2014
STORYTELLING 6
WAYS: HOW TO TELL
COMPELLING BRAND
STORIES—AND HOW
PR CAN HELP
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
2
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE NEW STORYTELLING
1. OWN UP
2. SHOW YOU STAND FOR MORE
3. EXPLOIT YOUR HERITAGE
4. INFUSE YOUR STORY WITH
INTRIGUING PERSONALITIES
5. MAKE MEANING OUT OF
COMPLEX INFORMATION
6. TUG HEARTSTRINGS—
BUT TREAD CAREFULLY
THE ROLE OF PR IN BRAND
STORYTELLING
Storytelling 6 Ways
3
Letter from Marian Salzman
At Havas Worldwide, one of the globe’s leading communications holding companies,
we are no strangers to the power of a good—i.e., unique, compelling, newsworthy—
story. We have written stories that put our clients in the news, drive awareness and
interest in the causes that move us and bind us together as a Global Collective getting
to the future faster.
Our history of effective storytelling runs deep. A recent example is when one of
our Collective members, Havas Worldwide Sydney, tapped into the public’s love of
celebrity, flipped it on its ear and crafted FairGoBro for Virgin Mobile Australia. The
campaign starred Brad Pitt’s younger brother Doug, and it rang across the Pacific—for
the client and the agency, making headlines and winning awards.
Dig a little further back, and you’ll find that we’re the agency that paired our client
Polaroid with Outkast’s of-the-moment song “Hey Ya!” to create a pop-culture-wavesurfing partnership. You guessed it—we provided Polaroid cameras to Andre 3000 and
a troupe of hot dancers so they could “Shake it like a Polaroid picture” during the MTV
Music Awards and other high-profile performances.
And, of course, going back a decade there’s “metrosexual.” The trendspotting unit
at Havas’ ad side—which I headed up at the time—identified some un-stereotypical
patterns while poring over survey data for client Peroni beer. We linked them to
behavior described by British writer Mark Simpson in 1994, when he coined the term.
Our team then connected metrosexual to the nascent trend of men wanting to find
their softer side, put a commercial spin on it and helped brands use it. Metrosexual
appeared everywhere—from The Daily Telegraph and The New York Times to the 2004
U.S. presidential primaries. The popularization of that story will haunt us forever—and
we will flaunt it forever as our self-promotional case of the decade.
We are passionate to tell our clients’ stories—and we hope that by now brands
understand the importance of crafting a good story and telling it well. We know
that PR can serve a vital role in making it happen.
Enjoy,
Marian Salzman
Marian Salzman
CEO, Havas PR North America
Chair, Global Collective
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
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THE NEW STORYTELLING
Brand storytelling is hardly a new concept. Even when advertising, packaging
and in-person experiences were the sole touch points for marketers and
consumers, companies created characters, tales—even full-blown plots—to
communicate their product qualities and brand values to their audiences.
What are new, however, are emerging technologies and tools that require a
constant creation of content to fuel a variety of channels. Long gone are the
days of putting out your message and letting it sit; brands these days are
constantly evolving. Further, due to the nature of Web 2.0, consumers play a
role in shaping a brand’s meaning. As audiences gain control over the kinds of
messages they view, share and participate in, it becomes increasingly important
for brands to tell compelling stories as a strategy for breaking through.
Much has been written of brand storytelling in recent years, but it’s hard to pin
down a definition. Storytelling has been closely aligned to content marketing;
to developing a strong and consistent brand voice; to finding clever ways to
engage with your audience. But under these definitions, what’s the difference
between storytelling and simply good marketing in the modern world? In our
view, storytelling is the process of creating engaging narratives that ladder up
to a consistent and meaningful brand personality and message—and populating
those stories across available channels in a strategic way.
Six Ways to Tell Compelling Brand Stories
Here, we share six powerful frameworks for compelling brand stories, along with
examples for each.
1
5
OWN UP
It’s safe to say that in today’s world, the best
way for a company to handle a mistake—be
it a product fail or an offensive tweet—is to
acknowledge the error, apologize publicly
and take corrective action. When brands
handle apologies proactively, they typically
suffer very little in the long run. And often,
the error and ensuing apology go viral,
garnering the brand more attention than it
would have earned otherwise. (Remember
the Onion’s satirical—and yes, offensive—
Oscar-night tweet about 9-year-old
Quvenzhané Wallis, star of Beasts of the
Southern Wild? It was certainly the Onion’s
biggest Oscar night ever.)
That’s not to say that brands should go
about erring on purpose. But when there is
a need to “own up,” why not make it part of
the story?
