Category: Storytelling

Community Action

Storytelling

Gavin_1

Well it certainly has not been the holiday I expected. For those of you who have been wondering why there has been deafening silence here … it is NOT due to holidays, but rather to misfortune. Rather than recite the story, please visit here. But briefly, my father-in-law was involved in a very serious cycling accident … he is recovering slowly, but it has been a very emotional time (I am sure you can imagine).

I would like to thank all my friends and the many others who have left their best wishes — in particular, CK, David, Ann, Paul, Luc, Marcus, Tim, Gianandrea, Mack, Tammy (c’mon Tammy get a blog), Lewis, Greg and Cam.

Looking for a new job/client

Storytelling

What is it that you say to recruiters when you are looking for a new job? What is it you say when you are selling to a new (potential) client? How many buzz words do you use? Do you tell it straight?

I was reading through Valeria Maltoni’s ConversationAgent blog and found a link to MarketingHeadhunter.com where there is this funny YouTube piece featuring George Carlin. There are plenty of other interesting posts as well … and as I read it reminded me that interviewing (for a new job or a new client) is very much about the stories we tell. It is also about the WAY that we tell our stories. And of course, I still think that blogs are the new CV … they allow a little more colour before and after the interview/sales pitch.

Blogs provide an insight into the way that we think and act. They provide concrete examples of intangibles … and this is the same for individuals and organisations. So while corporate blogs are still in their infancy, they do have a very important function … they DEMONSTRATE the way in which you tell stories, they are the medium THROUGH which your storytelling unfolds, and they EXPOSE the way that you think about and interact with your clients and consumers.

Cold, Getting Warmer, Getting Warmer … Hot!

Storytelling

No this is not a post about global warming (actually the Austalian Government continues to place global warming next to Santa Claus in the credibility stakes). It is actually about a really neat proximity oriented outdoor marketing campaign. It plays on the concept of curiosity which is something I have been thinking about for the past week or so (courtesy of Stan).

Braadvertisement

Stop looking at the girl. Look at the arrow. That’s right … 300m to the right. Keep walking. You are getting warmer. OK … I admit it … it’s not really about curiosity.

Underwearadvertisement

But now you can see you are only 100m away. Actually, you are 100m and a click away … if you want to see where this leads you, you need to click here.

So, actually, it is about curiosity. Thanks to Ariel for the link.

S.

Small IS Important

Storytelling

I was thinking over the comments to this post and my brain started whirling. The original post was about the stylish way that Michael Wagner signs off his emails, and in one of the comments, Ann Handley suggested that it is important to remember the small things that make a big difference, such as signatures and sign-offs.

When I send an email, I always try and sign-off in some specific way. I will use "regards" when I want a formal but friendly ending. I use "cheers" when the spirit of the email is collaborative or when emailing personal friends. I hardly ever use "kind regards" … always seems a bit girly to me. Yet I wonder how many of my mail recipients ever notice the sign-off and the subtle differences.

Charmingsandy As I ruminated on this, it reminded me of an IM chat that I had recently with a good friend in Hong Kong, the charming Sandy Fung. I had asked her to test something for me … a web link, if I recall correctly, and she had sent me through her comments and ideas. I had just thanked her and she responded again, "my pleasure". It made me smile. It made me remember more than a collection of words … there was a flood of memories and the sound of laughter … this small remark brought the conversation to life.

It is the little things like this that are important … for brands, for communications, for work and for living life. It is the little things, the day-to-day traces of personality that make us all stand out from the crowd. They may be small but they are important … they give us our distinction.

S.

Freaked Out!

Storytelling

freak
Originally uploaded by sucrerose.

Got a very nice email from the charming Michael Wagner this morning. Those of you who are regular visitors to his site will be well aware that there have been very few posts over the last month or so.
The good news is that he is back, bringing his unique story-focused branding insight to the masses.

