10 Brand Story Elements of REI’s Disruptive #OptOutside Black Friday Campaign
When I was a kid growing up North of Seattle, my dad would take us downtown to Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). This was in the 1970’s, and REI was…
10 surefire questions to ask when creating audience personas for your purpose-driven brand
Every story starts with empathy I love Jack Handey. His Deep Thoughts from Saturday Night Live always cracked me up. I came across the one above last week while reading Originals, How Non-Conformists…
Have you had business storytelling up the Wazzu?
Then create a brand story you can celebrate with your customers The new president of Washington State University cringed at the school’s legendary nickname: WAZZU. V. Lane Rawlins took the helm of…
The 3 Story Elements That Humanize Your Purpose-Driven Brand
How to define your brand’s promise, gift and personality Recently, I found myself in a 19th century barn in Haarlemmermeer, a suburb of Amsterdam, delivering a Business of Story masterclass. Ilknur Donmez,…
What are the Villains, Fog and Crevasses in Your Personal or Professional Brand Story?
3 antagonists you must vanquish for successful B2B marketing The conference room at the Sheraton LAX was cold as a morgue. Two hundred screenwriter wannabes sat like zombies enraptured by Robert McKee. After all, he…
How to Create Killer Customer Personas for your Professional Services Firm’s Brand Story
The FBI catches serial killers through extensive criminal profiling. You can capture serial customers the same way by profiling your audiences through insightful consumer personas. Customer personas are critical because brands…
Business storytelling for professional services firms with live online video
My first Business of Story Blab session is in the books Great conversation and fun today on our first Blab.im session where we talked about the power of storytelling in…
The growing need for powerful business storytelling featured at Social Media Marketing World 2016
The importance of storytelling in business pervaded Social Media Marketing World 2016. Whether it’s real-time stories shared on Facebook Live, Periscope, or Blab.im, to how you approach visual storytelling on Instagram, to…
What B2B marketers can learn from the Doritos “Ultrasound” Super Bowl TV Spot
As all of you students in my Executive Master of Sustainability Leadership communications course know, a universal structure to storytelling pervades our lives. We see it in the movies we…
How to use the Hero’s Journey to create epic business stories for your B2B marketing
Have you ever struggled to get an important concept across to your peers? We’ve all been there. The powerpoint that sucked. The big idea that didn’t penetrate smaller minds. The…
