A short sharp hit of a blog post...
After far too many years in the storytelling land of music and entertainment we’ve had the great pleasure of playing with narrative form on screens big and small. From cliff hangers to epic season trailers, from 3 second teasers to live ads and continuity voiceovers to attract new viewers or keep a captive audience across the ad breaks. One thing we’ve learnt is that stories have a staggering ability to connect and unite. Yes it’s in our DNA but what’s fascinating is that it never gets old.
When you next get your sharpies arranged and whip out a crisp sheet of A3 don’t forget to write the key message of the brief. Whittle it down to one single-minded line, if there’s an 'and' in there, that’ll be two. Then step into the shoes of your reader/viewer/listener, what are you asking them to think, feel or do? Map it across the spectrum from information to entertainment. One brief can have many executions. Have a really clear aim on what the emotional read should be and don’t forget to make it accessible. Anyone should be able to access your content.
Then onto the grading of your content compositions, a neat way to cut them is by these three levels:
Hum
Your 'always on' content and community management. As much as we’d love to post and run there’s careful curation in the mix. Engage with your fans or potential customers. You can plan this weeks ahead leaving gaps to react to the news agenda. As much as we love novelty, routines are reassuring so have a clear posting schedule.
Sing
These are your regular campaigns from seasonal offers to the next exciting drop, these build on an audience interest and passion point.
Shout
These are your bangers, your number one hits that you’ve been planning to release all year. When you’re weaving these into your content think about how new tracks are released. There’s the tease, the pre-promotion, the launch and then post launch. The beat has to go on and on, becoming an earworm.
And remember, say it loud, say it clear, never mumble.
If you need a hand with any of your storytelling, whatever the format, feel free to get in touch: melissa@whitecamino.com.