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Story Craft

Thoughts, ideas, and other ruminations on storytelling and the world of technology marketing

Does Your Brand Have Wings?

Friday, January 7th, 2011

gopher with wingsRecently I walked into a clothing store, and noticed a cool t-shirt hanging on the rack. The front of the shirt was emblazoned with a gopher with wings. As I bent in for a closer look, the salesman piped up: “Do you know the story about our brand?”

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 (more…)

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A Brand New Year – A Brand New Story

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

storytellingWelcome to Story Craft and a brand new year. Marketing for entertainment technology is the game we play at Neology. It’s a multi-player game in an ever-changing world. It keeps us on our toes and makes us want to blog about it.

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.

(more…)

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Posted in Marketing, Messaging, Visual Effects Technology, video game technology | No Comments »

Story-Selling Ain’t New

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Story-Telling-Why-Stories-Are-Vital-to-Your-SuccessHave you ever heard something that makes you stop?

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? (more…)

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Posted in Marketing, Messaging | 3 Comments »

(Written) Content is Still King

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

For those not paying attention, there has been a pretty monumental shift in marketing over the last few years. To put it simply, we’ve evolved from the more traditional world of interruption marketing to the world of permission marketing.

So what does all that mean for copywriters who have built their careers on catchy ad slogans? For the savvy copywriter who knows how to evolve, it can spell opportunity.

Consider these points:

(more…)

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Meet Me @ the Corner of Marketing and Messaging

Monday, October 12th, 2009

When people ask me whether I am a copywriter or a marketer, I always answer the same way – I am both. Why? Because the two professions are intrinsically connected.

Here’s an example of what I mean: Executives at an early stage company want the company to have more visibility in the market. Their idea is to run ads, reach out to editors, do direct mail, re-design the web site, and other tactics – all of which can be effective tools for raising awareness and driving leads.

(more…)

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Writing Effective Web Site Copy

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Web sites have become a necessity in today’s business world. These seven tips can help companies get the most out of the words they put on each page.

1. Know your Audience. Before one word is put on a site, it is critical to understand your audience and what motivates them to act. Without that key information, you run the risk of producing rambling, ineffectual copy and organizing it in such a way that does not motivate your customers to contact you.
(more…)

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