Storytelling for Brands (Part 1 of 2)

Edoc Virtual workshops. An underlying theme as we refine our workshops and as we grow as a company, is how to go about sharing the Edoc story as it, too, evolves. Stories help us authentically tell others about ourselves, or our brand. Stories help us communicate our values as a society. Not only that, but our purpose as a brand. Stories surely help us be more persuasive and memorable. Just how influential can a story be? Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn set out to determine the answer to this very question through an anthropological experiment. The driving assertion was that if you created a story, even if for a random object, you would add value to that object. To (dis)prove the point, they first had to find, well, insignificant stuff! They visited yard sales and thrift stores in pursuit of these so-called unwanted items. After paying as little as $.10 per unwanted item, they gathered the creative minds that would come up with completely fabricated stories about each of those items. And what was the place they chose to test the idea that synthetic stories would add value to these random objects? Why, Ebay of course! Walker and Glenn did add a disclaimer acknowledging that the stories about these products were made up. But despite doing so, they saw that people were much more willing to pay for objects when those objects came alongside a story. One such item: the Figurine of St. Vralkomir (glass cover not included!), “an icon of the fourteenth-century Saint Vralkomir of Dnobst, the patron saint of extremely fast dancing.” With a starting price of $3, the figurine ended up selling for $193.50! How much more valuable altogether were these items? The $128.74 worth of insignificant objects they bought ended up selling for $3,612.51. The power of storytelling has never been greater as we–or more importantly, our customers–try to organize our often-noisy world.  But unlike what was done in this experiment, we wouldn’t tell a story without it being genuine and authentic. Authentic stories do more than stimulate us emotionally. They serve as a powerful way for us to connect and relate to others, and apparently, even with insignificant objects. Part two of this series will look at how you can take advantage of your brand’s assets to tell your authentic story. [caption id="attachment_714" align="alignleft" width="150"] Kim Sykes[/caption] READ MORE: If you liked this post, you might like “The Team Culture“ Kim Sykes is a marketer and content creator at Edoc Service, Inc., a total virtual company. Connect with Edoc on Twitter.  ]]>