fbpx

Building a campaign using the “Red-String” of Storytelling

So what is the Red-String when it comes to telling a story? Hmm…well it is the underlying theme that connects all the layers within a story. Bob Dotson of NBC’s American Story talks about telling a good story. A good story is one that is memorable…one with layers. Layers of individual stories bound together by an underlying theme or story-line, hence the “Red-String.”

Think about the best book you have ever read, or one of your favorite movies. It is a bigger story built around little micro-stories connected together by a “Red-String.” Each little scene or story is placed ever so appropriately at the right place, at the right time, in the right sequence to build and “argument” or thought.

Let’s take a look at the “Red-String,” as it is shown here graphically. This is the only way I know how to explain this concept.


As you notice the relationship is somewhat of a linear relationship between the audience’s engagement and time. Over a period of time, the story-line is moving along as the audience engagement increases during each micro-story or plot. As the story-line moves along, the audiences engages with some intensity during the rising and falling actions of each plot. As the story progresses through each plot, from one to the next, it is held together and connected by the “Red-String.”

At a specific point, at the right time…the author brings all the plots together with a reveal or rising action. This is where the “Red-String” ties the knot bringing all the story-lines together reveal the bigger picture, the main plot-line.

So this translates directly to any marketing campaign. It is my opinion that any effective marketing campaign capitalizes on building relationships with target audiences, delivering small messages over time. These messages build to a bigger “reveal” or “call-to-action.” These messages are little stories, micro-stories connected by the underlying theme of the campaign, or the “Red-String.” The point where the main “call-to-action” is placed is at the right time when the “Red-String” ties the knot.

Social Media Technologies are just another technology that is added to the bag of tricks; but what they really are….they are just distribution points. Some professionals refer to them as connection points, a point that allow users to interact with distinct audiences. Social Media outlets are just a bit different because they carry one inherent value that closely relates to word of mouth marketing, they use relationships as driving force. To build engagement, your must build trust…to decide to become a “friend,” “fan,” or “follower.”

The “Audience Engagement” axis is extremely important part of this discussion. Lots of professionals create Social Media “accounts” and immediately start marketing the goods/services. Unless you are “Hot” brand…you need to spend time building audience engagement before implementing an effective “call-to-action” campaign.

This is where the idea of “listening” is so critical. As in any relationship, trust has to be gained and the relationships have to be forged. As the trust builds, and the conversation increases, the audiences grow. And slowly over time, the stories can be distributed to create an awareness for the campaign. This is where the true effectiveness of the “Red-String” ties the knots of the stories, the campaigns, the message.

So in the world of storytelling, are you telling those stories that are connected by the “Red-String?” Is your campaign relevant or just a bunch of little messages with no direction, purpose, of relevant placement. What is the “Red-String” in your campaign?

Listening…the lost art?

When is the last time you went to dinner or went to grab a drink by yourself to listen? You know, take the time to walk down to the ole watering hole and enjoyed a good drink to listen? Sat down with the sole purpose of listening to the stories around you? There are so many stories to be shared at the local watering hole. People enjoying conversation, ole times, catching up, beating their chest, war stories…ones that connect and make us feel real.

Listening…the lost art.
Sometimes while on trips, I like to find a bar, pick a stool in the middle, order a brew, and listen. Instead of facing straight ahead or looking right at the television, turn sideways and engage in a new conversation. How do we listen? We read body language and listen to the stories that we can relate.

Asking questions…inquiry.
The easiest way to listen is to find someone you can relate and ask questions. Empowering your audience to share. Putting the people you can relate in a position to share and empower you. Asking questions provides connection and willingness to engage.

Stories from questions…empower our audiences.
Questions come from listening and listening comes form questions. We all like to learn and we as humans are social creatures. We connect with those willing to share the stories and that inspire emotion. Quality questions come from those who listen to their audiences. When we want to hear rich stories, we ask, we inquire, we explore, and we search for the red-string that connects our stories to theirs. This empowers our relationships.

