Let me run through Scene 1 in a movie plot line I often find myself cast. I will play the part of the skinny content-marketing dude. The part of the brand-marketing executive will be played by John Goodman or Brad Pitt, whomever you like better—or you can afford.

The scene: Your average glass-walled conference room high atop your average corporate office tower looking out on the city

BRAND-MARKETING EXEC
We have this video, and we want it to go viral.

SHAWN
Would love to help if we can. Let me see it.

Exec plays video on his laptop — a montage of perfectly lit images of a food container timed to a pulsating techno track. We see a tracking shot across the side of the container, an aerial panoramic shot across the top of the jar, a spoon removing a dollop of the jar’s sweet insides in slow motion. The montage ends with an extreme close-up of the product label as lightning flashes around it.

BRAND-MARKETING EXEC
What do you think? It perfectly captures the
epic tastiness of our new line. Cost us $100k.

SHAWN
(searching for words)
It looks tasty.

[END SCENE]

I’ve been in this movie many times — along side brands that confuse shameless promotion with providing something of value. These brands spend too much money and too much time creating infomercials, then wonder aloud why the views don’t pile up.

Okay, so you think your brand is savvier than that? Even smart marketers often fall down the rabbit hole of casting their product as the hero of the story—even when the plotline is more sophisticated than the one offered up by our non-descript brand marketing exec. Is your product up to the role? Can it carry the movie? As it is with all good producers, the story has to come first, and all your allegiance must then be paid to it. Study the great work of a brand like Chipotle; the company has a message — on sustainable farming and food safety — and its products are lucky if they get walk-on roles.

What do we know about stories? They have beginnings, middles and ends. They have conflict. They have a hero (or an antihero). They reflect something intrinsic about our humanity. There also is often a funny irony about stories, the better ones anyway: They don’t sell, but if they do their job well, people will buy.

In this new age of social, spontaneous communication, brands need to learn how to become more storytellers, less pitchmen. Lessons can be learned from Hollywood, athough producers hardly bat 1,000 there when it comes to finding great stories. Every major summer blockbuster that is released is essentially a product line being launched across multiple verticals. However, the centerpiece of the product launch is a big, beautiful story whose job is to entertain. Leave a movie audience inspired, and they will come back and see the movie again. They will tell their friends, and they will want to incorporate reminders of that movie into their lives with the toys, branded food products, soundtracks and clothing they buy.

Hollywood gets this — and so do brands when they hitch a ride on a great tale (instead of creating their own) through product placements in films. Those days aren’t over, but it’s no longer the only pathway to a consumer’s heart and mind through story.

Brands are the new Hollywood, but they need to brush up on their storytelling skills and trust that the strength of their convictions will lead people to their products. Products need to be the manifestation of a company’s values. Those values should be the subject of all sorts of wonderful stories that comprise your company’s narrative. Some may star an employee. Some may feature your customers — or people you wish were your customers. Insist that your brand audition alongside everyone else, and have the courage to realize when your brand shouldn’t be hero.

The great bluesman Lonnie Brooks once gave me some advice he had received from another great bluesman, Junior Wells, about how to win over a cynical nightclub audience: “Anything that comes from the heart can’t help, but touch the heart … ”

The point: Great stories have to be more than simply authentic sentiment or messages from brands, even if they are told from the heart. They also have to be creative and purposeful, real stories that add value to the listeners’ lives. And above all, they need to be able to touch the emotions of their audiences. That’s a heavy lift even if you throw $100k at it.

[FADE TO BLACK]

*Reposted with permission from Pat Wechsler
Senior Vice President | Editor of TRUE

The post THE HERO IN THIS STORY WILL NOT BE PLAYED BY YOUR PRODUCT appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

Today we will be breaking down a brand story released by Starbucks to promote its new Veranda (blonde) Roast.

First, Watch the Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtBtHxSDpa0

This is a great example of brand storytelling. Let’s take it beat by beat.

