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Author: Jim Hardison

Walking Away from Facebook

I have been watching the “Walking in Memphis” commercial from Facebook’s More Together campaign, and I think it’s an interesting case study in storytelling for

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June 20, 2019 No Comments

Chicken Nuggets of Truth

On Saturday, my seventeen-year-old daughter surprised me by suggesting that she’d like Wendy’s chicken nuggets for lunch. You may need a little more information to

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October 24, 2018 No Comments

Serious Tips for Silly Humor

My partner, Jim, has just published his first novel, Fish Wielder, an “epically silly epic fantasy of epic proportions.” Of course, I urge you to buy

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September 8, 2016 No Comments

A Christmas Monkey Miracle

The holidays can be hard. Joyful, but hard. My ten-year-old gave me her Christmas list this morning. She handed it to me over breakfast and

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December 28, 2015 No Comments

Made for Laughs

The kids, excited to see Despicable Me 2, were a typical rowdy, loud bunch, even as the lights went down in the theater. But then

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July 15, 2013 No Comments

Nike Wins Gold

I was at a five-year-old’s birthday party on this last Sunday of the Olympics. A bunch of the parents were sitting around in the shade

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August 13, 2012 9 Comments

Breakfast with Flo

We did a blog post a couple of months back about the explosion of characters in the car-insurance category. This morning I heard that Flo,

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September 20, 2011 No Comments

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“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

“Since articulating our story framework, Gallo has had its best year. We’re up 10% and we’re outpacing the category. From a creative standpoint it’s been great because we’re all in alignment. Now that we have the articulation of our story, our social media, our partnerships, our programs, our packaging—it all makes sense.”

—Stephanie Gallo, Chief Marketing Officer, E&J Gallo Winery