When is the last time you have gone into a public place, a bar, a meeting, a networking event…and spent more time asking questions than answering? When is the last time you have inquired about others experiences than filling the void of the conversation with your own? It is amazing who we can meet, what we can learn, people we can empower, and relationships we can build.

Storytelling is not a lost art!

Storytelling is the art of listening…to tell others stories. Our stories get old after a while especially when we have told them so many times they get to old to find the new iteration to make people engage. Telling others’ stories is lot more fun when we listen and tell others stories. Are you a storyteller or are you one that just tells your own story? Our own stories gets old after a while…take a few minutes to listen.

The desert really does flood!

When I worked for KPHO-TV in Phoenix, Arizona…I never knew what story I might be covering on a day-to-day basis. It could be anywhere in Arizona, Mexico, California, or even across the US. We were the flagship station for Meredith Corporation and you never know where the story would take us.

I remember it vividly. I worked Sunday to Thursday…so the page would come at 10am Sunday morning preparing me for my 2:30 – 11pm shift. At that time, we communicated using alpha numeric two-way pagers and mobile phones. As I would wake up to the bright Arizona sun, the pager would hum across the bedside table bearing my assignment for the day or even for the week.

It was required for me to keep a week’s worth of clothes in my full size blazer along with enough video tape, cable, and water to cover the story. I have been in an FBI standoff in the middle of the Arizona desert heat that reached 120 degrees. Dehydration was a reality. As photojournalists based out of Phoenix, we were also required to be trained by Phoenix Fire Department…how to cover stories in the heat, wildfire blazes, and structure fires. Covering stories was more than collecting sound bites and broll, edit, then put up the dish and get on air by 5pm…it was about understanding and adapting to our environments. It was about making the most of what we had and finding ways to work smart and efficient to collect, complete, and distribute compelling stories effectively and efficiently.

This hot morning, the buzzing pager gives me the message…heading to western Arizona to find a town underwater. Not sure when I will return. Hmm…I am in the middle of the freaking desert. A town under water? Is the assignment desk speaking in tongues or are they playing CYA since we have burned all of our helicopter hours for the month and they want to know if what the scanners are saying are true.

Out of the shower (better take one since this sounds like I might not get one for a few days), grab the camera and batteries, and off to Wenden, Arizona. When I get there…this what I found. Needless to say, I was out there for four days, slept in the Blazer and captured and produced dozens of stories of destruction and loss. I worked closely with a great writer and reporter Laurie Raymond.

So many stories, so many visuals, so many lives changed…including mine. I never thought I would see a desert town underwater.

Listening for those rich stories…they are out there!

What stories are you going to tell this week? What stories are you going to encounter? Are you listening to your clients, your constituency bases? Are listening as the stories that need to be told are unfolding right in front of you? How can we be aware enough to look deep into the organizations and find rich stories that attract those listening ears?

  1. Look within the “funding” sources and marketing goals for real people.
  2. Define the mission of the organization and let the mission provide a frame work  for the stories.
  3. Understand the target audiences and allow them to guide you to the palatable stories.
  4. Look past subject matter as a story position, find people with stories that can be told through their eyes and not with a “narrator.”
  5. Use the 180 degree rule…when you find a good story that is in the midst of happening, turn 180 degrees and look at who is watching the story unfold, tell it through their lens.
  6. Find stories that are in the midst of the action, let the action and reaction paint the picture…stay away from stories that have to be re-told after the fact.
  7. Go into the story idea with a loose outline but be willing to let the storytelling process create the final outline and story-line!
  8. Do not let technology restrict your ability to tell a good story! Use it as a means to capture and distribute the story to the appropriate audiences. I have captured and told Emmy Award winning stories using a $300.00 video camera. No matter if you have an $80K video camera, a $200 laptop, or even a $50.00 recording device…let it enable you not detract you.

