Why do beer brands get to have all the fun. Or is it cars?
Adweek’s top 25 ads of 2020 feature Amazon, Apple, a spattering of car brands, snack food, fast food, soda pop, dating sites, Dr Dre and…1 insurance company, albeit riding the coattails of Michael Jordan’s epic documentary.
Big budgets, celebrity affiliations, freedom to be creative because the value proposition is so clear and simple. Even feminine hygiene products made the list. Well, good for them, but your industry is boring.
Why even try to make it interesting? Might just as well, through a series of emails, white papers and sales calls, give people the information they need to pick your product or service. No one expects [name one of a hundred boring industries here] to be interesting, engaging or relevant on a human level to anyone but the poor slug in charge of buying the necessary but unfascinating product or service.
Of course this is ridiculous. The marketplace and your industry are built to deliver on a human need of some kind and therefore it’s inherently interesting. Our issue isn’t our industry, it’s our mind set.
Here’s an example from a few years ago, but it’s a goodun. Suppose I shared a case study with you. It goes like this…
The challenge: Test the the ability of certain materials to withstand extreme heat protecting the materials inside.
The solution: An expert team of scientists and engineers used technology from power, aviation and healthcare industries to make a container engineered to withstand extremely high temperatures. They placed frozen material in the container and submerged it in 2000 degree liquid.
The Result: Despite the extreme heat, the material remained frozen.
Key takeaway: This is a company of people who can bring industrial expertise from many industries to solve problems and if you need to keep things frozen at extreme temperatures you should give them a call. Pretty good little case study. You get the point.
Now, what if we called this case study: A snowball’s chance in hell?
That’s exactly what GE did as part of a series of Unimpossible Missions. Check it out
Now that’s a good story. Intrigue. Drama. A team. A mission. A win. The elements of a great story.
Yes, the feature film production quality video is a huge plus, but good stories don’t require it.
The heroes – your customers
The drama – the problem they’re trying to solve
The win – your solution
If the world needs your industry, it’s anything but boring. Now go out and tell some un-boring stories to un-boring people about the fascinating work you do.
