Camp Creative Webinar: The Hero's Journey and Your Brand

COPYRIGHT © 2014 CAMP CREATIVE
Don’t Sell Your
Story, Tell It
Crafting Narratives, Defining Brands with “The Hero Journey”
Presented by:
Brian Leonard
Creative Director, Camp Creative
@Brian_Leonard
bleonard@campcreative.net

Agenda & Housekeeping:
Housekeeping ● Webinar Logistics
Agenda
● Why does my brand need a story?
● The importance of stories
● What does brand mean?
● If you don’t control your story someone else will
● Storytelling technique and The Hero’s Journey
● Hero’s Journey Worksheet

About the Presenter:
Brian Leonard has had a long circuitous route before landing at
Camp Creative. He has worked on both sides of the camera, as
actor and director and was a stand-up comic for 12 years; the San
Jose Mercury once said that Brian “…is one of San Francisco’s
most intelligent and funniest comedians.” He has written for a
varied cast of characters, from Caspar Weinberger and Sam
Donaldson to Ellen DeGeneres and numerous CEOS and
executives. Brian wrote comedy for BBC Radio, was a story
consultant for Pixar and had an animated series, Silicon Valley,
optioned by Universal/MCA Television.
Brian’s current role as Creative Director allows him to combine his
love of story craft with visual storytelling.
Brian Leonard
Creative Director, Camp Creative

Humans need stories. Stories help us make
sense of the world and allow us to share
that understanding with others.

Stories are how we
communicate. They are
how we connect with one
another.

However, not every story or conversation is
worthy of our time.
Or attention.

If You Don’t tell Your Story Someone Else Will
Daisy for Peace
1964

If You Don’t tell Your Story Someone Else Will
Morning in America
1984

“A product is something manufactured in
a factory. A brand is something bought
by a customer.”
Stephen King
WWP Group, London

The Value of Brands
Happiness
Shared Experiences
Nostalgia

The Value of Brands
Experts
Innovative
Ethical
Tech Improving Lives
Sophisticated

Brand Narrative
Customer and Product—they’re tied/connected to
one another with Brand Identity
Brand
Identity

Brand Promise
Who are we?
What is unique about our brand?
What needs—both rational and
emotional— do we serve?

Brand Focus: Patagonia
Planet first.
Business second.

Narratives Touch the Entire Organization
Narrative
Strategy
Sales
Marketing
Product
Human
Resources
Sales
• Approach clients from partner,
not vendor, perspective
• Create clear value propositions
for business decision-makers

Narrative
Strategy
Sales
Marketing
Product
Human
Resources
Marketing
• Messaging across channels
ties into the brand narrative

Narrative
Strategy
Sales
Marketing
Product
Human
Resources
Product
• Rename products to reflect
broader narrative
• Show product roadmap and
connection to business
strategy

Narrative
Strategy
Sales
Marketing
Product
Human
Resources
Human Resources
• Redefine the company’s
vision statement
• Launch culture transformation
initiative

Act I Act II Act III
Narrative Framework
Three Act Structure
Setup Confrontation Resolution

The Hero’s Journey
Joseph Campbell

Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold
Tests, Allies
& Enemies
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold
Tests, Allies
& Enemies
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Refusal of the Call
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold
Tests, Allies
& Enemies
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold
Tests, Allies
& Enemies
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Obi-wan Rescues Luke
from the Sand People
Cross the Threshold
Tests, Allies
& Enemies
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
Tests, Allies
& Enemies
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
Lightsaber Practice,
Han & Chewie, Stormtroopers,
Rescuing Leia from Death Star
Approach
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
Luke and Allies Move
Toward the Death Star
Central Ordeal
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
They Free
the Princess
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
The Reward
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
They Free
the Princess
Return with
the Elixir
The Road Back
They have Death Star
Information
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
They Free
the Princess
Return with
the Elixir
Death Star has Moved
Closer to the Rebel Camp
Information
Resurrection

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
They Free
the Princess
Return with
the Elixir
Information
Luke Destroys the Death Star
by Sacrificing Part of His Old
Self (His Dependence
on Machines)

Luke at Home
Leia’s Message
Must Help with
the Harvest
Escaping Tatoonie
They Free
the Princess
Rewarded
Information
Luke Destroys the Death Star
by Sacrificing Part of His Old
Self (His Dependence
on Machines)

