Tag: B2C

The Prophet Way of Utilizing Brand Storytelling to Engage With Audiences

Posted on by Drew Neisser

David Aaker, known as “Father of Modern Branding,” discusses the idea of B2B brand storytelling and being able to convey engaging messages on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite hosted by Drew Neisser.

As the Vice Chairman of marketing consultant giant Prophet and renowned author, David has decades of experience in reinventing the way a company shares its brand message. He explains to Drew the importance of balancing hard facts with emotions as well as emphasizes the importance of becoming a brand other companies want to be associated with.

David also shares multiple personal stories that validate the importance of being a stellar brand storyteller. You don’t want to miss his explanation of how both T-Mobile and Barclay turned their companies around through brand storytelling.

David’s expertise will revolutionize your company’s way of conveying messages, so be sure to give this episode your full attention. Click here to listen.

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Why are stories so effective in engaging customers and employees?

Brand storytelling is more than just a hot topic in current B2B marketing environments. It is the key to truly connecting with your employees, partners, and customers. B2B customers feel the need to have a relationship with the business they interact with and employees need to feel that their work is important. Stories garner attention, change perceptions and attitudes, and inspire action – and stories are far more effective than fact-sharing alone. This is why your company and team need to be experts in brand storytelling. To hear the full reasoning behind why this idea is a critical issue for companies across the country, be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

The importance of creating a signature story while balancing fact and emotion

When trying to convey a message, a CMO has two options: share facts or tell stories. Even though some may argue that “if it’s not fact-based how do you convince people’s it’s actually true?”, there is a balance that needs to be reached. The key in the B2B storytelling space is to either magnify the problem, offer a solution or accentuate the outcome. This can artfully be done by combining customer testimony with just enough facts to provide a reliable level of reality. Just listing data and facts is a record-keeping entry – not a compelling marketing campaign. David highlights that a signature story can be 200-300% more effective than data alone. To hear more about why brand storytelling is so impactful give this episode a listen.

Actionable items for creating brand storytelling initiatives

Take it from the best leader in storytelling. David lays out a plan to create a storytelling focus in your company on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. As a CMO you must first believe and buy into the power of storytelling marketing. Then you have to build a skilled team and develop an environment that allows storytelling opportunities to flourish. Drew also adds that you have to throw your content calendars away because all they do is allow you to get away with regularly producing mediocre content. Hiring a support crew that can take raw stories and turn them into engaging content can also drastically improve your storytelling ability. For more hands-on hints on brand storytelling, don’t let this episode go unlistened.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, David Aaker
  • [2:58] Why is everyone realizing that storytelling is critically important?
  • [4:27] Why is a story so important in engaging employees?
  • [8:54] What will it take for B2B firms to recognize that story is a cultural opportunity?
  • [12:32] David’s personal stories behind effective storytelling
  • [16:39] Why does the story go away once a company reaches marketing evaluation stages?
  • [17:58] How does a brand find their signature stories?
  • [21:06] The balance between hard facts and “fluffy” emotions in storytelling marketing
  • [24:23] Actionable items behind improving your B2B storytelling marketing efforts
  • [29:13] David’s steps for creating a brand storytelling plan
  • [32:42] One of the most common problems when brands attempt storytelling marketing for the first time
  • [33:25] Drew summarizes his conversation with David Aaker

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The Ups and Downs of Xerox’s Universal Awareness and Shifting Your Brand Perception

Posted on by Drew Neisser

The ultimate dream for marketers is universal awareness – the point in time when your brand becomes synonymous with a noun. Having your brand become a verb is an even better case scenario (think, “I’ll Venmo you the money!” or “I’ll Google it.”) This extremely high level of brand awareness can create issues though when your brand perception becomes “stuck” in this one-way thinking.

On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, the CMO of Xerox, Toni Clayton-Hine, joins Drew for a conversation about how Xerox is embracing the new connectivity trend and how it is breaking through old brand perceptions to stay relevant in the 21st century.

Toni shares with Drew the story behind Xerox’s latest marketing initiative, Set the Page Free, and how Xerox is striving to be at the forefront of the intersection between digital and physical workspaces. They also discuss the pros and cons of such a risky marketing project and Toni’s top “do’s and don’ts” for current CMOs.

Join Drew and Toni for this engaging conversation – you won’t want to miss a single minute. Click here to listen now.

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Xerox’s latest Set the Page Free project and how they “marketed the marketing” so effectively

When faced with seemingly cemented brand perceptions, Xerox came up with a creative and big-picture marketing campaign: Set the Page Free. With 14 world-famous writers and creative minds in collaboration, Xerox told the story of the modern workplace – and the entire project was produced using Xerox technology. The end result were podcasts, videos, and a final free download book. After creating the piece, Toni and her team had to answer the question, “who is going to consume this content?” Drew asks Toni about how they “marketed the marketing campaign” so effectively and she explains that they really leveraged the celebrity collaborators and their social channels. For the full story behind the project, don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

What does brand storytelling mean to Xerox in the 21st century?

Shifting Xerox’s brand perceptions became a balance of using the company’s history to their advantage, while still demonstrating to their customers that they are about more than just copying and faxing physical documents. The Set the Page Free project helped Xerox transition from the realm of a 1990s office verb into a frontrunner of 21st-century workplace technology. This engaging act of brand storytelling allowed the company to show the outcome of using their technology, not just the inputs. Since Xerox is a B2B technology company, Toni’s goal is to ensure Xerox is seen as fresh, relevant, and understanding of their different types of customers. To hear more of Toni’s marketing initiatives at Xerox that are continually shaping their brand perspectives, be sure to listen to the full audio.

The biggest lessons Toni has learned since joining Xerox and why taking marketing risks can be beneficial

While developing Set the Page Free, Toni explained that she often struggled with the desire to control every aspect of the project and subsequent brand awareness surveys. But when Drew asks her about the biggest lessons she learned while working on the project, Toni explains that Xerox had to take a risk in order to shift how people think about the company – and taking that risk also meant dealing with unpredictable variables. She also learned the importance of being more directive in her approach to help customers understand how to bring their Xerox technology tools to life. To hear Toni’s top “do’s and don’ts” for other CMOs, don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Why does brand awareness matter when you’re trying to sell a product or service?
  • [3:15] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, Toni Clayton, CMO of Xerox
  • [4:52] The main strategy behind Xerox’s marketing
  • [9:31] The benefit of working with creators who deliver extraordinary content
  • [12:58] Once you’ve created the excellent content, you have to “market the marketing”
  • [15:47] Toni explains how she had the courage to approach her CEO with this big, untestable idea
  • [18:30] What does storytelling meaning to Toni and Xerox?
  • [23:29] How Xerox is currently demonstrating their broader platform and usability
  • [26:48] Combatting the loss of reach associated with using digital marketing tactics
  • [30:19] How Xerox is showing customers new ways to use their products
  • [32:11] The biggest lesson Toni has learned in her career with Xerox
  • [37:03] One “do” and one “don’t” for CMOs as a result of Toni’s experience with Xerox

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