Be passionate! Find those stories…find rich content that your audiences are craving to connect with on a daily basis.

Here is a funny little story I found one day in Arizona when all I was asked to do is get a few shots of the Renaissance Festival….this guy cracks me up. Proof, if we open our ears, the stories can pop out of nowhere and it can replace the pointless copy that could be written about the festival.

Pulled the Trigger on the iPad 3G – WOOHOO!

OK…so I got the nod from the CFO, yes…my CFO is the wife and she gave the nod that it is cool to drop the dough on a glorified gadget that can be justified as a business expense! After a month of deliberating, hemming and hawing about the idea of purchasing it…I pushed the “Pre-Order” button on the Apple website.

I did spend sometime thinking, researching, and wondering if this was a good decision. Here were some of my initial thoughts:

  1. If I was going to purchase the iPad, it had to be the 3G version. Simply because there are so many times I am in a non-wifi zone and will need to send emails, download something, or just be online. I have contemplated getting a AT&T card for my MacBook Pro, but this makes sense. I know I have my iPhone, but need something a little more to finger scale.
  2. Tired of carrying around my 17″ MacBook Pro to meetings in a big ole bag. I have a “Producer” bag that I can throw the strap around my shoulder yet I spend so much time avoiding knocking something over with the bag and the contents.
  3. Want something small and mobile that is not another laptop.
  4. Price compared the iPad to purchasing a MacBook and the pricing was similar. But then I thought, why do I want another laptop for just searching the web, answering email, and other related web related items.
  5. Liked the idea of a “bigger” iPhone concept…seriously! So many times I have my iPhone as I lay in beg catching up on email or searching the web for stuff…and would like something bigger yet not the size of a laptop. Opening a laptop is a process.
  6. Excited about the opportunity to download books via the iPad…this will be new and cool experience!

So after weighing these thoughts…I pulled the trigger. So this is what I purchased:

  • iPad with 64GB of memory with Wifi & 3G Capabilities
  • iPad Keyboard Dock (so I can type on a real keyboard, if I so choose)
  • iPad Case (I am clumsy so figured I needed to protect my investment)
  • iPad Camera Kit (so I can upload pictures straight from a SD card)
  • iPad VGA Adapter (so I can connect to a screen or projector to show presentations, pictures, and videos)
  • Apple Care for iPad (once again, I am clumsy and this protects me from me)

All in all…I am pumped, the only thing now is that I have to sit back and wait. The expected shipping date for my iPad 3G/Wifi is late April! I am hoping it gets here before my vacation trip where Wifi is non-existent.

Now, once again my gadget life is complete with one more gizmo. Yes…now I can go over to my grandfathers house and wow him with a cool new gadget!

What is next for GoogleOnMain? Standby and Listen!

Well…it has officially happened and now nine days after the big event ( tons of local, regional, and national press) and finally with a big wrap-up party at the Warehouse Theater, it is time to say…what is next? First off…it needs to be noted that Aaron von Frank and all those who made this event a success should be proud. But now, what is next and what happens after the hype. Well, for starters…sit back and wait to here what Google is planning on doing.

The whole purpose of this event was to publicly solicit the opportunity to be one of the chosen cities for Google to invest billions of dollars into a fiber infrastructure. Now, while they are still doing their due diligence, Greenville, SC is sitting back and wanting more. This little idea that turned into a big idea has now built a community of innovators into a community of believers…”We can get the attention of a big group like Google.” Now is not quitting time….it is actually time to keep on pushing forward and taking the nicely branded idea “We Are Feeling Lucky” (nice job btw by Spike Jones) to the next level…continue building on this momentum and grow the community at large around an idea of innovation.

Thinking back as I was flying in the helicopter over the event, I was not only looking down and capturing an image of 2200 hundred people forming the words “Google,” but actually capturing the image of 2200 stories, 2200 ideas, 2200 reasons why Google should consider Greenville, SC. There is not just one story for Google to hear, it is more than “We Are Feeling Lucky,” it is 2200 different stories why each person thinks Google should come to Greenville, SC.  Define through each of the 2200 individual stories as 2200 supporting arguments why Greenville, SC could use such an innovative pipeline of technology.

