When most of us first start to dabble in storytelling, we fall into the trap of what I’ll call “and then” storytelling.

How many copywriters write corporate scripts that are nothing more than a list of talking points, brand promises and market-researched language? “We value the customer, AND we always respect your budget, AND we have on-time delivery, AND…”

We’ve all seen way too much of this.

That kind of writing is not storytelling because there is no causality. There is no cause and effect, no action-reaction. To quote Badass Digest blogger and “Screenwriting 101” author Film Crit Hulk:

“Stories are defined by cause and effect. Perpetually. Constantly. Vividly. Stories are built on that simplest of mechanisms. This causes that and that causes this and so on and so forth. It’s about setups and payoffs. It’s about action and reaction. It’s about information followed by dramatic consequence. Cause and effect lend meaning to events. They link scenes together. They give wholeness to seemingly separate ideas. Cause and effect are the linking of your chain. They make a story a story.”

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have developed a simple rule to help you avoid the trap of “and then” storytelling. Watch them in the video below.

Trey Parker also explained this rule in the Comedy Central documentary “Six Days to Air,” about the making of an episode of South Park:

“[I call it] the rule of replacing “ands” with either “buts” or “therefores.” And so it’s always like: This happens and then this happens and then this happens. Whenever I can go back in the writing and change that to: This happens, therefore this happens, butthis happened; whenever you can replace your “ands” with “buts” or “therefores,” it makes for better writing.”

Take a look at something we produced to see how this works in practice:

Von was living a happy life playing pool and raising a family, BUT one day he got laid off his job. He felt he couldn’t continue to live the life he wanted to lead without going back to school, THEREFORE he found Herzing University. He quickly found that the instructors at the law program of Herzing University were currently employed legal professionals, THEREFORE he feels more confident going into his own career than if he was taught by teachers with no law experience. Von’s son watched him go through this whole adult education experience, THEREFORE his son now wants to graduate from college.

You’ll notice that I only have one “but” compared to three “therefores” in my above synopsis of the video, and this will be a common tendency in a lot of brand storytelling. But never tell a story devoid of “buts” because then you will be telling a story without any obstacle to overcome.

Traditional corporate video producers’ refusal to respect what causality brings to a brand message is a large part of the reason why you’ve never really seen a “corporate video” that you liked so much you’d bring home to show your family or share with friends on Facebook.

Trey Parker’s principle of “buts” and “therefores” is a safety net. It is something you should always apply to any story you’re writing, whether for entertainment or business. It will ensure that your story adheres to causality, which will lend your message meaning. If you fall into the trap of “and then” storytelling, as Trey said in the video, “you’ve got something pretty boring.”

The post Storytelling Tip: The Principle of “Buts” and “Therefores” appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

The Super Bowl is the biggest brand storytelling day of the year. For one day, all the major brands that live and die with seductive imagery, features & benefits, and data & rhetoric suddenly decide to tell a story.

Here are StoryFirst Media’s 5 favorite commercials that aired during the game:

#05: WEATHERTECH “YOU CAN’T DO THAT”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wTJwiPWb6I

MAIN CHARACTER: The WeatherTech Brand

OBJECT OF DESIRE: To make WeatherTech products in the USA.

TURNING POINT: When every expert tells WeatherTech, “You can’t do that.”

This is a phenomenal example of embracing conflict in an advertisement. Putting the obstacles front and center makes WeatherTech’s accomplishment of producing its products in America feel much more valuable. The recurring turning point of “You can’t do that” presents our main character with a dramatic dilemma: either A) listen to the experts and sacrifice your values by manufacturing overseas while saving costs, or B) screw the costs, maintain your integrity and build in the States.

#04. VOLKSWAGON “WINGS”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns-p0BdUB5o

MAIN CHARACTER: Darcey’s Father

OBJECT OF DESIRE: To convince Darcey that crossing 100,000 miles is a big deal.

TURNING POINT: (for the audience, not the main character) When Darcey’s Father posits that every time a VW crosses 100,000 miles a German engineer gets his wings.

SECOND TURNING POINT: When Darcey sarcastically suggests that after 200,000 miles rainbows fly out of German engineers’ butts.

