A nine-year-old boy stood more than 20 feet in the air in a hayloft, stretching his hands out toward a rope swing. His friend below had just launched the long rope (which was strung from the very top peak of the barn) up toward the boy above. But just as the boy reached to grasp the rope and swing out across the barn, his friend accidentally pulled back on the rope to relaunch it and looked up to see the boy suddenly falling down—head first—toward the hard, wooden floor below…
Cliffhanger! What does this story have to do with anything and why is it related to xiik?
Marketing is all about telling stories. I was reminded of this yesterday while attending the MBO Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Two of the sessions I went to were focused on content planning and strategy—very critical for successful marketing campaigns.
Don Schindler of AgencyND spoke about the successful elements of a story:
The Exposition—quickly setting the scene
Hook—revealing the problem
Rising Action—keep them hooked while building the story
Climax—everything builds to this moment
Resolution—finally giving the answer
Seventh grade English, right? I recall sitting at my desk in junior high, sketching that graph every English teacher wants you to learn. You know—the one that looks vaguely like a mountain range?
So what does basic plot structure have to do with marketing? Everything!
Your target audience must be engaged with your message to gain their interest in your product/services/ideas. A compelling story will captivate your audience and draw them in so that you can lead them toward your goal.
Many folks in the marketing industry fall back on the easy route—using the same old marketing language: “our product can change your life” or “we will beat our competitor’s price.” In this way, we forget that effective marketing messages aren’t written for a company’s compliance office or CEO—they are written for everyday people who are captivated by real, compelling stories about mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure!
The young boy falling down from the hayloft in the story above was my father’s cousin and the boy standing below was my father. Miraculously, as his cousin was falling down, one of the hay bales in the stack below him just happened to be sticking out a bit from the others and managed to break his fall enough to flip him around so he could land feet first. Had those bales of hay been stacked squarely, he may not have survived that fall. My father recounted that story to my brothers and me when we were children as an example of how one tiny unexpected thing can change your life.
To me, successful marketing is like that bale of hay. A fascinating story that sticks out from the usual “marketing speak” can capture people’s attention and possibly even change the course of their life by influencing them to make a decision they wouldn’t have otherwise considered.
I know I am reenergized—how about you?
