It's official, I'm a Certified Virtual Presenter! eSpeakers.com is a US based agency that does rigorous testing to award the globally recognised certification. I had to demonstrate I had the "tools, environment and skills to perform a quality remote presentation using live video". Turns out I did alright 😌 #humblebrag: here's a link to my scorecard. ✅✅✅✅ Below is the video recorded by eSpeakers during the certification session. Thanks to Daniel Marr and the amazing production team at Filtered Media who always make me feel relaxed knowing they've got me covered (in lights, make-up and technical prowess!) Get in touch if you'd like to know more about booking a Beliefonomics™ virtual keynote, webinar or digital event with support from a fully-fledged production team and professional studio back-drop (pictured below). We can offer multiple camera angles, sound and lighting, in-person guests with COVID social distancing criteria plus virtual guests, whiteboards, interactive Q&A, polls, and break-out sessions for your online guests, and all with a Certified Virtual Presenter to boot!

There’s a cruel irony about Tourism Tasmania’s Come Down for Air campaign, which kicked off last year. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's an unfortunate, unforeseeable waste given today's coronavirus travel restrictions. But the fact remains this work offers powerful lessons for any CEO, business leader or marketer. The sounds and smells of Tasmania will linger in the air long after the last videos plays. Let's take a look, and take a moment to listen closely. Click the image below to experience the first video on Discover Tasmania's YouTube channel, Forest Bathing | Moments of Calm. If you’ve been feeling stressed lately (who hasn’t?), just take a moment... You’re welcome. Now, if you skipped watching it, you missed experiencing a beautiful slow walk without narration through Nelson Falls, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed wilderness on Tasmania’s west coast, with the gentle sounds of the forest, native birds and flowing water as your sensory companions. Soaking up the full experience of this video series with noise cancelling headphones reminded me of that brilliant business strategy question: What are you really selling? For example, if you run a luxury day spa, you sell comfort and indulgence. High-end smartphone manufacturers sell prestige. Google search sells instant curiosity satiation. So, what is Tassie selling? For me, I’d say transcendence; a brilliant word which simply means to go beyond or overcome. In this case, the brand promise feels tangible. Tourism Tasmania is telling us that when we visit the state, we transcend the ordinary. We enter a completely different world, discover peace and realise the dream of a perfect getaway. Take a quick look at these beautiful little vignettes of life in Tassie to get a sense of what I’m talking about. And listen carefully - I'm going to share some thoughts next on the power of sound in storytelling that you might useful in your own context. DiscoverTasmania video series highlights Beachside walks at dawn are transformed into simple, but profound moments you’ll remember forever in Bay of Fires: Tasty scallops are best served fresh in your Combi van by the sea, takeaway style: Sea urchins, caught, cooked and served by Tom - right there on a boat, bobbing carelessly in the ocean, in Urchins: In this one, Ben Lomond, we learn you don’t need to reach the summit because, “the views aren’t half bad.” In fact, if you turn around now, “you’ll make it back for happy hour”: Perhaps my favourite is Old Mate; we can’t feel sorry for him, surrounded by the biggest mound of oysters you’ve ever seen. The sound factor As I hinted above, the real lesson here isn’t so much the cinematography, copywriting or creative ideas. You can find them everywhere. This work stands out because it takes full advantage of a rarely discussed storytelling technique: sound design. Each of these videos contain a soundtrack you can’t ignore. The pitter-patter of rain. The delightful sounds of chirping birds in a rainforest. Running water from a stream, gently reminding you nature is well and truly alive. It’s also the unmistakable sound of the ocean as dawn breaks, and gentle wind on the side of a high mountain. Combine all those sounds with narration by a kindly old man blessed with a deep, warm resonance and you just can’t help but believe the story. It’s evocative, and yes, transcendent. Turn up the videos loud while wearing noise cancelling headphones and you want to go there. Even in noisy environments like TV, digital or social, the very