Demian FarnworthMarketers are agog over stories. For good reason …
A story lifts a person out of her ordinary world … and stories take her on a journey that ultimately leads to a vision of herself as a better version of herself.
This is marketing that educates your audience through the storytelling arc.
And one way to think about this process is episodic education. We are taking a page out of the playbook of cable television, motion pictures, commercials, radio, and animation.
But telling a good story is no easy matter. You need to know the elements that make up a great story. Which is why we marketers tend to lean on templates to tell those stories.
And one such template that we marketers are in love with is “The Hero’s Journey.”
But what is the hero’s journey? And who created it? And why should we care?
Well, in this 71-minute episode you’ll discover the answers to those questions, plus:
- Whether storytelling has a future in a post-apocalyptic world
- The best marketing story ever told
- The number one reason marketers need to tell stories
- The best framework to use when telling a story
- 4 cute facts about Joseph Campbell just about anyone will appreciate
- What the leading Campbell scholar thinks of The Hero’s Journey (hint: it’s tangentially related to LSD)
- The 5 things every great marketing story needs
- And what great rappers have in common with great stories
Listen to Rough Draft below ...
- Social:
- Link:
- Embed:
The Show Notes
- Hummingbook
- Kate Tilton
- Joe Sugarman
- Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Macintosh Computer
- The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
- Most Interesting Man in the World
- How This Man Made Dos Equis a Most Interesting Marketing Story
- Best Storytelling Rap Songs
- Beastie boys – Paul Revere
- I’ll Write Til I’m Right with God (about Kendrick Lamar)
- TED Talks Storytelling: 23 Storytelling Techniques from the Best TED Talks
- Matt Loomis at Twitter
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces
- The Power of Myth
- Robert Segal, Professor of Religious Studies at University of Aberdeen
- Joseph Campbell: An Introduction
- The 5 Things Every (Great) Marketing Story Needs
I’ve enjoyed every single episode, but I think this episode was your best. I like the longer format, and I love when the subject appeals to writers. I write both fiction and nonfiction and the copy for my website and online shop, so anything that has to do with writing of any sort will resonate with me.
And, I found it particularly serendipitous that you talked about Campbell, because my most recent Audible download was the series of interviews done with him at Lucas Studios in the years right before he died.
Madison, thank you for the kind words, and the support, and I am SO glad you loved the episode. And that is uncanny about your Audible download. Let me know what you think of those interviews. Next week will be even better goodies about Campbell. I promise.
Hey Demain,
I’m a long time fan of the show (and your work on Copyblogger).
Wow! That was a lot of info to digest. I really liked the shorter form of Rough Draft. But I guess I’ll get used to the longer format.
As a recovering scientist, I thought I’d share an even simpler template to get into storytelling mode.
It’s based on the hero’s journey, inspired by Southpark, and formalised by a scientist-turned-filmmaker (Randy Olsen).
It’s called the “AND, BUT, THEREFORE” template.
Check out this TED talk by Randy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=114&v=ERB7ITvabA4
I think it’s something us mere mortals should keep in mind when building towards the more advanced concepts discussed on this episode of rough draft.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks for the show.
Hey Doug, thank you for being such a great supporter. I really appreciate it. I love that template (saw the South Park guys talking about it). I’ve got it written on my laptop. 😀 I look forward to watching that video. Take care, and thanks again for listening.
Great show, excellent content and advice. I just had Randy Olson on my Business of Story podcast talking about the And, But, Therfore (ABT) and his new book, Houston, We Have a Narrative. You can check it out at http://www.parkandco.com/thebusinessofstory/
I agree with Doug that the ABT helps create a foundation for your story. It teach the process to my Executve Masters in Sustainability Leadership students at Arizona State University, and it’s powerful in its simplicity. Give it a try.
Thanks for your show, Damian.
Thanks Park for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it. I look forward to listening to the Olson episode. And checking out his book. Take care, sir.
Very engaging, Demian and guests. Your conversation stimulates me to look up Campbell’s work. Keep it coming.
Glad to hear that, Michael. You’ll learn more about Campbell in the next episode, too. Great extended interview with Professor Segal.
Every time I look at this page I still don’t quite believe it. Thank you for having me on your show, Demian. It was a real honor.