I am fascinated by the power of stories to stimulate change in the people that hear them. Sometimes the story is told in an advertisement that piques the interest of a customer and the result is a purchase. Sometimes the story is told by an executive who needs to get buy-in from employees on a new strategy or direction. And sometimes it comes from an author or movie maker who tells a story so brilliantly that you feel better for having read or seen their work (American author Pat Conroy has had this effect on me several times).

A story is a powerful tool.

Today’s Friday Inspiration is a few quotes about the power of stories in life, in books, in business…

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”  —Robert McKee

“Stories have power. They delight, enchant, touch, teach, recall, inspire, motivate, challenge. They help us understand. They imprint a picture on our minds. Consequently, stories often pack more punch than sermons. Want to make a point or raise an issue? Tell a story.”  — Janet Litherland

“Stories are the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.”   —Howard Gardner, Harvard University

“The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.”
—Harold Goddard

“If you’ve heard this story before, don’t stop me, because I’d like to hear it again.”
—Groucho Marx

My favorite part of almost every James Bond movie is the prologue, the dramatic opening featuring Commander Bond in a short, action sequence and a death-defying stunt.

Take Casino Royale as an example. The movie opens with a black and white sequence in which Bond earns his double-O status when he corners and kills a corrupt station chief. Then the credits roll…

Warning: the following clip is a bit violent. Discretion is advised.

The prologue sets the stage for the rest of the movie by introducing the actor, the action, and the back story. Now we are up-to-date and ready for the rest of the narrative to unfold.

Prologues have been used for centuries to establish context and understanding for the story about to be told. They are common in fiction, non-fiction, movies, and theatre.

Brand stories use prologues too.

Think about the brand story that Southwest Airlines (SWA) tells its customers: We give people the freedom to fly. They do this with no fees for baggage. Lower ticket prices. No first class seats. Faster rewards for frequent flyers. Quicker turns at airports to minimize costs. It all adds up to more freedom.

No other airline can tell this story like Southwest can. Why?

Because no other airline shares Southwest’s unique prologue—the events that led up to the story SWA tells today.

As Kevin and Jackie Freiberg write in Nuts—a book about the airline’s rise, “the history of Southwest Airlines is a story of courage and perseverance.” The character of the company is rooted in its dramatic beginnings. Braniff, Continental, and Texas International airlines all argued that there was no need for Southwest. They spent four years fighting in court and lobbying congress to pass laws to keep Southwest out of the air.

In order to compete with the bigger airlines, Southwest had to do things differently. They flew out of obscure airports (the competition practically owned the more popular airports). They focused on lower prices (while other airlines charged high ticket prices and fees). At one point they gave away a free bottle of whiskey with every ticket sold just to attract customers (while other airlines thought they were crazy).

There’s a lot more to the story… but without the struggle to get off the ground (literally), Southwest wouldn’t have had to do things so radically different from the rest of the airline industry. Southwest’s brand story today owes everything to its prologue.

The Chicago cyanide poisonings should have ended Tylenol’s existence. Instead, the way the company handled the crisis is a powerful prologue that demonstrates the quality and safety customers get when they open a bottle today. Bill Bowerman’s quest for a better running shoe is the prologue to Nike’s story of enabling athletic accomplishment at every level.

Does your brand have a history you can draw on?

Prologues add context to brand stories. What’s yours?

Earlier this week, I finished reading Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson. It’s a good read, full of small bits of wisdom—the kind of book you can read in an hour or two, or come back to from time to time for another hit of inspiration. Today’s friday inspiration comes from the section called Pick a Fight:

If you think a competitor sucks, say so. When you do that, you’ll find that others who agree with you will rally to your side. Being the anti-_____ is a great way to differentiate yourself and attract followers.

For example, Dunkin’ Donuts likes to position itself as the anti-Starbucks. Its ads mock Starbucks for using “Fritalian” terms instead of small, medium, and large. Another Dunkin’ campaign is centered on a taste test in which it beat Starbucks. There’s even a site called DunkinBeatStarbucks.com where visitors can send e-cards with statements like “Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.”

Audi is another example. It’s been taking on the old guard of car manufacturers. It puts “old luxury” brands like Rolls-Royce and Mercedes “on notice” in ads touting Audi as the fresh luxury alternative. Audi takes on Lexus’s automatic parking systems with ads that say Audi drivers know ow to part their own cars. Another ad gives a side-by-side comparison of BMW and Audi owners: The BMW owner uses the rearview mirror to adjust his hair while the Audi driver uses the mirror to see what’s behind him.

Apple jabs at Microsoft with ads that compare Mac and PC owners, and 7UP bills iteslf as the Uncola. Under Armour positions itself as Nike for a new generation.

All these examples show the power and direction you can gain by having a target in your sights. Who do you want to take a shot at?

You can even pit yourself as the opponent of an entire industry. Dyson’s Airblade starts with the premise that the hand-dryer industry is a failure and then sells itself as faster and more hygienic than the others. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter puts its enemy right there in its product name.

