There are usually three ways a company ends its existence:

1) it gets purchased

2) it goes public

3) it folds

When one of these happens, it is critically important to tell the right story. Here’s why:

People Care. Every company has people around it who, believe it or not, do care when your company moves into its next phase. Internal employees, investors, prospects, customers, technology and sales partners, editors and analysts. These people will all want to know what happens in the relationship now. Will the company forget them, or will it carefully consider their needs even as it transitions?

Smart companies think of ways to bring people along to the next phase in order to build loyalty. And those ways should be reflected in the tactics it takes as it transitions, and in the messaging it crafts. Even companies that fail should not waste the opportunity to strengthen its ties with those around it. You never know when another opportunity might come along…

Often, the middle is not a good thing. The middle seat in the back of a car is usually tight and always windowless. In politics, the middle is equated with an inability to take sides on an issue. To be nowhere. Finding yourself between an elephant and a car hood…well, you get the picture.

But in storytelling, the middle is where the action is. It’s where the plot thickens and builds on itself as it rolls inevitably to the climax.

So what, you ask, do elephants, car hoods and the middle of stories have in common? Here’s what:You’ve started your company for a reason (see my last post on that). In that reason are values that define your company. In the everyday work your company does – that place between its founding and its ending – is where it gets to prove that its reason (and its values) have worth to its market. How it goes about proving that worth, i.e. showcasing its elephant, is where it builds its brand.

Take Apple. Apple started with the vision of putting a computer on everyone’s desk, making computer’s accessible and friendly – i.e. “personal” – to the masses. In the last decade, Apple has tapped into its original vision, making consumer electronics and software applications accessible to millions. Even the clean, consistent design of its products, stores, packaging, manuals, ads and the like communicate that original message, and reinforce the trust people have in its brand.

So how then does your company builds its brand and find its elephant? These three words can help:

1) Relevance. What you do and how you describe your company are matters of trust. All too often brand builders use terminology that sounds great, but has no relevance to the actual brand. If you call yourself the “world’s largest XYZ company”, it may grab people’s attention briefly. But if your company doesn’t have more stores, more profit, more consumers, etc, then it is not the world’s largest. People will quickly see that, and turn away.

2) Consistency. There have been many articles written about the importance of message consistency, but let me just say it again (for consistency’s sake). It takes a minimum of three interactions with your brand for a message to get noticed. It takes a lot more for your message to sink in, to be memorable. State your message often and consistently, and your audience will begin to absorb it.

3) Trust. It is one thing to have your audience absorb your company’s message. But it takes trust to build long-term customers. The products you build, the corporate decisions you make, the charities your company back, what your press releases state, what you share across social media channels – all of these should stem from your brand’s origins and the values that define your brand. And the more accurately and consistently you align those actions with your brand’s values, the more people will begin to trust your brand.

Now granted, it is easy to forget these things in the heat of everyday toil. So if you take away anything from this post, let it be this: your company should seek its elephant in everything it does, everyday.

In storytelling lingo, the beginning is often called the “catalyst” or the “inciting incident”. It is the big bang, the moment the protagonist loses his job, the death of the beloved king. It is the moment that brings about monumental change to which we as readers can often relate at a personal level.

In company and product parlance, the catalyst is that place where your brand first started talking shape. And, for consumers, it is often that place that explains why companies are doing what they are doing in the first place. In other words, it gives the rest of the “story” meaning and purpose.

Here are some great examples of company catalysts:

-       Google: Sergey Brin and Larry Page dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to, in their own words, “change the world” by organizing every bit of information on the Web for free.

-       Apple: the two “Steves” decided to make their own personal computer in their garage.

-       Napster: Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker realized that people had a need to share files between computers.

Great visionaries who establish their companies and give birth to their ideas often do so in an environment that is in need of change. It is in this ever-evolving world that the seeds are sown for exciting transformation and the development of products that can change the game, whether in air travel (e.g. Virgin) or personal computers (e.g. Apple).

If you are confused about how to communicate the value of your brand, if your “story” is not as clear-cut as you’d like it to be, then dive into the heart of your very own “creation”; the how and the why that brought your company/product into existence. By closely examining your own beginnings, you will likely find invaluable information that will give the rest of your story a deeper meaning for your audience.

A great story is meant to be told

The salesperson explained enthusiastically that the t-shirt’s graphic is the logo of the brand, Topo Ranch, that was founded by folks whose ancestors were survivors of the Donner Party. And that their family did actually own land called ‘Topo Ranch’ from the 1800s until they lost it to the Great Depression. The store’s mission is to continue the legacy of their predecessors–supplying quality goods–and someday buy back the 20,000-acre ranch. And so they named their brand after the property, chose the ranch’s namesake for their logo, and gave it wings to symbolize their dream taking flight.

As a history buff and marketer, I was completely intrigued. Not only was the t-shirt soft and high quality; the graphics meant something that held value. It was an authentic story of pioneering spirit and endurance. Needless to say, I bought the t-shirt.

