Storytelling is the process of identifying, developing and presenting to your audience whatever it is about you that is remarkable. It uses stories, one of the oldest forms of human communication, to connect with people, rather than just trying to sell them something. And because connection comes first—and brings with it understanding and emotion, and ultimately, passion and loyalty—storytelling inspires advocates
Why do I want advocates?
You want advocates, because they become your advertisers, marketers, and branders. And in today’s environment, in which so many people have been trained to ignore advertising, marketing, and branding, a story spread through human channels is all the more powerful.
How do I get advocates?
For your story to win advocates, it must first be authentic. If the story doesn’t align with the audience’s worldview, they won’t believe it, and they won’t buy into it. However, if the story does connect with them, and align with their worldview, now you have an opportunity to move them. An authentic, compelling story increases receptiveness to your message; if that message is substantial and delivered to the right audience in the right way, it can inspire new behavior.
So what, exactly, does storytelling entail?
For us, there are two parts: story gathering, in which we identify what the story is, who needs to hear it, and the best way to tell it; and story delivery, in which we actually deliver the story to the world, and to your target audiences. If you were more pragmatic (or boring), you might call those two parts strategy and production, but of course, we’re not. For more on story gathering, see our storytelling process. For more on story delivery, see a few examples of our work here.
Do I have to hire act3 for both parts of the storytelling process?
We think your best bet is for us to help you through both parts, to ensure alignment between your great story and how it’s told to the world. But if you feel like you have a great story already, and you just need help getting it out there, we can work with you primarily on the story delivery part to deliver your story in a powerful way. Alternately, if, once we’ve gathered your story, you want to turn it over to your own marketing or advertising folks, we won’t take it personally. However, experience has taught us that the process is cleaner, clearer and more productive if it’s not muddied up by multiple cooks. That’s why we recommend letting us take care of you from start to finish, and why we’re so committed to earning your trust to do that.
How is storytelling different from advertising?
Advertising is a delivery method, effective at raising awareness of what you have to offer, reminding your audience that it’s still there, and providing news and information about it. But being able to shout from the rooftop is quite different from determining the right message to shout. Untold billions have been wasted on advertising because of a misguided message, or efforts to attract the wrong audience—or the right audience with the wrong message. Alternately, the better your story, the less you need to advertise, because the story spreads organically, through advocates who will be much more convincing than advertising from the typical outlets your audience has been trained to ignore.
John Wanamaker, the father of modern advertising, famously said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.”
Advertising raises awareness, but storytelling raises interest. There is a difference.
How is storytelling different from marketing?
“Consumers are like roaches,” say Jonathan Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum in their book, Under the Radar: Talking to Today’s Cynical Consumer. “We spray them with marketing, and for a time it works. Then, inevitably, they develop an immunity, a resistance.”
Makes you want to run out and get some marketing, doesn’t it?
Much like the science behind developing the next generation of roach spray, marketing has become a clinical business (that most people also consider to be intrusive, bloated, and ravenous). About the only thing marketers agree on is that marketing is about Ps—though they disagree about how many. Some say there are four (product, pricing, promotion and placement), others argue for seven (adding people, process and physical evidence), and still others add an eighth (packaging).
Storytelling, instead, is about one lonely C: connection.
And that’s because storytelling is not just more humane than spraying someone with marketing, it’s human. It’s subtle and understated, but most of all, it’s authentic. That’s why when your story connects with someone, you’ve got something real and sustainable. If a connection isn’t there, it’s not there, and that’s fine, too: not everyone will immediately get it. But that doesn’t matter to you, because you’re too busy telling an authentic story to people who want to hear it.
How is storytelling different from branding?
A brand is a representation of a product or service. Branding, then, is included in everything from logo to motto to signage to how the phone is answered. But if the brand has no story at its foundation, it’s hollow: all flash and no substance.
On the other hand, if the brand is built around a great story, every iteration of that brand, and every person’s experience of it, will reinforce the authenticity of that story. With each confirmation of the story’s authenticity, trust in that story develops, and a relationship grows. When you focus on building relationships, making connections, and cultivating a human experience, a great brand is easy to build. If you try to build a brand with a snappy logo or soothing color scheme, sooner or later, people will see right through it.
What budget does “storytelling” fall under?
Most people don’t have a storytelling budget—yet. That’s because people are only starting to realize the power and significance of telling their story effectively and authentically. In the meantime, then, feel free to pay us from your advertising, marketing, or branding budget (or all three). We promise not to tell.
Won’t people get tired of storytelling, just like we’ve gotten tired of advertising, marketing and branding?
As long as the focus remains on the steak and not the sizzle—in other words, as long as storytelling remains about the story and doesn’t try to morph into advertising, marketing, or branding—no. Any selling process breaks down when the purveyor—advertiser, marketer, or brander—fails to respect those of us on the receiving end of their work, or worse, sees us merely as consumers. Storytelling, by definition, sees those on the receiving end as people. There’s a human element connected to storytelling that we respond to—and have been responding to since the dawn of time. We remember stories, because they’re the most essential form of communication we have, the most foundational, and the most fundamental.
In other words, we’ve been telling stories for multiple millennia, and people still aren’t tired of them. As long as you stick to storytelling and don’t get suckered into that other stuff, you won’t wear out your audience.
What’s with the name?
Glad you asked. In classical storytelling, the third act is where, after all the characters have been developed and the conflict has been established, the story achieves resolution.