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Suggested by Debra Askanase onto Just Story It |
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Hey everyone -- this looks like a really great FREE tool for taking a bunch of data and creating a stunning visual story. I haven't tested it because I don't have a pile of data to crunch, make it look beautiful, or tell a story with it.
But if you do, then I wanted to make sure I passed this along.
Enjoy trying it out.
This review was written by Karen Dietz for her Just Story It Scoops at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it
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Storytelling story-selling content is the new advertising, marketing & PR. It's a harsh new reality all businesses and employees have to face.
Karen Dietz's insight:
Love this cheeky irreverant post with great insights on marketing, advertising, PR, social media, and storytelling. Do you know about the 1:10:1 formula? Or the P4 process? Me neither until I read the article. And they both make tons of sense. I also like what the author Steve Kayser says, "You got no story. You got no game. You got no game – you got no business." I also appreciate the books he lists at the end of his article as additional resources. It's a refreshing post that brought a grin to my face! I hope you enjoy it also. This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it Delete the scoop?
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In any given sector, the sites all look the same. As a result, a little courage and showing your humanity can actually help to differentiate your company.
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Are you sitting comfortably? Then listen to PR leaders discussing the power of storytelling to build brands and energise businesses (Interesting read "@ThePRCoach: Good read: What is the role of #storytelling in #PR? I love this post that reminds us all about the power of storytelling for businesses. Here Public Relations leaders share with us how stories are critical to use in business for branding and building a strong customer base. Stories are everywhere, but the real trick is the following, says Tom Watson, professor of public relations at Bournemouth University: “For brand communicators, the challenge is to create narratives that are deserving of trust by their target markets and sustainable over time." I also like what Kevin Murray, chairman of PR agency the Good Relations Group, says: “I use stories to entertain people at dinner parties to amuse. But in business you need to tell stories that make a difference.” Good point! Go read what the PR professionals in the article have to say. There are great insights. Link to original article: http://prmoment.com/1212/What-is-the-role-of-storytelling-in-PR.aspx This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it Delete the scoop?
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The times, and the PR industry, are a-changing. Keep up by not only learning about these trends, but also the skills needed to stay ahead of the competition. Yay -- storytelling/story selling is listed as #1! Along with content curation :) (whew...I'm doing something right!) The other skills listed are just as critical for businesses as they are for PR professionals. So go grab the rest of the list and see where you stand. My biggest weakness? #2, Quantification and spreadsheet skills. I can analyze the data just fine, just keep me away from the guts of Excel! If you are NOT a PR professional, read this article through the lense of your business to see where your strengths are, and what you may need to bolster to keep up with emerging trends. Delete the scoop?
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We're willing to bet that more C-suite bottoms sit on Herman Miller chairs than any other brand chair. Love this video from Hermann Miller that very creatively tells their story -- or at least one of their stories! It's a story terrific for recruiting and for just good ol' plain PR. And I like that the article discusses what works in this video and challenges us all to step up to the plate to create similar stories for our business. Yes, we can do it -- and need to! Delete the scoop?
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For over one hundred years now, agencies have been organized to create, produce and place either individual messages or groups of messages categorized together as “campaigns.” Campaigns are going the way of the dinosaurs, it seems. I'm fascinated by how PR and ad agencies are shifting and changing in response to storytelling as a pull dynamic (we pull you into our business with stories) in the business landscape as opposed to the traditional push dynamic (we push our message out to you). I like this article because it reminds us that storytelling is an iterative process, not a linear one. And that storytelling is about an ongoing conversations instead of a broadcast. There are 3 questions at the end to help readers assess where they are with their brand story. This is a good quick read, and a reminder about how our thinking needs to change as we get our heads wrapped around effective business storytelling. Delete the scoop?
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(Second in a series.) When clients hire us to promote their business, they usually have the idea that we’ll be able to convince not only the local newspaper, but also the New York Times and USA Today that their small business is ... OK -- you are sharing your business stories to grow your business. But are those stories going to grab you media attention? Read this article to find out, and then follow the story tips so your business can gain the attention it deserves (and grow even more)! Delete the scoop?
