I came across author and illustrator Ella Frances Sanders in 2015 after she published her first book, “Lost in Translation.” She has a gift for marrying words and visuals, like the one above. To probe the “how,” she agreed to an interview which covered topics ranging from Bill Murray and the Yiddish word …more
Orson Welles wasn’t exactly known for his brevity in storytelling. “War of the Worlds” ran for only one hour, but the radio broadcast seemed so real that it caused panic throughout the nation. We’ve discovered that you can tell a story in seven seconds. Here goes —
Your title might be PR manager, keeper of the blog, content developer or the classic copywriter. It doesn’t matter. All of us need to get the visual storytelling religion. The increasing amount of information accessed on mobile means shortened attention spans. And people want an entertainment dimension to their information, even in the business sphere …more
I first touted the virtues of the “word visual” in 2014. For those not familiar with this technique, the idea is to use the words (or typography) to drive the action while minimizing the need for design expertise. The image above borrowing the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld falls in the “word visual” category. Most “word …more
Every interaction with the customer offers a brand-building opportunity. This is particularly true for B2B companies that tend to pay less attention to the squishy things in life. Simply using conversational language that sounds like it comes from an actual human being — “Going from Point A to Point B to Point C gets you …more
Who doesn’t like Ira Glass? The man single-handedly popularized the podcast when his NPR show “This American Life” proved that with the right stories, the medium could reach millions. The original premise for “This American Life” was to take an individual who isn’t famous or in the news and build a narrative that captivates listeners. …more
Every generation — boomers, Gen Xers, millennials, and beyond — brings its values and frames of mind to the world. For communicators and marketing pros with deep experience, say 20+ years, that experience isn’t necessarily an advantage when you’re targeting millennials. We don’t think like them. We don’t talk like them. Because we’re not them. …more
I interviewed author Ella Frances Sanders in 2015 after her book “Lost in Translation” had caused quite a sensation and landed on the NY Times bestselling list for four months. I remember thinking how improbable that a single blog post, “11 Untranslatable Words from Other Cultures” could morph into a bestseller. Thanks to over 2 …more
We live in a world that correlates speed with business success. Often, it’s not about inventing the best solution. It’s about getting there first and then fending off competitors parallel to trying to get the product right. But building a brand is not a transaction or a campaign. It requires time. Those same fast-twitch muscles …more
