Here's to the storytellers...

While watching the Oscars last night, I was struck by something said. No, it had nothing to do with the pronouncement of winners (though I have my own questions concerning that). During a montage leading up to the award for best documentary, a director (I believe it was Werner Herzog who was nominated for “Encounters at the End of the World”, but don’t quote me) indicated that modern technology had enabled almost anyone the ability to shoot a film, so as time continues on, it becomes ever so much more important that you have a good story.
I couldn’t agree with him more, and I’m afraid this sentiment isn’t limited to film industry. With the ever continuing trend of technological innovations allowing an end user to become more effective and professional looking with minimal background and training, the resulting marketplace “noise” has increased by leaps and bounds. Anyone can endeavor to make their message and work heard, and so the actual ability to connect effectively has invariably become diminished.
On the other end of this train of thought is the current economic climate. Businesses struggle to make it through their own budget requirements, and this has resulted in a belt-tightening across the board. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, it’s almost inevitable that when budgets are being reviewed, one of the first areas people look to hack into is marketing and advertising. Since it is seen by many as a secondary product of their business, promotion dollars are easily pulled to the side in an effort to maintain more “primary expenses”.
This logic, of course, is flawed. The fact of the matter is, no product or service is capable of selling itself. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, one has to get out there, and be heard in a manner effective enough to sell. But this brings me back to the earlier point that with any individual now being empowered to reach out and touch the world, the resulting cacophony your ads are competing against means that there is a larger chance to be drowned out. So there is a chance that even if you maintain advertising dollars, they won’t be effective in the modern landscape, and you’re not only competing against direct competition, but every other bit of fluff, personal rambling, "clip of the day" and of course, the corporate giants who can spend more for a single ad than you’ll have available in an entire flight. Targeted advertising only helps to a degree, but even there, your competition is doing the same. So what is one to do?
The key is in your story.
This may or may not mean your company history, or a list of accomplishments and attributes. What it does include is a consistent, well-focused voice, and messaging able to cut through the surrounding muck to connect with the person who is willing to buy. Despite the overcrowding of the various media, there is a rare portion of the population that is truly able to tell that story effectively. If you can’t easily think of who that person is in your employ, or have one under contract, then it won’t matter how much money you throw into advertising. Effective communication, and by proxy, effective communicators are becoming a commodity in a world where everyone can have a voice, and most people have increasingly little to say.