absence of loud shouty people selling us stuff makes you stop and listen, and breathe. Why are these particular sounds so powerful? Because they have a calming familiarity. They strike an emotional connection with us. Selling air Sound is the perfect solution to the problem established by the campaign name itself, Come Down for Air. How, exactly, do you get people to feel the sense of air in a digital or analogue format? It’s practically impossible. You can’t smell the ocean through your smartphone or laptop! So here we are, with the joy of sound design. Sound can trigger other olfactory senses like taste, and smell, that conjure places, spaces and feelings from years past. It’s a technique we’re of course intimately familiar with from the world of movies and TV. They draw us in with a powerful soundtrack and the detailed sounds of an immersive environment. A fun illustration of this point is the famous stock sound effect known as the Wilhelm Scream - it’s everywhere! Now, if you’re in charge of a brand facing an uphill battle; it could be worth looking at sharpening your sound design to be a more powerful, emotional storytelling tool. Meanwhile, I'll get back to dreaming about where to go when this pandemic subsides. I have a feeling Tourism Tasmania didn’t waste its marketing budget after all. The promise of tangible peace and fresh air is just what we all need right now. Keep believing, Mark Jones is an author, speaker and storytelling strategist helping leaders around the world use his world-first proven model of brand storytelling called Beliefonomics to inspire change. His debut book, Beliefonomics: Realise the true value of your brand story is available here.

I rejected the online business MasterClass at least twice before clicking to buy and picking up my neglected guitar. Here's a lesson in multi-channel marketing, the halo effect and profitable storytelling. I first discovered, and rejected, the online education provider MasterClass while scrolling through Facebook. Up popped Steve Martin with a beautifully shot video trailer in which he promised to teach comedy. “I’m Steve Martin, and welcome to MasterClass.” Steve got my attention. Cue internal dialogue: “Could I really learn comedy from Steve Martin? I’m a professional speaker, that could be handy!” But I rarely click on digital ads. I don’t trust them. I scrolled on. It was my first touch point. It was positive, but didn’t change my beliefs or behaviour. Then came another one, thanks to the Facebook algorithm, no doubt. This time it was Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello offering to teach me electric guitar. I’ve played since primary school, keen to learn more, and a Rage fan from way back. Here’s Tom, surrounded by all his gear, telling me how he overcame racism and a cruel world through his guitar. Source: Masterclass “If you want to play exactly like me, you’re going to figure that out in this MasterClass. If you want to play guitar exactly like you, I’ll reveal how you can create a lifetime of awesome rocking. I’m Tom Morello, and this is MY masterclass.” Uh, yes please! Somehow I still didn’t click, strike two, but the video stuck. In some form of associative psychology now I think about Tom’s story every time Rage Against the Machine cycles around on my playlist at the gym. I feel an emotional connection to this guy! The moment I changed Fast forward again and I came across this in-depth article by The Atlantic: What is MasterClass actually selling? Behold! The headline promised to answer the vague questions seeded by rather compelling video ads. Spoiler alert: multi-channel marketing was doing its thing. This was the moment I dived into the MasterClass story. My behaviour was about to change, as was my belief in online education services. Curious about MasterClass? Here’s my take: For an annual A$280 subscription, MasterClass sells escapism, voyeurism (with the celebrity factor) and a valuable life lesson - you’ll succeed if you combine hard work and get really lucky. It turns out MasterClass is a bona-fide company, not just a collection of clever video clips. Created in response to a simple question - What if anybody could learn from the best? - it’s gone on to attract an impressive array of celebrity teachers and more than US$130 million in funding. My point and our lesson here is this: I ended up clicking on the subscribe button because I trust The Atlantic. This editorial ultimately shifted my belief in something I first thought too good to be true. It activated a point in time I call a Belief Moment. I shifted from unbelief in the value of a service to reconsidering my views, and