Storytelling in the Platform Age

©2017 Daniel J. Edelman, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storytelling in the Platform Age
Ecosystem Forecast and Implications | Steve Rubel, Edelman | January 2017

This presentation is grounded in primary research conducted
throughout 2016. This includes in-depth discussions with the major
technology platforms as well as Edelman and industry experts.
The goal is to provide an overview of how the total ecosystem is
changing and offer guidance on how communications and marketing
programs can succeed in 2017.
- Steve Rubel, Chief Content Strategist, Edelman 
January 2017
2

–Rich Greenfield, analyst, BTIG
A platform is “an application (or service) that has direct access and
a relationship with the consumer.”
3

Overview
• Great Inversions
• Strategic Implications
• Practical Inspirations
4

Great Inversions
5

–Seth Godin
“Trust and attention —  
these are the scarce items in a post-scarcity world.”
6

Inversion of Influence
• The traditional pyramid has been up-ended
• Influence now sits in the general population
• Peers are more trusted than authority figures
7

Authority  
and Influence
Influence
Old Model New Model
Authority
8

Inversion of Attention
• Demanding attention is no longer optimal
• Earning attention is now more essential
• Relationships are more meaningful than reach
9

Inversion of Power
• Content is no longer king, distribution is
• Platforms are more powerful than publishers
• There are new arbiters of information
12

Platform Trends
• Social algorithms prioritize peers over pros
• Search traffic to news sites remains high
• Email newsletters curate executive reads
14

Publisher Trends
• Journalist personalities embrace live video
• Micro influencers generate deep engagement
• Brands activate execs, employees for content
15

Strategic Implications
16

Faces
17

–Don Hewitt, creator, 60 Minutes
“The people who wrote the Bible were smart enough to know, tell
them a story. The issue was evil in the world. The story was Noah.”
18

• In the platform age, the echo chamber is real. Our worldview is
often filtered by people we consider to be our proximate peers
• Professional publishers still matter, but this content is increasingly
seen organically when shared by individuals vs by institutions
• Businesses should focus more on enabling credible faces such as
journalists, influencers and employees to deliver their narrative
19

Start with Audiences
• Core: highly aware and engaged communities
where you have strong relationships
• Opportunity: less aware and engaged
stakeholders where relationships can deepen
• Expansion: those highly engaged in topics
related to you but less or unaware of you
20

Activate with Faces
• Journalists convening social communities
• Influencers cultivating true fans
• Employees creating content and relationships
21

Franchises
22

–Jay Rasulo, former CFO, Walt Disney Company
“Everything we do is about brands and franchises.”
23

• In the platform era, content is infinite, attention is finite and
content consumption is in sound bites
• Hollywood, however, successfully navigated a similar dynamic by
creating extended story franchises that are managed as brands
• Businesses too should consider investing long-term in signature
content assets that are similarly consistent and even anticipated
24

Start with Story
• Mirror Hollywood: build brand-name content
• Take the long view and embrace consistency
• Plan prequels, sequels and “requels”
25

Activate with Synergy
• Intellectual property with a unique view
• Serialized content that is audience centric
• Social experiences that are digital & physical
26

Practical Inspirations
27

Faces
28

When Kellogg’s opened its first
permanent cafe in NYC the brand
put an emphasis on telling the
story via social media journalists
who were just starting to use
Facebook Live
29

Barilla developed a video series called
“While The Water Boils” that featured
YouTube influencer and food “Passionista”
Hannah Hart and cultural icons like Bill
Nye, Rachel Zoe and Wanda Sykes
30

ADT, through editorial storytelling
on Medium, highlighted the real
employees at its response centers
who are saving real lives
31

Franchises
32

Butterball’s Turkey Talk Line is a
35-year-plus story franchise that
year after year is reinvented,
most recently through social
experiences like texting
33

Businessolver built a robust thought
leadership franchise around empathy in
the workplace that has become a true
business catalyst for the company
34

Adobe has developed a series of
digital “who done it” experiences
that encourage fans to download
files from the Adobe Cloud into
Photoshop, decode clues buried in
the files and share theories and
findings on Facebook
35

Integrated Programs
36

Starbucks Upstanders
37

Starbucks created an original
content series focused on shining
a spotlight on ordinary citizens
doing extraordinary things to
create positive change in their
communities. It included videos,
essays, and podcasts across
multiple platforms that extended
the lifecycle of the narrative
38

REI #OptOutside
39

In 2015 while other retailers were plotting
ways to get more shoppers into their
stores on Black Friday, REI closed its doors
and enlisted a multi-platform public call
for everyone to #OptOutside. This media
moment turned movement expanded in
2016 to include 500+ companies and
organizations
40

Faces and Franchises
• Start with audiences, activate with faces
• Start with stories, activate with synergy
• Combine both to thrive in a platform age
41

Steve Rubel 
steve.rubel@edelman.com 
@steverubel

Storytelling in the Platform Age

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