Pinpointing This Week: StoryDOING.

Actions speak louder than words. As we move from ‘marketing to mattering‘, companies have to shift from storytelling, “which has historically been the purview of the marketing department, to storydoing, which is a to-do for the entire organization. The common goal is less about creating communications and more about creating experiences that people can participate in and share with others.” In a recent global survey aimed at specifically providing insights to CEO’s—involving more than 30,000 respondents—a whopping 81 percent said they expect more from their expenditure than the acquisition of products and services.

“Good companies are storytellers. Great companies are storydoers.”  —Ty Montague

According to research recently conducted by co:collective, “storydoing companies are generating a substantially greater number of mentions in social media—a large number of which are more positive—and as a result, are spending substantially less money on paid media per dollar of revenue. So what differentiates storydoing companies from those simply telling their stories?

They have a story (natch)

The story is about a larger ambition to make the world or people’s lives better

The story is understood and cared about by senior leadership outside of marketing

That story is being used to drive tangible action throughout the company: product development, HR policies, compensation, etc.

These actions add back up to a cohesive whole

Customers and partners are motivated to engage with the story and are actively using it to advance their own stories”

It’s always interesting to see this kind of shift in action, so this week we’re shining a spotlight on some brilliant examples of companies who’ve taken storytelling to the next level.