Oct 13, 2010

Develop Corporate Storytellers

Steve Rubel writes about the The Rise of the Corporate Transmedia Storyteller in his article in Forbes (excerpted below) and claims this is going to be the new model for marketing. Unleashing subject matter experts to tell their and the organizations' stories (earlier touched on in Employees are the new Media- sounds powerful - but will challenge organizations to let go of control and trust employees to make mistakes and learn from them.

This is not a tactical decision - it is a fundamental shift in the way organizations see themselves and will impact both internal and external systems and process. HR needs to also transform then from a "policing" and "compliance monitoring" function to developing the new competencies required.

Here's the excerpt from Steve;s article
The new law of digital relativity (e.g. the relationship between time and space) means the end of scarcity. This was the currency that, for years, powered marketing budgets, filled media coffers and drove the information economy. Now that scarcity is gone, however, we will need to adopt a new set of skills.

Enter the Transmedia Storyteller.

Even though millions of us are now content producers in some form or another, the reality is there’s still chasm when it comes to quality. There’s art and there’s junk. Audiences want art.

To stand out today it’s critical that businesses create content. Activating your cadre of internal subject matter experts is the surest path to visibility. According to the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer, the public is increasingly relying on subject matter experts as trusted authorities. And many businesses are beginning to do just that, especially on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The reality is, however, that organizations need to do more than just unleash their subject matter experts en masse. They need to activate them in multiple channels at once and equip them in how to create a compelling narrative – an emerging set of skills called Transmedia Storytelling

Transmedia Storytelling doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be executed with low budget tools. However, it does need to be thought through. It requires that a business’ subject matter experts know how to simultaneously tell good stories and to do so using text, video, audio and images depending on the venue.

Transmedia storytelling is the future of marketing. And those who can span across formats and share their expertise will stand out in an age of Digital Relativity. There’s a first-mover advantage here. However, it remains to be seen who will grab the ring.