During my recent travels to Boston, I had the pleasure of breaking bread with my fellow story practitioner Doyle Canning, and her partner Justin. Doyle is a co-founder of SmartMEME, a story collective that teach activists around the world how to better frame their stories, and get stories to travel across culture.

A couple months ago, Doyle and Patrick Reinsborough released a breakthrough handbook Re:Imagining Change - An Introduction to Story-Based Strategy. Inside this provocative and accessible fieldguide, you will find a wealth of concepts and frameworks for communicating social change stories.

Here’s a short video that describes their Storytelling Handbook:

 

Last week, I was interviewed by the Custom Publishing Council and asked five questions about the implications of Brand Storytelling on the business of content creation.

You can read the full interview here.

CPC: How does the following quote, taken from Thirsty-Fish’s Favorite Story Quotes, explain how a unique narrative can help a brand identify with its’ audience: “We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story”? –Mary McCarthy (author)

MM: The greatest freedom of this era is the ability to construct and shape our personal narratives. Just look at the explosion of social media – blogging, the twitterverse, and the emerging semantic web. What a thrill! The future of the Internet is really about making sense and meaning of a world buckling forward at warp speed drive. On the flip side, we’re all suffering from information overload and attention deficit. That’s why we need new, and more sophisticated, filters for processing content. And as much as technology is an enabler, at the end of the day, it’s our human ability to weave stories that brings meaning to our lives. The brands that put the customer at the center of the universe are increasingly the winners. Go a step further, and invite your customers to actually narrate the story (customization, co-creation, user-generated content, etc…). Consumers tend to identify these brands as enablers they couldn’t live without. Imagine for a moment life without Google…

Here’s an interview with Robert McKee, the God of Hollywood screenwriting - big ups to my buddy Seth Kahan for getting permission to share this interview. (www.McKeeStory.com). As we come off Oscar weekend, here’s a great look into the timeless lessons of Hollywood screenwriting, from the master himself in this insight Q&A.

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As the dust settles from Oscar extravaganza, I can’t help but reflect on the Brand Story implications of  big-time winning movie - Slumdog Millionaire and the country of India.

In the case of Slumdog, which swept away 8 oscars, some say it represents the long due arrival of Bollywood and Indian culture into the west. Yet, this movie was directed by a British film-maker, with a strong western bias infusing the production, even if it employed a mostly Mumbai film crew and unknown set of local actors.

On one hand, Slumdog is being celebrated as a great victory for India, and signals its arrival on the global culture stage. But its not without its controversy…its equally considered an insult by many in India since it does not reflect any of the major Indian superstars or any other nod to Indian Bollywood productions (India is the 3rd largest movie-making center in the world after U.S. and Nigeria). Slumdog is even under attack for its depiction of “poverty porn” - an glamorized and highly stylized take on life in the slums. But since when does Hollywood try to act like PBS?

The movie soundtrack is one of the silver linings. A.R. Rahman, a well-respected Indian musician  took home an oscar for his musical score of the movie. So perhaps this signals a defining moment for Indian Bangra msuic as much as India the country itself.

Controversy aside, I think this movie has captured the imagination because it tells an enthralling david versus goliath love story, at a time when the world is sad and depressed about the state of affairs. We all need stories to believe in, especially an against all odds tale of triumpth.  It helps when its set in an exotic landscape that is made human and approachable, even if it succumbs to the trappings of Hollywood over-simplification.

At a time when India, and even Mumbia is reeling from the terrorist attacks of several months back, slumdog profers hope. It introduces India to a wide stage, even if at the cost of campy reduction. In the end, the Indian Brand Story won more than it might have lost.

 

A newly released study of CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) highlights some disturbing trends. Okay, so the majority of advertising budgets are slashed and the shift in dollars is headed to digital. No surprises there.

Here’s the real news - more than 40% of CMO’s are dissatisfied with their marketing talent, and their increasingly unhappy with the job from their agencies of record. We all know that CMOs themselves aren’t performing up to par, with one of the highest rates of turnover in the C-suite. So in the midst of this crisis of leadership, who exactly is going to lead the charge?

Dan Wieden (of Wieden and Kenndy), recently shared his outlook for 2009: “We are full-steam ahead on digital and we’re thinking of some ancillary surprises. If you can’t redefine what an advertising agency is in the next couple of years, I think you’ve got some big problems. It’s turned upside down, but for us, it’s the most exciting of times.”

The implications? Well, advertising has always been a storytelling business. True, but the scope and approach to storytelling needs to evolve in much greater depth and breadth. Innovation is currently being driven by interactive, digital, transmedia storytelling, but it simply can’t stop there. The real opportunity is to embrace Brand Storytelling in the most strategic and broadest sense - getting back to stories that link the brand promise to brand experience, and then aligning an entire company to deliver on that story.

