Compelling story-telling is essential to social success. Stories are memorable, compelling and, of course, sharable. This presentation will review why story telling is critical for brands today, what makes a great storyteller, as well as thoughts on emerging knowledge on behavioural economics. Story telling is helping organizations and brands gain social traction. My 1/2 hr keynote presentation for the 2013 Ontario Cycle Tourism Forum

1. Your Story, Their Stories
Ontario Cycle Tourism Forum 2013
LAURIE DILLON-SCHALK, Digital Planning Director, DraftFCB
@LDILLONSCHALK March 1st , 2013
To the best of my ability – I have documented ALL my sources. See my notes.

2. For the love of the
bike
My grandfather George Crompton,
Telegraph Messenger & 1936 Olympian
[I am honoured to speak today – our family has long revered the bike..
Stemming from my grandfather who delivered telegrams in Toronto in the
early 30s.]

3. „Being social‟ = being interesting and interested.
Source: Daniel Berkal, The Butterfly Project [social has fundamentally changed how brands talk
about themselves. A fab study boils „being social‟ to two fundamental characteristics. Brands used to be good
at being interesting.. Not so much anymore.. But enter storytelling..]
Google „project butterfly‟. Image Source: Wallpaperstock.net http://bit.ly/ZFm41m

4. “Content is just a commodity without storytelling …”
- Mark Evans
[We can no longer just publish content… due to multiple screens, competing noise, etc. Brands must
work harder.. ] Source: “Startups and the Importance of Storytelling”, Jan 29, 2013. Forbes Magazine.
http://onforb.es/XhaqbJ - also – well know image of Don Quixote reading a book. One of my favorites..]

5. Storytelling
• Is a natural form of communication
• Is quickly processed
• Gives a sense of personal experience
[Storytelling is a very important form of communication. It is natural, more quickly
processed than facts or information – AND – allows brands to safely move closer to a
social, personal style of writing.]

6. Stories add value to
objects
For anyone who attended the Canadian Tourism Summit earlier in Jan/Feb 2013, we saw a fantastic presentations by Terry
O‟Reilly, @Terryoinfluence including the tidbit that stories add value to objects. I found a good summary on twitter – see the
hashtag #BOF - Rob Walker Significant Objects experiment - stories gave ordinary objects posted to Ebay meaning. Huge
increases in value. #BOF - See more at:
http://www.greaterhalifax.com/en/home/investorsingrowth/buildingourfuture2012.aspx#sthash.din9Dfyx.dpuf

7. How do we become good story
tellers?

8. 1. Tell the story
people have not heard.
Anyone following @Cmdr_Hadfield? Cutting nails in space, floating
watches.. Chris is telling stories that NASA has never told before. Also note
– NASA has a very successful YouTube channel.. But I digress..

9. History Channel – Titanic 100 years
What can you say 100 years later on the Titanic? LOADS. One of my favorite examples is the History Channel which tweeted what
the voyage would be like from the perspective of voyagers. Note – incorrect use of hashtags in twitter.. But still over 73K follows the
story line – including me.

10. BTW –
Think of social as a
continuous plot over a series
of episodes
Do you know of Twitter‟s new VINE application? 6 second videos. I‟ve realized watching Adam Goldberg that VINE‟s success
will be in the total storyline not the individual posting. Brands often focus so much on the wall post that they forget the overall
plot..
Not a source but an excellent article on same concept: http://www.digiday.com/brands/brands-need-a-new-type-of-
newsroom/
“Brands need to pursue more than a one-night stand with content and move toward sustaining a voice across multiple
platforms, with multiple storylines and creative bursts that pull in divergent audiences.”

11. 2. Understand how your
customers make purchase
decisions.
This is consistently the first thing I do on any strategy project.

12. Behavioural Economics: Understanding the
social, cognitive or emotional triggers in buying
decisions
Okay – there are lots of really good, pretty dry books on this subject. Start with wikipedia and start looking at various types of
triggers. I only outline one here.. Social proof -- although technically storytelling (or brand narrative) is influential in decision
making..

13. Social Proof:
The compelling reason to
do something is because
someone else is doing it.
Eating at a busy restaurant…

14. Consumer motivations to keep up with
social norms…
Source: BC Blog on Community Energy: http://bit.ly/VeP2q5
Source: “Social Norms & Energy Conservation”, Journal of Public Economics. June 2010 http://bit.ly/Y8nhOK
Source: TED talk Feb 27th – “The Pyschology of Saving Energy – Alex Laskey” - http://bit.ly/ZMDugp

15. People trust other people & online
medias.
I‟ve used this survey for over 5 years. Note the tremendous trust with people I know. Personally, I think
this is to the detriment of trip advisor.. I see trust in people I know will eventually trump all consumer
opinons online.. Also note the trust in online medias (high) vs. offline.
To find this: Google these terms: “Neilsen global trust survey”, look for 2012 or go to image seach.

16. Social recommendations – it is coming. Get ready now
by managing your recommendations on any platform –
particularly those accessed by mobile.
Source:
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/general/1287187/googl
e-flight-search-takes-off

17. 3. Help people to create their
stories of your brand

18. Tell the story from the perspective of the
target market
This is a post on Facebook. It speaks about celebrating Canada Day in the US. It is appropriately directed to Canadians.

19. Research before you
use “influencers”
There are tiers of influencers
based on:
• Domain of credibility
• Ability to create message reach
• Relevance to your audience
• Timing
• Channel alignment
This is a whole presentation in itself. I learned of influencer tiers from
Maureen Dennis and various journalists that I‟ve had the privilege of
speaking to. The only article that I found on the matter is referenced
in this slide --- see here
http://blog.coherentia.com/index.php/2011/04/friday-fives-finding-
and-connecting-with-influencers/

20. Thank You.
A little more on influencers. Please recognize
the tiers. Please know that wifi is their
lifeblood. Try not to mix the tiers together.
And most important – share your brand
objectives & key messages. So few brands
seem to do that..
Thank you. Laurie

21. PARKING LOT

22. Allow your community to be your voice