Power of Storytelling

The Power of Storytelling
in Business Communication
Oct 1st
, 2014
Nguyễn Thanh Sơn
- General Director, T&A Ogilvy -
- President and Co-Founder, SAGE Brand & Commnucations Academy -
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This slideshow is from a presentation at the M2 Marketing & Media events
in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam organized by ITV-Asia.com and VietnamBusiness.TV
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“The story is the most
important things a company
needs to tell its target
audiences...
so that
Those people will do and think...
...what we want them to do
or think
know of the company
feel favourable towards its brand
recommend its products to others
invest in the stock
make positive comments online
want to work there

“PR, simply put, is the
art of story
telling…”

Never Underestimate the Power
of a Great Story

THE STORY BEHIND OK2TALK
THE CHALLENGE: Reach young adults
that are struggling with mental health
issues in silence and encourage them to
take a step forward
When 1 in 4 teens and young adults feel
alone, unloved, and isolated because of
mental illness, how can a communications
campaign break through and convince
them to talk about it and seek help?

In the wake of the aftermath of Newtown, the White House wanted to
start chipping away at the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Profoundly affected by the loss of his own son to mental illness, NAB
President and former Senator Gordon Smith met with Vice President
Biden to talk about what NAB could do to help, using the power of its
broadcast megaphone to educate Americans on mental health.
NAB partnered with Ogilvy to develop a TV and radio public service
announcement (PSA) campaign to encourage more in-depth
conversations about mental health in schools, the workplace, families,
and among friends.
How do you effectively reach the young audience that is watching
less live television? How do you get a withdrawn teen to open up
and seek help?
THE STORY: How National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) is encouraging
conversation around mental health
“The next time you ask someone
how they are doing,
don’t just settle for “fine.”
Encourage an honest answer.
It could save their life.”
Gordon Smith, NAB President & CEO

THE IDEA:
OK2TalK.org
The first step towards recovery and getting help is to start talking. In order
to reach this audience and to encourage open and safe communication,
Social@Ogilvy chose the Tumblr platform as the destination that could
foster active sharing and support. OK2TALK.org provided the
appropriate and urgent resources needed, including the phone number
for a 24-hour hotline for anyone needing immediate assistance.
The PSA and supporting partnerships drove audiences directly to this
Tumblr, encouraging the audience to add their voice.

A Responsive Tumblr site:
• Large-format photography and video
• Parallax and infinite scrolling
• Fixed navigation
• User-generated content
• Prominent “share” functionality
• Reblogs of related content
• Prominent 24/7 hotline

THE RESULTS: Immediate traction with the
audience
Within the first two weeks of launch
Over 13K followers
9,300 engagements (likes and reblogs)
Over 75K pageviews
Ranked as one of Tumblr’s trending blogs
To date (February 2014)
Over 27K followers
Over 68K engagements (likes and reblogs)
Over 1.15M pageviews
Over 6K submissions
Over 108K clicks to the GET HELP resources page
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK), the
featured helpline, saw an off-trend increase of 7% in total calls for
July and August 2013

... Thank you. I just want to say that this is an
amazing organization and there are many
people who appreciate what y'all are doing. So
thank you to all of the lovely people who are
involved.”
… I am a middle school teacher and have kids
walk through my door each day that could use
support and uplifting from a place like this. I
have recently lost my best friend to
suicide/mental illness and truly believe if she
had been able to feel like she could ask for
help, she would still be here. Thank you for
putting faces and voices to something that
deserves attention!”
THE RESULTS: Outpouring
show of support and appreciation
from the Tumblr community and
OK2TALK audience

… I’m not going to pretend like I know what you are
going through and how you really feel deep down. What
I am going to do is support you through whatever it is.
Sometimes I get scared and lonely because it seems
that every door I have opened was shut in my face.
That is why I hide the tears or shut down, then people
wonder why I don’t want to talk. Here at “Ok2talk.org”,
you can do all the talking you want and people like
me :-) are here for YOU!”
... Reading all of these I want these people to know that
people do care rather you know or not. You are
somebody’s reason to smile. And you all were put on
this earth to live and to be who you want to be. Don’t
cut your life short. We all have the potential to do
anything we want. Be the change.”
THE RESULTS: Outpouring
show of support and appreciation
from the Tumblr community and
OK2TALK audience

