Facts tell, stories sell.
All marketers and sales professionals know that. But knowing that is insufficient. We have to know how to do it.
Our recent YouTube episode explains just that.
Storytelling is a technique we see over social media. In the 2000’s, all of us are storytellers.
But, that was not the case in the last century.
Let us turn back the clock to the 1950s, where corporate storytelling is a uniquely European marketing concept.
The Michelin Stars
I heard this story from a friend.
He shared during dinner how Michelin graded restaurants come about. Before he started telling his story, Matthew asked around the table why a tire company did what they did.
Joe said, for corporate branding.
Matthew laughed. He said that Michelin is concerned about getting car drivers (the richer than average guys) to drive longer and often. That way, drivers would replace their tires within a shorter timeframe.
So, they came up with the idea of reviewing, and favoring restaurants away from the city center. Michelin figured that great food and road trips make a powerful combination.
Boutique restaurants far away from London and Paris got their chance.
And then, Michelin started setting up pitstops in petrol stations for tire replacement.
I remembered thinking, wow. And that (actually) makes sense.
A Bottle of Beer and A Book of World Records
The idea came about in the early 1950’s when Sir Hugh Beaver (1890–1967), Managing Director of the Guinness Brewery, attended a shooting party in County Wexford. There, he and his hosts argued about the fastest game bird in Europe and failed to find an answer… In 1954… Sir Hugh had the idea for a Guinness promotion based on the idea of settling pub arguments.
- Guinness World Records, Our Story
A book of world records came into existence to settle petty pub arguments.
That is the official story. Matthew’s version is far more interesting. Matthew shared that pub sales of beer had been steadily plunging in the 1940s and 1950s.
And so, Guinness thought of publishing a book of world records to get people squabbling and talking across tables. The most they squabbled amongst themselves, the thirstier they got. They ordered more beer.
Beer sales in pubs reversed the declining trend and started growing once again.
Matthew’s version is more convincing, in my opinion.
Our YouTube Channel – Knowledge Topics
On our Youtube Channel, we produce content to uncover topics that permeate all walks of life. Our community can understand what it means to be in the trenches of our interest.
Here are some topics of interest we recorded with high viewership:
Why we buy what we buy.
Mindset and Career.
Marketing on a Dime.
Green Technology.
Robotic Era.
Mental Health.
Our goal is to share our research with our community from a practitioner's standpoint.
Summary
Telling stories connect.
Our legacy and history are the best material for storytelling.
Never knew that a tire company and a beer company could have such interesting stories, don’t you?
The job of Bottomsup Perspective is to research, discuss, and share our findings so our community can grow with us.
This topic is one example of sharing our practitionership.
Do you believe in what we do?
If you do, push this big purple button.