Tell Me A Story.
When my kids were little, they would ask me to tell them a story. From a book or one I made up, they wanted to hear a story. In today’s social media world, it’s almost become a marketer’s mantra.
Tell A Story.
Ugh.
Marketers talk about telling a story with content. Content they share on social media. As if every single piece of content they share needs to have a story behind it. A story that resonates and stirs fans or customers’ emotions, one that prompts them to take action. (Code word for buy)
Sports tell their own story. The preparation and practices (setting the scene) before the event (action/conflict/climax) followed by the result (conclusion) all unfold right before our eyes in a matter of moments or hours (depending on how fast one reads). Every game or match has their own narrative. There’s no need to add on unnecessarily to what’s already been told.
In other words, keep it simple, stupid.
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ESPN and college footblal are a marriage made in sports heaven. Each year, ESPN broadcasts hours upon hours of college football. Fans tune in. Winning and losing stirs fans emotions more than any marketer’s story ever could. That’s what was so great about these spots from ESPN.
http://youtu.be/WkwZ8sN1ef8
http://youtu.be/-gyTYPxlyjw
The Alabama girl you see in the 2nd video thumbnail above was memorable from that first video. The look on her face after the Auburn fan says, “Alabama’s going down”, was priceless. So of course her saying Told Ya! in the second video was in order. It was the culmination to the college football season’s story.
Nothing fancy. Nothing extravagant. Simple and to the point.
It told the story. And it was perfect.
A perfectly simple story.
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