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Posted from fellow curator Gregg Morris on his Story and Narrative newsletter:
For those who’ve not heard, a Saatchi & Saatchi campaign for client Toyota has led to a $10m suit being filed against the ad firm and the car company, as well as various individuals connected with the campaign. The campaign, which allowed people to sign up their friends to be ‘pranked’ with a serious of worrying emails from one of 5 colourful fictional characters, was a bungled attempt by the Saatchi suits to make the world’s most boring car company look radical. This is a textbook example of why forging the brand narrative is best left to the publicists: the creative excellence of Ad Agencies does not extend to long form narrative content.
Go read the rest of the story.... Via Gregg Morris Delete the scoop?
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"Short version: Garfield’s piece is a call to brands, cautioning them to restrain from inserting themselves into news stories about the tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school."
Karen Dietz's insight:
This is a very quick post and a brief cautionary tale about branding zeal and overstepping those storytelling bounds. Sometimes in our rush to seize on an opportunity, even if it is to tell others about the good we are doing, it comes across as dis-ingenuous, creating a story backlash. All I can say to this post is, "Hear, hear -- I couldn't agree more." So before you jump on the bandwagon -- stop, take a breath, and do the right thing. This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it Delete the scoop?
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Your customers are constantly being bombarded with new information. Simplicity has never been more powerful.
[Sage advice ~ Jeff] Via Barb Lack, Jeff Domansky
Karen Dietz's insight:
I love this piece! Thank you fellow curator Jeff Domansky @PR Coach for finding and sharing this. Why do I like it so much? Because even with biz stories we often get too wordy, complicated, and detailed. So this article is a reminder to Keep It Simple Sweetie (KISS). Here's what the author, Jim Hoffman says at the end of the article: "There is an elegance in simplicity. Simplicity does not mean removing features, benefits, or services from your product. It means distilling what's most important about those features, and explaining them in the fewest words possible. Go ahead, write yours down, and get busy crossing things out." That's the essence of great biz storytelling -- finding your key message / most pimportant point that is short, sweet and to the the point. Once you have your key message, extraneous details fall away and you are left with a crisp elegant story. Read more about how to go for simplicity. Link to the original article: http://www.inc.com/jeff-hoffman/distill-your-company-message-to-as-few-words-as-possible.html This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it Delete the scoop?
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His agency's success is built partly on storytelling for clients around the world. If you're interested in what makes good stories in business, read his blog. Lots of good stories and business storytelling examples. Well, this is fun! And I'm thrilled and honored to be part of the list. And even better, I love the company I'm keeping. Colleagues are also on the list, and i can see I need to explore the Nieman Storyboard. Colleague Jeff Domansky put the list together and if you are not following the others on this list, make sure you do. We all add different voices to the rich world of business storytelling and I always learn from these great folks. Many thanks Jeff! This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it Delete the scoop?
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The Art Of Storytelling In Business Communications And Public Relations... Want to get media attention/press buzz for your product or service? Then tell your story and make sure it connects with fresh issues in your industry. Don't send out announcements. That's the advice of PR professional Lou Hoffman in his latest post. Even seasoned marketing folks forget this so it is a good reminder to us all. There's a nice chart to illustrate his points and the explanation makes perfect sense. Now go get 'em! Delete the scoop?
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In just one day top companies will pay $3.5 million for each 30 second spot to air their Super Bowl ads. At a bare minimum, a whopping $245 million is being spent this year by companies to pitch their products. Wow! The difference this year? The ads are stories! Read the rest of my recent blog post about the fundamental shift into storytelling that is occuring these days with marketing, advertising, and branding. Big bucks are being spent on Super Bowl ads and it's all about ads as stories. Read more about what advertising execs are saying and how this pertains to your business. Delete the scoop?
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In the world of copywriting, there are plenty of arcane formulas. Some are useful. Some are absurd. But all of them are interesting. I’ve collected copywriting formulas over the years and would like to share 15 of the very best. Now here's a list of writing formulas that could easily be used to structure your biz stories, or used to structure marketing pieces where you add a series of mini-stories! What a great post to get our creative juices flowing. And I like that these are proven formulas. I'm taking this post with me to my 2012 biz planning session and will pick a few to use in next year's marketing & story campaigns! Delete the scoop?