The Aesthetics

The very first image is a high-contrast black-and-white photograph of a hip twentysomething Starbucks barista at work. Immediately the audience knows what this video is selling, and they are either drawn in by the aesthetic of the black-and-white stills or they aren’t. The chosen style of the photographs over motion video is not for everyone, and Starbucks understands that. This video is not trying to please everybody, and that is one of its strongest assets.

Also, all of the voice-over used in this video is unscripted. As a result, the piece feels authentic, real, and touchable. When you’re dealing with non-professional actors, it is almost always better to go unscripted. Actors are paid lots of money to make scripted words sound off-the-cuff because it is a difficult thing to do, so don’t put that burden on the untrained.

It would seem, based on these aesthetics, that Starbucks saw their audience as somewhat corporate-resistant young people (not just millennials) who see themselves as appreciating the boutique, the specialty, and the hand-crafted product.

Inciting Incident: Starbucks Customers Are Unsatisfied

The first line of voice-over is: “A lot of customers come in and say, you know, I love Starbucks, but your coffee’s too strong for me.”

In the very first line, they are presenting a problem — Starbucks has left “a lot” of customers unfulfilled in the past. This statement is a disarmer for the audience and builds trust. The audience thinks, “Well, if Starbucks is willing to say they haven’t satisfied ‘a lot’ of their customers, they must be telling me the truth, because why would a business make up a negative?” It earns the video a lot of credibility. It also implies a personal, local touch from a major national brand.

Object of Desire: Starbucks Wants to Satisfy These Unsatisfied Customers

After that line of voice-over, the video cuts to a title card that reads: “So we wanted to create a lighter roast for them.”

The main character is identified as “we,” or the Starbucks brand, and the character’s object of desire is stated plainly: “to satisfy customers who want a lighter roast.” The major dramatic question has been presented: “Will Starbucks please its customers?” We, the audience, intrinsically know that this story will end with an answer to that question.

This title card also follows the storytelling principle of “Buts and Therefores”. The sentence only makes sense when taken in context with what came before it. All stories are a series of actions and reactions, causes and effects. It’s what creates the push-pull of story. Where people get into trouble is when they start writing “and then, and then, and then,” instead of “but,” “therefore,” or in this case, “so.”

Presenting the idea of brewing a lighter roast as a reaction to customer complaints (instead of a disconnected thought) tells the audience that a) Starbucks listens to its customers’ criticisms, and b) Starbucks is inclusive and wants everyone to be happy with their product, not just the customers that “get it.” Remember, it is in the main character’s reaction to obstacles that tells us the most about him/her.

Obstacle: The Challenge of Craftsmanship

The next line of voice-over is “Light roast? I mean, this is something that we had never done before.”

Everyone can relate to the fear of the unknown and the struggle to accomplish something new you’ve never done before. In order for our main character (Starbucks) to get its object of desire (satisfy the unsatisfied customers), they will have to jump into the deep end of the pool and sink or swim.

Progressive Complication: 80 Tries

Immediately following the voice-over, we are presented with a montage of title cards that read, “Ver. 1,” “Ver. 2,” “Ver. 3,” and so on.

Seeing these titles intercut with more photographs of coffee roasting tells us that Starbucks has begun the process of crafting the lighter roast. This is the most cinematic aspect of the video in that it plays on the montage theory pioneered by Russian filmmakers Lev Kuleshov and V.I. Pudovkin in the 1920s — two unrelated images (a photograph of a man sipping coffee and a title card that reads “Ver. 1”), when cut together, create a third idea in the mind of the audience (“They are testing new product”).

Film is psychological magic.

The next line of voice-over: “When we were developing blonde roast, it was crazy. It was the whole coffee team in there roasting different kinds of coffees. Tasting all the flavors again and again.”

So, our main character’s effort to satisfy the unsatisfied customers is not easy. This is where what’s good for business storytelling and what’s good for business in real life diverge a bit. No doubt, Starbucks would’ve loved to nail it on their first try — it would’ve saved them time and money. But the fact that it didn’t come easy is fantastic for the story. In storytelling, everything moves forward through conflict.

