Tell Me a Story
January 23rd, 2007
Last night I had the pleasure to go see and hear the Songwriters Tour. Guy Clark, John Hiatt, Joe Ely and none other than Lyle Lovett all came out on stage with only their guitars and went down the row, one-by-one, singing some of their favorite songs – no band, no playlists and no agenda. It was a fantastic and entertaining show.
Even if you’re not a big fan of the country-western/folk music genre, you can’t deny that these four artists have a way of telling compelling and funny stories that pull the audience in.
Great identities do the same thing.
There are those who believe that great advertising tells solid stories – and that’s true. But it starts with the brand identity. It’s the Fascinate in the FIRE (Fascinate, Inspire, Reward and Engage). People love great stories. They love to be fascinated by them. Connected to them. Pulled into them. And repeat them. When a company can tell a compelling, transparent, simple story that connects with kindred spirits, it will go far…especially when they allow their customers to be a part of that story instead of being a one-sided “let me tell you how it happened” sort of thing.
And, if nothing else, Lyle just rocks.
Other posts by Spike.
olivier says:
Check out the graphic in this post. It kind of speaks to your post.
(In case html doesn’t work: http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2007/01/adweek_agency_o.html
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:01 pmStephen Denny says:
How about a “great opening line” meme, then? Song, story, poem, or whatever, ah, “line” FIREs your and our imaginations? A good story, well told. I’m with you.
January 25th, 2007 at 7:59 pmcaptain flummox says:
That sounds like a great show. I love all those guys, but Hiatt’s a long standing fave. Making the leap from good songwriting to brand identity takes a little effort. These artists can fabricate engaging stories out of thin air. A brand should probably be more reality based, I would hope. Plus, it’s hard to hum a brand.
January 26th, 2007 at 9:30 am