This spot is especially good because you easily commit the message to memory. What’s interesting about the story structure is that the first turning point is just for the audience. It’s a perfect example of hiding your message in a dramatic turning point. I’ll quickly break down the turning point into its four components:

The Surprise: “What if I told you that every time a Volkswagon hits one-hundred-thousand miles, a German engineer gets his wings.”

Curiosity: Why would German engineers get their wings?

Insight: Ah, so hitting 100,000 miles must not only be important to VW, but judging from how many engineers get their wings later in the spot, it happens a lot!

New Direction: Well, if longevity is important to me in my next car, it’ll be a Volkswagon!

#03. CHEERIOS “GRACIE”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKuQrKeGe6g

MAIN CHARACTER: Gracie’s Father

OBJECT OF DESIRE: To get his daughter’s approval that she will soon have a baby brother.

TURNING POINT: When Gracie says, “… and a puppy.”

SECOND TURNING POINT: When Gracie’s father says, “Deal.”

This is a very cute spot that does a couple of things really well. The first is that it justifies the use of the product as a prop the main character is using to accomplish his goal. The second is that it uses subtext brilliantly in its first turning point. The turning point components:

The Surprise: “… and a puppy.”

Curiosity: Why would she ask for a puppy right as I’m telling her she has a baby brother on the way?

Insight: Ah, she’s hinging her cooperation with the new baby on the condition that I buy her a puppy.

New Direction: Yes, I’ll buy her a puppy because that’s a small price to pay to know my child will cooperate with the new baby.

The second turning point is for Gracie’s mother, who already has her hands full with the pregnancy, but must now contend with a new puppy as well! She didn’t see that coming!

#02. WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS “STEPHEN COLBERT”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MErkYH-FNo

MAIN CHARACTER: Stephen Colbert

OBJECT OF DESIRE: To sell Wonderful Pistachios product.

TURNING POINT: When the pistachios don’t “sell themselves.”

How about this! A turning point that takes place while another commercial is airing! This 30-second spot actually aired in two 15-second segments sandwiching an unrelated commercial, so the setup and payoff was particularly strong because you didn’t expect the ad to come back. The idea was also devastating to the commercial that was aired in between — the Pistachios ad was so strong I can’t remember what it was!

#01. BUDWEISER “PUPPY LOVE”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQB7QRyF4p4

MAIN CHARACTERS: The Puppy & The Clydesdale

OBJECT OF DESIRE: To be together.

TURNING POINT: When the puppy is sold away.

Yes, another list that has this ad as its #1. But seriously, look at how perfectly this ad hits all the archetypal storytelling beats:

Once upon a time there was a puppy and a horse who were best friends. The only problem was that the horse was on a ranch and the puppy was next door at a puppy adoption center (Inciting Incident with a Ticking Clock). The Major Dramatic Question is set: Will the puppy and horse get to be together?

In order to stay together, the pair had to do something (Active Protagonists). Well, the easiest thing they could do was if the puppy escaped to hang out with the horse (Dramatic Decision #1). But when the puppy tries that, the farmer picks him up and returns him to the puppy adoption center (Turning Point #1). So the puppy has another idea: sneak out at night when it’s raining because the farmer won’t be out there (Progressive Complication). But the farmer is there (Turning Point #2) and he returns the puppy once more.

The puppy tried to sneak out as often as it could, until one day the puppy was sold to an ominous figure clad in black clothes and dark shades (because humans don’t trust those whose eyes we can’t see), who doesn’t care enough about the puppy to even look up from his cell phone when we first meet him (Brilliant characterization — and a perfect example of how quickly we sum up a character’s intentions just based on how someone look). You can even see in the look of the woman’s eyes that she isn’t thrilled to be selling the puppy to this slick city guy.

It’s do or die time. The Final Dramatic Decision is in the hands of the clydesdale: does he save the puppy or does he stay where the farmer put him? Well, the horse breaks out of its pen and chases the car down, summoning the other Budweiser Clydesdales to stop the car dead in its tracks.

Now, what happens to the city slicker who dispassionately bought the puppy is left unknown, but presumably the clydesdales killed him. 😉

The puppy proudly returns with the clydesdales and, after witnessing such an amazing spectacle (Turning Point #3), the farmer and the puppy adoption owner decide to let the pair stay together (Final Dramatic Action).