Having an enemy gives you a great story to tell customers, too. (Emphasis mine.) Taking a stand always stands out. People get stoked by conflict. They take sides. Passions are ignited. And that’s a good way to get people to take notice.

“I want you to make an advertisement that is, well… basically a lie, because that will get people calling our store. Then we can sell them stuff.”

—Recent post at Clientsfromhell.net.

Several years ago, I had an assignment to write about an environmentally friendly laundry detergent. The product was pretty good. It was concentrated so it used significantly less packaging than other brands. The formula was made with more natural ingredients than the typical brand. And it was cheaper, per use. Unfortunately, it had one major draw-back—it made whites look dingy. Sometimes it left blue spots on whites. Many customers who used it also kept a box of Tide in the laundry room to use when they had to wash their whites.

Shortly after I submitted my copy, which, if I remember right, focused on the environment, I found myself sitting in the CEO’s office. He was livid. I hadn’t told the right story, he said. His product matches Tide in performance. I replied that the research showed that it didn’t. His response was, “Sometimes you need to tell the shiny side of the truth. That’s what I want you to do.”

Ah, the shiny side of the truth.

That would be the part of the truth that isn’t true. It needs a little (sometimes a lot) of extra polishing to make it sound better than it is. The shiny side of the truth is a good story. It will attract new customers. And if it’s a really good story, it will attract lots of new customers.

But what happens the moment customers learn that the story isn’t exactly true? What happens when customers realize that the detergent you said was as good as Tide, leaves blue spots on your favorite shirt?

They stop being customers.

You’ve just sold your brand’s most precious asset—trust—for a single purchase. Plus, you’ve lost the purchases of anyone the customer tells about her experience. At some point you run out of potential new customers, then what?

Was it worth it?

The brand story you share has to be good enough to get the customer to try your product. And it has to be true. If the brand experience isn’t as good as the story you sold the customer on, you have wasted your only opportunity to turn a trial into a customer.

Once your customer tries your product, her experience is the brand story.

If you can’t tell the truth, fix the experience.

The latest edition of Inc Magazine has a great article by Jason Fried (founder of 37 Signals and author of Rework) on “Business Writing” which he describes as “bad, boring, and barely read.” When I saw the headline, I thought the article was about memos, email, and what is typically thought of as business writing. It’s not.

Although he doesn’t call it this, Jason is talking about brand voice—communicating a personality through the text used by a brand. And he is right that most companies do it very, very poorly. From the article:

“If you care about your product, you should care just as much about how you describe it. In nearly all cases, a company makes its first impression on would-be customers or partners with words—whether they’re on a website, in sales materials, or in e-mails or letters. A snappy design might catch their attention, but it’s the words that make the real connection. Your company’s story, product descriptions, history, personality—these are the things that go to battle for you every day. Your words are your frontline. Are they strong enough?”

Jason goes on to describe three companies that do brand voice the right way—Woot, Saddleback Leather, and Polyface. Of course, they aren’t the only ones who do it right, but they are among the few. In fact, a good argument can be made that without their unique voices as expressed in the company’s copywriting, you would never have heard about any of the companies that Mr. Fried writes about.

Their unique voices makes all the difference. Check out the article here. It’s worth the read.

Two unrelated quotes from advertising genius Bill Bernbach:

“Human nature hasn’t changed for a billion years. It won’t even vary in the next billion years. Only the superficial things have changed. We are “concerned with unchanging man…what compulsions drive him, what instincts dominate his every action, even though his language too often camouflages what really motivates him…if you know these things about a man, you can touch him at the core of his being.”

And…

“The magic is in the product… No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist.  And if you do, and it’s just a gimmick, it’s going to fall apart anyway… Getting a product known isn’t the answer.  Getting it wanted is the answer.”

Something to think about…

Every once in a while, a book comes along with enough good ideas and marketing how-to’s that I recommend adding it to your marketing tool box.

But in the case of The Brandgym (by David Taylor and David Nichol), the book isn’t just a tool to be included, it is all of the tools in the box. Reading The Brandgym is a little like taking an in-depth seminar in brand management. With it as a guide, you probably don’t need to go anywhere else for ideas, principles, or to-do-lists to help you manage a brand. (You might choose to, but you won’t need to.)

The Brandgym covers eight “workouts” that will help you strengthen your brand’s foundation and focus your branding efforts on initiatives that will generate income. It’s also loaded with ideas and techniques for creating promotions that support the brand’s position and move customers to action.

Workout #4: Build Big Brand Ideas alone is worth getting the book. I found myself underlining and marking pages to come back to again later.

But what I love most about the approach taken in this book is the focus on a brand’s substance (remarkable products, growth, and the core business), not the so-called “exciting” part of branding (new design/advertising/launch).  It’s a resource for serious brand managers. In fact, it’s good enough to replace many of the marketing books currently used in business schools.

If you’re looking for ways to grow a stagnant brand, or new ideas for stretching a brand into new product categories, or ways to co-ordinate your marketing activities to maximize your spending, this book is a good place to turn. If you are in the process of launching a new brand, it is an essential resource to help you succeed.

I highly recommend The Brandgym.