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In advertising, the art and craft of storytelling is central to building, maintaining and strengthening the bonds between consumers and brands. I agree with 99% of what is in this article. It is a meaningful discussion about storytelling, branding, technology and how much branding/ad professionals need to get better at the whole storytelling thing. The authors are Randy Rothenberg, the president-CEO of IAB and Mike Hughes, the president of the Martin Agency. I actually got even more insights from the 4 comments other people left on the site -- so don't forget to read those also. Here's my only quibble and it's something I've noticed in many branding articles. It's the notion that TV, the news media, radio, etc. are the only ways people have been receiving stories for the last several decades. The notion is that people are now liberated because they can actively create and share their own stories due to technology. That's silly. Of course people have been making up and sharing stories with each other for millenia. So let's keep in mind that when professionals in marketing/branding/ad/pr industries talk this way, they are really only sharing about the mindset of their worlds. Up until recently that mindset has been about the pushing and telling of messages. Now there is a revolution underway that is about corporations engaging in sharing stories back and forth with customers. Which gets us back to the point of the article -- we need to think better about our stories, build storytelling skills, and understand the dynamics of story sharing. 
Tom George's comment,
November 5, 2011 2:33 AM
Thank you for sharing this today Karen. I think your commentary is good. I shared your piece on Internet Billboards.
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I originally wrote this review in September 2011 and have modified it slightly (Jan 9, 2012) because using archetypes in your marketing can be helpful. And Cindy Atlee at the Storybranding Group has now come out with some assessments that could also be helpful to you (see Jan. 10 curated post from A Storied Career). I thought long and hard about posting this piece and finally decided to do it. I hesitated because I don't really care to be hyper-critical. But this really bothered me because people will read the book and think "Oh, this is what business storytelling is all about" when it's not. So here goes.
What I like about this downloadable ebook: it's gorgeous and a beautiful example of a communication rich document. The layout and visuals are spot on and an example I want to emulate. So take some lessons here on presentation.
The focus of the ebook is on using archetypes. That's OK, yet a convoluted way to get at your biz stories. I'm fully aware of archetypes and their power. It can be a part of crafting stories yet I don't know anyone formally trained in storytelling who would start with archetypes. There's nothing on identifying your personal business stories, story structure, story types, essential elements, sensory material, and other story devices that will actually help you find, craft and tell your business stories. So as a how-to book on marketing/branding and storytelling it doesn't work for me. Archetypes can be very powerful however, when figuring out who your customers are and how to connect with them best. And they are great to use when creating personas of your customers. I do work with archetypes during certain phases of my story work with certain clients. And I love and have used Carol Pearson's work on archetypes in business depending on the client and their specific need. Once your have identified your business stories, looking at the archetypes operating within the stories can also be very useful. If you are working with big corporations, archetypes become a more important front and center activity. For smaller firms and entrepreneurs, it comes much later. So it really comes down to the size of the client, what their exact needs are, and the particular story approach and story tools that are required to get the work done.
The rest of the material in the ebook is intersting with a few tips here and there. And it is a good example about how branding/marketing professionals approach story work.
Go grab it for its visual presentation, and read through it for those additional marketing insights. 
's comment, September 13, 2011 6:20 PM
Hi Karen, Well, you're absolutely right, my eBook isn't about storytelling. It's about messaging and shorter communications forms where I've found that story-based thinking (like establishing a role and staying focused on an outcome) actually helps people say things that are more authentic and more meaningful to others. I'm especially passionate about helping people remember who they really are, which is why archetypes are so important. Using the framework of a storyline helps people and organizations really see what's best and most distinctive and even most honorable about them. I like to think that helps keep them on track both in terms of what they say and what they do in the world. That's probably just the Pollyanna in me--or maybe the topic for my next eBook!
I'm trained in archetypes--not storytelling--so I don't know if others would agree with you that storytellers never start with archetypes. Sounds like an interesting question for some of my storytelling friends, though. Maybe we can get some conversation going on that :)
Karen Dietz's comment,
September 13, 2011 8:47 PM
Cindy -- many thanks for your comments back and I very much appreciate your insights. I agree that story-based communication helps people be more authentic. And using archetypes to help people remember more of who they are is spot on -- one of the best uses of archetypes! I've used archetypes in branding work. Part of my training is in oral storytelling, so that's where I start with clients. We then move to written stories, then plumb the depths of their stories for visual language. At some point we might end up working with archetypes, but usually not. I do understand the work of developing personas with clients and using archetypes in that way. But I think we are reaching different audiences and fulfilling different needs in our work. I do love that you help people find their authentic voice and more power to you! It's important work. I just get touchy about the storytelling piece! Keep going and thanks for the conversation and insights.
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