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DOMINO’S PIZZA
Consider Domino’s Pizza. After years of being bashed for the poor
quality of its pizza—“cardboard crust,” “processed cheese,” “wet and
flavorless” and “microwaved tastes better” were frequent comments
in focus groups and on Twitter feeds—Domino’s released a short
documentary, where it committed to improving its product. Called
“The Pizza Turnaround,” the video is subtitled: “The true story of how
Domino’s listened to its harshest critics and made their best pizza
ever.” The video stars the company president, who, along with other
employees, tells the story of the brand, beginning from its inception over 50 years ago
by two brothers with the ingenious idea of making great pizza that could be delivered
to your door within 30 minutes. The video follows Domino’s heyday in the ’80s as the
fastest-growing company in the history of franchises, and proceeds to current times,
with employees reacting passionately—but not defensively—to the barrage of criticism,
and then outlining the steps they took to make their pizza taste better.
The campaign launched in 2009 and quickly went viral, generating countless
mentions in the press and over 1 million YouTube views. Considered a success for
being transparent and authentic, it was, said Direct Marketing News, “the kind of
communication that begins to build trust and drive engagement.” It also included many
of the hallmarks of a great story: an underdog protagonist; real, compelling characters;
and a plot centered on rebirth and second chances.
BODYFORM
Another excellent example of owning up—and, in this case, turning
criticism on its head—comes from Bodyform, a British feminine hygiene
brand, which, last year, was called out on its Facebook page by a male
commenter, who mocked the company’s ads for the positive and
almost gleeful manner in which they portray women on their periods.
Recognizing, said Sensei Marketing’s Sam Fiorella, “the PR value of a
good apology,” Bodyform launched a snarky video “apology” in which
the company’s fictional CEO explains that the brand chose to portray
periods in a positive manner in order to protect men from “the truth” of women’s bodies.
She explains that Bodyform had studied men’s reaction to periods, but found that “the
blood coursing from our uteri like a crimson landslide” was too much for men to handle.
She casually (and hilariously) ends the video by not-so-discreetly passing gas—just to
completely come clean about the things women’s bodies can do.
The viral video, which was viewed over 5 million times on YouTube and garnered,
according to Mashable, almost 40,000 Facebook “likes” in its first 20 hours, is another
excellent example of a brand creating an “apology” story that became a vehicle for
engaging with its customers—in this case, through humor and a wink. Bodyform, which
is genuine and sweet in its traditional communications, also gets points for selecting
the right venue for the video. Whereas corporate websites and advertising retain an
air of formality, by comparison, social media channels allow for experimentation and a
sense of fun—even for a (mostly) serious brand like this one.
2
7
SHOW YOU
STAND FOR MORE
These days, affiliating with a charitable
cause is practically de rigueur for brands.
And that’s as it should be. For one,
customers want it. According to Cause
Marketing Forum, 91 percent of global
consumers are likely to switch brands to
one associated with a good cause. Why?
“People are looking to put passion into
something, and there’s not much to be really
passionate about,” says Marian Salzman,
CEO of Havas PR North America. “That’s
why cause has become more important than
ever. Some people are calling it purpose
marketing—the idea that every brand has to
stand for more than just the products it sells
or even the opportunities it creates for its
employees. It has to stand for what it’s doing
for the community.”
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But rue the company whose efforts are insincere—especially in the era of social
media, when countless blogs and watchdog groups are quick to pounce on a
disingenuous marketing program. (Check out the Think Before You Pink project,
which calls for accountability in breast cancer fundraising campaigns, for an
excellent example.) In a recent post for the Companies for Good Blog, writer Kate
Olsen succinctly outlines four criteria for a strong cause-marketing campaign:
suitability (a genuine connection between the brand and the cause), authenticity
(do you walk the walk?), transparency and selling point (does the product alone
provide value for the money?). For brands looking to sincerely align with a cause,
there is no better way than to tell a story.
PATAGONIA
Last September, outdoor apparel brand Patagonia, which has
been affiliated with environmental causes throughout its 40year history, launched the Responsible Economy campaign. The
multipronged effort is meant to encourage shoppers to shop
responsibly and upcycle old clothing, and, wrote Women’s Wear
Daily, to “start a worldwide discussion that will result in political
action,” with numerous initiatives including “a partnership with
Ifixit.com to repair used clothes, designated areas in select
Patagonia boutiques to sell used clothes bought back from consumers and plans
to become one of the first American outdoor apparel companies to introduce Fair
Trade certified garments for fall 2014.” As part of the campaign, the company
placed its “Better than New” advertisement in The New York Times during last
September’s Fashion Week. The ad announced a “Worn Wear” program, in which, in
an effort to promote recycling and reduced consumption, the brand buys back used
Patagonia garments, cleans and repairs them, and resells them in some of its retail
locations.
So where does the story come in? The ad encouraged customers to check out the
company’s Worn Wear blog, which chronicles user-submitted stories of Patagonia
clothing that has stood the test of time. Heroes include a pair of red Patagonia
Capilene bottoms worn on a honeymoon trip to Mt. Rainier 24 years ago and passed
on from mother to daughter for a first winter at college in Chicago; a pair of 15-yearold board shorts that have paddled through rivers in Canada, Chile, Sri Lanka and
the States; and a Houdini jacket that has climbed mountains, sailed rivers and taken
countless surf trips.
