Storytelling: Back to the (Branding) Basics

Storytelling: Back to the (Branding) Basics
Above and Below the Line Business Stories
BREE BAICH
Transmedia Mastermind
Data Storytelling, SAS Best Practices
@breebaich │ @sasbestpractice
#icebergtheoryofstory Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

The PROBLEM:
Crossing the communication divide is
challenging; especially when varying degrees of
knowledge and experience are involved. Unless
the message is clear, we might not see the
problem until it’s too late to turn the boat
around.
Real-life EXAMPLE:
“I create these amazing correlation charts that
are so easy to understand and reveal true
problems and yet, when I send them out nothing
happens.”
~data scientist, global manufacturing company
Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
#icebergtheoryofstory

That’s a common scenario for many analytics professionals
armed with terabytes of data, powerful tools and the ability
to interpret results in a way we can only aspire to.
Unfortunately, people can find themselves blinded by the
data science.
The solution? Wrap the science in a narrative that ushers
someone down a clear path for understanding.
It’s important to note, this isn’t a problem confined to data
professionals – it’s a known challenge for people throughout
organizations who are tasked with delivering a message.
Embracing the skill of storytelling to lead change,
communicate complex concepts, or a company’s vision and
strategy is no longer a probability, it’s a requirement.
Keep in mind, there are multiple audience types with a
distinct line between awareness and practical application.
That means, stories need to be tailored to fit the audience
you’ll communicate a message to.

The Line.
If you think about storytelling from
an audience perspective it kind of
resembles an iceberg. There are
stories everyone can see (above the
line) and those that offer a limited
purview to specific audience types
within the business (below the line).
Stories told above an iceberg’s line
of delineation are typically geared
towards awareness. They answer
the question, “How will this
increase revenue, productivity,
brand or product awareness?”
While stories told below the line are
characteristically developed for
practical application. They answer
questions like, “How will this
improve my ability to do <fill in the
blank>?”
There will be times when the same
story can be used for both. The best
approach is to decide how (or if )
the message (as a whole or in part)
could be repurposed.

FOCUS:
AWARENESS
Designed for high-level
methodology, branding,
stakeholder updates, etc.
(often include audience participation)
FOCUS:
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Designed for knowledge
transfer, user adoption, skills
development, etc. – turning
complex ideas and concepts
into easy to understand
principles.
(often include a feedback loop)

Storyline Example: Communicating the Customer Journey
Understanding the “moment of now” is
one thing, communicating the customer
journey back to the business is another.
The story you share will be based on
roles within the business and their
expectation.
For instance, a story based on real time
customer engagement designed to raise
awareness for the business lines is
drastically different than one created for
programmers tasked with developing
technology to support an enriched
customer experience.
Awareness helps the business
understand the drivers for new
technology needs and can be
accomplished with a quick customer
story tied to the problem at hand as a
primer for what’s to come.
On the other hand, programmers need
tactical details about how the business
will execute the vision. Laying out a
scenario can help ease tensions that
arise when new systems are instituted –
especially if it requires learning a new
skill.
ICE CHIP: Stories that
highlight a customer’s real-
life challenges pull people in
and help them see value in
your brand.
A telecom story:
https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/articles/m
arketing/real-time-customer-engagement.html#
Transcends the line.
Knowing ‘why’ appeals to
multiple audience types.
sample objectives
AWARENESS
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
BRAND
AWARENESS
PRODUCT
AWARENESS
TALENT
ACQUISITION
LEADERSHIP
SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
CUSTOMER
MEETINGS
PROGRAM/USER
ADOPTION
CONFERENCE
KEYNOTES/SESSIONS
MARKETING
CAMPAIGNS
PRODUCT
DEMOS

The Audience.
Stories resonate when they’re
tailored to fit a person’s need,
pain or problem – regardless of
the role they play within a
company.
Like the customer journey
example, some narratives will be
high-level, while other’s require a
deep dive.
The audience who reside above
the line may never get their hands
dirty with the product or service,
but they still need a reason to
believe.
Stories also have the ability to
humanize data in a way facts by
themselves cannot.
Think of a story as the conduit
that connects a message to an
audience on a human level.

FOCUSED ON THE
BUSINESS
Focus is on the business.
These are the people within a
company that focus on running the
business. Generally, their expectation
is that your narrative illuminates how
the product or service affects the
business. Therefore, these stories tend
to be quick and easily accomplished
through the use metaphors and
analogies.
FOCUSED IN THE
BUSINESS
Focus is in the business.
These are the people within a
company that need that deeper dive.
They’re tasked with executing on the
company’s vision and strategy and
therefore, need to know how the
product or service will aid in their
ability to do their job more efficiently
and effectively.
These stories are usually more robust
and lean heavily on scenarios and real-
life examples to communicate the
message.

