Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “storytelling”
June 18, 2020 A significant number of companies have received scathing responses from customers and the media in the last few months – and rightly so. They’re making claims to support people and causes when everything about their behavior proves they believe otherwise. It’s clear many brands have a gross …
June 12, 2018 by Carla Johnson Storytelling gets too much credit and not enough appreciation. And that’s because people don’t really understand it, much less how to use it. Storytelling comes down to two things – connection and engagement. And when we look at it from this perspective, we have …
April 12, 2018 by Sam Holzman In today’s digital age, the customer has more power than ever before—and marketers are taking notice. In fact, a recent study found that 83% of marketers think customer experience is more central to their role than it was five years ago (source). Interestingly, that …
January 4, 2018 by Carla Johnson When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for Sunday nights. I grew up on a farm and work was never a 9-to-5 gig. With crops, hogs and cattle, we worked whenever work needed to be done. But Sunday nights were different. Sunday night …
April 20, 2017 by Chris Schermer As a B2B marketing agency, SCHERMER often gets asked to do “branding.” Typically, it’s marketers who want help with their brand positioning, messaging and identity so that they can create more consistent and compelling communications. These initiatives generally spawn a standards manual, website and …
March 2, 2017 by Carla Johnson I’ve written about how high-quality storytelling can take companies out of the commodity conundrum and actually help raise prices. “That’s great!” readers tell me. “But how do I actually tell a story?” I’d like to share the easiest and quickest storytelling formula ever, courtesy …
February 14, 2017 by Brian Carroll We have more marketing channels and more content than ever before, but it’s become harder to actually connect with customers. Here’s what I mean. Today’s crazy-busy customers are weary of pitches, cold emails, hype, and manipulative messages, and as a result, they tune them …
January 17, 2017 by Carla Johnson Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most influential storytellers of the 20th century. A pastor, activist and humanitarian, King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Nobel Peace Prize lecture and “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail” are among the most revered orations and …
January 5, 2017 by Carla Johnson People aren’t good with change. We like to think that we are. We say we’ll do it. But even when we’re pounded by evidence of what’s not working we keep trudging on with habitual tactics. Many leading analyst firms claim that buyers are 57 …
December 6, 2016 by Carla Johnson In his book Down and Out in Paris and London, author George Orwell (of 1984 and Animal Farm fame…) tells the story of penniless British writer Eric Blair and his adventures on the streets of…you guessed it…Paris and London. It was Orwell’s first novel …
November 29, 2016 by Carla Johnson In his book Lead with a Story, author Paul Smith shares a great anecdote about why we have to take time to dig into understanding what matters to our audience. Paul tells the story of a law school professor who assigned an unusual project for students …
November 17, 2016 by Carla Johnson Storytelling still gets a bad rap. Companies – especially B2B – see it as soft. Execs don’t see it as something to do if they’re serious about hitting revenue numbers. Sales teams say it’s hard and takes too long to affect a sale. Marketers …
November 8, 2016 by Carla Johnson I’m often asked by business people how to tell better stories. I always tell them to learn from the masters, which is rarely other business people. The best places to go are often outside your industry. Those skilled in the art of storytelling but …
October 25, 2016 by Carla Johnson The biggest beef I hear from sales teams or sales-driven organizations is that they can’t get people to pay attention, make decisions or quit product comparisons. This is a huge red flag for a common illness. These companies are caught in the commodity trap. …
October 6, 2016 by Carla Johnson B2B marketers have tapped social media as a pillar approach to reaching audiences. In fact, 83% of respondents in the 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends from Content Marketing Institute named social media content and their number one go-to tactic. But social media for B2B …
October 4, 2016 by Carla Johnson We hear about storytelling a lot, but what does it mean? And does branded storytelling actually work? And can you measure it? That was the topic of last week’s Content Marketing Institute twitter chat with Jacob Warwick, marketing strategist at Blast Analytics. Here were …
September 27, 2016 If ever there were a profession suffering from motion sickness, it’s marketing. Upheaval from a sea of constant change is truly the new norm. Sure footing is a thing of the past. As we look to deliver value within our organizations, we find that our arms need …
August 30, 2016 by Robert Rose When I first came to Los Angeles, one of my screenwriting instructors told me something that I still find invaluable today. He said, “When you have a story, outline it, abstract it, even write it without considering whether it will be a novel, a …
August 23, 2016 by Carla Johnson When it comes to consistently telling a brand story, few brands have the sustainable track record that Nike does. From its inception in 1971 (previously known as Blue Ribbon Sports), founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman have been unwavering with Nike’s mission: To bring …
August 11, 2016 by Carla Johnson Frustration. I’m hearing more of it and not just from marketers – but from executives as well. Conversations that used to be within the walls of marketing are overflowing into the C-suite. And a big part of that conversation is about relevance. How do …
