Content is dead! Long live storytelling!
What is the new counterculture in the age of formulaic content marketing?
In a sea of sameness, how do you tell human stories that motivate and move people?
This is the query we posed at our most recent Creative Factor Salon this week. Due in part to our new investment in The Creative Factor, a publication and studio devoted to stories that shape craft, career, and culture (sign up for their newsletter!), we have been talking A LOT about making things that matter (it is not easy).
Do we still need journalistic reporting in an age of extreme noise and micro attention spans?
Do we still need journalistic reporting in an age of extreme noise and micro attention spans? The answer is, of course, a resounding yes. But it’s often hard to make that point when the folks with the purse strings are beholden to traffic and ROI.
So, we invited our favorite creators, writers, editors, and makers to the Coalesce HQ in Chinatown to debate the well, slightly controversial role content plays in today’s brand landscape. The group included folks who have led teams at Vanity Fair, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, HuffPost and Morning Brew, as well as people at Adobe, Fiverr, Sony, and Kickstarter. Some have launched and run their own companies, reshaped the NYC skyline and shorelines, and one is a recently-appointed private investigator.
Here’s what we learned:
Great taste never spoils.
Storytelling is as much about the journalist as it is about the audience. This content thing is still a people business–and real relationships are easy to spot. We need to continue to push for human connection between the subjects, the storyteller, and the reader because we can feel the damn difference. Plus, great journalists have great taste. And we look to them as a measure of zeitgeist.
Passion drives everything.
We say this all the time for our Coalesce clients, but you can’t make something for everyone. Tell a story (or make a product) for someone specific. There is a super fan for everything. Find yours.
There is a super fan for everything. Find yours.
The fundamental skills haven’t changed — but the generation of creators sure has.
While technology has changed over the past 20 years, two fundamentals of storytelling haven’t–talking to people and practicing the craft every day. As curriculum (and demands) change for young journalists, we still have to teach the benefit of persistence (hard!) and first-person research and interviews (scary!).
This AI crossroads looks eerily familiar.
Chat GPT and AI is just another crossroads, but I do declare, we’ve been here before. From the digital revolution in magazines (what stories should we even put on the website?) and the tablet bet (people are definitely going to buy magazines on their iPads!), to the SEO overlords (how long can a headline actually be?), we’ve paddled our way through many sea changes. This one is no different. We can’t predict how its impact will shape us, but we do know these shiny new tools can support the stories we tell (even if they are not a replacement for them). Perhaps, the best use of AI is to help us accomplish routine daily tasks so we can spend more time, well, creating.
Perhaps, the best use of AI is to help us accomplish routine daily tasks so we can spend more time, well, creating.
Where’s the TikTok for services?
Influencer culture might work beautifully for beauty, fashion, and collectibles where demonstrations can happen in mere minutes in front of a giant ring light, but what’s the equivalent sales tactic for services like design, medicine, and finance? How do agencies and design firms tell their stories with impact and consequence? The Creative Factor’s Storyteller-in-Residence program was created to embed reporters with brands and businesses in order to do just that. Step one? Defining your “narrative DNA.”
Why can’t you get discount tickets to Broadway’s The Lion King?
Well, we’re not entirely sure. But that show is a great example of how simple human skill (it’s all mechanical puppetry!) can still continuously capture the hearts (and dollars) of people for years on end (26 and counting). It is a profound relief to be reminded that in this era of 5-second “snackable” content which is forgotten the minute it’s off-screen, there are some stories so well-executed and so universal that they simply don’t age.
So, how do you tell human stories that motivate and move people?
The only way you can. With creativity and endurance.
Those have gotten us this far. And they’re a safe bet to get us where we’re going.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this salon. More are on the horizon. Coalesce hosts lots of different lively discussions, events, and happy hours. If you’re curious about attending (or leading a controversial conversation) reach out to hello@coalesce.nyc.
