The power of a good story distinguishes the successful from the not-so-successful brands. Brand messages, product promises and marketing jargon are content killers and will no longer achieve results. fischerAppelt, the Creative Content Group I work for in Germany, loves good stories and relevant content. Here’s an insight into what we believe:
Staging the story
Good content has always moved the people. In the past that monopoly was mainly held by the movie industry. It seems our heroes of yore have watched out for new playgrounds. Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic space jump was actually not directed by Roland Emerich, but it was Red Bull who set the scene. Good stories have always moved audiences, but the rules how they are brought to the people have changed. Now everyone has the chance to tell great stories – from giant companies to little individuals. They can create then, set the scene and distribute them. Good content perfectly blends attention, emotion and relevance. It is our role as communications experts to direct and spread those stories, just like our Hollywood role models do.
Creative content based on true stories
Real life actually writes the best stories. If well told, they can change the way we look at the world and consequently brands too. Perfect storytelling allows the audience to feel with the protagonist. Brands profit from real life stories since they create a bond and bring brand values to life. Working on this emotional bond between protagonist and product, as well as communicating it authentically is crucial. This is why we should view ourselves as casting agents, digging for interesting stories.
Format follows content
Good content will reach the people on all channels, from social to traditional media. Therefore the content should not follow the format, but the other way around. A good story can be told in a 140 character tweet, a 60sec video, an image taken with your mobile device or through an exciting blog post.
We follow these guidelines to create content that provokes people to click, to like, to share and to buy. We develop content to entertain, to tell a friend, to revisit, to build customer loyalty and to attract new staff. And that’s digital and analogue, nationally and internationally. This is how brands become relevant partners in communication.
This blog post was written by Sophia Vassilev from fischerAppelt, part of the PROI network. fischerAppelt, the Creative Content Group, is a leading agency in Germany focusing on the core disciplines PR, film and digital marketing. For more than 25 years fischerAppelt has been driven by the ambition to put clients in the public eye, mouth and mind. Sophia is joining The Red Republic on a two week exchange program at our Sydney and Brisbane offices.