The Worn Wear blog serves as an example of excellent storytelling for several
reasons: It includes true, engaging (and sometimes funny) stories featuring real
people. It doesn’t hit you over the head or take itself too seriously. It seamlessly
ladders up to a larger campaign—which itself ladders up to a greater brand image
that the company lives and breathes. It’s social (check out the well-executed
@wornwear Instagram feed), and it invites customers to take part by submitting
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
9
LIBERTY UNITED
their own stories.
Liberty United is a new company whose central brand identity is
the story behind the cause it supports: reducing gun violence by
removing guns from the streets.
Former McKinsey man Peter Thum may be best known for
founding Ethos Water, a bottled water brand that raises funding
and awareness for clean water programs. (He sold his company to
Starbucks for a reported $8 million in 2005.)
The entrepreneur’s latest endeavor is Liberty United, a jewelry collection featuring
tough-chic bracelets, necklaces and rings crafted from guns and bullets. Each one-ofa-kind piece is stamped with the serial number of the gun from which it was made.
The story is as follows: Thum became a passionate advocate of taking guns off the
streets when, on visits to Africa for Ethos, he saw children carrying assault rifles. He
was inspired to launch his first jewelry brand, Fonderie 47, with the goal of turning
reclaimed guns into jewelry and high art. To date, Fonderie 47 has been responsible
for the removal of 30,000 assault rifles from conflict-ridden regions. In 2012 Thum’s
wife, actress Cara Buono of Mad Men fame, encouraged him to expand his mission to
address gun violence in the United States. Thus, Liberty United was born.
Thum has since partnered with cities such as Philadelphia and Syracuse, N.Y., to procure
guns obtained in gun buyback initiatives and through other programs and turn them
into jewelry. A portion of each piece sold is donated to anti-gun violence groups.
This is a brand story that’s deeply compelling at its core. It’s catnip for press—from
The New York Times, which featured the line this past summer, to fashion magazines,
celebrity rags, mom blogs, you name it. With their serial numbers and unique designs,
the products themselves are invitations for storytelling, providing fodder for word-ofmouth marketing at its finest. The brand is already engaged in interesting designer
collaborations—each one sure to make news on its own. And while the company blog
currently reads more like a “press” page, it’s easy to see the potential to tell even more
stories about the people and communities affected by the brand’s work.
3
10
EXPLOIT YOUR
HERITAGE
“Heritage” has been hot in recent years,
particularly in the American fashion world,
where work wear–inspired looks have been
a major trend since 2008. Think Pendleton
Woolen Mills coats and blankets, Red Wing
boots, Filson cruiser jackets and rucksacks
and Alden shoes. All of these brands have
seen a major revival in their hipness factors—
and presumably, in their bottom lines.
Heritage brands serve as the subject of a
number of blogs, such as A Continuous
Lean, a wildly popular menswear site
dedicated to clothing brands with quality and
provenance. Many heritage brands have also
launched special collections or worked with
unexpected partners. For example, in a trendy
mix of classic and cutting edge, Pendleton
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
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collaborated with visionary boutique and fashion line Opening Ceremony for several
seasons on avant-garde collections, which reaped major publicity. Last year, in order
to commemorate its 150th anniversary, Pendleton launched a heritage collection
named after company founder Thomas Kay. The line features updated versions of
iconic Pendleton classics.
The appeal of heritage brands like Pendleton and others is that in an over-“stuff”-ed
world of conspicuous consumption, some things stand the test of time. These
brands have soul … and the proof is in the (his)story.
MINNETONKA MOCCASIN CO.
Minnetonka Moccasin Co. is a prime example of a brand that is
successfully exploiting its heritage as a storytelling device—and
whose products have, in turn, become chic once again. “Since
1946,” reads the company’s website, “Minnetonka has been a
staple of American style. As post-war Americans took to the
highways exploring the country’s natural beauty, they stumbled
upon resorts and souvenir shops carrying traditional handmade
goods. And in the process, rediscovered America’s original
footwear in Minnetonka moccasins.” The site features a historical
timeline of major company milestones through the years. It also contains a short
documentary video in which CEO David Miller and other employees recount the
story of the business from a small, regional moccasin company to a modern fashion
brand available in over 50 countries. Emphasizing the handcraftsmanship behind
the merchandise, the international appeal of the brand and the joys of working at
a family business whose products are a true “labor of love,” the video closes with
consumers and boutique owners talking passionately about how much they adore
the brand. A robust blog (featuring plenty of style-makers and their Minnetonka
stories), YouTube (complete with a cheeky new video on the iconic Thunderbird
moccasin), Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter reinforce the brand story.
Through the way it uses its heritage for brand storytelling, Minnetonka successfully
roots itself in history while maintaining its relevance for modern times.