Audience Example: Data Governance Program
Let’s say a company has inconsistencies
in terminology used across business
units. Example, sales uses actual sales
to define the final stage and marketing
describes it as potential sales. Because
of that, customers are flooded with
marketing campaigns for products
they’ve already purchased.
It sounds like they may need a data
governance program.
In this case, executives would need a
high-level understand of what it means
to incorporate a data governance
program. Whereas, the business units
would require a solid understanding of
the program roll out: who should be
involved, how it will be maintained, and
coaching for how to gain adoption
across departments.
The story includes the same elements
for both, but the devil will be in the
details for those outside the C-suite.
Additionally, stories that start with an
ah-ha moment tied to the business case
generate curiosity and engage an
audience from the start.
ICE CHIP: An ah-ha
moment – The BBC
socializes one key fact that
get’s people curious and
then creates an interactive
link back to the supportive
article.
http://blogs.sas.com/content/sascom/2017/04/04/
can-bbc-data-journalist-teach-data-visualization/
sample audience
EXECUTIVES
DATA
SCIENTISTS
FINANCIAL
ANALYSTS
RISK/FRAUD ANALYSTS
STRATEGISTS
DEVELOPERS
STATISTICIANS
ACTUARIES
BUSINESS
ANALYSTS
PARTNERS/SUPPLIERS/
EXTENDED NETWORK
BUSINESS
STAKEHOLDERS

The Channel.
Part of the storytelling process
is to determine how an asset
will be consumed – this drives
the channel and technology
required to design a story.
Believe it or not, it’s defined by
the audience.
“Putting a flag in the ground on
a channel your audience
doesn’t care about is just
making noise.” –Ellen Gomes*
If you analyze where the
audience hangs out,
customizing stories to meet
their desired consumption
becomes a breeze. BONUS: the
design process becomes
repeatable and streamlined.
*Ellen Gomes, Senior Marketing Manager, Marketo:
https://www.slideshare.net/marketo/2017-marketing-
predictionsmarketo/25-One_trend_I_see_for
eBooks white papers
presentations
social ads
emails
podcasts/webcasts
conversations
videos
blogs/articles

Channel Example: Big Data White Paper
This is where the line gets blurry. While
the audience influences the channel
you’ll use, channels aren’t driven by the
role someone has within a company. A
CMO is just as likely to watch a YouTube
video about big data technology as a
data scientist. They just have different
reasons for their interest.
Understanding where your audience
navigates for answers determines the
channel.
We’ve created a lot of content for big
data: what it means, how it’s used, etc.,
but one of the most popular is Tamara
Dull’s A Non-Geek’s Big Data Playbook.*
Her goal was to take the tech out of the
topic so business users could clearly
understand usage and technology
advancements minus the complexity.
Yes, it was geared towards a business
audience, but they aren’t the only ones
downloading the white paper – it’s
roles at every level within organizations.
An assets success is influenced by your
ability to understand where someone
will look and the technology and format
required to deliver the story.
ICE CHIP: Sometimes an
asset will find a home on
multiple channels. Factor
that into your design
process.
*https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/w
hitepaper1/non-geeks-big-data-playbook-106947.pdf
MUCH LIKE
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
CHANNELS
TRANSEND THE
ICEBERG’S LINE
channelseBooks white papers
presentations
social ads
emails
podcasts/webcasts
conversations
videos
blogs/articles

The Resolution.
You wouldn’t jump out of a plane
without first strapping on a
parachute, likewise, you
shouldn’t design a story without
factoring in post-story analysis.
Otherwise, how will you know if
the story met the mark?
Measuring your efforts can be as
easy as tracking whether or not a
customer made a purchase, an
executive said yes, or an
employee learned a new skill.
There are a lot of ways (and
reasons) companies are
measuring effectiveness. The
important thing is to build in
analysis as part of the design
process so you know how to shift
your future efforts and/or build
on the successes!

Measurement Example: Data Storytelling YouTube Video
It’s not always easy to measure the
value of a story, but that doesn’t
eliminate the need to include an
evaluation phase for the stories you
design.
Efforts like lead generation and
social engagement are easier to
calculate especially when tied to
social channels like YouTube.
For example: our Storytelling in
Business: Data Storytelling* video is
embedded within an eBook with a
link to YouTube for those whose
system requirements aren’t
compatible. While it’s never been
promoted as a standalone asset,
within a year it’s garnered over
14,000 views. Those results show
the topic resonates so we’ll continue
building more of the same.
Stories for change management can
be tougher to measure. Was it a
story that influenced change, or the
audience’s desire to get on board?
Whether the influence is direct or
indirect, stories shed light on the
reason(s) for change.
ICE CHIP: Stories are
measured by how they
perform and easily gauged
by audience participation.
*https://www.youtube.com/watchyperlinkh?v=PNo_
q5ZnKtw
LEADS
REACH
SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT
USER
ADOPTION
LEADS
WINS
SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT
CHANGE
MANAGEMENT

Final THOUGHT:
If you start with the ah-ha moment which
generated the need for information, followed by
the route you took to the results, your
recommendation becomes the obvious choice.
In addition, no matter where we reside on your
iceberg, keep it simple. Share visualizations that
highlight findings without distracting from them.
Anything that doesn’t support the narrative should
stay on the editing room floor.
#icebergtheoryofstory

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