At some time in your career, you have used copy or creative that contains cliche's, things that "sound" or "look" like a commercial is supposed to be. "Storytelling Is An Art" from MediaPost is a focus on PR, but the lesson translates to Broadcast and Interactive very well....
"Good storytelling is a skill that needs to be nurtured by PR professionals, and taught profusely within agencies and by academics. It is not about form, but about substance. Companies want us to tout their wares, so we have to rise about mediocre drivel and produce compelling stories for our media audience.
Good storytelling can incite emotions, can make us buy triple-stack hamburgers when we're not hungry or cause our minds to create fantastic what-if scenarios. Good stories can make us cry, laugh or feel sick. Even better, good stories can make journalists pick up the phone or hit the reply button to our emails, saying, "Tell me more, I want to know." They are the reactions that good storytelling can invoke, and I don't think that's something we can do with a micro-tweet or pushing a one-size-fits-all template that's been approved by corporate because it's safe and sounds good to the CEO.
Our clients demand more results from us than ever before. As consumers, we've become more demanding and less forgiving. So as communicators, we really should know better. We don't want to be sold to or have stuff pushed in our faces. We want stories that make us "feel," which is exactly what our communications to media should also do.
Our clients need their brands boosted, their products sold and their services in demand. As PR people, we need to understand and capture what pushes peoples' buttons -- whether we're pitching reporters, bloggers or consumers - and, ultimately, what makes them react in ways we want. Our industry is not about distributing press releases but about communicating our clients' everything in meaningful, impactful ways.
Good stories don't need to be packaged in special kits or on glossy paper to be effective. They just need to tell and, ultimately, sell our clients' stories very well. "
This is very true for Broadcast and Interactive. Next time you are in front of a client, talk about how their offer will invoke an emotion, if it doesn't, re-evaluate.