I’m excited to be teaching the important topic of Brand Storytelling in a couple weeks at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada. This newly launched Masters in Brand Communications program, sponsored by the Institute for Communication Agencies (the largest advertising asssociation of Canada), is designed for senior advertising leaders who realize the need to reinvent the agency model. Agencies are increasingly finding themselves standing on the sidelines as the “creative ad folks” but no longer sitting at the strategic table, framing the conversation. Brand Storytelling offers a philosophical framework for redefining the value proposition and long-term impact of both agencies and their clients.

I’m excited to share more with you on this topic in the weeks ahead. Below is just some of the troubling data coming from the CMO’s office.

CMOs surveyed say that more than one third of work in their department is outsourced to contracted agencies, but more often than not, the agencies of record performed only adequately, or even below standards.

Asked to evaluate the extent to which their agency of record exceeds their organization’s expectations in a variety of categories, the marketing executives gave the lowest marks to price (9%) and return on investment (12%). They gave higher scores for communication (27%), knowledge of their business (24%) and client service (23%).

As many of you know, I’m rather passionate about Generational issues across Gens Y, X, and Baby Boomers. Can’t we all just get along?

So I’m confounded today by the recent advertising efforts of AARP. Perhaps you’ve seen some of these ads? “They shall inherit the earth” stories featuring young people?!? Don’t get me wrong, the future of our planet is an important topic - I just wonder how AARP translates these ads and their symbolic associations into meaningful and stronger relations with its members. Last time I heard, their members are people aged 50 and up (who are struggling to understand how/why AARP is relevant to THEIR lives). Sure “legacy” matters, but I have a hard time adding this all up.

To their credit, some of these ads are rather “creative” in approach…as this spot below demonstrates. Without ruining the punch line — it starts “down” and then tries to go “up”. From a story messaging standpoint, I believe you can never dig yourself out of such an cognitive/emotional hole. That’s why anti-war ads and other negative social campaigns fail to ignite the kind of enthusiasm and motivation you rationally might expect. You be the judge.

So great, now you’ve now seen this ad, you might have enjoyed the creative gimmick - but how exactly has your impression of AARP (the brand story in your mind) changed in any way? Isn’t that what really counts?

P.S. This ad placed second within a user-generated contest, part of AARP 50th Anniversary celebration. Again, you have give kudos to AARP for trying some new things and inviting the public into the brand conversation.

P.S.S. For you advertising wonks out there - the format might be familiar, as its derivative who’s original source is under debate. The AARP ad creator gives credit to an Argentinian Political Advertisement “The Truth” although clearly others have gotten in on its as well - see this AXA Financial Internal Branding spot in a similar dogma. What do you think of the format? Are you left inspired or depressed?

— Thanks for our client Caela Farren from MasteryWorks for forwarding this video to me!

 

That’s the million dollar question that has retailers of various stripes waiting with baited breath. I guess we’re all wondering whether this economic downturn is just the natural business cycle, or if instead a more fundamental shift is under way.

Certainly, frugality is the word of the day - and just about everyone I know, including myself is cutting back on expenses. But here’s the real question - with less dollars in your pocket, do change what you desire or aspire to have?

So while I’m cooking at home more, and I cancelled some memberships I wasn’t really using - I still find myself lusting after a 50-inch plasma TV and a week long adventure trip to Egypt. And those cut-rate bargains sure are tempting my desires, and changing my expectations of what I think I should have to pay.

To help you consider these issues further, here are two articles for your insights consumption.

• The first is a fascinating little report about the psychology of consumers during these economic times. It comes from the Hartman Group, a market research firm that specializes in ethnographic research and the psycho-emotional role of brands in people’s lives. I highly recommend giving this a quick 10 minute read about what might change, and what will probably stay the same.
  
  Link to the pdf report

• The second resource is an article I came across thanks to business anthropologist Grant McCracken about a firm called Toniq who have a unique take on the consumption habits of 20 and 30 somethings (our so called cultural tastemakers), even amidst these recessionary times. In this article they are quoted, along with Marc Gobe, author of Emotional Branding.
  
  Link to the article in WWD

THIRSTY-FISH is increasingly asked to speak on Generation Y - the bumper crop of 18-28 year olds who are reshaping our cultural and consumption patterns. Numbering 68 million in the U.S., Generation Y is increasingly the most influential generation today, even above Baby Boomers (78 million) or Gen X (20 million). In Europe, Generation Y numbers 140 million strong! What are the implications of this generation on the future of organizations? More posts on this topic later.

 

For starters…let’s talk about the name Generation Y. Admittedly, it’s a rather awkward or non-intuitive moniker for this Generation. Thankfully, the Journal of Quebec proposes one theory, as illustrated in the cartoon to the left. But in all seriousness, the name “Generation Y” is most likely a lazy derivation as the Generation that follows “Gen X” (ages 30-48). Still, it’s no wonder we’re all a little confused about what these generations are called, or at what ages they officially start or end.

