Sometimes it's a perfect storm!
As reader Roy notes in his feedback to our last newsletter, the marketing world is ablaze with conversation regarding our contention in said missive that storytelling is the best way to communicate a brand to potential consumers. Not only that, but it's the only way to truly stay in control of one's brand, rather than trying to accommodate a fickle public's shifting conception thereof.
Quantitative confirmations are nice, but only represent the contents of one side of the beam balance scale. There are the qualitative aspects which must also be considered by our marketing "lady justice" as we measure the efficiency and effectiveness of our marketing efforts. We here at Jay Standish, Inc. LLC have many resources from which to draw in this interesting and important area of investigation. We will, no doubt, be revisiting this part of the question in future newsletters; for the nonce, however ....
As the flurry of comments on our internet "blog" indicate, there is a great deal of interest in the topic of storytelling as a marketing practice. It is important to keep in mind, however, that storytelling is not the sole province of full-motion video (including Television!) - no indeed. In fact, some of the greatest stories being told these days are those in Graphic Novels, Manga (no, not the fruit - this is a Japanese phenomenon which we here at Jay Standish, Inc. LLC believe is poised to make the leap to North America within the decade!), and Comic Books.
Yes, you read that correctly - Comic Books.
Imagine having your product (or products!) integrated (in a positive light, of course) into the life of a superhero - on a regular, on-going basis. Let's think of some examples, shall we?
We all know that the Flash (The Fastest Man Alive!) must eat large quantities of food after his high-speed hi-jinks - why couldn't he prefer (and he probably does!) to stop at Quizno's® after those bursts of speed? - after all, they have a Pepper Bar!
Similarly, it might well be Daredevil (The Man Without Fear) behind those Foster GrantsTM worn by Matt Murdock, Esq.
The possibilities seem endless - unless you're marketing or selling Sea Monkeys - then, the end is near, as those cute little fellows simply don't last long, do they? [I remember when my sister and I put our Sea Monkey King and Queen - Louis and Marie, as I recall - and their newly-hatched royal offspring in the tank with the Magic Rocks® and our pet Angelfish, Robespierre. You can, no doubt, guess the somewhat sordid outcome. Would that she and I had been so able! But I digress.]
At any rate, it seems unlikely that many of our readers would be so blind as to miss the obvious benefits lurking just out of reach and sight in the world of the comic books.
Excelsior!
Jay
Last week, Jay wrote about
storytelling as the best way to manage a brand's identity:
Roy Soleigh responded:
"I don't know if you saw the notices of the study done by the Advertising Research Fund, but they just came out saying that storytelling is the best way to seed brand attributes in the minds of consumers...."
Roy, I hadn't seen that, until today, but it doesn't surprise me a bit. Another reader posted a link to an article about that study on my "blog" so I'll direct you there for a fuller discussion.
At any rate, I believe an extra Excelsior! is appropriate here.
-- Jay
© 2007 Jay Standish, Inc. LLC
Quantitative confirmations are nice, but only represent the contents of one side of the beam balance scale. There are the qualitative aspects which must also be considered by our marketing "lady justice" as we measure the efficiency and effectiveness of our marketing efforts. We here at Jay Standish, Inc. LLC have many resources from which to draw in this interesting and important area of investigation. We will, no doubt, be revisiting this part of the question in future newsletters; for the nonce, however ....
As the flurry of comments on our internet "blog" indicate, there is a great deal of interest in the topic of storytelling as a marketing practice. It is important to keep in mind, however, that storytelling is not the sole province of full-motion video (including Television!) - no indeed. In fact, some of the greatest stories being told these days are those in Graphic Novels, Manga (no, not the fruit - this is a Japanese phenomenon which we here at Jay Standish, Inc. LLC believe is poised to make the leap to North America within the decade!), and Comic Books.
Yes, you read that correctly - Comic Books.
Imagine having your product (or products!) integrated (in a positive light, of course) into the life of a superhero - on a regular, on-going basis. Let's think of some examples, shall we?
We all know that the Flash (The Fastest Man Alive!) must eat large quantities of food after his high-speed hi-jinks - why couldn't he prefer (and he probably does!) to stop at Quizno's® after those bursts of speed? - after all, they have a Pepper Bar!
Similarly, it might well be Daredevil (The Man Without Fear) behind those Foster GrantsTM worn by Matt Murdock, Esq.
The possibilities seem endless - unless you're marketing or selling Sea Monkeys - then, the end is near, as those cute little fellows simply don't last long, do they? [I remember when my sister and I put our Sea Monkey King and Queen - Louis and Marie, as I recall - and their newly-hatched royal offspring in the tank with the Magic Rocks® and our pet Angelfish, Robespierre. You can, no doubt, guess the somewhat sordid outcome. Would that she and I had been so able! But I digress.]
At any rate, it seems unlikely that many of our readers would be so blind as to miss the obvious benefits lurking just out of reach and sight in the world of the comic books.
- Dr. Steven Strange can't use the Eye of Agamotto to find his way everywhere - so perhaps he consults his Garmin (or TomTom!!?) to find his way around Manhattan.
- Hal Jordan can't always fire up his lantern to see in the dark - perhaps he needs a halogen-bulb mag-lite® for those other times.
- Jughead Jones may well be lactose insurgent and find that he needs to keep a supply of Lactagen® tablets in his pocket if he's going to continue to hang out at Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe and have a malted milk now and then.
Excelsior!
Jay
Last week, Jay wrote about
storytelling as the best way to manage a brand's identity:
Roy Soleigh responded:
"I don't know if you saw the notices of the study done by the Advertising Research Fund, but they just came out saying that storytelling is the best way to seed brand attributes in the minds of consumers...."
Roy, I hadn't seen that, until today, but it doesn't surprise me a bit. Another reader posted a link to an article about that study on my "blog" so I'll direct you there for a fuller discussion.
At any rate, I believe an extra Excelsior! is appropriate here.
-- Jay
© 2007 Jay Standish, Inc. LLC