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
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LEGO
Other great examples of heritage brands that are skilled in the
art of storytelling include Johnnie Walker, Chrysler, Coca-Cola,
Barbour, Berretta, Aston Martin and Belstaff. But we’d like to call
out LEGO—the legendary Danish maker of colorful plastic bricks
beloved by millions of children the world over—for its recent
efforts in emphasizing its robust heritage through storytelling.
The blog Short of the Week (subtitle: The Greatest Stories of Our
Time) joins us in applauding LEGO for “The LEGO Story,” a 17-minute animated film
celebrating the brand’s 80th birthday in 2012. LEGO, wrote blogger Jason Sondhi
in Short of the Week, is “not a stranger to branded content. Its YouTube channel is
a maze of sub-accounts featuring video-game crossovers, product unveilings, usersubmitted ‘brick’ films and yes, themed shorts [that’s not to mention video games,
TV commercials, print advertisements and LEGOLANDS around the world]. There is
a lot to dig into and a lot of cumulative views, but considering that the brand has 2M
Facebook fans to direct toward content, it’s surprising that [it had] yet to ever have
something go truly viral.”
Until release of “The LEGO Story.” The video received 400,000 views in its first day
(it’s now logged over 5 million) and has been written up in countless venues. The
story begins with LEGO founder Ole Kirk Christiansen, a struggling but persistent
carpenter who began by designing toys for his four sons and ultimately grew his
hobby into the mega-brand it is today.
On the downside, the video is, well, a little bit boring. Said Short of the Week:
‘The LEGO Story’ forgets a key component of a Brand Story, something more
traditional advertising would never forget, which is attitude… However given its
target consumer demographic, perhaps that is a calculated choice.” Moreover, the
video deserves to be applauded for telling its story through the lens of the brand’s
core values: imagination, perseverance, quality and family fun. Pretty good for a
manufacturer of mass-produced plastic.
4
13
INFUSE YOUR STORY
WITH INTRIGUING
PERSONALITIES
As many a high school English teacher will
tell you, a compelling protagonist is the key
to any good story.
Naturally, the history of branding is replete
with memorable mascots, from the Pillsbury
Doughboy to Ronald McDonald, the Jolly
Green Giant, the Taco Bell Chihuahua,
LifeCall’s Mrs. Fletcher (“I’ve fallen and I can’t
get up!”) and the Snuggle Fabric Softener
Bear. But that doesn’t mean they all tell
stories. Throughout advertising history, many
mascots have become known—and been
highly effective—simply for their cute or
unusual looks, quirky personalities and funny
slogans alone.
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
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Contemporary branding, however, demands well-developed characters. The best
ones come complete with a story that reflects both their own disposition and
the brand they represent. “Consumers have relationships with other people, not
products or services,” Chelsea Amaral wrote for Punchbowl. “Create and infuse
personalities into your brand’s stories to build a character your audience will identify
with and root for in marketing messages. This humanizes your brand by giving it
emotion and personality.”
PROGRESSIVE
Flo, the perky, peppy and yes, fictional, insurance salespersonslash-cashier for Progressive insurance has become an advertising
icon. Having appeared in more than 50 commercials since she first
came on the scene in 2008, the heavily made-up, over-the-topupbeat spokesperson has invited us in to the story of her life.
Turns out, reveals an ad from last spring, that Flo has been
“finding your discounts since back in the day”—when as a
schoolgirl, she ran for class president, promising ice cream
discounts, pizza discounts … and even some “great ideas for car insurance.” We can
certainly believe it, given her earnest enthusiasm for everything from her “trickedout nametag” to her first Google+ Hangout.
Flo’s Facebook fan page (with more than 5 million fans) had her planning a
Halloween party and sharing her personal playlists, all the while seamlessly
promoting Progressive in her sassy style. Flo has her own Instagram feed … and
if you can’t get enough (and want to be prepared for when Halloween next rolls
around), Progressive will sell you an officially sanctioned Flo costume for a cool
$39.00. But don’t think Flo is a purely American phenomenon—she’s boasted an
Australian counterpart named Kitty since 2011.
With Flo, Progressive has created an intriguing, well-developed character that
certainly humanizes what would otherwise be a bland insurance brand. (It’s worth
noting that Flo is in good company here. The Geico Gecko, Aflac Duck and Dean
Winters as “Mayhem” have all been credited for doing the same for competing
insurance companies.)
As a final plug for brand mascots, consider a study released this summer by
Synthesio, a global social media-marketing group. When the agency compared the
social media buzz generated by celebrity endorsers with that of brand mascots, it
found that brand mascots generated significantly more buzz around their brand
than celebrity endorsers. Why? “As these brand mascots are basically the brand,
they don’t have another job so all of their efforts can be spent promoting the brand
and engaging with its online community,” said Loic Moisand, co-founder and CEO of
Synthesio. “In traditional marketing, celebrity endorsements are extremely valuable,
but for social media purposes, they don’t appear to be. Our research seems to
confirm that mascots are the way to go online: They are popular, have no competing
agendas and they work for free.”
