Stories Are Around Us: Movies, Marketing and the Moon

The formula for a good story is pretty simple. You just need a hero, an adversary, some dramatic clashes, a climax and an ending that resolves those clashes. You can throw in a love interest if you like. And some cool cars, too. Like the Batmobile.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. There’s Luke Skywalker, Robin Hood, Lara Croft, Columbo, Indiana Jones, the Green Hornet, Hermione Granger…

A hero can be a dog. (Lassie)

It can be a horse. (Seabiscuit)

It can be a robot. (WALL-E)

Heroes can even be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Of course, we normally associate stories with movies and TV and novels and comic books. But stories are all around us, influencing us daily, particularly through marketing efforts such as commercials.

These are stories that are sometimes no longer than a sentence, but still contain the elements of storytelling. They can compel you. They can make you take action. And, make you the hero. Appealing, yes?

So, yes, it is possible for just about any public agency or business to incorporate this strategy without writing the Great American Novel or coming up with the budget to shoot a major motion picture.

Think of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. That’s a story. The hero? Why that’s you. You’re the one who’s wearing the Nike gear, trying to convince yourself to get off the couch and hit the gym. The bad guy? That’s inactivity or inertia. It gnaws at you. You say to yourself, “I just worked out three days ago.” Or “my knee kind of aches.” Or, “I could get some pizza instead.”

But you think, “Just Do It.” You see the athletes in the commercials running up stadium steps and hoisting weights. And by getting off the couch – it’s a battle no question (I’ve been there) – you slay the dragon of negativity and then hit the treadmill and work up a sweat. You just did it. You won. Cue the credits.

The Most Interesting Man in the World
(Credit: Dos Equis)

Another story? How about the Dos Equis beer campaign, “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” The hero is the pitchman, who, as we are told, is the “Most Interesting Man in the World.”

Snappy and funny lines back up this claim. Such as, “His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards.”

“He has won the lifetime achievement award…twice.”

“Sharks have a week dedicated to him.”

The bad guy? That would be conventionalism. This guy won’t stand for it. He’s represents the exact opposite. So when you think of Dos Equis, you think you are on the cutting edge. You are living. You have a connection with “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” Indeed, you want to be like him.

Storytelling through commercials can be quite elaborate. Take the recent ongoing campaign by Miracle Whip. One is a take-off on a witch hunt from the 17th century (it’s titled “Witch Hunt“). The settings, the costume designs, the lighting and the acting are all top-notch. They were even shot in Romania, not in a Hollywood back shop.

The heroes are the people who dare to eat this strange thing called Miracle Whip. They are being hounded by mobs who believe the Miracle Whip is an evil – or at least foul-tasting – concoction.

But they are asked if they ever even tasted it. (Come to think of it, I haven’t.)  In this case, ignorance loses. The people who use Miracle Whip win. The catch phrase: “Keep an open mouth.”

Miracle Whip Campaign
(Credit: Miracle Whip)

This storytelling structure works to market actions we can take for the public good, too. How about an oldie but goodie? This one from the Peace Corps enticed people to join by stressing how hard the work would be with the phrase, “The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love.”

What a story!

It challenges you to be up for a much more than a trip to an interesting destination. You’re the hero, of course. But you’re no ordinary hero. You’re taking on a task that few others would dare. The job itself is the adversary. And this story is a classic one. It promises you adventure in faraway places with few creature comforts. And the reward? Well, you help people who truly need your help and perhaps even find love in the work that at first seemed like the adversary.

Telling a story captures the imagination and helps us understand and even experience feats that are usually beyond an easy understanding. For that reason, stories reel us in. True, landing on the moon was a technological feat. But, it was a larger story that all of us participated in. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” (The hero: Neil Armstrong, of course, but a step we heroically as a nation took together.)

Mike Stetz, Senior Writer
Collaborative Services, Inc.

A Lesson Learned from a Poodle and A Snake

“If we see something that blows us away, we will keep coming back for it. ”  

This quote came out in our interview with Jon Franklin, a two time Pultizer Prize winning newspaper reporter. It captured the theme of the month – the power of storytelling in marketing, communications and public involvement, so we pulled it to the top to kick off our introduction of Jon.