You could teach an entire storytelling class with this commercial, and with over 42 million views on YouTube at the time of this writing, it’s proven to be very effective for the brand as well.

Honorable Mention: JAMIE CASINO, PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY

MAIN CHARACTER: Jamie Casino

OBJECT OF DESIRE: To avenge his brother’s death (this is a Super Bowl ad, not a Martin Scorsese film, right?)

TURNING POINT: When Jamie learns that the Savannah Chief of Police told the people of the town that “no innocent people were targeted,” allegedly implying that Jamie’s brother brought about his own demise.

Holy hell. This 2-minute spot for a Savannah, Georgia law practice aired locally during halftime and became an immediate internet sensation. Not only is Jamie bold enough to acknowledge the negative aspects of himself (“I used to be a notorious criminal defense lawyer who was employed by some of the most cold-hearted villains”), but when people asked him why he didn’t just make a standard PSA with him introducing himself and stating clearly into a camera what happened with his brother, Casino replied, “You must tell it in a cinematic way. It makes it more appealing. People like movies and it looks like a movie trailer. How can I tell a story that people will want to watch?”

The post Our 5 Favorite Ads of Super Bowl XLVIII appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

Today we will be breaking down a brand story released by Starbucks to promote its new Veranda (blonde) Roast.

First, Watch the Video

This is a great example of brand storytelling. Let’s take it beat by beat.

The Aesthetics

The very first image is a high-contrast black-and-white photograph of a hip twentysomething Starbucks barista at work. Immediately the audience knows what this video is selling, and they are either drawn in by the aesthetic of the black-and-white stills or they aren’t. The chosen style of the photographs over motion video is not for everyone, and Starbucks understands that. This video is not trying to please everybody, and that is one of its strongest assets.

Also, all of the voice-over used in this video is unscripted. As a result, the piece feels authentic, real, and touchable. When you’re dealing with non-professional actors, it is almost always better to go unscripted. Actors are paid lots of money to make scripted words sound off-the-cuff because it is a difficult thing to do, so don’t put that burden on the untrained.

It would seem, based on these aesthetics, that Starbucks saw their audience as somewhat corporate-resistant young people (not just millennials) who see themselves as appreciating the boutique, the specialty, and the hand-crafted product.

Inciting Incident: Starbucks Customers Are Unsatisfied

The first line of voice-over is: “A lot of customers come in and say, you know, I love Starbucks, but your coffee’s too strong for me.”

In the very first line, they are presenting a problem — Starbucks has left “a lot” of customers unfulfilled in the past. This statement is a disarmer for the audience and builds trust. The audience thinks, “Well, if Starbucks is willing to say they haven’t satisfied ‘a lot’ of their customers, they must be telling me the truth, because why would a business make up a negative?” It earns the video a lot of credibility. It also implies a personal, local touch from a major national brand.

Object of Desire: Starbucks Wants to Satisfy These Unsatisfied Customers

After that line of voice-over, the video cuts to a title card that reads: “So we wanted to create a lighter roast for them.”

The main character is identified as “we,” or the Starbucks brand, and the character’s object of desire is stated plainly: “to satisfy customers who want a lighter roast.” The major dramatic question has been presented: “Will Starbucks please its customers?” We, the audience, intrinsically know that this story will end with an answer to that question.

This title card also follows the storytelling principle of “Buts and Therefores”. The sentence only makes sense when taken in context with what came before it. All stories are a series of actions and reactions, causes and effects. It’s what creates the push-pull of story. Where people get into trouble is when they start writing “and then, and then, and then,” instead of “but,” “therefore,” or in this case, “so.”

Presenting the idea of brewing a lighter roast as a reaction to customer complaints (instead of a disconnected thought) tells the audience that a) Starbucks listens to its customers’ criticisms, and b) Starbucks is inclusive and wants everyone to be happy with their product, not just the customers that “get it.” Remember, it is in the main character’s reaction to obstacles that tells us the most about him/her.

Obstacle: The Challenge of Craftsmanship

The next line of voice-over is “Light roast? I mean, this is something that we had never done before.”

