Day: September 14, 2013

The magic of a spec

“If I build this, will it delight you?”

Time spent building a spec that gets a ‘yes’ to this question is always time well spent. The spec describes what victory feels like, not necessarily every element of what’s to be built. A spec is an agreement before the agreement, it moves the difficult job of getting in sync with your client from the end of the process to the beginning.

Creatives of every stripe are so happy to get the assignment, so eager to get to work that we often forget to agree on what we’re setting out to do in the first place. It’s fun to nod your head and say, “I understand,” but even something as simple as cooking dinner deserves a few more moments of interaction before the knives are sharpened and the oven is turned on.

Read more

Evolving stories FROM: Corporate Size & Stats TO: The People Within

Humanizing Storytelling for Business & Brands: Evolution theme #1

 

“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.”  – M. Scott Peck

The traditional stats such as the number of employees, office locations and number of years in business used to be the lead-in, if not the main points in a corporate introduction and story.   Phrases such as “In business since..” or “the largest manufacturer of…” was often believed to provide credibility by its very declaration.  Thereby commanding respect from others.  Employees were usually referred to as a number or in general and in aggregate form.  The typical exceptions for highlighting an employee by name was reserved for the prominent leaders that businesses felt should be of interest to investors and the public.

Read more

Seven Ways to Humanize Storytelling for Business & Brands

New post series by Anneliza Humlen @ADHumlen exploring the evolution of storytelling and themes.

story

“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it” – Hannah Arendt

Prior to the emergence of social networks, brand stories would typically unfold as a controlled narrative told from the perspective and interests of the business/brand.   As traditional media such as TV, print and digital brought such stories to life, distinct traditions formed in how stories were communicated and the content of the stories themselves.   The combination of absolute control and the limits imposed by such traditions, would often limit the growth and appeal of the stories.  Many of the story themes that were once regarded best practice and believed to be useful, we now know via social media as ineffective in generating meaningful and enduring interest.   The new tradition of storytelling for business/brands evolves from what “THEY (corporation) want people to know,” to the stories that people can relate to on a human level.  The story themes that support a more “human” centered form of storytelling have now become the  “new traditions” in growing business/brand interest.

Read more