Here's a inspirational clip, it's a promo for the book 'Winning the Story Wars' by Jonah Sachs.
The message is that 'Brands that tell value-driven stories can change the world'.
We've been believers in the Purpose Idea round here for some considerable time, so this is more fuel to the fire.
Sachs's mantra is Be Interesting, Tell the Truth and Live the Truth.
Contrary to popular opinion the proliferation of social media tools and digital platforms does not make marketing in the connected age more complicated.
Another example of purpose-driven branded content worth checking.
'In the film, director David Altobelli tells the story of three boys exploring an empty house late one night. The boys break into a farmhouse that was clearly abandoned in a hurry some time ago. As the three explore the house - and even begin to vandalize it - one boy slowly comes to see that the family that lived there was not so different from his own. He realizes that the house they are trashing could foreshadow the future of his own family's farm and home. A frightening moment in the house sends the boys running back to the comfort of their still-functioning farms.
On the soundtrack, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs covers Willie Nelson's country music classic "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys."
Chipotle Mexican Grill - http://www.chipotle.com – is an American restaurant chain, they have set up The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation which works to highlight the economic hardship family farmers face in the increasingly industrialized American agriculture system.
‘Over the last several years, Chipotle Mexican Grill has contributed more than $2 million to help fund initiatives that support sustainable agriculture, family farming, culinary education, and innovation that promotes better food. This has included such beneficiaries as Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, The Lunch Box, The Nature Conservancy, Niman Ranch Scholarship, Culinary Institute of America, The Land Institute, Veggie U, and FamilyFarmed.org. The Cultivate Foundation will continue with this tradition of giving started by Chipotle.’
My talk at 474Labs yesterday was about exactly this kind of thing, and why generosity, and moving from value-chain to value-cycle is a [better] business model.
Inspired by this presentation by @garethk, in which he notes that 'changing our behaviour changes how we think'.
In other words, whereas traditional advertising operates on a 'think then do' premise, in the post-advertising (mostly) digital space that notion is flipped.
It becomes 'DO then THINK'
In order to 'DO' we need to be inspired rather than targeted.
We'll be inspired by brands who align with things we care about in OUR world.
That's not the world of 'commercial proposition'.
I've also been obsessed with Dan Pink's book 'Drive' lately, in which he notes the 3 primary drivers or motivators of behaviour in the conceptual age. Autonomy - the desire to be in control of our own destiny Mastery - a need to get better at whatever it is we do Purpose - this is the biggie, the need to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.
So this graphic is a nod to Gareth and Dan, it makes a splash in presentations (for those over a certain age at least...)
For more on 'Purpose Ideas', and in particular it's context within the advertising/marketing space, I also recommend the Mark EarlsBanana book.
