New Marketing Approach to an Opt-In Culture - Interview with Simon Kelly, COO of Story WW
I was introduced to Story Worldwide at the Content Marketing Strategies Conference, hosted by Dlvr.it. Story is the next generation media agency that applies storytelling techniques and pragmatic measurements to drive exceptional brand marketing and communications. No need to take my word for it alone, the company's impressive portfolio includes client success stories from brands like Lexus, De Beers, Holland America Line, Chrysler and Clinique.
I spoke with Simon Kelly, COO (aka Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of Story at the conference. "We're living in an opt-in culture," Simon comments. He's right. No longer do we look at magazine ads as much as we flip past them. And just ask the guys at TiVo (from my other article), to confirm the massive drop in viewer engagement as DVR-owners skip ahead through commercials.
Story understands the advertising-as-interruption age of digital is over, and is helping brands understand that, as well. "Most brand strategies fail because they miss the intended audience," Simon explained. Once they capture their audience, they inundate them with repetitive, or overtly marketing-focused communication. He backed this statement with some compelling Facebook statistics:
- 55% of consumers who have "liked" a page later decided they didn't want to see posts from the company
- 43% go to the company's page and "unlike" them
Brands are realizing this as their consumer engagement drops, and ROI diminishes from traditional marketing methods. But not all companies know how to adopt to the new consumer paradigm. The shift in content consumption requires a proportional shift in content development. At a fundamental level, responding to this shift requires a complete realignment of resources.
In the traditional marketing realm, the majority of budget resources for paid media can reach up to 80% of the total, with only 5% provisioned for content creation. Simon explains that a "new budget allocation" is essential for brands to engage consumers and compete with user generated content, writers, filmmakers, and other forms of entertainment.
The "Story Platform" approach to building strong brand engagement includes using a disciplined, collaborative process to find the brand story. Simon quoted management guru Tom Peters in his presentation:
Continued on the next page"Story is more powerful than the brand. The best story wins. I am--simply, unabashedly, out loud, screaming, and shouting--saying, focus on the quality of your storytelling. Turn that complex idea into storytelling."
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