What's Your Story? (Is Marketing Glory)

Marketeers love the idea of themselves as storytellers and some of them aren't bad at it.  However, what stokes the fires of networked media is individuals' own tales, not MegaCorp Folklore™.  After all, why is blogging and social media so popular?  Because people care about the stories from their own lives, those of their friends, family, neighbours, colleagues (occasionally), and people they recognise as being like them.  And how products, services and ideas fit into these stories is the road to glory for marketeers.  But this very simple idea can quickly become a complex, baffling powerpoint deck when unleashed within the walls of an institution or brand cathedral.  Why?  Because it's very difficult for brands to drop a legacy of Me, Me, Me, even a little, and embrace a future of You, You, You.  Much of this is driven by a fear of the unknown.  Rather than remembering the words of that fine storyteller David Ogilvy - "The consumer is your wife" - some brands harbour a lack of faith in the talents of their own customers, or worse still,  see them as bull's eyes to shoot for.  So for a super-brand to sit down and relate to the lives of individuals makes no sense - even if they are the ones buying the products.  That's what the Press Three function at the call centre is for, right?   And hey, what craziness might these so-called stories involve?  And where are the metrics?  But, of course, it's the unpredictable nature of our lives which makes them so fascinating especially when compared to the sterile, air-brushed world of AdLand.  In terms of engagement, Tales Of The Unexpected beats Stories From The MegaCorp™ every single time.  Now reversing the industrial oil tanker and redirecting the crew to focus on individuals' stories about products and services takes some doing.  However, What's Your Story is always a better starting point than Listen To Mine.