Imagine of the next several months (through the rest of the year), each of those 2200 people that formed the human wave of Google could articulate their story, their reason why they personally could benefit from this technology.  Each one would be a different perspective ranging from small business owner, family member, large organization, government leader, entrepreneur, etc…all with a vested interest to make Greenville, SC a hot bed for innovation and thought leadership. Imagine if we could capture each story, and funnel them through the WeAreFeelingLucky.com website using video, text, audio, images, etc…capturing the hearts and minds of a community, building a larger case supporting a technology initiative.

I would image that many of the cities have stopped campaigning for Google’s attention, feeling that they have met their burden and thinking “now it lies in the hands of the organization to hand down a decision.” But the energy felt tonight in the Warehouse Theater auditorium showcased the desire to keep on campaigning, not just for Google technology but for a bigger cause…bringing a community together with a common goal, to build a bigger and brighter Greenville, SC. What a tremendous case that could be made if we could continue this mission, capture those stories, display them everyday on WeAreFeelingLucky.com and show the world that Greenville, SC has more in store…not just a one time event that happened on March 20, 2010.

***Photo courtesy of Michael Bergen of AidJoy.org

Will the market bear more education?

Over the last few months I have been thinking about how the educational system here is South Carolina  is changing and being forced to change. For the past few years, state funding for higher education has continued to drop substantially, each year forcing institutions of higher learning (that depend on state funds to operate) redefine how they support the demand. Well, there are two scenarios to this business proposition, raise the cost of a public education and/or seek more and more private funding. But before going down that thought process, I want to back up a few minutes.

Currently, my wife and I have been put in a position to support (both financially and parentally) my wife’s younger sister Susanna. She is a rising junior at the College of Charleston studying history. For the past two years, after Sarah and Susanna’s mother died of breast cancer, we have been helping Susanna navigate this convoluted financial-aid maze. From applying for expensive and inexpensive student loans to finally being eligible for grant monies, there is a serious conversation concerning “return on investment,” picking a educational path that is going to yield a direction post graduation that provides either a job paying a good wage or moving on to a graduate level education. But what is the ROI on a history degree? That conversation is soon to come.

We are just one of many families having this conversation right now, educational dollars spent should be taken just as seriously as a house purchase. When it is all said and done, one family can spend or borrow close to $7K – $10K per semester. These dollars add up and can come close to a $50K-$80K investment for a four year education. There is a serious business model behind providing loans for those to get a “quality” education. Think about it for a second…it is a like a revolving door behind the rising costs of education and the educational tracks being offered, but…are those tracks market driven?

As a side note, this blog post comes after a Saturday morning conversation with John Warner, he made me think more about market driven education.

More and more degrees are being offered, more and more dollars are being borrowed, more and more institutions are getting fatter, and now we have educational institutions moving away from market driven education. Each day I walk into another Panera Bread where the cashier working is a recent college graduate with a marketing degree and no job. Take a look at my wife’s MA in Professional Communications, she has yet to find a job using that degree. She worked in Manufacturing for close to five years becoming a strategic buyer and then became burned out and now teaching pre-schoolers. She was sold this degree track right out of undergrad at Lander on the fact she would find a high paying job, yet no one helped her in finding that job. It was not market driven…at the time. Side note, she and I graduated with our MA’s right after 911, the market was rock bottom.

So what are we seeing, educational institutions are starting to get back to basics. They will begin doing a couple of things. Identifying market driven degree programs that make sense and begin cutting programs that basically have no funding. As funds continue to decrease from the state, institutions like Clemson, USC, and other state supported schools will begin moving closer and closer to privatization. Now they will not become “Private” but they will be supported by private sources that have a vested interest in the types of programs that will be offered, supported with a pipeline of talent educated to fit that market need.