More title cards flash across the screen: “Ver. 47,” “Ver. 48,”…

More voice-over: “One minute we knew we had it, or we thought we had it, then the next minute were like, ‘Ah… I don’t know if this is actually right.’ We had to make sure it was perfect.”

I’m impressed that Starbucks was willing to imply so much struggle in their story, because this is not a comfortable thing for a business to do. Most companies are afraid to show challenges, problems or struggles because they perceive it as a risk to their brand image. But Starbucks, with guidance from the agency that produced this video, understood that every story needs an underdog. The end product may be “perfect,” but nobody relates to easily-acquired perfection.

With each new version of the roast, “Ver. 50,” “Ver. 51,” the dramatic stakes are rising. More money is being spent. More time is being invested. The audience interprets, “Boy, Starbucks must really care about this thing they’re making!”

Voice-over: “… and that took 80 tries.”

Turning Point: Success

The final bit of voice-over “Holy cow. This is really light. This is really good! With blonde roast, we have something for everybody.”

The initial setup of the object of desire, “we wanted to create a lighter roast for them,” is paid off directly with “we have something for everybody.” The major dramatic question has been answered, the narrative arc has been closed. Our main character (the Starbucks brand) has achieved success.

If StoryFirst Media had produced this spot, here is where we might have made one adjustment.

Instead of just cutting from “that took 80 tries” to the success of developing the perfect light roast, it may have been better to include the final dramatic decision that brought about the success. After 79 versions of the roast, what was the last thing that pushed it over the edge from good to great? What was the dilemma? Were they about to give up until someone had the perfect idea? Were there two (or more) perfect ideas that had to be pit against each other?

Including a final dramatic decision or action is what really creates the turning point. As it stands in the finished video, the decision to develop 80 different roasts effectively doubles as the progressive complication and final dramatic action, so it certainly works. The choice to not include a final dramatic action may have been made in the interest of time (the video’s total run time is 1 minute, 2 seconds), and that would be understandable. It would be difficult for every business story to include every storytelling element, and this one certainly does more than the vast majority.

The Lasting Impact on the Audience

Now that Starbucks has told a complete brand story to promote its Veranda (blonde) Roast, the audience can now see themselves in the story and tell their own version to others. With this story, Starbucks has fostered an environment for customer loyalty and word-of-mouth. One can easily imagine the conversation among friends.

“I can’t drink Starbucks. Too strong for me.”

“Yeah? Have you tried their new blonde roast? I heard it took them 80 tries to get it right.”

In an age of increased digital connectedness at the expense of real-world interaction, people everywhere are drawn to the specialty, hand-made product — a product that was made with all the care and humanity of the development team. Just like the pleasure of a handwritten letter, Starbucks Veranda Roast took time, thought, and effort to craft.

Starbucks was smart enough to mold that message into a story instead of just a “video,” and their audience will carry the story with them.

The post Great Brand Stories, Vol. I : Starbucks appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

You’ve told your story. In doing so, you’ve successfully done your job well and you’ve authentically connected your brands universal values with the needs or desires of your customers. You’ve actually forged emotional connections by offering possible solutions to the real problems of your audience. Well done! Now what’s next?

Having told your brand story well, you’ve laid the foundation for new relationships. From here, your action or actions will determine what’s next, and if the foundation your brand story laid is ready to be built on. Every interaction with your company or organization, whether in social media post, seeing an ad in an unexpected place, or an encounter with your service staff is now seen in respect to the brand story or stories you’ve told.

When your actions are consistent with the values of your story and align with the customer’s goal, you both win. Your customer wins in a trusted relationship with a brand they can identify with and delivers. You’ve strengthened your connection with that customer and likely win a relationship of repeat business.

ACTION! Successful new relationships have been built.