““Thought flows in terms of stories—Thought flows in terms of stories—
stories about events, stories aboutstories about events, stories about
people, and stories about intentionspeople, and stories about intentions
and achievements. …The brain is aand achievements. …The brain is a
story-seeking, story creatingstory-seeking, story creating
instrument”instrument”
Frank Smith in “Frank Smith in “To Think”To Think”

Gage’s Brain

It’s not rational…
“Emotion, feeling, and biological regulation
all play a role in human reason… We are
not thinking machines. We are feeling
machines that think.”
Without our emotions, we
are unable to reason.
“The bridge between rational and
non-rational processes is
emotion…”

SHOW…
…don’t TELL

He felt depressed

“for 6 days-or was it 7-he had not moved from the stale-
smelling sofa. He could tell it must be getting toward the
dinner time as he could no longer make out the titles of
the books across the room in the dark. But he had not
been hungry since she left. He could not remember the
last time he left the room.”

He was low income child who had to
struggle to achieve his dreams

Cedric became a latch-key child at the age of five, when
his mother went back to work. She filled her boy's head
with visions of the Ivy League, bringing him home a
Harvard sweat shirt while he was in junior high. Every day
after school, after double-locking the door behind him, he
would study, dream of becoming an engineer living in a
big house -- and gaze at the dealers just outside his
window stashing their cocaine in the alley.

The “Sticky” Factors
Simple
Unexpected Beginnings
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Story

Simplify

Mind-Numbing Words to Ban
Synergistic
Value-added
Innovation
Paradigm
Out-of-the-box
Shareholder value
End-to-end solution

6 Words

“For sale:
baby shoes.
Never worn.”
-Hemingway

It was a bright, cold day in April, and
the clocks were striking thirteen.

“I come from a
family with a lot of
dead people.”
"We went to the moon
to have fun, but the
moon turned out to
completely suck."
"If your teacher
has to die, August
isn't a bad time of
year for it."

“Many years later, as he
faced the firing squad,
Colonel Aureliano
Buendía was to
remember that distant
afternoon when his father
took him to discover ice.”
“It was a
pleasure to
burn.”
“All children,
except one, grow
up.”

Make it Concrete
= 37 grams fat

=
How About Some Popcorn With Your Fat?
By WILLIAM GRIMES
The scariest thing at the movies isn't Jason or Freddy Krueger.
It isn't even Mickey Rourke in a dramatic role. It's popcorn.

Credible – use scale
32
What if…
Every house in China decided to replace just 5 incandescent bulbs with new compact fluorescent
ones?
It would be equal to taking half (18 million) cars off the road in
China.

Analogies & Metaphors

Emotional – be
vulnerable
34
Rokia, a 7-year-old girl from Mali,
Africa, is desperately poor and
faces a threat of severe hunger or
even starvation. Her life will be
changed for the better as a result of
your financial gift.
• Food shortages in Malawi are affecting more
than 3 million children.
• In Zambia, severe rainfall deficits have
resulted in a 42% drop in maize production
from 2000. As a
result, an estimated 3 million Zambians face
hunger.
• Four million Angolans — one third of the
population— have been forced to flee their
homes.
• More than 11 million people in Ethiopia need
immediate food assistance.
Left Brain Right Brain

Remember…
Show – don’t tell – be emotional.
Create a movie in the listener’s mind.
Hook them with a great beginning.
Simplify.
Make it concrete.
Details make it real.
Know listener’s frame of reference and use metaphors and
analogies.

Your Story

Start with our message
37
Central Message
Key takeaway/headline
Supporting Key Message
Proof
Facts
Figures
Examples
Proof
Facts
Figures
Examples
Proof
Facts
Figures
Examples

Develop Our Story

Measure It With Story
Telling
Conflict – Basic tension (good vs. evil)
Prominence – Well-known people/companies
Impact – Significant effect on readership
Timeliness – When is it happening?
Exception – Departure from the norm/surprise
First – Never been done before
Trends – Surveys, data, unique insight
Experts – You, other business leaders, academics
All in 100 words or less!!

How Can We Tell Our Story?
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?

Q&A
Thank you!

Power of Storytelling

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Editor's Notes