The Hero’s Journey: 4 Movies
Ste
p
Hero’s Journey
Framework
Star Wars Finding Nemo The Incredibles The Matrix
Central Hero Luke Skywalker Marlin (Nemo’s Dad) Mr. Incredible & Elastigirl Neo
1 Ordinary World Luke at home Nemo and Marlin at school on the reef Mr I. at work and at home with family Neo at his job / computer
2 Call to Adventure Leia’s message Nemo is captured by scuba divers Mirage convinces Mr I. to use his
powers again
“Follow the white rabbit”
3 Refusal of the Call Luke has to help with the harvest Marlin is afraid of the open sea Superhero’s had too many lawsuits
and stopped fighting crime
Doesn’t trust Trinity at first,
wants to leave the car
4 Meeting the Mentor Obi-wan rescues Luke from the
sand people
Meeting Dory / Meet the friendly sea
turtle
Get costumes from quirky designer Meets Morpheus / The
Oracle
5 Crossing the Threshold Escaping Tatooine Marlin leaves the reef and goes after
Nemo
Mr I. gets captured and Elastigirl
leaves to save him
Takes the red pill, wakes
up from the matrix
6 Tests, Allies, Enemies Lightsaber practice, Han &
Chewie, stormtroopers
Escaping shark feeding frenzy,
struggle with angler fish, turtle friends
Fighting on the villain’s island Training, learning Kung Fu,
Fights Agent Smith
7 Approach Luke and allies move towards the
Death Star
Swallowed by whale, Dory
communicates to him
Escaping the island Cypher betrays them,
Morpheus captured
8 Central Ordeal They free the Princess Marlin saves Dory from the Jellies Fighting robot attacking the city Rescue Morpheus
9 The Reward They have Death Star
information
Nemow is freed, Marlin and Nemo
reunite
City is saved Neo realizes his
superpowers
10 The Road Back Death Star has moved closer to
Rebel Camp
Marlin lets Nemo break away the net t 3 Months later, a normal life EMP pulse saves the ship
11 Resurrection Luke destroys the Death Star by
sacrificing part of his old self (his
dependence on machines)
Gang of fish from Dentist office escape New villains attack the city and they
can be superheros again
Trinity kisses Neo, he’s
brought back to life
12 Return with the Elixir Rewarded with medals at the end Marlin no longer overprotective of
Nemo
Children’s super powers develop Neo makes a call then
starts flying

The Hero Is Not Your Brand Its Your Customer
Narrative Framework

The Hero’s Journey for Your Brand
Ordinary World
Central Ordeal
The Challenge
Refusal of the Challenge
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold
Return to the
Ordinary World

The Hero’s Journey for Your Brand - Worksheet
Step Framework How to Fill in the Blanks
Hero Identify your hero. This is likely your customer or end-user.
1 Ordinary World What is your hero’s ordinary world? Everything looks normal but something is wrong. What does that look
like? Are they in an office, at home, or other?
2 Challenge What is your customer’s problem? What needs to be solved, fixed or changed in their lives?
3 Refusal Why wouldn’t your hero want to change? What’s stopping them from adopting your product / service today?
The Hero is skeptical or something stands in his way.
4 Mentor Clarify: are you, your company, or your product the mentor in the story? You understand where your hero
lives (problem state) and where they need to move to (solution state). This insight is what guides them.
5 Cross the
Threshold
What is your value proposition? What can you offer? This convinces the hero to Cross the Threshold.
6 Central Ordeal What is the Eureka moment? Does your hero save the day? Does she have an epiphany?
7 The Return What knowledge / power or insight does your hero bring back with them to their ordinary world?

The Hero’s Journey for Your Brand - Worksheet
Step Framework EXAMPLE: New “Ink Efficient” HP Printer & Ink Cartridges
Hero Customer Carl.
1 Ordinary World Carl works from home and uses his printer often.
2 Challenge HIs current printer is out of ink, but the cost of replacing ink cartridges is astronomical!
3 Refusal Carl already owns a printer, why would he buy a new one?
4 Mentor Carl is introduced to the new HP printer with ink efficient technology.
5 Cross the
Threshold
Carl goes to Staples and sees for himself.
6 Central Ordeal Carl buys the printer.
7 The Return Carl is back at home working, without a care in the world.

Now What?
What problem am I solving?
What insights did I gain?
Is my brand in alignment with this insight?
What story am I trying to tell?
If it’s not clear to you, it will not be clear to
your customers.

The Four Steps of the Creative Process
There IS a process.
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration,
the rest of us just get up and go to
work.”
Stephen King
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Your Journey Today
Known
Threshold Between Known and Unknown
Unknown

Your Journey Today
Ordinary World
Known
Unknown

Your Journey Today
Ordinary World
Known
Unknown
The Challenge

Your Journey Today
Known
Unknown
Ordinary World
The Challenge

Your Journey Today
Known
Unknown
Meet the Mentor
Ordinary World
The Challenge

Ordinary World
Threshold Between Known and Unknown Cross the Threshold
Your Journey Today
Known
Unknown
The Challenge
Meet the Mentor

Your Journey Today
Known
Unknown
Central Ordeal
Ordinary World
The Challenge
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold

Your Journey Today
Known
Unknown
Return to the
Ordinary World
Ordinary World
The Challenge
Meet the Mentor
Cross the Threshold
Central Ordeal

Recommended Reading
The Hero With a Thousand Faces
by Joseph Campbell
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories
by Christopher Booker
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand
in the Way of True Inspiration
by Ed Catmull
Lead with a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives
That Captivate, Convince, and Inspire
by Paul Smith
TED Talks Storytelling: 23 Storytelling Techniques from the
Best TED Talks
by Akash Karia
The Fortune Cookie Principle : The 20 Keys to a Great
Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One
by Bernadette Jiwa
StoryBranding: Creating Stand-out Brands Through the
Power of Story
by Jim Signorelli and Kendall Haven
Made to Stick
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

THANK YOU.
Need help telling your story? Contact Us.
bleonard@campcreative.net
@Brian_Leonard
www.CampCreative.net

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