Tell me a story

Barack Obama nailed it. As a curious Canadian, I watched his paid advertisement last night. With his numerous friends in Hollywood, he could have dazzled us a million different ways in his 30-minutes of prime time television. But Obama didn’t impress us with his fancy friends, instead he reached out to us with vivid stories from the common American.

References to Joe the plumber and soccer moms are now replaced with real stories and dramatic images. I woke up this morning still seeing a mom standing in front of her open fridge, finding creative ways to stretch out her groceries. I’m remembering a woman’s crooked, arthritic fingers and her husband getting dressed for a job he never meant to have in his retirement years. I watched a senior man, trying not to cry, as he talked about his monthly pension payment that falls hundreds of dollars short of what was promised.

A while ago, I attended an excellent webinar on “Marketing Through Storytelling” by Andrea Learned. Learned talks about storytelling as the new differentiator in marketing. Since customers’ choices are motivated by emotion, stories are an effective way of reaching hearts and influencing minds.

Did Obama’s stories reach the hearts of undecided voters? We’ll find out. I can’t wait to see the presidential election results next week.