The post Action! – It’s all starts when the cameras have ‘stopped’ rolling. appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

It may be a surprise to realize that people can have trust in someone who is unethical or even criminal. Having trust is more about believing in another person. However, the degree to which one person trusts another is a reflection of belief in the other person’s honesty, fairness, and benevolence. Important for establishing initial trust in business is that fact that a failure in trust is more easily forgiven if it is due to a failure in competence rather than a lack of benevolence or honesty. As a result, sometimes a business providing inferior services may fare better with their customers than a company providing superior services – at least temporarily – if people feel the first company is honest and means well.

The phenomenon of trust is summed up in the following definition. It is described as a “heuristic decision rule, allowing the human to deal with complexities that would require unrealistic effort in rational reasoning.” Lets break this definition down. Heuristic processes are trial and error approaches to problem solving which begin with the most accessible solution and go on to another solution, only if the first solution doesn’t solve the problem. In terms of business, if a customer finds himself interacting with a business owner that he intrinsically wishes to trust because the owner appears benevolent, good-natured, and well meaning – then the customer will prefer to trust the owner and do business rather than get involved into complex rational thought about what might go wrong in the business relationship.

So, what does this have to do with putting a video on page ONE of your website have to do with trust?. When a surfer goes onto your website and thinks about doing business with you – someone he’s never met – he can rapidly be won over by a short online video of you talking with him. If he is engaged by your story and connects with your personality then he will immediately wish to trust you and do business you – because that will be the easiest solution for him to take.

And this leaves us with one more important take-away lesson. A front page video needn’t trouble itself with a description of company features and benefits. It simply needs to provide a relevant reason for the user to trust the owner / business. A short 1 to 2 minute story, passionately told by the owner saying that he established the family potato chip business 30 years ago because he wanted to provide people with a crispy chip that wouldn’t lose its favor in the package is a fine example that will win trust right away.

The post Establish Trust With A Front Page Web Video appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

There’s no doubt that online video marketing is on the rise. Numerous studies and statistics prove that video works. In fact, Forrester Research found that videos were 50 times more likely to receive an organic first page ranking than traditional text pages. That’s a pretty impressive stat!

Online video marketing is attractive to many businesses today for numerous reasons. Making videos and posting them online is fairly inexpensive. Plus, online videos stay online forever. If you spend the money to record once, your video could still be getting views a year from now.

In addition, social media sites and video go hand in hand and most sites encourage video posting and sharing. The viral video opportunities are endless when you use the right strategies to create and post your videos online.

If you’re new to video, or have been thinking about flipping on your camera for the first time, here are some tips and strategies to get you going.
Six Quick Tips to Optimize Your Videos

Once you record your video, follow these tips to make sure it reaches your core audience and gets the views it deserves.

#1: Make your title count

Just like a headline to a blog post, video titles can pull powerful traffic. There are two main reasons why the title is so important. One, a great title can instantly grab a viewer’s attention. Two, when you use the appropriate keywords in your title, you are more likely to show up on search engines when people are searching for your topic. And remember Google owns YouTube, so there’s a story connection between video and searching.

#2: Provide excellent content

Take some time to think about your ideal viewer. What do you know that they’ll find valuable? What can you teach them? “How-to” videos are extremely successful because not only do they offer great value to your viewer, but also you’re able to showcase your knowledge and skill, thus positioning yourself as an expert. This is key as you continue to grow your brand.

Also, no matter how good your content is, it won’t matter if your video is too long and you lose your viewer’s attention. Try to keep them short.

In late 2009, ComScore reported that the average video was 3.8 minutes in length.

#3: Include your URL in your video

When you edit your video, take advantage of the different editing features. One easy feature is to add a text box to your video. This is where you can display your website address and it’s a great way to get exposure.

Here’s a screen shot of Mari Smith’s YouTube channel. Notice how she used a text box in her video to display key information, including her website URL at the end of her video. Smart move!

For the remainder of the article click here.

The post 16 Tips for Successful Online Video Marketing appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

Making and distributing good B2B video content takes time. It isn’t a quick process to arrange a video shoot, edit video and then upload it to the social web. This work though can come with a substantial pay-off if as a B2B company you understand how to do the little things to maximize the effectiveness of online video.