Everyone can relate to the fear of the unknown and the struggle to accomplish something new you’ve never done before. In order for our main character (Starbucks) to get its object of desire (satisfy the unsatisfied customers), they will have to jump into the deep end of the pool and sink or swim.

Progressive Complication: 80 Tries

Immediately following the voice-over, we are presented with a montage of title cards that read, “Ver. 1,” “Ver. 2,” “Ver. 3,” and so on.

Seeing these titles intercut with more photographs of coffee roasting tells us that Starbucks has begun the process of crafting the lighter roast. This is the most cinematic aspect of the video in that it plays on the montage theory pioneered by Russian filmmakers Lev Kuleshov and V.I. Pudovkin in the 1920s — two unrelated images (a photograph of a man sipping coffee and a title card that reads “Ver. 1”), when cut together, create a third idea in the mind of the audience (“They are testing new product”).

Film is psychological magic.

The next line of voice-over: “When we were developing blonde roast, it was crazy. It was the whole coffee team in there roasting different kinds of coffees. Tasting all the flavors again and again.”

So, our main character’s effort to satisfy the unsatisfied customers is not easy. This is where what’s good for business storytelling and what’s good for business in real life diverge a bit. No doubt, Starbucks would’ve loved to nail it on their first try — it would’ve saved them time and money. But the fact that it didn’t come easy is fantastic for the story. In storytelling, everything moves forward through conflict.

More title cards flash across the screen: “Ver. 47,” “Ver. 48,”…

More voice-over: “One minute we knew we had it, or we thought we had it, then the next minute were like, ‘Ah… I don’t know if this is actually right.’ We had to make sure it was perfect.”

I’m impressed that Starbucks was willing to imply so much struggle in their story, because this is not a comfortable thing for a business to do. Most companies are afraid to show challenges, problems or struggles because they perceive it as a risk to their brand image. But Starbucks, with guidance from the agency that produced this video, understood that every story needs an underdog. The end product may be “perfect,” but nobody relates to easily-acquired perfection.

With each new version of the roast, “Ver. 50,” “Ver. 51,” the dramatic stakes are rising. More money is being spent. More time is being invested. The audience interprets, “Boy, Starbucks must really care about this thing they’re making!”

Voice-over: “… and that took 80 tries.”

Turning Point: Success

The final bit of voice-over “Holy cow. This is really light. This is really good! With blonde roast, we have something for everybody.”

The initial setup of the object of desire, “we wanted to create a lighter roast for them,” is paid off directly with “we have something for everybody.” The major dramatic question has been answered, the narrative arc has been closed. Our main character (the Starbucks brand) has achieved success.

If StoryFirst Media had produced this spot, here is where we might have made one adjustment.

Instead of just cutting from “that took 80 tries” to the success of developing the perfect light roast, it may have been better to include the final dramatic decision that brought about the success. After 79 versions of the roast, what was the last thing that pushed it over the edge from good to great? What was the dilemma? Were they about to give up until someone had the perfect idea? Were there two (or more) perfect ideas that had to be pit against each other?

Including a final dramatic decision or action is what really creates the turning point. As it stands in the finished video, the decision to develop 80 different roasts effectively doubles as the progressive complication and final dramatic action, so it certainly works. The choice to not include a final dramatic action may have been made in the interest of time (the video’s total run time is 1 minute, 2 seconds), and that would be understandable. It would be difficult for every business story to include every storytelling element, and this one certainly does more than the vast majority.

The Lasting Impact on the Audience

Now that Starbucks has told a complete brand story to promote its Veranda (blonde) Roast, the audience can now see themselves in the story and tell their own version to others. With this story, Starbucks has fostered an environment for customer loyalty and word-of-mouth. One can easily imagine the conversation among friends.

“I can’t drink Starbucks. Too strong for me.”

“Yeah? Have you tried their new blonde roast? I heard it took them 80 tries to get it right.”

In an age of increased digital connectedness at the expense of real-world interaction, people everywhere are drawn to the specialty, hand-made product — a product that was made with all the care and humanity of the development team. Just like the pleasure of a handwritten letter, Starbucks Veranda Roast took time, thought, and effort to craft.

Starbucks was smart enough to mold that message into a story instead of just a “video,” and their audience will carry the story with them.

