Author: Jonathan Sachs;
Illustrator: Drew Beam
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press – 264 pages
Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram
Today’s media world is a noisy arena where so many brands, causes, and messages grope to be heard or recognized, but die a premature death before they even get a chance to be heard or seen by a significant number of people, like ten to twenty million people.
But there is one element in these attempts to get heard or seen that sets them apart from all others, and that is, they tell a great story. Great stories have “moved minds and changed behavior,” writes Jonah Sachs. The sources of great stories are numerous: advertising history, evolutionary biology, mythology, and psychology.
Jonah Sachs is an advertising expert and viral storyteller who in 2005, got 20 million views within a year for his Internet version of Star Wars. In this book, he shares with us his experience, knowledge, and insight on how to create compelling stories for commercials or non-profit messages that grab the attention of audiences and keep them watching.
He has organized as shown below, the contents of this book in just two Parts having eight chapters, plus an interesting Prologue, and an Epilogue with his thoughts on what the future holds for us, and how the past has influenced our present.
Prologue
The Broken World of Storytelling
- The Story Wars Are All Around Us
- The Five Deadly Sins
- The Myth Gap
- Marketing’s Dark Art
Shaping the Future
Interlude: A Creation Myth for Marketers
- Tell the Truth, Part I: The Art of Empowerment Marketing
- Basic Training: Identifying Your Values
- Tell the Truth, Part II: The Hero’s Journey
- Basic Training: Designing Your Core Story Elements
- Be Interesting: Freaks, Cheats, and Familiars
- Basic Training: Generating Your Stories
- Live the Truth
Epilogue
Among the benefits of reading and using this book are that you will discover how:
- Social media tools are driving a return to the oral tradition, in which stories that matter rise above the fray
- Marketers have become today’s mythmakers, providing society with explanation, meaning, and ritual.
- Memorable stories based on timeless themes build on legions of eager evengelists
- Marketers and audiences can work together to create deeper meaning and stronger partnerships in building a better world
- Brands like Old Spice, The Story of Stuff, Nike, the Tea Party, and Occupy Wall Street created and sustained viral buzz
Author:
As the cofounder and CEO of Free Range Studios, Jonah Sachs has helped hundreds of major brands and causes break through the media noise with unforgettable campaigns. His work on renowned viral videos including The Meatrix and The Story of Stuff has brought key social issues to the attention of more than sixty-five million people online.
A constant innovator his studio’s website and stories have taken top honors three times to the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. Sach’s work and opinions have been featured in a variety of media, including The New York Times, National Public Radio, and Fast Company magazine, which named him one of the fifty most influential social innovators.
Illustrator:
Drew Beam is the Innovation Director at Free Range Studios, where he helps clients see the future and leap into it. After earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design, Beam built a successful career creating visuals and innovation strategies for dozens of Fortune 500 companies. His illustrations have been published by Time Warner Books, Penguin Books, and Rolling Stone magazine, to name just a few.
