Pearl Higgins presents on powerful digital storytelling to the DFWSEM group in Dallas in early April 2017.

1. Presented byPresented by
Powerful Storytelling
April 12, 2017 | @Pearl_Higgins | #DFWSEM
Done right.

2. @Pearl_Higgins 2

3. My favorite book was about a
widower sailor with a lying
daughter, who tricked her only
friend into almost dying on a
jetty during a hurricane.
3@Pearl_Higgins

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5. I never grew out
of picture books.
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8. Why story now?
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13. In 2017, your audience is
enveloped in a perfect storm
of inattention.
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Source: nytimes.com
8.5 hours a day
spent on screens
61 minutes of
TV ads

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8-second
attention span
down from 12
seconds in
2000
15Source: nytimes.com

16. So how do you get
remembered?
16@Pearl_Higgins

17. @Pearl_Higgins
Make people angry. Impress them.
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18. When they’re angry, story is
not a replacement for that
lost good reputation.
18@Pearl_Higgins

19. @Pearl_Higgins
92% of
consumers trust
earned media,
such as word of
mouth, above all
other forms of
advertising
19Source: nielsen.com

20. 70% of
consumers
turn to online
consumer
reviews as the
second most-
trusted source.
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Source: Nielsen | Global Trust in Advertising and Brand Messages April 2012
@Pearl_Higgins

21. “Which means, successful brands
and marketers will need to find
ways to better connect with
consumers by creating the kind of
good-will that leads to positive
consumer feedback.”
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Source: nielsen.com
@Pearl_Higgins

22. Are your audiences feeling
that good will?
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24. No one wants to hear your story:
• If you over-charged them.
• If they’re angry about your billing practices.
• If they never received their product.
• If the product broke.
• If your customer service is subpar.
• If your terms and conditions were not clear.
• If you made a social media snafu that you never really
fixed.
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25. No one wants to hear your
story if you are not meeting
or exceeding their
expectations.
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27. And what if you are?
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28. TOMS Giving in
the U.S.: Helping
American
Children In Need
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youtube.com/watch?v=W83bQGclUP4
@Pearl_Higgins

29. Engaged
and happy
audiences
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30. How?
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31. Audience
DeliveryPlot
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33. We need to be
digging deeper.
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40. Let’s find joy in the delivery.
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43. This works for brands, too.
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53. Audiences respond when
you intrigue them or make
them feel something without
lecturing.
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55. high drama
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high lecture
low drama
low lecture
@Pearl_Higgins

56. high drama
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high lecture
low drama
low lecture
@Pearl_Higgins

57. What do we need to
make a story?
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58. Christina Jackson
Modernist Fairytale Prints
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“Much information is stored, indexed,
and retrieved in the form of stories.
People relate to each other in terms of
stories- and brands often play central
and peripheral roles in their stories.”
Source: When Consumers & Brands Talk: Storytelling Theory and Research in Psychology and Marketing onlinelibrary.wiley.com

63. Think about the brands your
mother used.
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64. Archetypes
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65. There are only two stories:
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A man goes on a journey or a
stranger comes to town.

67. Or more?
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68. The Seven Basic Plots
Christopher Booker’s Jungian analysis of story
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Overcoming
the
monster:
Beowulf
Harry Potter
Rags to
Riches:
Aladdin
Cinderella
Jane Eyre
The Quest:
The Iliad
Watership Down
Harold & Kumar
go to White
Castle
Voyage &
Return:
The Odyssey
Alice in
Wonderland
Labyrinth
@Pearl_Higgins

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Comedy:
Twelfth Night
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Tragedy:
Macbeth
Hamlet
Breaking Bad
Rebirth:
Beauty & The Beast
How the Grinch
Stole Christmas
@Pearl_Higgins

71. The archetypes you know
are tools at your disposal.
71@Pearl_Higgins

72. What other tools are
at your disposal?
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Language Imagery CTA UX
@Pearl_Higgins

73. Story in the language
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75. In the mission or tagline
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78. In the small CTAs
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81. In the large CTAs
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83. Source: http://madebyshape.co.uk/about 83@Pearl_Higgins

84. Story in the image
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85. Molly Bang & picture books
85
Sometimes it’s all in what you
hint at, allude to, or use to
grab your audience’s
attention.
You don’t have a lot of time;
visuals can carry the weight
for you.
@Pearl_Higgins

86. Size, location & movement
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87. The wolf
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88. The tension
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89. The final story
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90. Visual storytelling in action
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99. Story in the CTA
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104. Utilizing story in UX
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110. Don’t forget that
UX doesn’t end with
the goal completion.
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114. A few tools of the trade:
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115. Social Media Storytelling
• Facebook Canvas
• Stellar Stories
• Twitter Moments
• Animoto
• Adobe Spark Video
• Ripl
@untypicalman for more social
storytelling tips
@Pearl_Higgins 115

116. Let’s bring a little joy back
into what we do.
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118. Thank you!Thank you!