Brand Story

Looking for More Brand Stories? We've Moved!

This is the final post to Brandstory on the typepad platform.

Last year I moved the blog to www.brandstoryonline.com.

Please consider following me there.

For the latest on telling your brandstory and other thoughts about marketing, business strategy, copywriting, and design, please visit the new BrandStory blog, here.

If you link to this blog, please consider linking to the new blog instead.

Thanks.

-rm

 

Jason Fried on Brand Voice

The latest edition of Inc Magazine has a great article byJason Fried (founder of 37 Signals and author ofRework) on “Business Writing” which he describes as “bad, boring, and barely read.” When I saw the headline, I thought the article was about memos, email, and what is typically thought of as business writing. It’s not.

Although he doesn’t call it this, Jason is talking about brand voice—communicating a personality through...

To read the rest of this entry, please visit the new Brandstory blog at www.brandstoryonline.com. I am updating this blog less frequently now, so to make sure you don't miss any exciting brand story action, please add the new blog to your RSS feed. Why not add a Brandstory link to your blog roll while you're at it?

Brandgym—The Brandstory Review

Every once in a while, a book comes along with enough good ideas and marketing how-to’s that I recommend adding it to your marketing tool box.

But in the case of The Brandgym (by David Taylor and David Nichol), the book isn’t just a tool to be included, it is all of the tools in the box. 

To read the rest of this entry, please visit the new Brandstory blog at BrandStoryOnline.com.

11 Things to Do Differently if You Want the Job

Dear Designer,

As you know, I currently have an opening for a senior designer.

In fact, I have a couple of openings. It’s a decent position. Good salary. Benefits. Lots of work. And I want to hire you. Really, I do. But you are making that very difficult.

So, in the interest of helping you get the job you seem not to want, here’s a little advice. I hope it’s useful...

To read the rest of this entry, please click over to the new Brandstory blog at brandstoryonlline.com. (If you like what you see there, pass the URL to your colleagues...)

The Kid Who...

I was at dinner last week, reminiscing with a friend when he asked me if I knew a certain person. “You remember,” he said, “he’s the kid who had the bloody eye.” I immediately knew who he was talking about. Lots of kids had bloody noses, but only one had a bloody eye.

We could have talked about “the kid who wrecked his dad’s car before he got his driver’s license” …or the “kid who kept a goldfish in his locker at school” or “the kid who had that huge afro.” Each of these descriptions (stories) is a short cut that immediately describes a particular person. There is no ambiguity. No question who the person is. There was only one who fit the description.

Consumers do the same thing when thinking of brands...

To read the rest of this entry, please go to the new Brandstory blog, here. (While you're there, please consider adding the RSS feed to your feed reader and adding the new Brandstory to your blogroll—I'd be very grateful if you did.)

Fascinate—The Brandstory Review

When I first started hearing about Sally Hogshead’s book, Fascinate, I was convinced she had it all wrong. Why would anyone want to fascinate potential customers when they could be engaging and selling to them? Fascinate seemed like the wrong word.

But I’m the one that was wrong...

To read the rest of this entry, please click over to the new Brandstory blog (and consider adding it to your RSS feed while you're at it so you don't miss anything new).

Does Your Brand Have a Bingo?

A few weeks ago I was driving my car—running errands—with my four-year old daughter, when she yelled out, “bingo!” A few minutes later she did it again. “Bingo,” she said, “Now I have more bingos than Boo" (my nine-year old boy).

I was curious, so I asked, “What’s a bingo?” She answered, “Oh, it’s a yellow car. I have hundreds of them.”

To read the rest of this entry, click here go to the new Brandstory blog.

Interview with Todd Sattersten

A few weeks ago, I posted my long-delayed thoughts about The 100 Best Business Books of All Time by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten. In the weeks since, I've had the opportunity to exchange a few emails with Todd and asked him about writing the book and what he gleaned from the process. What follows is a slightly edited version of our discussion...

To read the rest of this entry, click over to the new Brandstory blog, here.

