Human Stories, Human Brands

Human Stories, Human Brands

Went to the AMA luncheon last month, and heard Eliot Frick of bigwidesky talk about Making Brands More Human – and the importance of that in today’s market.  The AMA always has great speakers, and, if you’re interested, I myself am honored to be this month’s speaker (April 16, 11:30-1.  Sign up here.)

You’re back?  Great!

Okay, so, as any thoughtful presentation should do, this luncheon engaged my brain.  Making brands human is what I do – I’m a storyteller.  By necessity, all well-told stories must break through the noise and connect on an emotional (read, human) level.  And I have theatrical training.  The theatre is all about taking pretense and turning it into reality.  How do you make words on a page into a “real” situation, lived by “real” people?  And what happens when you fail? I’ll tell you what happens, your audience gets up and leaves at intermission.  Or before.

Guess what?  The audience also gets up and leaves when your video doesn’t turn pixels and sound into Truth.  It might not hurt as badly at first – that poor actor on that stage has to actually witness the house getting smaller.  But in the long run, it can really hurt your business.  You know the saying about second chances and first impressions.

So, how do you turn pixels and sound into Truth?  Simple answer.  Hard to accomplish.  You find that central issue, that thing, that spark, that everyone in your audience can agree on.  And you tease that out into a full story, moment by moment.  Ten writers can look at the same story, and each one of them will tell it differently.  But all ten of them will be telling the Truth.  There’s no magic formula to finding the Truth in your story – and there’s no one Truth.  But find a Truth?  The video will connect on a, yes, human level for years to come. 

Want help finding the Truth, and making your brand more human?  Call me. 

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