Storytelling & Branding StrategyDr Behice Ece IlhanX

“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it

will live in my heart forever.”

Around fires…

Etched onto walls…

Strategic Storytelling

• Well-crafted, well-told, and engaging stories help causes, brands, careers, and businesses gain momentum.

• Compelling stories can be a powerful tool for promotion, persuasion, advocacy, inspiration, and leadership.

Before you start….

• Who is my audience and what is my goal in engaging them?

• Are you persuading someone to invest in your company?

• Are you trying to sell an idea to your co-workers? • Do you want to inspire people to help a cause or save

someone’s life?

Start with a deep understanding of your audience, and ensure your story has a clear and powerful meaning --

to them.

For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

~ Ernest Hemingway

Good 6-words stories fall into several structural types:

Simple descriptiono Smart. Funny. Future oriented. Always felt different. (one student) o Goofball. Jock. Happy-go-lucky. (another student)

Evocative descriptiono Mind of its own. Damn lawnmower. (David Brin)o Road to Boston begins in Napa. (one student)

Shows development/change in a character or a situationo Longed for him. Got him. Shit. (Margaret Atwood)o Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket. (William Shatner)

Sensationalistic/ attention grabbingo Tick tock tick tock tick tick (Neal Stephenson)o With bloody hands, I say good-bye. (Frank Miller)

Art is the elimination of the unnecessary

~ Picasso

Opening Statements

• It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…..

• It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Multifaceted Storytelling

• Music– Obama’s Spotify Playlist– Apple iPhone – Coca Cola Facebook riddles

• Visuals – Instagram, Facebook photos, Logos

• Props

Obama’s Spotify PlaylistNo Doubt - Different PeopleEarth Wind & Fire Experience feat. Al McKay Allstars - Got To Get You Into My Life - (Live)Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions - Single/LP VersionWilco - I Got YouThe Impressions - Keep On Pushing - Single VersionPerformed by Jennifer Hudson;Dreamgirls (Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Love You I DoAgesandAges - No NostalgiaLedisi - Raise UpSugarland - Stand UpDarius Rucker - ThisArcade Fire - We Used to WaitFlorence + The Machine - You've Got The LoveJames Taylor - Your Smiling Face

REO Speedwagon - Roll With The ChangesRaphael Saadiq - Keep Marchin'Noah And The Whale - Tonight's The Kind Of NightZac Brown Band - Keep Me In MindAretha Franklin - The WeightU2 - Even Better Than The Real ThingDierks Bentley - HomeSugarland - Everyday AmericaDarius Rucker - Learn To LiveAl Green - Let's Stay TogetherElectric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue SkyMontgomery Gentry - My TownRicky Martin - The Best Thing About Me Is You Feat. Joss StoneRay LaMontagne - You Are The Best ThingBruce Springsteen - We Take Care Of Our Own

2010

• Content• Storytelling• Content = Storytelling?• Content marketing and brand management

are symbiotic.

Brand Centric Storytelling Using stories to create, develop, communicate, and

promote brands. Powerful brands are the products of multiple stories

that are authored by multiple sources across multiple venues.

entertainment and non-entertainment brands

Brands as Collection of Associations

23

Brand Centric Storytelling

What is the story of our brand?

• Product Placement• Story Around a Brand– Black Mamba– BMW The Hire movies, Activate The Future

documentaries• Web of Stories– Reference to other stories – Harry Potter– Chrysler

“Who Are We?” Story

What are your trying to achieve; what is your goal? Who is the audience of this story? How will the story help you achieve your goal? How unique is the story – could anyone have told it (or just you)?

“How Are We Different” Story

Describe what life is like for a particular user without the product/service/social good platform, and then with it.

Raise the stakes as much as possible by identifying the most dramatic, yet realistic, situations where the product/service/platform impacts the user‘s life.

Sharply define your user character; his/her situation; and what happens.

Vision Story

• DuPont: ―Our vision is to be the world‘s most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer and healthier life for people everywhere.‖

• Nike: ―To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.‖

• Starbucks: ―To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time

Vision Story

• An alternative structure for the vision story: Create a story about the future written in the past tense. That is, write a story about a company 10 years from now and how it has achieved its vision. This story encapsulates challenges it faces and how it overcame them and can provide a source of inspiration in the present to achieve the vision in the future. This type of story can be a powerful tool in instigation change and inspiration, and be a vehicle for goal creation

Consumer Generated Stories

• Participatory Culture– Empowered consumers

• Leverage existing behaviors– By tagging pictures of items in an IKEA Facebook

showroom, people won those items

• Develop Deeper Emotional Connection– Golf GT Mobile iPhone App – test Drive

Who owns the brand?• Consumers as co-creators of brand stories.• Doritos: Crash the Superbowl • Harry Potter – Fan Art, Fan Fiction

Which one is the brand?

Or this?

Which one is the brand?

7 Deadly Sins of Business Storytelling• Chronology• Telling• Jargon• Pulse-free• Fabrication• Bulletproof• Proprietary

Take Away Points

• Know your audience• Identify the goal of storytelling• Use diverse ways of storytelling – visual, sound,

props• Avoid 7 deadly sins• Refer or connect to the existing well known stories• Content marketing and brand management are

symbiotic. • Medium is not the message anymore!

For Further InspirationLeader's Guide to Storytelling By Stephen Denning The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations By Stephen Denning Slideology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations By Nancy Duarte The Triumph of Narrative: Storytelling in the Age of Mass Culture By Robert Fulford Storytelling as Best Practice By Andy Goodman Narrative Impact: Social and Cognitive Foundations By Melanie C. Green, et al. Listening is an Act of Love By Dave Isay Telling True Stories By Mark Kramer & Wendy Call Improving Your Storytelling By Doug Lipman The Power of Personal Storytelling By Jack Maguire Corporate Legends & Lore: The Power of Storytelling as a Management Tool By Peg C. Neuhauser Tales of a New America By Robert Reich What If? The Art of Scenario Thinking for Nonprofits By Diana Scearce & Katherine Fulton Tell Me a Story: Narrative & Intelligence By Roger Schank The Story Factor By Annette Simmons The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story By John Walsh

• aj@markitx.com• eceilhan@gmail.com• @eceilhan