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VIRGIN
Of course, brand stories don’t have to star fictional characters. As
we’ve seen in many of the examples highlighted throughout this
piece, costumers, fans and employees make great storytellers, too.
Consider Richard Branson, the larger-than-life, self-made
billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, the holding company
behind over 400 global businesses, including airlines, record
stores, health clubs and a space tourism company. An occasional
actor (he’s had cameo appearances on several TV shows and films,
and even starred in his own reality TV program) and fearless athlete (he’s attempted
to break several world records by boat and air balloon), Branson is also a prominent
humanitarian. He supports a variety of causes personally, including the environment
and nuclear weapons elimination. Virgin Unite, his company’s nonprofit foundation,
promotes entrepreneurship through a variety of programs around the world.
Perhaps more than any other CEO globally, Branson’s name (and his personality) is
synonymous with his brand. His favorite phrase (and also the title of his 2011 book),
Screw Business as Usual, applies to any one of his electrifying brands. You may not
have known Virgin manufactured water purifiers, but chances are you could conjure
Virgin Pure’s brand attributes as something far from boring and bland—healthful,
easy to use, probably bright red. (You’d be right on all three.)
The Virgin products may seem disparate, but Branson’s character is the fuel behind
an umbrella brand that somehow feels cohesive. He’s certainly a high-profile
character (there are over 50 million Google search results for his name, and he
appears in the media almost daily), but he’s also a large presence in company
materials. His blog appears on the Virgin homepage, and his various social
networking profiles, though separate from the company’s, are heavily promoted
throughout Virgin channels. Take a look at the
Our Story section of the Virgin website, and
you’ll see that Branson is the central character.
CEO-as-star may not be the right strategy
for every company—and not every CEO is as
dynamic as Branson—but other businesses can
take a cue from Virgin by giving their CEOs a
role in their brand story. A CEO who appears
in television ads or YouTube videos, writes a
blog (check out Sea Views by Adam Goldstein,
president and CEO of Royal Caribbean, and
The Grassy Road by Penny Herscher, CEO of
FirstRain, both often hailed as among the best
in the category), or otherwise interacts with
consumers through social media channels can
become one character in a tale that ladders up to
a large, powerful and authentic brand story.
5
16
MAKE MEANING
OUT OF COMPLEX
INFORMATION
The amount of data available to and collected
by companies these days is astounding.
Knowing how and when to share the statistics
and relevant takeaways with consumers is a
challenge all its own. Data can be an excellent
starting point for developing a brand story;
a story, in turn, is a relatable way to convey
complex pieces of information to consumers.
While serving as global social manager at
Havas Media Group, Christel Quek wrote in a
post on the Harvard Business Review blog:
“The most successful brand storyteller is a
meaning maker who tells the story with the
savvy of Don Draper, the cheeky cleverness
of Dr. Seuss, and the data fluency of Barack
Obama’s re-election campaign team. After
all, consumers are inspired by having 1,000
songs in their pockets; not by having a
gigabyte of memory in their iPods. People
will congregate around ideas and stories, not
data points and spreadsheets.”
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YOUBEAUTY
Launched by Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen in July 2011,
YouBeauty is a data-driven beauty, health and lifestyle site
currently reaching 2.8 million unique monthly readers, according
to the company. Alongside articles on everything from hair care
to skin care to nutrition and love, the site features quizzes that
readers can take to receive “personalized advice.” (And hey, also
to have fun—remember when teen magazines were chockful
of quizzes you’d take when sitting around with your girlfriends
at slumber parties? Same concept.) Two years in, almost 2.5 million quizzes and
50 million data points later, the company said in a press release announcing its
re-launch this past summer: “This combined Big Data set [allows] YouBeauty to
better explore the science of beauty, wellness and psychology in a way that makes
it accessible and actionable at a very personalized level for its readers. It [also
provides] the ability to engage and hyper-target audiences in ways never before
available to brand advertisers, without ever compromising user privacy.”
But perhaps even more interesting than the ways in which the site uses data to
serve content and sell to advertisers is how the data becomes a part of the brand
story, differentiating YouBeauty from the tens of thousands of competing sites
and blogs on the Internet. Said the company: “YouBeauty [explores] its compelling
collective research on how women relate to and are affected by beauty and
wellness. [You can see] infographics scattered throughout the site, and our ‘Beauty
Intel’ special section featuring the most interesting statistics our editors culled from
our 50 million answered questions.”
With statistics like “only 56 percent of you wash your faces before going to bed at
night,” “less than 10 percent of you are satisfied with your weight,” and “50 percent
of you get nervous if your guy has close girlfriends” displayed throughout the site,
often with engaging infographics to support them, YouBeauty doesn’t just provide
engaging content; it presents a brand story that is aligned to its founding by worldfamous medical professionals: that of an expert site driven by data—not just another
powder puff.