Jon and his Poodle
(Credit: Jon Franklin)

One morning, out of the blue, Jon’s dog went into a fury of excitement. He had spotted a gopher snake trapped and hanging upside down just off Franklin’s porch. Franklin released the snake and off it went. But every day, when returning from their walks together, the dog would again and again grow excited about the possibility of seeing that snake. The reaction lasted about a year.

The reason: “If we see something that blows us away, we will keep coming back for it,” he said. “That’s the same power of storytelling.” If a story is told in a compelling, fascinating, edge-of-your seat fashion, people will react. And they will keep coming to the source, hoping to experience it again.

And that can apply to all mediums where storytelling is used: Movies, TV, marketing, etc.

Franklin knows about creating that experience. His newspaper work is cutting-edge because of its emphasis on storytelling techniques. His stories read like short stories, but are completely factual. Indeed, he’s one of the pioneers of long-from narrative writing or so-called, “New Journalism.”

He’s a trailblazer, having taught himself the form he mastered. One of his books, “Writing for Story,” is a must-have for any journalist – which in the today’s world where newspapers are giving way to new forms of media all of us have ironically become – writing on our company and client’s blogs, Facebooks, websites and media and press kits.

Now living in Sunderland, Maryland and retired from newspapers and teaching, Jon continues to write. He’s working on a novel about a small-time hit-man whom he knew when he worked at the Baltimore Evening Sun. He’s also something of a pioneer when it comes to the Internet. He started a writers’ website, called “WriterL” in the 1990s. To see samples of his work, go to his website.

Reading them, you can see and feel the power of storytelling.  All clients, all industries, need press and media coverage and there are few more powerful ways of conveying a message than through a story. Here’s one journalist’s take on what makes a story and why stories matter to us all.

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What is the state of storytelling in this day and age of such dramatic technological change?
Well, nothing can hurt storytelling. It’s the way we’re wired. Think of the storytellers of old. It was how history was passed down. That’s because you remember stories, but you don’t remember facts…For instance, some people know chemistry. Some people know a lot about it. And some don’t know much about it. But a story helps people get it. Stories are the way we get things.

You honed your craft in newspapers, but newspapers, because of revenue losses, have been cutting staff and rarely publish the kinds of stories you produced. Will that hurt storytelling?
The narrative form of writing is very expensive and runs contrary to the culture of the newsroom. It usually takes a long time to produce, but not always. It also takes a lot of space, but again not always. And very few journalists are trained in it. It was always under fire. For one thing, it tends to empower the writer over the editor…Mediums change, however. In the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, it was the great age of short stories. But the short story magazines died because article journalism was cheaper. It  (storytelling) will always survive, though, because readers love it.

So how will storytellers hone their crafts today?
In the first place, most writers teach themselves. They’ve always have. I did so by reading and copying or deliberately now copying….And you have some people who simply have to write them (stories). Maybe they’re not as smart they want to be and they need to put the world in some sense of order. And they do this through stories.

So we have nothing to worry about?
Story is eternal, it’s only the storytellers who prosper or suffer depending on the vagaries of social history.

Mrs. Kelley's Monster
(Credit: The Evening Sun)

You were a science writer. How important is storytelling when it comes to conveying complicated subjects?
Scientists don’t address emotional issues. We want information to come to us in a narrative form that’s of interest to us. Otherwise, it’ll be forgotten. There’s just too much to know. Scientists look at us as if we’re dumb second-graders. But if you don’t know the process of how something works, it becomes like magic. You can find stories in science. There are lots of them. The facts are merely the stage settings, the scenery.

What’s your opinion on the current strength of other mediums for storytelling, such as movies?
Yes, movies are powerful, but most of them are garbage…The problem with movies is that they cost so much and take so long to make and so many people have a stake in the outcome. It’s almost like making a movie by committee and not many committees can recognize magic. A good movie is the exception.

And what about the Internet?
Everybody has his or her own printing press. I can’t see how that’s a bad thing, can you? I know people put a bunch of crap on it, but it’s better than not having it. And the audience will go to where the storytellers survive.

