[Dietrich] Mateschitz, 60, [of Red Bull] typifies a new class of billionaires who got rich not by inventing a new product but by selling an ordinary one inventively. Donald Trump gets a premium for his Manhattan apartments because he has propagated the notion that a Trump building is superior to comparable property across the street. Sidney Frank made millions selling Grey Goose vodka, nearly indistinguishable from bottom-shelf brands, at a rich price. -- "The Soda With Buzz", Forbes, March 28, 2005
How? Why? Mostly, it's about a fresh story, a fresh angle. A new hook. But often we miss the story right underneath our nose. The example below is startingly all too common.
Several years ago, my American Way [American Airlines flight magazine] editor called to say the magazine was going to start running short 400-word pieces. He wondered if I could help them out. I searched my slush pile, found a Wall Street Journal clip about a former medical examiner in Lawrence, Kan., who had stolen a portion of Albert Einstein's brain - and still had it. I suggested I make a quick call, interview the guy and write a witty piece. That, I figured, was all it was worth: 400 words, $500.
Flash forward about three years and I open my [October 1997]Harpers to find about a 12,000 word story titled 'Driving Mr. Albert', by a brilliant writer named Michael Paterniti. Now, I wasn't the first guy to write about Einstein's brain; there were at least half a dozen before me. But it took Paterniti to see the insanity of it and go pick up the medical examiner and take him on a wild cross-country ride. The story won a National Magazine Award, a six-figure book advance and a seven-figure movie deal. -- Jim Morrison, freelancer and past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, from "Hooks" in Writer Magazine special issue, The Writer's Survival Guide
Ouch...
Whether you are a business owner, marketer, journalist or author, what's the story right under your nose? Seeing freshly is a deepening theme here on this blog. So before you think I've totally gone off the deep end with a few of my upcoming suggestions in weeks and months ahead, you'll understand the business context upfront.
Art defamiliarizes the familiar, and thereby makes it new. - poet Norman Fischer
Bonus: 'It Takes a Village' story catalyst group. I believe it takes a "village" to tackle any significant project. Even books aren't (contrary to popular notions) solitary adventures. Right now I personally wouldn't mind bouncing ideas for fresh stories potentially lying right underneath my nose. I figure some of you out there may be in the same boat right now. We'll support each other and communicate via blog and email for next six weeks. You must have fodder and raw materials to play with but not be already committed in concrete to any particular story. Multiple projects ok. Consider this your own sounding board for a range of things: from trying out a new marketing story to discovering an inventive book or article angle. The focus is on uncovering an inventive angle and a compelling story. Size: five to twelve folks. Cost: Optional tax deductible donations to my new non-profit (see About) relative to value you believe you receive. Pitch me first at crossroadsdispatches -at- gmail -dot- com - I'm seeking synergy among group members.
Bonus: Check out the All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin online business book tour last week. Todd has links to all the tour stops where you can check out a Q&A with Seth on his new book on the importance of story in marketing.
Great post...
Posted by: Sandeep | Jun 06, 2005 at 11:30 PM