “All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of …more
Let’s start with the positive side. Netflix customers passionately care about the service. Every time Kellogg’s raises the price of Pop-Tarts, you don’t even hear a whimper. But the Netflix customer base responded with the emotional fervor of a South American futbol match. Why? Take a look at the blog post announcing the pricing change. After laying out …more
I haven’t. Until now. Welcome to U.S. District Court of California with the Honorable John F. Walter presiding over the spat between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Zediva, which rents DVDs online. One quick housekeeping note – While we support Zediva on the PR front, we had no involvment with the brief. I’m guessing I’ve read through 100 or so …more