Turn your customers into storytellers

A compelling brand story is one of the vital components of a great brand, be it t-shirts, video games or technology. Your brand’s story gives your brand a why and a what. A reason to exist and a core essence that set it apart from your competitors. It intrigues your customer, creates an emotional and visceral connection with your product, working its way into their consciousness, to be accessed and passed on again and again. The important thing is that your customer (your free brand ambassador) knows this story—that he/she hears it from your sales staff and your website, your product packaging, your facebook page and your tweets.

Empowering all facets of your marketing to tell the story is a cost-effective way to empower your brand. It might even give it wings.

In this blog, we share our insights, experiences and case studies — those head-scratching and “eureka” moments — about how we help entertainment technology companies strengthen their brands and subsequently increase their revenue. As we arm our clients with the right tools to do the job, we spend a lot of time ruminating on brand building and the essential storytelling that goes along with it.

Same old story?

As I stated in an earlier post in August 2010, storytelling in marketing ain’t new. Marketing in its earliest form was based on the sharing a compelling stories with a potential customers. The goal was then, as is now, to create an emotional reaction in the customer, an urgent desire, which could only be fulfilled by purchasing the product or service. What’s different is that in ancient times, the audience could take part. Somewhere along the way, we as storytellers forgot how to impart stories that invited interaction.

Melting ice caps, growing demands

Having said that, we live in a brave new world. Storytelling is still important but how you tell that story is even more so. Consumer expectations are rising as rapidly as the ice caps are melting and alongside this, their attention span is shrinking. A brand has less time to convey its message concisely and compellingly. On top of that, brands are competing with a galaxy of digital noise. With the advent of social media, consumers are no longer listening to brands that preach and don’t listen.

Unify and diversify

That means your headlines and taglines, your tweets and status updates, your spokespeople and packaging and last but not least, your product or service, must offer a unified story of value. And the story must intrigue and satisfy, but only just enough so they keep coming back for more. This is especially so for the entertainment industry whose bread and butter is built on keeping their customers engaged. As the new year dawns and the entertainment industry continues to morph at incredible pace, it might do well to remember that no one wants to hear the same old story.

Steve Kayser’s article “In These Tough Times Here’s a Way to Print Your Own Currency Legally … with Content” had that effect on me.

In the article are the words: “You got no story. You got no game. You got no game – you got no business.” In other words, companies need to use relevant, “educational, entertaining” stories to help sell their solutions.

Got it. Check. I’m with you Steve.

Or at least I was…until I saw this: “Story-selling content is the new advertising, marketing and PR currency“.

Huh? Stop! Did I miss something?

Story-telling ain’t new

Good marketing has always focused on stories, even in the “old” tactics of print ads and PR. Heck, even in the days of snake oil salesmen. Framing the “pitch”, the corporate message, the product message, the service message, etc. in the context of a story that solves customer’s problems is a device that has been used since the dawn of marketing.

Now granted, as Steve suggests in his article, some companies have no story. Others companies have stories but can’t “sell” them to save their lives. Still others are great at “telling” stories, but can’t back up those stories with fact (Vaporware anyone?). That does not mean, however, that storytelling is new. That relevance is new. That framing marketing messages to address customer needs is new.

Then story-SELLING must be new, right?

Maybe what Mr. Kayser meant was that the delivery mechanism has changed. Social media is becoming an increasingly critical portion of the marketing communication mix. And it requires different rules of interaction and engagement. Different styles of writing. Different channels for delivering the message.

But is that really “new”?  Not really.

“Re-learned” is probably more accurate. After all, before newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and the Internet, marketing was conducted face-to-face. It was, for the most part, social. Sure, the salespeople stood before the crowd and shouted the pitch. But the crowd could shout back. Or throw tomatoes.

The point is, even back then, storytelling AND story-selling were both central to the process.

So What’s the Point?

“The truth is that your business success, whatever business you’re in, hinges on your ability to create remarkable content. Remarkable problem-solving stories. But no matter how great or remarkable your story may be, it still has to be discovered or found first.”

Mr. Kayser, I couldn’t agree more. This is the point. I just want to know when this became a new idea.

I agree that with so many more people in an organization now communicating to potential customers via social networks, it is more difficult to control the message. I also agree that one-way preaching of rigid marketing messages makes for pretty boring social media conversations (and marketing, for that matter). But that doesn’t mean the marketing message is irrelevant.

In fact, the message is more relevant than ever. Here’s why:

With so many touch points for your message, it’s now easier for customers to get confused about your offerings and why those offerings are different than the next company’s. If your message doesn’t flow from a  set of values, how can you expect the customer to understand what your product is and how it can help make their life easier (better, cheaper, etc).

This does not mean that companies must try to control the conversation. But it does mean that companies should develop messages that communicate purposefully, and that are broad enough to allow conversations to happen.

I ran across this article randomly, but found it pretty engaging. As a copywriter and marketer, it reminded me of just how awful a presentation can be when it includes too many words, too many bullet points and not enough kernels of wisdom.

If you are like me – someone looking for a way to avoid the dreaded Flying Stink-o-Potami – this article is definitely worth a read. While it may not simplify the creation of presentations for you, it might just give you that little bit of advice needed to keep your audience from yawning. Enjoy.