The post Great Brand Stories, Vol. I : Starbucks appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

StoryFirst Media was founded in Wisconsin, and as such, we are Green Bay Packers fans (another clue would be our 2012 award-winning documentary Last Day at Lambeau).

This past Sunday, the Packers completed the biggest comeback for a win in their illustrious 94 year history.

The game was against the Dallas Cowboys, and the Packers’ season was on the line. In all likelihood, the team would have to win all of their remaining games in order to make the playoffs.

The problems: their all pro quarterback was out with an injury, their defense was a sieve, and the Cowboys had their playoff future to play for as well.

At halftime, the Cowboys led 26-3.

The stakes were incredibly high. In the locker room, head coach Mike McCarthy told the team that they were facing “the biggest adversity situation that we’ve been in in our time together” and that “our season’s on the line.”

To keep a long story short, the Packers came back out in the second half and rallied to a magical 37-36 victory.

Needless to say, my dad and I were jumping up and down and high-fiving like mad. It was an incredible amount of emotion, and despite all the problems we saw in our favorite team in the first half, some small part of us actually started to believe they could go on a playoff run.

Why was this game so emotional for us? Because we knew how hard/unlikely it was for the team to come back and win!

So where is the brand storytelling lesson? Here it is:

In the story of your brand/product/service, showing how you went down 26-3 in the first half is every bit as important as showing how you rallied for the second half comeback.

The amount of positive emotion we feel is directly proportional to the amount of negative emotion we feel. To face overwhelming adversity and succeed in the end inspires us to believe that any hardship can be overcome.

In football, when your favorite team destroys opposing teams without much of a struggle, it can actually be kind of boring. There’s no jumping up and down, there’s no sitting on the edge of your seat, and there’s no yelling at the top of your lungs. Those games have no stakes, no suspense, and they go down easy by the fourth quarter.

If you’re selling a product, your amazing new feature means nothing until you show me the problem the world faces without that feature (even better – show me the hardships your R&D department faced while developing the feature. If you struggled and had to invest a lot of time and resources into the project, it means it must be pretty important).

Showing your audience how hard it was for you to accomplish your goal, build your product or develop your service teaches them that you have the drive and ability to overcome any challenge. Dramatically speaking, the steeper you can make that mountain you had to climb, the better.

All stories are metaphors. Stories say “life is like this.” Stories live in our hearts forever because they allow us to make sense of our challenges, to feel we are not alone, and to believe that anything is possible.

But you’re only telling a story when you invite your audience to traverse your challenges with you and feel a part of the struggle to bring your product/service to the world.

Because after all, if it wasn’t hard to achieve, it must not be worth much. Show us how hard it was to achieve your goals and you will become a better storyteller for your brand and your life.

The post A Brand Storytelling Lesson from the NFL appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

In 1994, astrophysicist Kip Thorne wrote the book “Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy”.

The title of the book sounds daunting. One would assume it to be filled with scientific theories and language that would surely alienate any readers without a degree in astronomy or cosmology. So Mr. Thorne opened his first chapter with a story.

The story put the reader in the role of captain of a spacecraft commissioned with exploring the black hole called “Hades”. Your mission: study the black hole and radio back your findings.

As your spacecraft approaches the black hole, your sensors detect evidence of the hole’s presence. “The atoms of gas that sparsely populate interstellar space, approximately one in each cubic centimeter, are being pulled by the hole’s gravity. If something isn’t done, your starship too will be sucked in.”

Kip Thorne didn’t decide to open his book with a story just because it’s fun (though it is!). There is very deliberate purpose behind this. By opening with a story where the “reader as spaceship captain” is teetering on the brink of a black hole, he has put the audience in the position of needing to know how the story ends – how the captain maneuvers around the black hole. In essence, the reader is now asking for the science of black holes.

This is the essence of purposeful storytelling. By telling stories, we create a gap – a void – that the audience desperately wants to fill in, and the answer to their call – the thing that will satiate their desperation – is your data, features, messaging, facts, etc.

In Thorne’s book, the power of drama compels the audience to seek out how black holes work in order to find out how the story ends. Without the story, many readers would have a hard time just dryly learning the facts. The story gives the facts meaning – a place of momentary priority in their lives.