With that in mind, here’s a Pop Quiz: with some of the other names and references to Generation Y:

• Millenials - Year 2000 reference
• Gen Why?- They sure do question everything
• Internet Generation - Few if any remember life before web sites or cell phones
• Gen Next - Forward focused in perspective
• MyPod Generation - Besides the digital music reference, they expect mass customization
• Baby Boomlets - Most are the progeny of the Baby Boomer generation
• Echo Boomers - Same as above, with additional reference to wide impact of Gen Y on society
• Boomerang Generation - Many are returning home after college, still trying to find their way
• Generation Now - Little patience for accepting things they way they are
• Generation Waking Up - Raising the bar on global sustainability and change

What other names for Generation Y do you think belong on this list? Please post your suggestions in the comments section.

If any of you flew across the Midwest last month, you may have discovered the following brief article on Corporate Storytelling (which includes a profile of THIRSTY-FISH in the mix), as featured in Midwest Airlines Inflight Magazine.

Here’s the link to the article in full

“Storytelling is an essential tool to activate and accentuate your efforts, whether they are related to business development, sales, marketing or internal change,” says Michael Margolis, president of THIRSTY-FISH, a boutique story and strategy consultancy in New York. According to him, there are three types of stories every organization should cultivate.

FOUNDING STORY

A parable that describes the roots and history of the company can become a great source of pride for employees, as well as a marker of credibility to customers. This story can help anchor and reinforce a set of ideals or beliefs at the heart of the business. This story can be promoted on your Web site, in sales materials, in the annual report and through dozens of other outlets.

VALUES STORIES
These short vignettes describe a situation and how an employee handled the situation. Famous corporate cultures such as Nordstrom and Marriott were built upon extensive catalogs of stories that reinforced the right attitude, thinking and behavior from employees. These tales can be used to train workers, build a vibrant culture and even guide strategic decisions.

CUSTOMER STORIES
You’d be amazed at what you learn when you listen to the customers’ stories. They may value your product or service for a totally different reason than you thought. These stories are your greatest sources of learning, and they can be used as testimonials when you market to consumers. The most forward-thinking corporations today invest a lot of money listening to customer stories.

In Another’s Shoes
Empathy is part of the larger ability humans have to put themselves in another person’s shoes: we can attribute mental states—awareness, intent—to another entity. Theory of mind, as this trait is known, is crucial to social interaction and communal living—and to understanding stories.

Children develop theory of mind around age four or five. A 2007 study by psychologists Daniela O’Neill and Rebecca Shultis, both at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, found that five-year-olds could follow the thoughts of an imaginary character but that three-year-olds could not. The children saw model cows in both a barn and a field, and the researchers told them that a farmer sitting in the barn was thinking of milking the cow in the field. When then asked to point to the cow the farmer wanted to milk, three-year-olds pointed to the cow in the barn—they had a hard time following the character’s thoughts to the cow in the field. Five-year-olds, however, pointed to the cow in the field, demonstrating theory of mind.

Perhaps because theory of mind is so vital to social living, once we possess it we tend to imagine minds everywhere, making stories out of everything. A classic 1944 study by Fritz Heider and Mary-Ann Simmel, then at Smith College, elegantly demonstrated this tendency. The psychologists showed people an animation of a pair of triangles and a circle moving around a square and asked the participants what was happening. The subjects described the scene as if the shapes had intentions and motivations—for example, “The circle is chasing the triangles.” Many studies since then have confirmed the human predilection to make characters and narratives out of whatever we see in the world around us.

But what could be the evolutionary advantage of being so prone to fantasy? “One might have expected natural selection to have weeded out any inclination to engage in imaginary worlds rather than the real one,” writes Steven Pinker, a Harvard University evolutionary psychologist, in the April 2007 issue of Philosophy and Literature. Pinker goes on to argue against this claim, positing that stories are an important tool for learning and for developing relationships with others in one’s social group. And most scientists are starting to agree: stories have such a powerful and universal appeal that the neurological roots of both telling tales and enjoying them are probably tied to crucial parts of our social cognition.

As our ancestors evolved to live in groups, the hypothesis goes, they had to make sense of increasingly complex social relationships. Living in a community requires keeping tabs on who the group members are and what they are doing. What better way to spread such information than through storytelling?

Indeed, to this day people spend most of their conversations telling personal stories and gossiping. A 1997 study by anthropologist and evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar, then at the University of Liverpool in England, found that social topics accounted for 65 percent of speaking time among people in public places, regardless of age or gender.
Anthropologists note that storytelling could have also persisted in human culture because it promotes social cohesion among groups and serves as a valuable method to pass on knowledge to future generations. But some psychologists are starting to believe that stories have an important effect on individuals as well—the imaginary world may serve as a proving ground for vital social skills.

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