GENERAL ELECTRIC
From bringing “good things to life” to putting your “imagination
at work,” GE has been about more than appliances and aviation
equipment since its early days. Now, in an effort to position
itself, according to Beth Comstock speaking to Ad Age, as an
“innovative technology company” focused on helping consumers,
the company has primarily utilized digital and social media
tools to promote its marketing message. (The company spends
relatively modestly on advertising—e.g., just $50.9 million in the
U.S. in the first five months 2013.) It makes sense that a multinational conglomerate
specializing in business and consumer tech would use data to tell its story. The
challenge is to identify ways to translate that data into inspiring narratives.
STORYTELLING 6 WAYS
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GE has embraced data visualization on a variety of platforms, from Pinterest to
blogs, Vine and Facebook. A GE Pinterest board called “Making Data Work” explains
the strategy: “Data visualizations are a powerful way to simplify complexity. We are
committed to creating visualizations that advance the conversation about issues
that shape our lives.” Topics covered range from “How Bad Habits Increase the Cost
of Cancer” to “The Emissions Savings of Drivers Switching to Electronic Vehicles by
2020.”
GE utilizes both company data and external data to populate these visualizations.
For example, a blog visualization called
“Powering the World” uses data from 713 GE
gas turbines from across the globe to explain
how GE power technology generates a quarter
of the world’s daily electricity. The goal of
using this internal data is to make meaning out
of complex company information—to show
that “GE technology is hard at work to power
the world in which we live.”
When GE uses external data, on the other hand, the company’s goal is to insert itself
into a broader conversation. Research by Content Marketing Institute found that
“Americans are quite open to brands being credible sources of Web content”—even,
perhaps, as credible as the news media. A smart strategy is to make like journalists
and rely on external data to verify assertions. According to CMI: “One way for
brands to increase content credibility is to introduce trustworthy third-party data
as part of their stories. Credible stories are rooted in something that’s real, not just
your ideas. So for example data, research and numbers can be the foundation of the
story, while your ideas and opinions add perspective to the story.” When GE cites
sources including the World Health Organization, Greenpeace Germany, the Natural
Resources Defense Council and many others in its visualizations, it adds a strong
dose of credibility to its content.
GE generated quite a bit of marketing buzz
this past summer with a new take on the
popular subject of Big Data. It released a
series of short films, called Datalandia, which,
wrote Ad Age, “mimic summer blockbusters
[in order to] illustrate the industrial Internet
through scenarios involving blood-sucking
vampires and extraterrestrials.” Filmed in a
miniature wonderland of tiny people and their
surroundings, the videos give a lighthearted look at how Big Data can improve
people’s everyday lives—in ways like chasing vampires and aliens away from
small towns. According to Ad Age: “The company wants people to understand
that the Internet of things encompasses far more than their refrigerators and
thermostats; it’s also the data-enabled industrial contraptions used in air travel
and healthcare—or the industrial Internet.” Once again, this is an example of how
storytelling can be used to explain otherwise complex subjects.
6
19
TUG HEARTSTRINGS
—BUT TREAD
CAREFULLY
Have you ever watched the Olympics or
the Super Bowl? Then you certainly know
that when it comes to advertising, brands
are no strangers to tearjerkers. Brands can
tug at your heartstrings using a variety of
means; moving music, cute kids and a great
montage are popular strategies. But one
of the most effective methods for bringing
a tear to an audience’s eye is through
effective storytelling.
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EXPEDIA
Case in point: Expedia’s “Find Your Understanding” video, a
moving and honest tale of a father traveling to his daughter’s gay
wedding with a believable blend of apprehension, support and
love. The runaway winner on Ad Age’s Viral Video Tear-Jerker
of the Year competition, the video handily beat out five others,
receiving 56 percent of reader votes.
“Find Your Understanding,” which garnered over 2.6 million views
on YouTube, underscores the company’s proclaimed support of gay marriage.
But this is more than politics. It is a relatable story of family bonds, regardless of the
specific details of the experience. “At the heart of [the father’s] story is the idea that
travel is deeply personal,” Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia, told the Huffington
Post. “We’ve built our entire brand behind that idea. The trip to his daughter’s
wedding changed his perspective on fatherhood, his daughter’s happiness and her
same-sex marriage.”
The video also, notes Ad Age, “did a lot more than tell Expedia’s brand story to the
outside world, it made Expedia employees feel valued.” “I work for Expedia and am
proud to be employed by a company that doesn’t just support LGBT employees,
but treats them like human beings and not just another number,” wrote a reader
commenting on the Ad Age site.
TRUE MOVE H
It has been hailed by the International Business Times as “one of
the most tear-jerking ads of all time” and by the New York Daily
News as perhaps “the most emotional advertisement ever.” This
three-minute video clip by Thai cell phone company True Move H
made international headlines, garnered over 8,000 comments and
received 12 million YouTube views in its first two weeks after being
posted this past September.