How important is storytelling to our culture?
You can’t have a culture without it. I’m not saying if we quit telling stories we’ll die. I’m saying if they don’t exist, we will already have died.

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Mike Stetz, Senior Writer
Collaborative Services

A New Way to See Balboa Park – Making Visitors Part of the Story

Storytelling is powerful. One aspect of its power is its ability to engage people.

We need look no further than down the road less than a mile from our office to one of the nation’s great parks – Balboa Park and its storytelling adventure, The Giskin Anomaly. Using cell phones, the park’s guests are guided throughout the park through tips provided by the main characters of the game. The use of storytelling as a strategy in this adventure ensures guests do more than walk through the park; they engage in it and join the story.

Giskin Anomaly
(Credit: Ken Eklund)

Our interview in this blog is with the person behind the storytelling strategy. Rich Cherry is the Director of the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, which was formed several years ago to help Balboa Park’s museums and performing arts organizations tell their story using technological advances to do so. Under Rich’s direction, the Balboa Park Online Collaborative has grown from 17 to 27 members. It has created 20 websites and digitized more than 170,000 images and videotapes and it launched an iPhone mobile application for park goers to use. With Rich’s leadership, the museums are teaching us not only about history, arts and sciences, they are now showing us the power of a good story to deepen the connection between you and the people you want to reach.

Before taking over the reins of this collaborative, Rich was the Director of Operations at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. He has 20 years of experience in the technology field and is an expert in new media.

Because of his wealth of expertise, we are pleased to share his thoughts on the importance of storytelling in today’s world.

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When it comes to incorporating storytelling into the Park, you’ve been on the forefront. Why is that?
Part of BPOC’s mission is to facilitate and execute a fundamental change in the way museums, cultural arts and science institutions in Balboa Park approach the use of online technology by making online technology an integral part of the way the institutions fulfill their missions, interact with patrons, and collaborate.

Storytelling in museums is as old as museums themselves so that in and of itself is not a new thing. But we know that audiences are changing and part of our goal is to model how to use technology to tell stories when the patron wants to listen. We can also potentially engage new audiences in learning about art, history and science.

Some might argue that the Park is a draw in itself and doesn’t need any bells and whistles. How do you answer that?
I would agree that the Park is a draw as are the museums, performance venues, playgrounds, etc. I don’t think that using technology to assist with telling a story is a “bell and whistle” anymore than a docent is. It’s just a tool for telling a story at the pace a visitor wants to listen and serves as a model for institutions who want to tell stories. It’s not even a new model as audio tours have been used since the 50’s to tell stories in museums.

You helped create the storytelling game, the Giskin Anomaly, at the Park. Why did you think it was necessary?
I thought it was important to model a new way of engaging the public with the history of the park for the museums so that they too could start changing the way they interact with patrons.

Giskin Anomaly Marker at the Old Globe
(Credit: Ken Eklund)

What’s been the reaction?
The public reaction has been fabulous. Participants can leave messages and its been very rewarding to listen to them give accolades to my team. We also won a national award for the game from the American Association of Museums. We are still working with the museums to see if we can get them to adopt the techniques we used but as I have said museums have been in storytelling business for a long time and it will take time for them to adopt new tools in this effort.

How else are you using modern technology and social media to promote storytelling at the Park?
Giskin is a phone-based adventure…you can play on any phone. We are in the process of developing smartphone and mobile web based tools for the museums to use as storytelling platforms. Some of this work is part of a national effort called TAP funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Why is storytelling a component of your strategy to attract more visitors?
I don’t think that it’s primary about attracting more visitors as opposed to getting them more deeply involved. However storytelling is the original viral campaign…you hear a story and you tell someone else…in this case we hope they tell someone who then comes and participates in the adventure.

Will social media help advance the art of storytelling? If so, how?
Storytelling and social media are deeply intertwined. Everyone who uses social media is telling a story about themselves or about something: what they like, eat, dislike, etc. It’s not always a true story. Take for instance the “Fake Steve Jobs” on Twitter. Our storyteller Ken Eklund has had other successful stories using social media as well, such as World Without Oil, which was designed to document the first 32 weeks of a world oil crisis…played out in more than 1500 personal blog posts, videos, emails and voice messages by random participants.

