Many of us have been here: it’s 10 pm, there is a big presentation due the next day, and a small team of loyal soldiers are huddled around someone’s computer struggling with a few reviled “bullets” on a PowerPoint deck. Keep it succinct we say. Get to the point we sigh. We just need the right bullets. We need to bullet it out. What kinds of bullets should we use? The bullets keep shifting. One begins to feel bullied by these tedious bullets. This isn’t the stuff dreams are made of.
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And then, it happens. Something bubbles up and we all get excited about the content again. The big ideas are swimming through our minds. Forget the deck. We know they are going to love this. Throw out the style book for a moment. What are we saying here? What’s our story?
Storytelling, for those who are trying to reach the boomers, is not an old fashioned, yawning technique in marketing/advertising. In fact, it’s often quite effective, say Matt Thornhill & John Martin in Boomer Consumer, Ten New Rules for Marketing to Amercia’s Largest, Wealthiest and Most Influential Group. This shouldn’t be that surprising, as the art of storytelling has engaged humans from ancient times.
Boomers, despite their busy lives, are still human and are engaged by the power of emotion, memories, and sentiment. Making connections with them quickly often occurs when they are engaged by and can easily recall a good story. It’s not enough to spit out the facts in a mind-numbing 30 second sound byte. Wrap a rich story around your offering. Make it real for them. Let them see how it can help them wherever they are, in whatever they are going through….dodge (or dress up) the bullet by building the story. In making your case, you are more than your PowerPoint deck. You are the bard. So sing!
Amanda Sobanet