Pencil Acoustics Fiction

“The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.”― Mary Catherine Bateson

From the time we are small children, we have a love of stories.

As a parent of four, 'Tell me a bedtime story', is a refrain I heard often.

This edition of my Newsletter provides three ideas including what I believe to be the best one - which is focused on the power of stories.

How I Got Here

As I often do, I had fun combining random words with an Anchor Term to develop ideas.

I am sharing three of them here.

The rest are secured in my Ideas Vault; to be taken out for my future Business Strategy Development clients.

Idea # 1: Pencil Marketing

Post old proverbial sayings on your social media pages, such as ‘measure twice, cut once’, and ask people to comment with stories that bear out the wisdom of the same.

The above saying would be wonderful for a home improvement store or a contractor.

• A bank might use 'a penny saved is a penny earned'.
• 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' could be used by a travel agency, airline or AirBnB.

What old sayings are relevant to your industry?

Along with a memorable tagline about how we bring you back together, something like this video could be used with the Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder saying.

Idea # 2: Acoustics Marketing

Run a competition to have amateur musicians compose and share videos of a theme song for your brand.

Award the winner(s) with something worth winning. ($500, a new iPad, etc.)

As I once wrote regarding Super Bowl commercials in my article published in the August 2023 issue of FDI Alliance International Magazine, titled Sharing is Caring:

"Consumers were invited to create their own?Doritos?ads and at least one fan-made?commercial was guaranteed to air during the?game.?

The cost of producing these genuinely original and memorable ads was infinitesimally small compared to the traditional method. Amateur filmmakers got a shot at becoming famous and viewers watching the game were treated to something special. And, most importantly, Frito-Lay got enormous sales traction and connected with consumers in a deep and unprecedented way."

Why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to? Why not instead emulate that bit of genius that the Frito Lay folks came up with?

Btw, you can read that entire article right here.

Here is one of the ads created by an amateur.

Idea # 3: Fiction Marketing

Share chapters of a story one at a time posted on your company's social media pages.

Or, perhaps even better, share a story without an ending and give visitors the opportunity to determine which direction the story goes.

Once upon a time, I did this in a post here on LinkedIn and the engagement and reactions it got were EPIC!

Here's the incomplete story I shared:

Mandy was driving along a winding road in the early morning twilight. Worried about the downsizing going on at work, she was only half focused on driving.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a child ran into the road!

Brought immediately out of her state of semi-awareness, she quickly swerved to avoid the child. And, she lost control of the vehicle!

Tires squealing. Fast approaching tree. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion. Then, WHAM! The car slammed into and skidded along the guardrail until, mercifully, it finally stopped.

Shaking and bruised, she took a deep breath for the first time since the child appeared. Then a terrifying thought leaped into her mind, 'OMG, did I hit that kid?!'

She looked back with trepidation.

As I explained in the chapter of my most recent book, More Freaking Brilliant Ideas: Helping You Thrive in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, titled Are You Making Your Customers Thirsty, what I was demonstrating by sharing that emotion-laden story was the power of opening a story loop.

From the book:

A person who has been wandering along a hot, dusty road for hours needs a drink.

In the same vein, humans have a thirst for closure which MUST be quenched. This is why good authors leave you hanging at the end of chapters in a book.

MANY television shows leave unresolved drama at the end of episodes for the same reason.

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By sharing stories on your social media pages a chapter at a time (or giving visitors a chance to complete an incomplete story) you are opening a story loop that demands to be closed.

This can be VERY compelling!

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So, which of these three ideas do you like best?

Can you use them in some way to help you stand out in a crowded marketplace?

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Want to see how our Purposeful Creative Thinking Training can help your organization become more innovative and stand out in an increasingly crowded world?

Don't want to do it yourself? Our Business Strategy Design Services can help.

PM me?so we can discuss.

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About?Bob Sager

The founder of SpearPoint Solutions, Bob’s professional background includes over three decades of experience in sales, leadership and training. Combined with Purposeful Creative Thinking, he uses that experience to develop business strategies that help organizations increase sales and margins. Additionally, Bob and his team of Certified Facilitators train individuals and organizations on these same methods of Purposeful Creative Thinking so they are better prepared to thrive in the modern?economy.

Among other accomplishments, Bob is the?inventor?of the Purposeful Creative Thinking game, What's the BIG Idea?? and author of the books, Discovering Your Greatness, 101 Freaking Brilliant Business Ideas and his latest, More Freaking Brilliant Ideas.