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End of Story

A friend of mine is head of marketing at a large retailer. He understands my fascination with story, and he knows how much leverage he gets when one of his storytelling efforts goes viral. But honestly, in his heart of hearts, I know he would be happier if his organization could master the data so perfectly that he would never have to worry about storytelling again. In his fantasy marketplace, he would know what you want before you want it. He would present you with what you want, at the price you are willing to pay, at the moment you are ready and willing to buy it. He would never waste your time—or his marketing dollars—presenting you information when you weren’t in the market for it. In my friend’s marketing paradise, the relationship you have with his brand is purely transactional, but every transaction is so pure (so seamless, so effortless) that you love his brand and always shop there first. Well, maybe love is a bit of a stretch, but at least you think well of his brand, on the occasions when you happen to think of it at all.

I understand the attraction of this fantasy. Story is messy. Storytelling is hard. Using story effectively requires both good creative judgment and the ability to manage creative people (which I know, having spent two decades of my life running an animation studio, can be a real pain in the ass). To do storytelling well requires that you embrace and sustain conflict. And, story is difficult to measure. Story seems like a lot of trouble. I see why my friend imagines that running his business would be less stressful if he could dispense with story and turn marketing into a real science.

The fantasy underpinning my friend’s marketing paradise is perfect information, perfectly delivered. Data would be so comprehensive and so thoroughly analyzed that it would be possible to know exactly what information to serve, who to serve it to, and when to serve it. Information communicated in this way would not need to suggest any meaning deeper than this: Here is what we are offering. These are the functional attributes. This is what it costs. The purpose of such a business is to make money for its shareholders by providing stuff its customers want. End of story.

Which is ironic, because all the current science of how the brain works suggests that a business model based on this fantasy would collapse of its own weight. The brain takes in information in a completely different way than it absorbs story. In fact, the brain is a story sponge and an information filter. Most of the energy our brains expend while we are awake is spent sifting through the almost infinite stream of incoming data looking for the few bits of information that, if strung together in a particular sequence, might be meaningful. In fact, that’s what story is: A sequence of events that communicates meaning.

Our brains have evolved in a way that makes particular use of story. We observe patterns of events, search for connections, and try to find the meaning in them. Our ability to make connections and derive meaning from them has provided a fundamental evolutionary advantage. As a result, our brains reward us for finding these patterns in the data. By the same token, if the stream of information doesn’t seem to mean anything, then there is no reason to pay attention, and we remember almost none of that information, unless it concerns something we happen to need at the precise moment when we encounter it.

It’s this inconvenient truth about how the brain works that undermines my friend’s fantasy of a perfect, scientifically managed marketplace. You can see the problem clearly if you look at his business from the point of view of the relationship between his customers and his brand. If he succeeds in mastering the data so as to provide a perfect flow of information, leading to a series of purely rational transactions, then his brand becomes invisible. At best, you might relate to it the way you relate to a well-functioning utility.

In fact, the comparison with a well-functioning utility is apt. The more my friend succeeds in building his business through scientific marketing alone, the more the relationship between his brand and his customers will be shallow and fragile. A relationship based on a series of transactions has very little resilience. If a company promises to deliver electricity every time I flip a switch or plug in a lamp, then that company becomes largely invisible until the power fails—or until I have to pay the bill. If a big retailer promises the lowest prices, always, then my relationship with that retailer will come to be defined by that promise. The first time I become aware that I could have bought the same thing for a lower price someplace else, I will feel foolish and betrayed.

Ultimately, because of the way the brain processes information, your customers will make story out of their interaction with your business whether you explicitly present a story or not. If they experience your business as a well-oiled machine with no higher purpose than facilitating seamless transactions, your customers will assume you are just in business to make money. They will instinctively adopt a defensive posture toward you because they know how that story goes: the character who is motivated by an interest in money for its own sake is always the villain. That is the narrative that threatened to overwhelm Walmart in the early to mid 2000s, when it lost control of its story to its critics.

In the end, the fantasy is that any business can dispense with story. If you are running a business that has a relationship with its customers that goes beyond the transaction, then there is, by definition, a story playing in their heads. That story is an expression of what you do and why you do it. What you do is your purpose, and why you do it is the meaning of your story. If your customers believe that there is meaning in what you do, then they will have a framework with which to organize all the information you want to present to them. That is the only reason they might remember that information, and think well of your brand, the next time they have a need for what you offer.

“For B2B businesses, Character is a powerful tool. I have used Character three times in my leader marketing roles, 2x were in B2B businesses. The Character work was the foundation of a transformation in product innovation/commercialization, rebranding, M&A, sales growth, and employee engagement. Character’s work helped us take dead brands and make them relevant again and helped us establish lesser-known brands with high share in a B2B market. What’s so unique is that you don’t create something that the ‘marketing talking heads’ think the company needs, you use the history, culture and DNA that is already part of the company to bring out the true story that is unique to only your brand. The Character team is so special, genuine, and has the perfect mix of creative and business knowledge to lead cross-functional executives through this process. ”
—Melissa Minihan, Head of Digital Commerce & Marketing, Veritiv Corporation

“Character gets to the heart of what good storytelling is all about. They’ve helped Wendy’s focus on what makes us unique, different and special and that’s helped us to get people’s attention, keep their interest and keep the business growing. We compete with much larger brands, but by being overt about how we want to attack those differences, we’ve been able to have a lot of tension and conflict in the story that we are telling. That allows us to keep the story fresh and to fuel it. The more we do that the more positive attention we get as a brand and the more the brand continues to grow, which, in turn, builds our confidence in our storytelling and keeps the courage level high.”

—Kurt  Kane, President U.S. & Chief Commercial Officer, Wendy’s Corporation

“I’ve been through Character’s story framework process four times in my career, and it has always added extraordinary value. It was a central piece of Walmart’s rebranding effort in 2006, as we sought a new articulation of our brand narrative and our purpose. It’s an equally powerful tool for us now, as Walmart defines its place in a rapidly transforming retail environment. And we are currently using it to do the same for Sam’s Club.”

—Tony Rogers, Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart

“Character’s approach to brand building is unlike any other in the business. Jim and his team use the timeless truths of human storytelling to unlock story potential and connect deeply with brand audiences. I’ve worked with Character throughout my career, and my experience with Tabasco was as fascinating, inspiring, and productive as ever. 

Character worked with our team not only to help us re-examine and re-articulate the elemental truths of our iconic global brand but also to develop and apply practical tools that make the brand story framework user-friendly for our entire organization. 

I whole-heartedly recommend Character to any brand marketer who is looking to make intuitive and durable connections with their consumer.”

Lee Susen, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Tabasco / McIlhenny Company