Clemson University was founded to provided the “Common Man” of South Carolina a technology and mechanical education to solve the agricultural problem in the state.

From Thomas Green Clemson’s Will
“My purpose is to establish an agricultural college which will afford useful information to the farmers and mechanics, therefore it should afford thorough instruction in agriculture and the natural sciences connected therewith — it should combine, if practicable, physical and intellectual education, and should be a high seminary of learning in which the graduate of the common schools can commence, pursue and finish the course of studies terminating in thorough theoretic and practical instruction in those sciences and arts which bear directly upon agriculture, but I desire to state plainly that I wish the trustees of said institution to have full authority and power to regulate all matters pertaining to said institution — to fix the course of studies, to make rules for the government of the same, and to change them, as in their judgment, experience may prove necessary, but to always bear in mind that the benefits herein sought to be bestowed are intended to benefit agricultural and mechanical industries.”

What type of education is necessary for the “Common Man” of South Carolina today? One of the “new technologies” is automotive innovation as seen with the creation ICAR. What other innovative, market driven, educational tracks will be created and be supported through private funds? This will be decided because in 2011, the federal stimulus money provided to subsidize the short fall for the 2010 academic year will be gone, and the fat will have to be trimmed and the deficit will have to be managed. You can read about the impact on Clemson in President Barker’s Blog.

Over the past 50 years, especially during the rising and falling economies, their has been an upward trend in expansion of higher education degree tracks. More and more diverse educational opportunities were created either by the market or a vision. More and more dollars were spent by families in a competitive battle between educational institutions. Now, we will be getting back to basics. Degree programs that have a path. General education requirements will be re-evaluated and the new professors will be ones of innovation, entrepreneurship, and educational economics (bring true business value to the classroom).

There was at one time in this great nation the opportunity to get a law degree or a medical degree without a four year bachelorate education…why not today. Is it time to reconsider the four year track for a BA or BS and combine with graduate level education? How can we put value back in the education we pay dearly for and work hard to obtain. Right now, some of it is not worth the piece of paper that it is printed upon, but rather the interest it is accruing for those student loan payments we pay each month. We are paying ours each month as Sarah walks into the daycare classroom each day.

What about my sister-in-law working on a BA in History? It is our hope she will keep on studying to become a librarian after getting a Masters from University of South Carolina. That separate degree was not created for the job market but for the institution’s margin. They are in that cyclic process of creating new degrees just to make money.

The higher education system in South Carolina is fat and needs some trimming, not only from a degree offering stand point, but also from a market position. There is a need to critically examine the type of high dollar education that is being taught and figure out what is really necessary to provide a market bearing education.

So on this line of conversation, there are groups that are wanting to capitalize educationally with this current market. Take Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. Here is a group that makes money off of transactions. They are a company of IT professionals and they build their systems on COBOL. They are in a position to aggressively seek the next wave innovators to fill positions that are being vacated through attrition. The problem, it is not cool to go into “IT” anymore and the educational systems are not teaching COBOL. So Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina has teamed up with educational institutions like University of South Carolina, Clemson, and others along with IBM to re-shape the perception and educational tracks for the world of “IT”. There is a market need and there is value in teaming up with high education to shape curriculum so that the Blue Cross Blue Shields of the world can capitalize on the new emerging talent. This entity is know as the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management and is based in Columbia, SC. This group is a marketing engine working with groups to change the face of “IT” and educate and recruit the new talent but educate and reshape our educational system from K-12 to higher education.

So ask yourself, if you had to do it all over again…what would you study? Would you study your passion or what the market would bear. Maybe it is a combination of both, but it is time to shift that conversation back to where there is a need in the market for job opportunity and growth. Or…is a higher education truly standardized just for jobs or theoretical education? The pendulum is swinging back and it is time to figure out what is up next for our new leadership. That leadership are those students, our children, our future, our legacy. Remember, it is up to us to help shape our future…the decisions we make now will shape how we, our children, and our children’s children will live one day.

