Presentation used to address over 50 start ups in Bangalore on importance of storytelling for competitive advantage

1. MARKETING
STARTUPS
Smitha Hemmigae
Director Marketing, CSS Corp
@smithahs
Smitha.Hemmigae@csscorp.com

4. Because of rise in ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

5. Because of UNDEFINED job roles

6. Because of INNOVATION

7. Because of OWNERSHIP

9. NOT SIMPLE

13. RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANCE new source of competitive advantage

14. GOOD
STORY!

16. SHOW
• What does your About us
section look like on your
site?
• Is this pure information or
are you using stories,
personality or even
humour?
Solution: Video is a great
medium – convey complex
ideas, emphasize subtle
but important differences
Example: FiftyThree – pencil
(better stylus)

17. TOO MUCH JARGON
• Filling a story with technical
terms, acronyms and
superfluous words is the best
way to lose your audience
Solution: Keep it simple to cut
through the noise; marketing
around values
Key examples: Apple (think
different), Evernote (remember
everything), CSS Corp (Wired to
Support)

18. TOO
• Personalize the protagonist of
your story
• “People connect with other
people, so make sure you focus
on the real-life characters in your
story.”
Solution: share customer
milestones, connect your
customers needs in your story
Example: Subway (Jared Fogle),
Dropbox, Google at Work

19. BEGINNING
• There is no rule to start the story
from the beginning
• Let your story have an interesting
arc
• Events need to build, one after the
other, emotionally rather than
sequentially
Solution: create your story in post-its
and mix them up; then think like
a movie- maker – make people
feel. Engage the senses
Example: Bank of America –
chronology campaign

20. CONFLICT
• Screw-ups do happen
• But screw-ups also present
opportunities to shine by telling a
story of responsibility, apology
and remedy
Solution: customers more loyal to
brands that readily apologize
Example: Flipkart – billion dollar sale;
Leela Palace – entry to bicycle
debacle

21. FABRICATION
• Your story needs to be authentic
• Make stories part of your culture
Solution: Capturing moments,
good or bad, in story form can
authentically connect your
employees to your company, and
increase their commitment to their
work
Example: Cancer institute in
Washington (Audrey), Infosys
employee advertisement, staff
meetings – use them to connect with
employees

22. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
• Companies with a stranglehold on
what their corporate story is and
who can tell it are missing a world
of opportunities
Solution: Recognize the value in
stories from internal and external
sources, design ways to collect
them, and enable your customers,
advocates and employees to be
storytellers too; use social media
extensively
Example: ComCast (#ComcastCares)

23. UBER – Everyone’s private driver

24. TELL YOUR STORY GET PEOPLE TALKING AMPLIFY

25. THANK YOU
You can connect with me at –
Twitter: @smithahs
LinkedIn: Smitha Hemmigae
E-mail: smitha.Hemmigae@gmail.com