Kurt Vonnegut and Why Stories Appeal

In a post from last year, Derek Sivers writes about a talk he attended in which Kurt Vonnegut explained why stories appeal to people. Check it out here. Vonnegut drew up a few common story arcs like this one, for Cinderella:

To read the rest of this post, click over to the new Brandstory blog, here.

The Difference Between Macro and Micro Narratives

When I write about brand stories, there are really two kinds of narratives to think about: the macro and the micro. When a brand is really doing well, the narratives mirror each other and work to spread your story in both mass marketing and from consumer to consumer.

Macro Narratives—The Big Picture Macro-narratives are the brand stories told...

To read the rest of this entry, click over to the new Brandstory blog, here.

Finding a Brand Voice

Finding a brand voice is hard. Really hard.

But there are brands that do it well (at least for awhile). Apple. Mini Cooper. The Economist. Every time you see a marketing effort for one of these brands, it’s as if it were created by the same person that did the last one. Different execution, same voice.

How do they do it where others fail?

To read the rest of this entry, please visit the new Brandstory blog.

Rethinking Business School

This post doesn't have much to do with marketing or stories, it's just something I've been thinking about for the past couple of days... 

I have been reading Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin, in which he is very critical of the failure of our education system to teach creativity. He argues that we churn out legions of “factory workers” who appear happy with meaningless jobs in exchange for the security of a paycheck. We are taught to follow directions, color within the lines, and never question authority. And we learn those lessons very well. (The way Seth describes it is far more nuanced.) 

At the same time, I have been reflecting on... 

To read the rest of this entry, please click here to visit the new Brandstory blog (and while you're there, add the RSS feed to your reader).

100 Best Business Books of All Time—Brandstory Review

A little over a year ago, Todd Sattersten sent me a copy of his (then) new book, The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You, coauthored by Jack Covert. In exchange for the book, I was supposed to provide feedback. For a variety of reasons I took a hiatus from blogging about the same time and never got around to posting my thoughts. So this is long overdue. My apologies to Todd and Jack.

As anyone who has browsed the Business section of the bookstore knows...

To read the rest of this entry, please click here and visit the new Brandstory blog.

Brandstory is Moving, Please Click Through...

After taking significant time off to pursue a master’s degree and then to settle back into life, it feels like the time is right for me to return to the Brandstory blog. But with a twist. I’m moving the blog to a new location and changing the design a little bit.

If you’ve included Brandstory in your blog roll in the past, I would be forever grateful if you would update the link to the new blog. And if you haven’t included Brandstory in your blog roll, I would be even more grateful if you decided to do that now (using the new location, of course). Of course you can subscribe to the RSS at the new location as well.

While I’ve got a few ideas of the things I’d like to write about it the future, in a lot of ways, I’m starting all over again. I've also moved a few of my favorite posts from the past six years to the new location. Hopefully the things I have to share on the new blog will be worth your while.

Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, and visited over the past five years or so. I look forward to seeing you at the new brandstory blog.

Microsoft's Target Audience? Morons. Wait, Maybe That's Not Such a Good Idea.

Yesterday Microsoft confirmed rumors that it was pulling its new Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates ads and moving in a new direction. The official line is that this was all planned in advance. Though some in the ad industry don't believe it (count me among them).

For those who may have missed the ads, here is the first:

And here is the second:

One thing is for sure, these ads got people talking. But what they were saying wasn't particularly good.

I wondered about the strategy when I saw the first. It was kind of funny in the Seinfeld way. But it seemed to be a good case of advertising as entertainment. It didn't say anything about Microsoft. Or Vista. What's the reason to believe? Amusing, but ultimately, not compelling. (Note to ad folks: When a company spends $300 million on an ad campaign, your work should at least pretend to sell one of their products.)

But the second ad went way beyond silly. It was horrible. Not only does it not sell anything—it makes fun of the very people that Microsoft needs to buy its products. Is eating scalloped potatoes  really deserving of ridicule? Above ground pools? Grandma living with the family for 12 years? As Bill says to Jerry, "You and your real people..."

Only they're not real. This may be how the folks at Crispin think of real people, but it's not how real people think of themselves. It's condescending. And I'm guessing to many people, it is a big turn-off. What ever happened to aspiration?