Full-disclosure: I was given a copy of the book by David Taylor shortly after it was published. But that doesn’t change my recommendation, it’s well worth the read.

Other Brandgym Links:

You can’t purchase the book in the U.S. yet, but it is available here.
Check out David Taylor’s Brandgym Blog, here.
I’ve written about another of David’s books here.

Dear Designer,

As you know, I currently have an opening for a senior designer.

In fact, I have a couple of openings. It’s a decent position. Good salary. Benefits. Lots of work. And I want to hire you. Really, I do. But you are making that very difficult.

So, in the interest of helping you get the job you seem not to want, here’s a little advice. I hope it’s useful.

1. You are a designer. That means the most important thing you can show me is design. Not your resume. Not your references. Not your LinkedIn profile. Not your blog. Not your scrapbook. Not your twitter feed. And not your cover letter. Sure, all these things might help me see that you are the kind of person who will fit in with our team, but if I can’t find your portfolio, I won’t waste my time with any of this stuff.

I just reviewed 68 applications for the position you applied for and more than half didn’t include a single sample of design work. Here’s an idea: blow me away with your design talent and leave me wanting to talk to you about everything else. We’ll connect on Facebook after we talk.

2. You need an online portfolio. Offers to show your portfolio “on request” are a waste of your time and mine. Websites are cheap and easy to create, in fact, if you want to be a senior designer, you should have created several of them by now. Get one for yourself. Now. If your portfolio needs to be explained, it’s not good enough.

3. You don’t need to show me every piece of work you’ve done in your career. Just show me the best stuff. Knock my socks off. If you can show me just 5-7 things that are awesome, I’ll know you are capable of greatness. And you’ll get an interview.

4. I don’t care what you did in high school. Or boy scouts. Leave it off your resume.

5. MySpace is not an effective portfolio host. Just trust me on this one.

6. If you’ve been in college since 2003 and plan to graduate in 2011, you need to have a very good story as to why.

7. You may think that putting stuff like “I take long walks, I ponder life’s imponderables” on your resume will make me think you are deep. It doesn’t. It makes me think you are weird.

8. No designer should send an 8-page unformatted word document as a resume. And don’t title it “childprotegy.doc.” (sic). This is the very best way to show me you aren’t.

9. If your website crashes my machine (twice), I won’t come back. Sorry.

10. You know the section on the resume that is usually called “objective”? Leave it out. I know that the objective is to find a job, otherwise you wouldn’t be sending your resume to me. The thing is, no one ever says the objective is to get a job. Instead they write, “to find an upwardly mobile position within a fast-paced, forward-moving organization in which I can contribute to critical strategic initiatives and demonstrate my ability to…blah, blah, blah”. Let’s just leave this section out. It takes up space and tells me you’re not creative enough to think of something better.

11. I know that the expected thing is to send a cover letter and resume. In fact, the posting asks for it. But that doesn’t mean that’s all you should do. You’re a designer. You’re creative. Prove it.

In this economy, there are a lot of people who want the job you are applying for. You need to find a way to stand out. Show me you are an artist. That you think differently. That you’ll contribute. Do that and the job is pretty much yours.

Your friend and possibly future employer,

Me.

I was at dinner last week, reminiscing with a friend when he asked me if I knew a certain person. “You remember,” he said, “he’s the kid who had the bloody eye.” I immediately knew who he was talking about. Lots of kids had bloody noses, but only one had a bloody eye.

We could have talked about “the kid who wrecked his dad’s car before he got his driver’s license” …or the “kid who kept a goldfish in his locker at school” or “the kid who had that huge afro.” Each of these descriptions (stories) is a short cut that immediately describes a particular person. There is no ambiguity. No question who the person is. There was only one who fit the description.

Consumers do the same thing when thinking of brands. In fact, creating a short cut for the consumer to remember your product is one of the primary reasons for developing a strong brand.

That’s the brand that…

Luke Sullivan, author of the excellent book, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, defines a brand like this:

Brand = Adjective

Luke’s simple formulation demonstrates the association of a particular product with a single idea (much like Scott = kid with goldfish in locker).

Nordstrom = phenomenal customer service
Mountain Dew = Extreme refreshment
Volvo = Safety
Southwest = Low cost air travel
Papa John’s = Better pizza

And so on.

What is your brand’s thing?

What simple idea represents the core of who you are and what you do? Does it immediately help your customers remember something important about your product? And does it help you tell your brand story? Geek Squad? They’re the ones who drive black and white VWs and wear skinny black ties. Subway? They’re the ones who helped the fat guy lose more than 100 pounds eating hoagies. Fox News? They’re the ones who report the news from a right-leaning viewpoint. No other brands fit these descriptions.

If your product or service doesn’t own a particular idea, you’ve got work to do.

Successful brands need to be more like the one unforgettable kid with the bloody eye, not the dozens of forgettable kids who had nose bleeds.

I’ve long been a fan of Tom Fishburn‘s cartoons about marketing. Two weeks ago, he posted a new cartoon that is my all-time BrandCamp favorite. It’s this week’s friday inspiration:

Check out more of Tom’s work, here.