He starts with a conundrum … a story about a cow, a tiger and a sack of feed and the need to cross a river. If you have ever worked with clients, then the challenge is familiar … how do you remain focused on the outcomes you want to achieve while managing the risks and "animal instincts" of stakeholders, employees and even customers? The solution to the problem is not straight-forward … and I encourage you to read the full story.

Mike is always upbeat, and I love the way he signs off his emails … "keep creating". This morning’s email added something special … "keep creating … it freaks people out". I really like this. And it is true. Reminds me of a revelation that I had when I wanted to become a playwright — the only difference between me and a playwright is that a playwright writes. As always, it comes down to execution . Here’s to all the freaks who are out there DOING the hard work of creativity.

S.

Girlfriend Isn’t Dead (5 Step Crisis Management)

blog debt, Storytelling

dead girlfriend
Originally uploaded by groovemonkey.

OK, seems like I am on a blog roll (oh no does that constitute a blogging pun?) … actually I have had these stored up for a few days and am just getting around to relieving my blog debt.

I was reading this great post mostly for the catchy title "Sometimes Your Girlfriend Isn’t Really Dead", and stumbled across a great description of how to manage a crisis. (Chartreuse always manages to entertain AND stretch the brain, and this post is no different — don’t forget to read the whole post.)

The five step crisis management guide advises:

  1. Don’t Panic
  2. Quickly access the situation and act. Even if wrong you should do something.
  3. Ignore your minions mistakes. In stressful situations they are bound to fuck up. No big deal. Stay focused on the main task.
  4. Don’t expect gratitude. Sometimes people and companies don’t even realize how close they came to death.
  5. When the major part of the crisis is over give control back to your underlings.

Also, while reading through the comments to the article, I loved this comment from Brian Clark:

I just like the dead girlfriend story. That’s why I hang around here despite not owning or being involved in a blog network.

Good stories are the key to everything.

Couldn’t agree more Brian!

S.

Little People

Storytelling

Glasshalffull You may have already seen this, but I love the perspective that this site brings to city life.

Small models are photographed in London street scapes. I believe that they are left to "fend for themselves".

These pictures have an inherently poetic quality. When we view them, we take into account the perspective and the scale. We look at the "everyday" landscape in a completely different way. Nice.

Armchair with Wheels

Storytelling

We don’t have an “ordinary” relationship with our cars. They are not JUST products and they cannot be reduced to a BRAND. Our choice of car says much about how we see ourselves, and, importantly, our cars communicate our identity to others faster than an evening of conversation.

I am often struck by the type or colour of car that a person drives — especially when the car does not coincide with MY sense of that person. In a way it is like speaking with someone on the phone and then, when you meet face-to-face, you find that the colour of their hair is the “wrong” colour. It is even stranger when someone turns out to ride a motorbike — especially if you picture them as a car driver. Perhaps this says more about me than about them. It is weird, but when I meet someone, I almost immediately get a sense of the car that they drive. Even reading a person’s blog gives me a sense of what kind of car they would drive. So when I was reading that Russell Davies didn’t mind the idea of a Honda Goldwing (ie an armchair with wheels), I was at a loss. It just did not fit for me.

Imagine how relieved I was to read this post. Suddenly it made more sense … Russell was really a JPS F1kind of guy. What really sunk home was the line, “The Formula One of my youth” — this is where the power of cars and of motorbikes really sits — in memory. One of the reasons that cars resonate for us is that they have an immediate, PRESENT effect on us as we drive them. They offer us a huge PROMISE (escape, fun, adventure) and then they deliver. And they keep delivering as memories (even an “old bomb” of a car can come to be loved over time) … and as STORIES.

It is the story that is important. The more stories we can build around the car, the more we will remember and love the car, and the more we drive (or even live in) the car, the greater will be our attachment. But, as a protagonist in the story, the car MUST have character (sometimes it even needs a name — could Stephen King’s Christine have been called anything else?). And the character and even the name reflects something back at us, links us with our own sense of identity and the wider world.

Really, there is nothing wrong with driving an armchair with wheels. After all, where else do you sit for storytime?

S.

2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (C197) (06) Georg Sander via Compfight