Sam Leith rejects the idea that the story needs to be reconceived for our “modern era.”
Changing technologies have affected the means by which stories are told. You can follow the story of a person’s life pointillistically through a Twitter feed or voyeuristically through a webcam.
You can read a self-contained novel; one with an alternate ending; [...]
Archive for the 'Story' Category
If Starbucks marketed like a church…
Published by November 11th, 2008 in Concreteness, Emotion, General, Story and Unexpectedness. 0 CommentsJohn Moore at Brand Autopsy highlights this satirical video, created by a church marketing expert to inspire churches to find ways that ”we can remove the speed-bumps we have unknowingly created for visitors.”
My favorite part: The barrista waits on a couple that is clearly new to Starbucks – they’re a bit overwhelmed and end up asking sheepishly for ”a [...]
The collapse of AIG in 10 min
Published by October 28th, 2008 in Concreteness, General, Simplicity and Story. 0 CommentsYou can learn what ”credit default swaps” are, and how they brought down AIG, in 10 minutes, thanks to Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch. What’s particularly clever is the car insurance analogy, which buys us some quick intuition into a complex topic.
In the book, we discuss the simple trade models that teachers use in Econ 101 — e.g., [...]
You’ve got to know when to Fuld ‘em
Published by September 18th, 2008 in Concreteness, Credibility, Emotion, General, Simplicity, Story and Unexpectedness. 6 CommentsNicholas Kristof has a sticky piece today on the grotesque overpayment of CEOs who fail. Case in point: Richard Fuld, chief of the now-flushed Lehman Brothers, made a half-bil between 1993 and 2007. Good investment.
This story, and others like it, run the board on the traits of a sticky idea: They’re simple (Too much money!). [...]
Deconstructing The Girl Effect
Published by July 18th, 2008 in Concreteness, Credibility, Emotion, General, Simplicity, Story and Unexpectedness. 10 Comments[Via a friend at McKinney] If you want some practice at making ideas stickier, I have a great case study for you. Rope aside 30 minutes and follow along with the process below. It concerns the work of a group called The Girl Effect. Here’s the game plan:
1. Start here. It’s a pdf document with [...]
Upgrade, don’t discard: The melodrama
Published by July 15th, 2008 in Concreteness, Emotion, General and Story. 0 CommentsSome students in Bob Sutton’s class on “Creating Infectious Engagement” wanted to persuade people to upgrade, not replace, their computers, for the sake of the environment. But where’s the emotion? Where’s the story? Well, voila: “Love the one you’re with.” With a star turn by Dan Wilson as the computer. (Doesn’t he worry about typecasting?)
“Canoe Man”
Published by December 20th, 2007 in Concreteness, Credibility, Emotion, General, Simplicity and Story. 0 CommentsThere are 6 principles of sticky ideas, and folks, Canoe Man has all 6. It’s no wonder why this bizarro tale has captivated the UK public.
Robert M brought it to our attention with this introduction: “Man vanishes at sea in 2002, only his battered kayak is found. Wife and two sons mourn, then wife claims [...]
The Partition of Africa
Published by November 1st, 2007 in Concreteness, Emotion, General, Story, Teachers and Unexpectedness. 2 CommentsHere’s a story we received from Peri Chinoda, an AP & Honors World History Teacher at Hume Fogg Magnet High School in Nashville:
Background Information: In 1885 the Chancellor of Germany, Otto Bismarck, convened a meeting attended by 13 European colonial powers including the USA and the Ottoman Empire. The Africans whose land was to be [...]
Research: Stories make your brand stronger
Published by November 1st, 2007 in Emotion, General and Story. 1 CommentReaders of Made to Stick could have predicted this outcome, but it’s interesting nonetheless: Brandweek reports on a research study that concludes stories work better than product positioning in advertisements. [Thanks to Francois at Zoommedia for the link!]
From the article:
One such pattern was that a campaign like Bud’s iconic “Wassup” registered more powerfully with consumers [...]
Tammy Is a Quitter
Published by October 23rd, 2007 in Concreteness, Credibility, Curse of Knowledge, General, Simplicity, Story and Teachers. 3 CommentsHere’s a story from Dave Rendall, who has a blog called the Freak Factor. (I love his post that argues that if you’re getting rejected, you’re doing something right.)
I hadn’t seen Tammy in almost a year, when she approached me in the hallway. I was there to teach an evening class for non-traditional students. She [...]