David Ogilvy said it best, "The customer is not a moron. She is your wife." Good advice. Too bad no one in advertising reads Ogilvy these days.

So they pulled the plug. Mercifully.

On the bright side, Microsoft has released its first ad of the new new campaign. Here it is:

Forget for a minute that this direction is a little too reactive to the "I'm a Mac" ads, it does a much better job of humanizing Microsoft. And it doesn't talk down to or make fun of its customers. We'll see if future installments in the campaign actually give people a reason to buy Microsoft products. Which is exactly what the Mac ads do—watch them carefully. Each one gives the viewer a reason to believe that Mac is better wrapped in a brilliantly acted humorous situation (from free and easy file transfers to no viruses to peace of mind).

Microsoft has a long way to go. But at least they're capable of course correction.

Framing Your Story

UPDATE: THIS ENTRY HAS BEEN CROSS POSTED AT THE NEW BRANDSTORY BLOG WHERE I NOW WRITE. I'D BE HONORED IF YOU WOULD CLICK THROUGH AND ADD IT TO YOUR BOOKMARKS.

Today at the Brains of Fire blog, Robbin posted a short movie well worth six minutes of your day. It perfectly illustrates that how you tell your story is just as important as having a story to tell. Watch for yourself:

This One Time at Brand Camp...

Tom Fishburne—marketer, blogger, cartoonist extraordinaire—just published his new book of cartoons called, This One Time at Brand Camp. I've been a long-time fan of Tom's cartoons (I've had the volume fairy cartoon taped to my wall for a couple of years), so I was excited to get my hands on the book and start reading.

Unlike most of the "serious" books I've read and profiled here, Tom takes a decidedly more humorous look at the things that marketers and clients think and do. He is very good at spotting the absurd, silly things that we all see (and shake our heads at) on a daily basis.

Each page features a cartoon plus the story behind its creation, which gives the reader a nice look into Tom's thought process as he created the panel. It's a great book and worth a look: buy the book here.

Tom was kind enough to give me two copies of his book. I can really only use one, so I'm giving the second copy away. Want me to send it to you? Leave a comment about the most absurd/silly marketing moment from your career. I'll choose a winner from the list sometime next week. Who knows, maybe Tom will do a cartoon of your experience?

Read more about Tom and his book in these places:

Brand Autopsy Blog
Back of the Napkin Blog
Church of the Customer Blog
The Marketing Fresh Peel Blog

And of course, you can read Tom's blog here.

Maybe I'm Just Getting Too Old...

There's a great moment near the beginning of the movie Back to the Future when Marty and his band try out for the upcoming school dance. The band takes the stage, begins to play, and is then cut off by Huey Lewis (playing a high-school teacher) who says, "Hold it, fellas. I'm afraid you're just too darn loud. Next, please. Bring the next group, please."

Reminds me of the saying, "If the music is too loud, you're too old."

Which is exactly how I feel when I read about stuff like Twitter. I just don't get it. How exactly does this improve my life and not waste my time? Maybe I'm just getting too old.

But this takes the cake.

Fast Company has an article called, Why You Should Have Your Next Business Meeting in Second Life.

What make second life so much better than real life for a meeting? They have something called 3D voice--this helps you hear the person on your left with your left ear and the person on your right with your right ear. Oh, and you can browse the web during the meeting. Which is exactly the way it is in meetings here in real life--only I don't have to spend any time creating an avatar, signing up for a membership, and figuring out how to get around the Second Life world. I can just walk down the hall to the conference room. Oh, and in real life, I'd have the advantage of being able to see the participant's body language, which is the majority of communication. This idea is lame.

This was my favorite part of the article:

Imagine we're business colleagues. How would this interview be different in the virtual world?

...in Second Life you can actually rent tiki huts on a beach -- I guarantee you that you would remember the content of this conversation better than you would driving in your car and talking on the phone. I guarantee you would have laughed once or twice when I put on a funny hat or changed clothes with my avatar.

Sweet, tiki huts! Sign me up.