The clip, which is entirely in Thai but is available with English subtitles, features
a boy who is caught stealing medicine from a pharmacy. When the boy says the
medicine is for his sick mother, a café owner who witnesses the incident pays for the
medicine and gives the boy food from his restaurant. Fast-forward 30 years later.
The café owner is seen giving food to a homeless man and then suddenly collapses.
In the hospital, his despairing daughter is given a $24,000 medical bill. With no way
to pay the bill, she puts her modest house up for sale. She is then shown asleep in a
chair with her head on her father’s hospital bed. When she wakes up, there is a note
next to her bed that reads “all expenses have been paid 30 years ago, with three
packs of painkillers and a bag of veggie soup.” It turns out that the doctor treating
her father is the boy who had been found stealing three decades prior.
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The video closes with the tagline: “Giving is the best communication.”
There’s nary a phone in site in the entire video (similarly, we never see the
father in the Expedia video using the travel website to book his trip). But
with stories as powerful as these—and given the immensely viral nature of
both of these videos—there is no doubt the investment will come back to
both brands in spades. The True Move H and Expedia videos are successful
precisely because they steer clear of aggressively punching you with product
promotions. (Can you imagine how disgusted you’d be if the daughter in the
True Move H video picked up a phone grossly labeled “True Move H” and
dialed up the real estate company?)
Interestingly, while the Expedia video is, in fact, a true story, the True Move H
video doesn’t appear to be. But it really doesn’t matter either way. They are
stories that feel honest, believable and true. They don’t feel manipulative, and
they tell tales with values that brands can stand behind.
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The Role of PR in Brand Storytelling
So what, then, is PR’s role in helping to identify, shape and promote brand stories?
Source Stories
PR can help clients find stories—especially true ones—to build content around.
For example, Havas PR’s award-winning “Portraits of Heroes” campaign for Sears
paired former “American Idol” contestant and former U.S. Marine Josh Gracin with
the iconic American department store for a tribute to U.S. veterans. Sears invited
veterans and their families to write in with moving stories and allowed Gracin to
choose one song to write a story around. He ultimately chose a heart-wrenching
tribute from a young widow and turned it into a moving song that garnered press
coverage, social media buzz and close to 140,000 YouTube views.
Similarly, for the long-running Ford Warriors in Pink campaign, Havas PR helped
the company break through the “pink” clutter by, among other initiatives, enlisting
journalist/activist Lee Woodruff to write breast cancer–survivor profiles published in
a variety of publications.
These profiles, like the young widow’s story for the “Portraits of Heroes” campaign,
helped introduce these brands and their causes into new conversations. PR was
instrumental in not only identifying the stories, but also propagating them across
traditional and social media.
Identify Content Creators
In a recent article in Forbes titled “5 Secrets to Using Storytelling for Brand
Marketing Success,” the author noted: “Today’s strongest marketing team will have
room for new roles like … the brand creative content director, [who] focuses on
increasing consumer emotional involvement in the brand through social media and
content marketing stories as well as on weaving the brand storyline into offline
brand experiences and marketing initiatives.”
With its longtime relationships with expert storytellers—namely, editors, writers and
journalists—PR is uniquely positioned to help match brands with the appropriate
talent, such as creative content directors, to help drive storytelling commitments.
Naturally, PR should also be working with all relevant parties (internal, external,
agency) to help develop and drive a storytelling content strategy. Because of its
roots in the “traditional” storytelling space of journalism, PR is a particularly credible
voice in this developing story of branding.
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Sources (in order referenced)
Spin Sucks. Kitchen Aid Handles Offensive Tweet Crisis Extraordinarily Well, by
Gini Dietrich. October 4, 2012.
NPR. ‘The Onion’ Apologizes for Offensive Tweet About 9-Year-Old Quvenzhané
Wallis, by Mark Memmott. February 25, 2013.
Direct Marketing News. Domino’s ‘Pizza Turnaround’ Represents About-Face in
Marketing and Product, by Steve Capp. March 1, 2010.
Sensei Marketing. The PR Value of a Well-Apologized Brand, by Sam Fiorella.
October 22, 2012.
Bodyform Responds: The Truth, via YouTube. Posted October 16, 2012.
Mashable. Man’s Strange Maxipad Rant Captivates Facebook, by Kevin Collier.
October 9, 2012.
Cause Marketing Forum. Statistics Every Cause Marketer Should Know.
Companies for Good Blog. 4 Questions to Ward Off Cause Marketing Backlash, by
Kate Olsen. June 19, 2013.
Women’s Wear Daily. Patagonia Launches ‘Responsibility’ Initiative, by Rosemary
Feitelberg. September 24, 2013.
New York Times. Peter Thum’s Mission: A Jewelry Line Created from Guns and
Bullets, by Mary Billard. July 3, 2013.
Short of The Week. The LEGO Story, by Jason Sondhi. August 14, 2012.