As brand storytellers, we spend a lot of time talking about the differences between traditional advertising and storytelling. Sometimes it’s easier to articulate what storytelling is not.

Storytelling is not:

–       a list of features and benefits

–       product specs

–       data

–       a mood

–       a style

–       a sequence of events

–       a slice of life

–       your brand messaging

In business, storytelling is the art of making your data, features, benefits and messaging vital to the lives of your audience. This is not a foofy, soft, or intangible thing. It’s grounded in a series of straightforward, practical principles and human psychology.

You want your audience to care about your message, your product specs, or your data. Fair enough. Ask yourself, “When in my day-to-day life do I crave information?”

Human beings seek out information when there is a gap of understanding, resources, or knowledge that they need to fill. So as storytellers, our job is to create that need – a carefully crafted absence of information that begs a solution.

In storytelling, you craft a narrative with a turning point that causes the audience to subconsciously ask for your information. So what is a turning point?

World-renowned storytelling guru Robert McKee believes there are four components to a turning point:

–       Surprise (“Wow! I didn’t expect that to happen!”)

–       Curiosity (“Wait… why did that happen?”)

–       Insight (“Ahh… that is why it happened. And here is how I can avoid this obstacle in the future.”)

–       New Direction (“With this new information, I will take this new action moving forward to make sure I avoid this obstacle in the future.”)

If we revisit Kip Thorne’s short story, what if in the next moment, the starship is sucked into the black hole and everybody on board dies? The reader would first experience surprise. “Whoa! I didn’t expect that to happen!” The very next thought would be, “Why did that happen?”

And with that question the reader is right where Mr. Thorne wanted them. They are now asking for his scientific theory.

This is the major boon of brand storytelling, for how else do you get your audience to consciously ask for your data?

The post How Storytelling Creates a Need for Your Data appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

Back in 2011 when I was deep in editing for my documentary Last Day at Lambeau, I realized the movie didn’t work and I was mere weeks away from film festival submission deadlines.

The movie was about the relationship between sports fans and their heroes through the prism of Brett Favre’s separation from the Green Bay Packers. Through the telling of that story, I was hoping to reveal something about the human condition and what it means to devote yourself to an activity that you have zero control over.

At that time, the movie opened with a 5-minute or so history of Brett Favre’s time in Green Bay and establishing why he meant so much to the state of Wisconsin. But when I screened the film to trusted colleagues and friends, it just didn’t feel like the opening was strong enough.

To a certain extent, who cares why Favre meant what he meant to Wisconsin? All that mattered (from a storytelling perspective) was that Wisconsin loved him. That’s it. Every member of the audience had had an idol at some time in their lives and they could easily recognize themselves in that concept. The facts that he threw so many touchdowns or started so many consecutive games weren’t as compelling as the relationship itself.

But my movie was still missing a human touch. A soul. A voice the audience could connect with.

I had not wanted to include myself in the film. Not because I was shy (I’m not) or because I’m not good enough (I am), but because I felt it would be distracting. I thought it would come across as me forcing my way into a story I wasn’t a part of. This was about fans and their team, not about me making the movie.

But what I was failing to see in that moment was that I was the fan. By attaching my own personal experiences growing up in a Packers fan household, going to Packers training camp and idolizing my heroes, that was a more specific and more human way to approach the film’s soul than any list of dates on a timeline.

So I read my own voiceover and I spoke in the first person. I made sure the audience knew that I was a fan, and as such, I was a part of this story, and by extension so were all of them. Whether you were a fan of the Packers, Yankees, Longhorns, Muhammad Ali or Barack Obama, you could identify to the concept of being passionate about something.

And that opened my film to a much wider audience than it ever would’ve had.

Don’t be afraid to be a central figure in your story. It is your story, after all.

The post You Are Your Story’s Hero appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

On January 24, 1978, Steven Spielberg was sitting in a writers’ room with George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. They were hard at work structuring a story about a pseudo grave-robber in the 1930s who searches for the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

That story would eventually become the first Indiana Jones film.

At one point in the conversation, the three filmmakers were struggling to craft a simple communication of an important plot point. The point they had to get across to the audience was how multiple broken pieces of ancient metal Indy finds could fit together to form a staff.