If someone put on a funny hat or changed their clothes in a business meeting in real life, would that make you laugh? Or would you think, "wow, that was unprofessional." Why would it be any different in a virtual world?

Like I said, lame. But then, you can add Second Life to the things I just don't get. Maybe I'm just getting too old.

Other links to check out:

Before all you second life fans comment on how wrong I am, sign up for this.

Free Book and Worth Every Penny

UPDATE: THIS ENTRY HAS BEEN CROSS POSTED AT THE NEW BRANDSTORY BLOG WHERE I NOW WRITE. I'D BE HONORED IF YOU WOULD CLICK THROUGH AND ADD IT TO YOUR BOOKMARKS.

A month or so ago, I stumbled upon Bob Hoffman's blog called The Ad Contrarian. It has quickly become one of my favorites. He's not much for advertising as entertainment. He doesn't appear to like ad planners. He's not big on Internet advertising, the long tail, or conversations. He's an unabashed defender of the power and effectiveness of traditional, interruptive advertising. His blog is worth a read.

But best of all, if you request one, he'll send you a free book, described by his agency's president as "mercifully short." [Or at least he used to send you a free book before the form stopped accepting submissions. Maybe it's out of print—temporarily I hope. He's a little bitter.]

Written more like a short collection of blog posts (actually that's exactly what it is), the book's a pretty good snapshot of what's wrong with the advertising world. But it doesn't take the "end-of-advertising-as-we-know-it" approach that so many others keep talking about. Lots of interesting thinking, criticism, and ideas packed into 65 pages.

Of course, there is a catch. The last four chapters detail Hoffman's (and his agency's) approach to advertising, something he calls Performance-based Advertising. So it's a bit of a promotional piece for his agency. Still, the principles are good:

1. Advertising is most effective when it is focused on changing behavior, not attitudes.
2. Advertising messages should be created for, and directed at, the heavy using, high-yield customers in your category.
3. We don't get them to try our product by convincing them to love our brand, we get them to love our brand by convincing them to try our product.

I like Bob's approach. My favorite chapter can be found here. Check out his blog and book.

How to Write Great Headlines (and Copy): Try Telling a Story.

My first "real" job out of school was writing catalog copy. At the time, the model for great copy was the J Peterman catalog (later made famous by Seinfeld). The Peterman catalog (called an owner's manual) was almost as much fun to read as a novel. And while I never wrote anything as entertaining as did Mr. Peterman and his copywriter, Don Staley, I did learn a few things.

 Number one on the list: even a boring product can come to life with a little romance. Like cologne. Or a shirt. (Click through and read the copy, it's worth it.)

Copy this engaging is all too rare.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up the most recent REI catalog. Browsing through I noticed the writer didn't settle for product specs, part numbers, and sizes—the three components of most catalog copy. Instead, he (or she) tells stories that focus on the product benefits. (It's probably been like this for a while, but it took me a while to notice.)

Sometimes it's just a simple story in a headline, like this one for the Kelty Yellowstone Tent: Have lots of money left over for marshmallows. Or this one for a pair of zip-away pants: Pants or shorts? Eh, decide later. Okay, they're not high literature. It's not even J Peterman. But they are simple stories that share a great product benefit. And it made browsing the catalog not just more entertaining, but more engaging. I've added several items to my "stuff to get" list.

Compare REI's catalog description for a pair of biking shorts to similar shorts (different brand) featured in the Performance Bicycle catalog that came the same week.

New! Don't let the casual look fool you—these are serious shorts
On the surface, they're rugged, stretchy nylon/Lycra spandex shorts with a laid-back look. But look inside, a wicking mesh liner and gel chamois add serious comfort. Import.

Zoic Ether Short
Ripstop nylon shell and removable Assault liner with Zo-wick Chamois. Side adjustable elastic waist with Velcro tabs, two zippered hand and two cargo pockets. 11" inseam.

Big difference. Which would you rather read? Or buy?

It's too bad more writers don't understand the power of stories to create meaningful and memorable brand interactions. Want great headlines? Start with a story. Also goes well with body copy.