Gary Stein, Director of Strategy, Ammo Marketing
Starts with an actual story - about snow tires in Alaska and Nordstrom.
Brand
- statement of belief
- communicated
- managed
- developed
- stakeholders
- ability to recall
- needs to be managed
Story
- chain of events
- shared
- lived
- experienced
- characters
- ability to retell
- needs to be given
In the netowkrs that matter, The Story is the critical unit of communication.
People dont pass along brand messages, they pass along stories.
The Story is the Most Powerful Form of Communication
Stories shape behavior - he gives an example about a bank teller.
Business is being shaped by the stories being told. Advertising research that 30 second ads that tell a story are more
memerable then simple brand messages.
5 stories that can be told:
1. Origin - where did you/your brand come from
2. Purpose - tells us why you are a business
3. Vision - similar to origin but is where are we going
4. Education - Starbucks educated people about traditions of coffee
5. Ethics - when someone walks the walks of what they are doing
6. Connection - reaching out and talking to the customer
Review, Evaluate, Build, Deploy
Benefit-Statement Searches - people are searching for an answer to their problem.
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Sally Falkow, President, Expansion Plus Inc.
Find your brand story - figure out what is being said and what you want it to be. You have to monitor online convos and
know what is being said.
*shows a slide of the “PC vs Mac guys”
*shows a slide of Kleenex’s campaign “let it out”
*shows Dove “pro-aging”
Nichols Concrete Cutting - doing the impossible
- through testimonials were able to get their story
FLOR - sustainable, beautiful homes
Tell an Authentic Story
- insincerity or fake stories will backfire (shows an image of Walmart)
Hone the Story
- get the story down to simple, repeatable, and memorable
Listen for the story
- employees, customers, suppliers
Connect your brand to the story
- all creative must be tied to the story
Amplify the story online
- can do this by optimized press releases with images
- shows a chart about universal search (study by Jupiter )
Audio
- you need more and more digital assets
- Whirlpool - has a sponsored audio show
Video
- Rec’s that you look at Intercontinental and what they did with Video
Articles
- write educational articles, give good info, tips
Blogs & other websites
Syndicate the story
- RSS your content takes on a life of its own
Consitency
- how you look, what you say, and more important, what you do.
- product performance and service is the final word
- needs to be true
Leave something to the imagination
Let the story spread
If you really hone your story, figure it out, let other people tell the story for you - that is when story telling will do
wonders for your marketing.
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Larry Lawfer, Founder/President, YourStorys.com
Its all about entertain (some), create community, engage, pull in (its not push out).
The images you put with your words are very important.
Stories need to be authentic and real.
People are looking for something. Search people are not telling the story well enough.
*shows a Timberland print ad - the people are naked (…dont ask 
)
engage, Inform, Retrain, Create Communit, Grow
- the basic rule is to be real
- be authentic
- invite involvement
- listen, respond, repeat
Listening is essential. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video worth? (shows a video with Mitt Romney,
Cam Neely, Denis Leary, and others)
Do you want to know more? *shows another video*
The Julie Fund *example* as an example:
What I know?
- interviews are a process
- research, develop questions
- gather more information
- prepare, aware, define
- LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN
- follow through with what you just heard
- what havent I asked, Listen?
- stay on schedule, confident in knowing what you need
////Funny how he says the Flip phone is nice but not professional, yet everyone else has said that its a great item to get
started with - Observation by Dave////
Engage, Inform, entertain… create community
- authetic is essential
- real is invaluable
- scripted and practiced devalues your result
- people are visually sophisticated, make your content the best it can be
- develop a library of content. Be strategic
Pulling the numbers
- its all about the results
*he pulled the slide down - drat!!!*
Know what you want. Know what you are getting. Be prepared for better
*shows a video*
Set the goal before you start.
Real, Authentic, Inform Engage, Share
*shows another video of a guy enjoying his interview*
Q&A
Q: What is the most effective story?
A: Vision. With a flood of products, the vision story can stand out the most right now.
A: No hard stats, and not sure that anyone is measuring it. Its more of a feeling and a trend he is seeing based on talking with agencys.
Contributed by DaveR.