“One of the things is to demonstrate, not talk about it,” Spielberg remarked.

What did he mean?

Well, one way to communicate a complex idea to an audience is to literally talk about it, or have a character explain the thing in explicit terms. But Spielberg is a brilliant visual storyteller, so he knows that cold exposition is never very engaging.

So he proposed an example of how they could communicate this idea.

“Like a beautiful vase on a table, that is worth a complete fortune, and they’re all looking at this, and a man carefully puts his glasses on, looks at the vase, takes a hammer and breaks the thing. He divides the pieces up to be shipped all over the world, and sold. ‘I hate doing this. I hate destroying great art, but it’s a living.’ Bam. Crash. You realize this is what happens to all great works of art to make more money for the greedy bastards. And the audience realizes that is why the staff is in several pieces.”

Audiences will always respond better to demonstrations of your idea as opposed to explanations of your idea.

So, how does this figure into brand storytelling?

We encounter this all the time at StoryFirst Media. In an interview for a brand in the sales industry, the interview subject will complement his colleague with the following line:

“She’s great. If someone asks her a question and she doesn’t know the answer, she’ll find the answer.”

That’s all well and good as a complement, but it’s incredibly boring for an audience who very likely does not personally know the “great” colleague in question.

Instead of talking about the colleague in a positive way, what if the interview subject had given a positive demonstration of her efforts? What if he’d told a story?

“I remember this one time my colleague we presented with a very challenging question that she did not have an answer for. This question came from a client that needed an answer by the end of the day, and my colleague’s calendar was booked for the rest of the afternoon. By five o’clock, she had managed to clear her schedule just enough to find some extra time to investigate the issue and get the client what they needed on time. Also, the meetings she had to reschedule to make time ended up working better for those other clients than the originally scheduled time, so everyone was happy.”

While this is a vague hypothetical, you get the point. A story like this presents the audience with the dilemma the colleague was facing and forces them to acknowledge the professional manner with which she navigated her way through it.

Your audience will thank you for allowing them to make up their own damn minds about what your point is, and if you tell the story right, they will commit your message to memory far more frequently than a cold statement.

Don’t talk about things. Demonstrate them.

The post Demonstrate. Don’t Explain. appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

The human brain is hardwired to receive information in narrative form.

If you wake up looking forward to wearing your new outfit to work and spill coffee on it, this thought might cross your mind: “My day just got off to a bad start.” This thought in itself is your brain taking the inherently meaningless event of coffee falling on your shirt and placing it in the larger temporal context of “your day.”

When you’re watching a football game, you see the running back take the ball two yards before being tackled. But that is not what your brain sees. Your brain interprets this single, inherently meaningless event as but one point in a larger sequence: the drive.

Three years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many people were irritated by Hollywood’s desire to produce two 9/11 films. There is an ethical argument to be made there, but the impetus for the storytellers was to bring meaning and context to what appeared on its face to be meaningless death and destruction.

Emma Kafalenos defines narrative in her book Narrative Causalities as “a sequential representation of sequential events.” Narrative provides context and perspective for meaningless facts.

This is why it is actually not a good idea for brands to lead their marketing efforts with facts, figures, features and benefits. Each feature is important and places your brand in a good light, but only when received by your audience in the context of the narrative you have constructed. To hang naked, dry facts out there is the riskiest choice of all.

For example, Google has on its website the following quote describing ideal prospective employees: “Other companies screen for intelligence and experience in potential recruits. But Google also looks for “‘Googliness’ – a mashup of passion and drive that’s hard to define but easy to spot.”

This naked statement is dangerous because it could either be interpreted as an invitation to the ultimate go-getter career or as an ominous indication that Google will expect you to work excessively long hours. Google has ceded the ground of narrative and is allowing its audience to interpret its statements however they will.

Clothe your naked statements in the robe of story and your audience will receive your facts, features and benefits in exactly the way you want them to.

The post Humans Interpret the World Through Narrative appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

When was the last time you actually enjoyed watching a traditional corporate video? If you’re like me, it’s been a damn long time (if ever). So why do we keep making them?

I’ll define what I mean by ‘corporate video’. A corporate video (in the traditional sense) is a piece of video that forgoes an authentic, emotional connection with the audience so that a company can squeeze in as many message statements, facts and data as they can.

