Today marks a new departure. I am launching All Good Tales – a storytelling agency.
So why are we starting? And why a storytelling agency?
It began in the autumn of 2015. In truth, the idea started growing a long time ago, but it became too obvious to ignore in October 2015. We were busy preparing for the biggest milestone in the history of our story sharing software MediaHQ.com. It was when one of our clients shared the 100,000th story, I had an epiphany about the true nature of communications. At that moment I knew it was time to create something new, which became All Good Tales.
So what did I discover? The previous seven years and 100,000 headlines fused into a single thought about how stories are created and shared. And how the really great brands and organisations build their communications on stories that connect with customers on a deep emotional level.
I realised that a fundamental change was taking place, as the traditional dividing lines between public relations, marketing, and advertising were blurring beyond recognition. I noticed how communications is moving towards a golden age of storytelling and away from dependence on traditional media.
We now live in a time when you can nurture and build your own audience, and connect with them directly. The best, and most successful, organisations capitalise on that by putting storytelling at the heart of everything they do. They don’t obsess about whether it’s PR, marketing or social media, or whether it’s below or above the line. They obsess about the story – and how to make it better. Brands like General Electric, Sugru, Apple, Hiut Denim, Paddy Power and Dollar Shave Club build all of their communications on this approach – and it’s a spectacular success.
In my moment of clarity, I also made a discovery about how the most successful storytelling organisations operate, and I documented it. I realised that the most engaging entrepreneurs, charities, and causes create and share their stories in a unique way that ensures they are successful.
For the first time I could see that there is a unique place when the attention of an audience is perfectly aligned to the power of a story. In this place the customer, user or audience member is most receptive and open to the power of your story. Imagine this place as the intersection of two circles where one circle is what you want to talk about, and the other is what people are interested in. Where they share a common place is what I call your ‘magic slice’.
The goal of All Good Tales is to work with organisations to identify what their magic slice looks like and how they can create and share stories in that place. We will help organisations embrace this golden age of storytelling by equipping them with the tools, skills and strategies to tell great stories.
How can we achieve this for you? By creating fast change with lasting impact in three critical, connected areas: brand, story content and culture
Our services focus on:
- Story strategy: bespoke strategy sessions that will help you continually tune into, and find, your magic slice – that amazing pace where what you want to say fits perfectly with what the audience wants to hear
- How to tell your story to the media: Some call it PR, but we believe that in the new way it can’t be catagorised so simply. How to interest journalists and how this fits with the new age of storytelling.
- Creating a storytelling organisation: Bespoke communications training programmes to inspire your team, and build a culture of great storytelling in your organisation.
- Story delivery and content: how to write compelling stories that are insanely relevant to your audience.
Digital and social strategy: We build brand newsrooms. We advise on what to share, how to share and how to be successful online.
