Storytelling Campaign: First and Forever by Dr. Martens

Dr. Martens #FirstandForever storytelling campaign

I’m always on the lookout for storytelling stuff. On my walk home the other day I passed the downtown Portland Dr. Martens shoe store on Burnside. There was a sign in the window that read, “EVERYONE REMEMBERS THEIR FIRST TIME. TELL US ABOUT YOURS.” Beside that was a QR code.

The ad was for their #FirstandForever campaign. At the Dr. Martens website, a video commercial features young, tattooed lovers being romantic. There’s also a big yellow “share your story” button on the page. The premise is that customers can win merchandise by telling a digital story about their first pair of shoes or something related to the Dr. Martens lifestyle. Here’s some copy from the site:

I have mixed feelings about customer generated storytelling. Typically, fans gather around a topic organically. They build community by sharing authentic stories with each other. In this case, customers are brought together at the source of the product and the motivation for their storytelling is a free prize. Their tales may or may not be genuine. But who cares? While the work produced by DM’s customers may very well be a veiled plea for a free pair of shoes, some of the stories are quite interesting. Below is an entry by Mary Henjes:

After seeing that, it can’t be denied that customer story generation is a great way to get semi-organic commercials about a product out and onto the web. Inside of each story is a testimonial. It totally makes sense. It’s cheap and effective. Some get elaborate like this good example. What company wouldn’t want a blog post like that sitting on the Internet?

Storytelling in Business Communications

The Hoffman Agency recently produced a cool infographic describing how storytelling is different than corporate speak. Five days later Lou Hoffman blogged about the (well done) video they made (above) which says, “To connect with your audience tell a story.” The irony is that their video doesn’t tell a story and instead makes use of the corporate “blah blah blah” that they preach against. In fact, their video falls completely down the corporate side of the “storytelling vs. corporate speak” dichotomy depicted in their infographic.

Lessons:

1. Teach within reach and practice what you preach.
2. Companies can’t help but put out “blah” corporate speak.
3. Nobody’s perfect and it doesn’t matter. The Hoffman Agency is a successful world-wide PR business and it will continue as such. Are you striving for perfection? If so, stop.

Coca Cola’s Storytelling and Content Strategy

The following videos were animated by Cognitive Media, an animation studio based in Folkestone, Kent in the UK. Their mission is to help people to discover and learn new stuff with the help of storytelling, drawing and animation.

The information is about Coca Cola’s approach to content strategy. It’s particularly fascinating. Watch…

Coca Cola Content 2020 Part One

Great drawings and animations! The information makes you think: swap out the sugar water for your product or service.

Coca Cola Content 2020 Part Two

Are you prepared for the iterative evolution of content?

How to Talk to the Press

If you’ve ever played the game “telephone,” in which kids sit in a circle and pass a message around by whispering it into each other’s ears, then you know that things can easily get distorted as they flow from person to person.

When you receive press coverage, the last thing you want is for your story to be skewed and disseminated in a way that makes you cringe. Below are some simple tips that will help you keep your message on target when talking to the press.

Be Prepared

The more you prepare the more confident you will feel. Brush up on what you’re going to say before your interview if possible. If there’s time, have a friend ask you some questions.

Know Your Point/Purpose.

Why are you talking to the press? What key bit of information do you want the world to know? Focus in on the most important details.

Keep the Message Simple.

You’re hosting an event. You won an award. You were robbed. You were bit by a tiger. You saw the UFO. You’re having a grand opening. Simple. Make it work in one sentence.

Don’t Stray From the Message.

Whatever your purpose, everything you talk about should support that fact and drive it home.

Say Something Interesting.

Give the writer some cool sentences. If you don’t they might make up stuff for you. There’s nothing worse than being quoted in a newspaper as having said some bizarre word or phrase when you didn’t say it in the first place. If you say something interesting the reporter will react and jot it down. If you’re being recorded for air at a later date, the editors will catch it. If you’re live the audience will latch onto it. 

Be Careful of Humor.

Use humor carefully. Rarely do jokes translate into print. What’s more, your sense of humor might not click with the audience. 

Listen as Much as You Speak.

When a writer interviews you they often have already done some leg work to learn about you and your story. Along with that research comes some preconceived notions of what they’re going to write. If there’s a close deadline it’s possible they’ve already started the story by the time they meet with you. When the writer already has an angle they’ll ask you leading questions to pull facts, figures, and quotes from you to support the narrative they’ve already got going. By listening carefully to their questioning you can either support the direction of their story or counter it if it’s not serving your purpose.

Be Emotional.

You needn’t be a performer to tell a good tale. If the press is interested then you already have a newsworthy story so convey it with gusto! Give the reporter a rendition of the story that they can bite into. Smile if you’re happy and frown if you’re sad. Be genuine. What you say is only part of your communication. How you say it is equally important. 

Get Out of the Way.

It’s possible that the story you’re telling isn’t about you. If you’re a witness, a PR rep., or a face for the company, then just be that and let the story stand on its own.

You Needn’t Answer Every Question.

A reporter asks the seasoned politician about their plans. The politician says, “I am going to lower your taxes.” The reporter asks a biting question about the politician’s extramarital affairs. The politician responds, “I am going to lower your taxes.”

Talk On Purpose.

Only talk about things that are on (your) purpose. If you’re not crystal clear the reporter can receive mixed messages and might make up their own version of your story.

I hope you found these tips for talking to the press useful. Good luck!

This World is Made of Stories

Storyteller and mythologist, Michael Meade explains how this world is made of stories. Michael is the founder and director of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural healing through story, mythology, and poetry via work with at-risk youth, veterans, gang youth, prisoners, the homeless, and the culture at large.

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