Brands have messages that need communicating. There’s no doubt about that. The thought of communicating these messages through video sounds like a fun alternative to a white paper or memo – and it is! When you make a video for your company, you’re thinking your audience will enjoy receiving your message this way because it’s like a little movie — and who doesn’t love movies?

But people love movies when the filmmakers’ goal is to connect with and move the audience. The goal of traditional corporate videos is to dress up and stylize a brand message. See the difference?

Video alone won’t do the trick. As we all know, there are plenty of booooring videos out there. Video is not inherently “fun.”

Boring corporate videos are typically made when brands take their white paper copy and dryly put the words into the mouths of on-screen faces. For example, if your brand message is “We Value Our Clients,” it is a boring decision to put your company’s president in front of a camera and have him utter the words, “we value our clients.”

Instead, show your audience that your company values its clients. Make me care about what you do.

Anything you can capture visually through action will speak a thousand times louder than the words “we value our clients.” Did you have your clients to the office holiday party? Did you join hands with your clients at a recent charity event? Even better – is there a specific problem you solved for your client that reflects the core values of your brand?

Now, if you stopped here you would be fine. You will have taken your brand messaging out of the black abyss that is traditional corporate video. But if you want to add that little extra sauce to make your communication even more authentic and impactful, resist the urge to say “we value our clients” after showing that you do.

I know it’s hard. You want to make it explicitly clear how awesome your company is. But it’s good to let the actions on the screen speak for themselves. Your audience will appreciate it. Why?

What if every time your friend did something nice for you he then said, “I value my friends”? It’s like patting yourself on the back, and nobody likes someone who only does things for the recognition.

This is all about respecting your audience. While every brand has something to communicate, the method of communication must start with listening to your audience. How can your video actively contribute to your audience’s lives? How can you show them you understand them? How can you overcome the natural human resistance to “being sold” so that your audience will listen to your message?

Take a cue from Hollywood and make the goal of your video connecting with and moving your audience.

If you truly listen to your audience with an open heart and mind (don’t just wait for your turn to deliver ‘the message’), finding the best way to connect with them in a relevant way becomes clear. Traditional corporate video will never be the most effective approach.

And then we can all live in a world without traditional corporate videos. I’ll drink to that.

The post Stop Making Corporate Videos! appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

It may be a surprise to realize that people can have trust in someone who is unethical or even criminal. Having trust is more about believing in another person. However, the degree to which one person trusts another is a reflection of belief in the other person’s honesty, fairness, and benevolence. Important for establishing initial trust in business is that fact that a failure in trust is more easily forgiven if it is due to a failure in competence rather than a lack of benevolence or honesty. As a result, sometimes a business providing inferior services may fare better with their customers than a company providing superior services – at least temporarily – if people feel the first company is honest and means well.

The phenomenon of trust is summed up in the following definition. It is described as a “heuristic decision rule, allowing the human to deal with complexities that would require unrealistic effort in rational reasoning.” Lets break this definition down. Heuristic processes are trial and error approaches to problem solving which begin with the most accessible solution and go on to another solution, only if the first solution doesn’t solve the problem. In terms of business, if a customer finds himself interacting with a business owner that he intrinsically wishes to trust because the owner appears benevolent, good-natured, and well meaning – then the customer will prefer to trust the owner and do business rather than get involved into complex rational thought about what might go wrong in the business relationship.

So, what does this have to do with putting a video on page ONE of your website have to do with trust?. When a surfer goes onto your website and thinks about doing business with you – someone he’s never met – he can rapidly be won over by a short online video of you talking with him. If he is engaged by your story and connects with your personality then he will immediately wish to trust you and do business you – because that will be the easiest solution for him to take.

And this leaves us with one more important take-away lesson. A front page video needn’t trouble itself with a description of company features and benefits. It simply needs to provide a relevant reason for the user to trust the owner / business. A short 1 to 2 minute story, passionately told by the owner saying that he established the family potato chip business 30 years ago because he wanted to provide people with a crispy chip that wouldn’t lose its favor in the package is a fine example that will win trust right away.

The post Establish Trust With A Front Page Web Video appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.