When it comes to online video several issues exist. Search engines don’t index the content of video well. People can’t always watch video at work because of firewall issues and out of date software. Today’s tips are to help fix some of these issues and to make sure that ROI of online video is maximized.

7 Online Video Tips Every B2B Marketer Should Know

1. Always Include URL In A Video Description – This first tip is so simple but so many businesses don’t do it. Most video sharing sites including YouTube, allow the first 30 characters of a video description to be an active URL. Not only does it make it easy to generate leads back to your site from videos, but this links also count in Google’s PageRank system. Meaning if you publish a lot of video and put links in each of them your organic search ranking in Google will be improved.

2. When Blogging A Video Include A Text Summary – This is a tactic that may add a little more time to getting your video published, but is completely worth it. A good example of this is what the folks at HubSpot TV are doing. Under each of the video is a series a bullet points that summarize what the video covers. While this is great for people who can’t watch the video it also provides text for search engines to better index your video blog posts. Adding text with video is a valuable inbound marketing opportunity.

3. Three Short Videos Are Better Than one Long Video – People have short attention spans when it comes to the web. As marketers providing content it is important that we understand this. Online videos should be short, ideally around 3 minutes, or even shorter. If you have a 10 minute interview, then break it up into smaller interviews. Besides improving the chances that more people will watch it, it also provides the opportunity to focus headlines that fit with different messages within the video.

See the remaining tips at: Social Media B2B

The post 7 Online Video Tips Every B2B Marketer Should Know appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

Made as an homage, directly inspired by Dziga Vertov’s 1929 silent classic “Man With a Movie Camera,” it was shot and edited in a little over a 24 hour period. And, by later that following day, December 27th, links to the film were being passed around on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Strategically sent to film critic Roger Ebert making him one of the first to see “Idiot with a Tripod.” Ebert thinks the film should win an Academy Award for best live-action short subject. Enjoy …

It’s certainly impressive the way Stuart is able to tell a story without any words and pulls it together with an excellent choice of music. There are no spoken words, no graphics, not even any natural sound, yet the viewer sees a story through the images on the screen. We are able to follow the progression as the storm impacts life in New York. Nice work!

Here is a link to Vertov’s original 1929 silent classic “Man With a Movie Camera,” should you wish to watch.

The post NY – A Storm Story Without Words appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

By Roger Dooley
I tend to be more of a consumer of public relations than a creator. I’ve done my share of press releases and media interviews, but I’m bombarded with many times that quantity of public relations messages — news releases, book review requests, story suggestions and so on. Sadly, most of what I see is ineffective.

Want to craft a public relations message that engages the recipient? Use our understanding of the human brain to create that message. While there are many ways to play to brains of those readers, likely the most effective single technique is to tell a story.

Stories have a special appeal to human brains. The ability to process information from fellow humans was an important evolutionary advantage to our early ancestors. While they learned from direct experience like other creatures, they could also learn from the experiences of others. Whether this involved avoiding the lair of a dangerous animal, or locating a source of food, being able to readily absorb this second-hand information made these early communicators far more efficient than other species.

This preference for stories affects the way we process information, even in today’s high-tech environment. You can read statistics about the reliability of Toyota cars in reliable publications like Consumer Reports, but if your neighbor recounts a detailed horror story about a transmission problem and how he made three trips to the dealer to get it fixed, that one story will outweigh all the numeric data.

Our brains learn far better from specific examples than abstract information.

Brain scans show the potency of stories, even when they are merely text on a page. In a post about the efficacy of stories in advertising, I describe research showing that stories actually activate the parts of our brain related to the content. If we read about pedaling a bicycle up a hill, our brain will mimic that activity even if our legs remain still.