Finding your sphere of influence?

As I get ready to go speak to a group of college students during their weekly organization meeting, I sat down and thought for a few moments, jotted some notes, and pulled my ideas together. About a month ago, I received this email from one of my former students to speak during their regularly scheduled meeting:

“Hi Bobby,

I hope you are having a great semester so far. I know that Grace and I gained so much from taking your class this past semester and I was wondering if you would be willing to come speak to the rest of oursorority. Beyond the experience from planning an event, I personally gained the most from learning how to pitch myself and networking to buildbusiness relationships. I feel that these skills are extremely importantfor those who are starting to interview for jobs and internships. I thinkthat the women of Sigma Kappa could greatly benefit from learning theseskills as well. Sigma Kappa is having a chapter meeting on Sunday, March 28th at 7 p.m. and I was wondering if you would be willing to come speakfor about 30 minutes. Please let me know if you are interested.

Thank you for your time.
Morgan”

So as I sat today to bring my thoughts together…I wondered, how am I going to give them something relevant to walk away and ponder? Here we have a collection of students from freshman to seniors, those who are just happy to be in school and enjoying the joys of college to those who are sweating if they will be employed in a few months. But it comes down to this, it does not matter if you are a freshman in college, a senior in college, in graduate school, looking for a job, have a job, entrepreneur,  home body, nobody, somebody, CEO, or man on the street…it is all about relationships.

So here are my notes for tonight’s little chat…in the form of questions and discussion:

  1. Why am “I” here today?
  2. Why do “we”join groups?
  3. Where do “we” want to be in five years?
  4. Where do “we” want to be in ten years?
  5. Who is in your room of “influence”?
  6. Who have you met “new” today?
  7. How can “we” leverage those relationships?
  8. What are “Our” dreams?
  9. How do we turn those “Dreams” into realities?

Here is the actual presentation…I used Prezi to put this little talk together!

So what do you propose? What is your alternative healthcare reform?

So on Tuesday, March, 23, 2010…President Obama signed into law the new health care reform bill. In the months, days, and hours leading up to this bill becoming a law, there are LOTS of voices in complete opposition to this piece of legislation. There are even people in agreement there is need for reform, but this is not the best piece of legislation to achieve the goal at hand. There are states currently working overtime trying to pass legislation to block this federal law.

So here is the context, I am a thirty-six year old husband who owns a house, small business owner, helping a 23 year old pay her way through college, shopping to afford healthcare. This piece of legislation speaks to me…provides me some sense of hope. But, there are so many that believe this is not the correct path. But I have not heard one time, one suggestion that would be an alternative to this plan. Seriously, for all those who do not like this legislation, who are screaming out loud against this new law, what is your plan? What is your recommendation? What is your alternative?

So…here is your chance to let me know what you would propose. I want to be educated. I want to know what you think is the alternative? The current system is not working…I want reform. What is your reform. I want you to use the comment section to sound off with your alternative. I will approve all who write legitimate ideas, not party bashing ideas…real, legitimate ideas that provide people like me an opportunity for healthcare. I want to see if you can live up to the screaming and articulate a proposed solution. No foul language, no party bashing, no slanderous accusations….a real idea with real vision. Prove it…back it up.

Let’s see what you have!

Get this Google – GoogleOnMain was a SUCCESS!

So I was asked to shoot aerials of the GoogleOnMain event and capture the tremendous turnout for the event. Here is a short part of all of the footage that was aquired during the event!

I want to extend a big ole “hats off” to Aaron von Frank with all of his efforts to bring this event to fruition. Aaron along with Russell Tripp at Infusion Web &Video  will be putting together a final presentation/proposal to submit to Google. This aerial footage will be a part of the package.

Check out the website for this campaign! http://www.wearefeelinglucky.com/