Storytelling

[JakeStratham]

We're all marketers here. So all of us know the power of a good story.

The problem is, storytelling doesn't come naturally. Not to me and not to you. There's an art to it, and that art escapes most of us.

I've been trying to improve my own storytelling chops. Although I focus on the written word, there's a lot of good material in promotional videos produced by brands.

Here are several...


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx0MRawkrj4[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vxjh6KJi8E[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhwhnEe7CjE[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjB_oVeq8Lo[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VteDp3IK-60[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdhWhgA8Y0A[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnSIp76CvUI[/ame]



It wouldn't feel right to ignore a classic...


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8[/ame]



I'll bet you've come across a lot of other examples of great storytelling. If so, post 'em so we can learn from them.

 

[SteveGG]

As far as using story telling to promote a product, Dan Aykroyd's campaign video for his (then) new Crystal Head Vodka is about the best I've ever seen.

He not only goes into the supernatural elements of the 13 Crystal Skulls, the inspiration for CHV bottle design, but also the pristine ingredients that go into making the vodka itself. To give his message additional authority - so it's not just coming from a celebrity - he then turns over part of video to the head of the Newfoundland Liquor Corporation, where CHV is manufactured.

Dan's enthusiastic story telling and cadence makes this about the best liquor "commercial" you'll likely ever see, imo.

The video begins with Dan talking a bit about the paranormal in general, then describes the crystal head bottle and its inspiration at around the 1:11 mark, and finally discusses the vodka itself at around the 4:44 mark.

He's a born salesman, with skills perfected on Saturday Night Live where he pitched everything from the Bass-o-Matic to the "Bag of Glass" kids toy.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKqjIv91Zx8[/ame]

 

[Meatytreats]

And the 7 basic plots are as follows:

1. Overcoming themonster
2. Rags to riches
3. A journey - the quest
4. A journey - the voyage and return
5. Comedies
6. Tragedies
7. Rebirth

 

[sgm26]

I first started writing copy back when all the cool kids had 45 page long form sales letters and most of that stuff blew my mind because it came off as super salesy and boring.

To try and find my own copy groove I started pouring through books by Stephen King and other fiction authors, hoping to learn to mimic their conversational style and story telling flow.

While most copywriters (then and still today) were preaching about courses and programs that the master copywriters taught, I found myself becoming more and more successful by taking a totally different 'casual story teller approach'.

I can't say this would work for everyone but it definitely helped me up my game. In fact, the best converting letter I ever wrote is still one from the early 2000's that was literally all story, with about 10 bullets of what's included and an order button.