Prophet Archives - The Drew Blog

Why you need a signature story rooted in emotion – with David Aaker of Prophet

David explains that when trying to convey a message, a CMO has two options: share facts or tell stories. And facts don’t work. B2B storytelling must 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. However, simply listing data and facts is a record-keeping entry – not a compelling marketing campaign.

How and when to put emotion into your ads – with Manny Rodriguez of UC Health

Manny’s healthcare marketing philosophy goes against the grain: He always strives to connect to the human side of B2B marketing by putting the patient first. He shares how to nurture the emotional component of storytelling to effectively connect with the audience, as well as his 4 top lessons all CMOs should learn.

Brand identity and storytelling need to be strongly united – with Martin Häring of Finastra

One of the biggest challenges any CMO will face is the task of creating a new brand identity without losing the loyalty and enthusiasm of existing customers. It goes far beyond choosing new colors, a new name, and a fancy new logo. From legal issues, to market research, to the process can be daunting. Martin discusses the foundational principles – including storytelling – that helped him get the job done quickly and successfully.

With innovative storytelling, marketing campaigns can resonate with millions – with Rich Kylberg of Arrow Electronics

Arrow’s story-driven marketing campaign reached people around the world. Rich and his team connected with Sam, a former indy car driver who had become a quadriplegic following a crash in 2000. Arrow was given an opportunity to create technology with real human benefits, and to share a story that would engage people and bring about positive change. Some time after being connected, Sam was able to take his family for a Sunday drive again. Rich explained that Arrow wants to share stories that can “drive technology innovation forward and inspire people to dream big because anything is possible.”

How storytelling can be the foundation of a successful rebrand regardless of scale – with Carolyn Feinstein of Dropbox

With over half a billion worldwide users, Dropbox is major player in cloud storage. Despite their success, they wanted a to expand to ensure their continued status as an industry leader and innovator. With a story-driven campaign, Carolyn helped successfully execute the massive rebrand that coincided with a new company mentality.

Quotes

Aaker: “The media world is clutter, today. It’s really hard. Into this context steps story.”

Häring: “In marketing, we are all storytellers. We have to create emotions.”

Feinstein: “At the end of the day, our role is to understand the people that we’re trying to reach deeply and to know the kind of stories that will resonate most deeply.”

Kylberg: “It was a wild success. This initiative totally transformed the company, totally pushed us into the dominant position in our industry.”

Rodriguez: “We took the risk of really tasking the patient with telling the story, and the payoff and the benefits have been huge.”

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.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts – Stitcher – or Podsearch

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

Connect With David:

David’s Prophet webpage
Connect with David on LinkedIn
Follow David on Twitter
Follow David on Facebook
Email David

Tag: Prophet

The Art of Storytelling