Never underestimate the power of text when it tells a story. One of the top-rated ads of this year’s Super Bowl was Google’s “Parisian Love” commercial. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS4Lb-ie4Lc]As I described in my post, “Power of Text,” there are no actors or CGI animation, no cute animals, no zooming cars, nothing but a series of words typed into a search boxes and their search results. A “neuro-engagement” study using EEG brain scans placed the Google ad in the top-five, ahead of almost all of the big-budget productions. This ad’s secret of success was that it told a compelling story.

One remarkable characteristic of spoken stories is that they actually synchronize the brains of the speaker and listener. If the listener is following the speaker’s story, his brain activity will become almost synchronous with that of the speaker.

In short, whether your goal is to inform or persuade, you first have to connect with your audience by engaging their brains. Statistics and dry facts won’t do that. There’s simply no better way to initiate and maintain that engagement than to present your message in the form of a story.

The post Engage Your Audience With Stories appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

Successful online advertising isn’t just about the channel — from search to display to video — it’s about storytelling. When ads incorporate narrative elements, they increase interaction rates and the audience’s willingness to consider the product, react, or even move towards a purchase. Savvy advertisers know that nothing tells a story better than video. I would propose that the power of storytelling through sight, sound and motion is the reason why video is the fastest growing form of online advertising. eMarketer estimates that online video ad spending will grow 48% to $1.5 billion this year and hit $5.5 billion by 2014.

It’s now easier than ever for advertisers to choose online video, whether they’re national retailers or political candidates at the local level just beginning these efforts. The issue isn’t why use online video to tell your story, but how online video should tell your story. Even more important, how do you use online video to further your marketing strategy, tell a great story and generate concrete results? Let’s start by agreeing that not all online video advertising is created equal — or equal to every task — and start to build a holistic online video advertising strategy. Storytelling should move your audience emotionally and logically through the purchase funnel. Understanding how video works across that funnel and where to apply your resources at each stage is the key to unlocking that value.

Introduction – Create Awareness. The beginning of a story should grab viewers’ attention and introduce them to new places, characters, and concepts. At this stage, your video advertising must be disruptive and impactful. In-stream video is most effective in this case because it takes a short time to introduce and create awareness of your product or service. Much like television, the ad is presented in the course of viewing. So, if you are introducing a new product, then focus on driving awareness via broad in-stream buys. The goal is to disrupt, be brief, and be broad-based. And how do you know if you were successful? Research can clearly show when audiences exposed to your advertising have a higher awareness of your product than those who saw nothing.

For the rest of this article, click HERE.

The post Tell Me A Story: How Video Ads Can Drive The Best Results Online appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

As of the beginning of 2010, do you know how many websites are live on the internet? The figure has now surpassed one hundred million. If you have a small business that operates on the internet then it is fundamental to keep ahead of the competition. The potential to make money online is vast, but not without keeping up to date with the newest trends in marketing.

The following tips are vital if you are going to maximize the number of hits your site receives:

1. Now some of the most popular sites on the internet are video sharing portals. There isn’t a net user in the world that has never visited You Tube. To increase your traffic you will need to enhance your visibility. If the customers aren’t coming to you then you need to go to them. By putting together a fun and interesting clip for You Tube you will be able to reach a wider audience.

2. Understand the target audience. If you are offering a service or selling products online then you should identify the market demographic in which you expect to receive the greatest number of sales. When designing the video be sure to cater to their specific tastes.

3. Grab attention. Today with so much choice when it comes to browsing the net it is important to be able to keep the attention of surfers. Any video you make needs to be short and snappy. Do not make it overly promotional; if possible try to advertise your message subliminally.

4. Put together informative videos such as guides. Many people use the net to look up information. For example if you have a website selling cookery products you could put together a short step by step video of how to bake a cake or make a pizza. This will attract visitors who then may be interested in your products. Also, such pages will stand a better chance of receiving high search engine placement.

To be sure to maintain a strong foothold in the online world in these times of increased competition and economic uncertainty then video marketing is a must. Please take action now and implement these tips I just gave you. The life of you business may depend on it.

The post 4 Online Video Marketing Survial Tactics For Your Small Business appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.