Social media makes everyone a storyteller and a potential participant and re-teller of the story. At a minimum there will be more storytelling and — along with more bad storytellers — you have the opportunity for more good storytellers as well. I think about the stories told at TED and how they not only “spread” but how they have raised the game for other storytellers.

– – –

Thanks, Rich, for these valuable thoughts.

Mike Stetz, Senior Writer
Collaborative Services

The Importance of Storytelling

Once upon a time…

A young man made a computer in his parents’ garage…

A 12-year-old boy had his bike stolen, so he was advised to take up boxing if he wanted to really “whup” the boy who took it…

A young woman dreamed of rocketing into space and she had the perfect name for such a historic goal…

These are all stories that many of us know because they have captivated our imaginations and hit some kind of a mark within ourselves.

The first example is about Steve Jobs, of course, the founder of Apple. The second is how Muhummad Ali first put boxing gloves on. And the third is about Sally Ride, the first American woman to go into space.

We love stories. Why? I think it’s the same reason we love pizza and a warm summer day and puppies.

It’s natural. And there’s no reason why storytelling should not be a viable option when it comes to marketing efforts, communication plans and public outreach.

For one thing, a story engages people. Instead of a dry, mundane report or a complicated set of statistics, it can help people relate on a personal level.

Take the first example, about Jobs. Why does that story resonate so well even though most of us are not computer whizzes? It’s because all of us have dreams. And we all would love to see our dreams come true, as it did with Jobs.

The second example? Would Ali had become Ali, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, if not for his bike being stolen? Talk about a twist of fate. So, of course, we are enamored by it.

Sally Ride and her NASA team. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

And the third example? That would be Sally Ride, the first American woman to boldly go where no (wo)man has gone before. How can that story not be compelling to all? It’s the story of overcoming long-standing obstacles and pre-conceived notions and proving to society that anything – including becoming an astronaut – was possible for women.

Because stories are powerful, they are important as a communication strategy. How to use story telling as a means of communication? Easy. Find a story to tell. As a former newspaper reporter, I know that they’re everywhere.

Powerful stories aren’t necessarily complex. In a recent newsletter for the city of San Diego’s Water Conservation Program, a short story was about the San Diego winner for creating the best water-wise landscape design. He tore up his lawn and put in California-friendly plants because he wanted to save money. That was his goal.  But it turned out he also got a much better-looking yard, which garnered a lot of compliments. Those compliments became another, unexpected benefit and the emotional connection to the topic.

That’s a simple, direct story and yes, people can connect with it. Pure statistics like the average amount of water a person can save by doing such a makeover are important, but unexpected compliments are powerful. Who wouldn’t want a little appreciation for their extra effort?

As I said, I’m a former newspaper guy. Ink on paper. Comics. Where’s the sports section?

But when it comes to storytelling, even I can see the promise of social media. For instance, you can post a video of your story on YouTube. You can use Twitter to break up one story in as many sepearate stories as 140 characters will allow. Twitter is sort of like creating a small chapter book. You can use Facebook to tell your story as well.

Zach Lederer two hours after surgery. (Credit: NBC)

Look no further than the power of social media to tell a story than to a University of Maryland student basketball manager, Zach Lederer, who suffered from a brain tumor. After the operation to remove it, still weary and in pain, he asked his father to snap a photograph of him flexing his biceps. It was posted on Facebook and it went viral. People all over the nation began posting photographs of them flexing their biceps. It became known as “Zaching.” People recovering from operations flexed their muscles and posted it on Facebook.

Cool. And touching. And a wonderful story.

Storytelling has been with us since the dawn of man, with cave dwellers scratching out scenes on walls. With all the technological advances for telling stories, who knows how the art will evolve.

We can only imagine, but I bet it will make for a great story.

Join us this month for our Facebook posts and blogs about story telling. Maybe you’ll even tell us yours.

Mike Stetz
Senior Writer @ Collaborative Services