Punchbowl. 6 Tips to Help Brands Master Storytelling, by Chelsea Amaral. July 31,
2013.
Synthesio. Social Media Reveals The True Value of a Celebrity Endorser. June 10,
2013.
Harvard Business Review Blog Network. Make Your Brand Story Meaningful, by
Christel Quek. June 14, 2013.
Yahoo Finance. Press Release: YouBeauty Unveils New Brand Identity and User
Experience Powered by an Unmatched Data Story. July 1, 2013.
Content Marketing Institute. How to Make Branded Content More Credible
[Research], by Colleen Jones. July 20, 2012.
Content Marketing Institute. Data-Driven Brand Storytelling: 6 Steps to a Credible
Story, by Patricia Redsicker. October 18, 2012.
Ad Age. GE Makes Short Films in Tiny Town About Big Data, by Kate Kaye. July 11,
2013.
HuffPost Gay Voices. Expedia Supports Gay Marriage in Washington State,
September 5, 2012.
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Ad Age. Which of These Ads Is Viral Video’s Tear-Jerker of the Year, by Michael
Learmonth. March 20, 2013.
Ad Age. The Funniest, Most Tear-Jerking Viral Ads of the Year, According to Ad Age
Readers, by Michael Learmonth. March 25, 2013.
International Business Times. Thai Video Becomes One of the Most Tear-Jerking
Ads of All Time, by Christine Lazaro. September 23, 2013.
New York Daily News. VIDEO: Tear-Jerking Ad Shows How a Small Act of Kindness
Can Have a Big Impact, by Lee Moran. September 17, 2013.
Forbes. 5 Secrets to Use Storytelling for Brand Marketing Success, by Susan
Gunelius. February 5, 2013.
Brand Content (in order referenced)
Domino’s Pizza.
Domino’s: The Pizza Turnaround, via YouTube. Posted December 21, 2009.
Bodyform.
Think Before You Pink.
Patagonia.
Patagonia, The Cleanest Line. Better Than New. September 10, 2013.
Patagonia, Worn Wear.
Patagonia Worn Wear Instagram.
Liberty United.
Fonderie 47.
Liberty United Journal.
A Continuous Lean.
Minnetonka.
The Minnetonka Story, via YouTube. Posted July 31, 2012.
Minnetonka Moccasin Blog.
Minnetonka Moccasin YouTube.
Minnetonka Moccasin Pinterest.
Minnetonka Moccasin Facebook.
Minnetonka Moccasin Twitter.
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LEGO.
The LEGO Story, via YouTube. Posted August 10, 2012.
Progressive.
Class President: Progressive Insurance Commercial, via YouTube.
Posted April 26, 2013.
Progressive Commercial: Tricked Out Nametag, via YouTube.
Posted July 27, 2008.
Progressive: Flo’s First Google+ Hangout, via YouTube.
Posted October 19, 2012.
Flo, The Progressive Girl, Facebook.
Flo from Progressive Instagram.
AllState Mayhem Commercial: Dean Winters as Teenage Girl in Pink Truck,
via YouTube. Posted August 1, 2010.
Virgin.
Screw Business As Usual, by Richard Branson. Released December 8, 2011.
Richard Branson’s blog for Virgin.
Royal Caribbean. ‘Sea Views’ blog from President and CEO, Adam Goldstein.
The Grassy Road Blog, by Penny Herscher, CEO of FirstRain.
YouBeauty.
General Electric.
GE Pinterest, Making Data Work
GE Blog Data Visualizations.
GE Datalandia.
Expedia.
Expedia: Find Your Understanding—Expedia Find Yours, via YouTube. Posted
October 2, 2012.
True Move H.
True Move H: Giving, via YouTube. Posted September 11, 2013.
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About Havas Worldwide PR
The PR arm of communications holding company Havas Worldwide, we have
a presence in more than 75 countries across six continents. Our collective is
ninth in size and third in social media effectiveness; in 2012, we were the second
most awarded PR agency in the world at the Clios, among the most shortlisted
PR networks at Cannes and the only PR network with a jury member at both
Cannes and the Clios. We count among our members the Financial Agency of
the Year and the number two Healthcare PR Agency of the Year. We are a Global
Collective, connected, pitching together, borderless, and focused on new tools, new
technologies and a new way of working. We are one Collective, connected for one
commitment: getting to the future first. Faster. For more on Havas Worldwide PR,
visit havaspr.com.
Contacts
Marian Salzman, CEO,
Havas PR North America
E: marian.salzman@
havasww.com
C: +1 646-361-1837
T: @mariansalzman
Benoît Viala, Deputy
Managing Director,
Havas PR Worldwide
Paris
James Wright, Managing
Director, Red Agency
Australia and Havas PR
Asia-Pacific
E: benoit.viala@
havasww.com
E: james.wright@
redagency.com.au
C: 33-1-58-47-97-82
C: 61-2-9963-7890