ultimately engaging as a happy customer. Still cynical? It should be said, MasterClass isn’t without criticism. Others shared my initial skepticism. SFGate’s correspondent, for example, offers this piercing line: “You’re not going to become a great guitar player simply by watching Tom Morello’s master class on MasterClass.com.” (Challenge accepted @Joshua Sargent!) It’s a good point. Anyone can watch a lesson. The trick is actually taking time to practice. Yet for me, my behaviour and ultimately my belief in the value of online education changed. All it took was engagement with a second, trusted media channel - in this case, earned media - to change my behaviour. I’ve since begun exploring over 85 classes, each one containing around 20, 10 minute video lessons. One idea, multiple channels Over the past few years I’ve worked with many clients who, quite frankly, use too many media channels. With so much activity, it can be difficult to thread a consistent narrative. In Beliefonomics, I write about the impact of amplifying one story across multiple channels, “What happens when a creative, research-backed IMC (integrated marketing communications) campaign hits the market, underpinned by a single narrative? Research published by IAB Australia and Kantar in October 2019 offers useful data. It calls this approach synergy, and tracks the incremental lift you can expect from adding additional channels to your campaign. From a study of more than 3,200 campaigns it reveals marketing ROI lifts with each channel. Just two channels deliver a 19 percent lift, and five channels up to 35 percent lift. Extract from 'Beliefonomics: Realise the true value of your brand story' by Mark Jones (c) 2020, p99 Source: Analytic Partners, 2016; Analysis based on over 3,200 campaigns from 2010-2015. Platforms include TV, print, radio, display, paid search, online video, PR, Out-of-Home and cinema. The temptation is to believe more channels are better, from the very beginning. My challenge to aspiring brand storytellers is to pare it right back to know which one or two channels are best suited to telling your story. Start small, scale across two channels such as email and LinkedIn, or a blog, and measure the impact before expanding further. That was my exact experience with MasterClass. One message, across earned and paid media. Clearly it’s working. The Halo Effect One final thought. MasterClass is a brand that stands on the shoulders of personal brands. Each of those celebrities and global thought leaders share their star power with MasterClass, helping build its brand. It’s called the Halo Effect or cognitive bias, where positive impressions of a person or brand are transferred to another entity, product or service. Another good example of this in action is motor racing: “Race on Sunday, sell on Monday.” Let’s say a Ford wins the race on Sunday. It’s assumed happy fans will flow into Ford dealerships shortly afterwards. Race wins by your favourite car maker creates an emotional halo that drives sales. Likewise, MasterClass wouldn’t exist without its celebrities and it maximises that idea to great effect in its storytelling. To illustrate the point, do you see MasterClass co-founder David Rogier appearing in a video trailer? Nope. We don’t care about a message from the boss or company CEO, we want the masters! I know I do. It’s time to stop tapping away on this keyboard and shift to the fretboard of my guitar. I’ve got some riffs from Tom Morello to practice. Mark Jones is a keynote speaker, storytelling consultant and author of 'Beliefonomics: Realise the true value of your brand story'. Reach him here.

Are you a Mac or a PC? No doubt you’ll remember Apple’s Get a Mac campaign which ran from 2006 to 2009 featuring two guys set against a simple white backdrop. Zero diversity points, but 10 outta 10 for the laughs and target audience insights. These ads worked because we love two things: simple love/hate arguments (coriander, anyone?) and great comedy. Fast forward and Apple’s revived the formula with the second of its Apple at Work short films, ‘The whole working from home thing’. At seven minutes, it's more than double the length of the first film released last year, The Underdogs, and at the time of writing had notched up nearly 27 million views on YouTube. ‘The whole working from home thing’ embraces diversity in contrast to Apple's ‘Get a Mac’ campaign, and uses humour to connect with us via a shared cultural experience. I believe Apple at Work is a fantastic example of long-form brand storytelling which grabs you from the very first line, “How’s that whole working from home thing goin’ for ya?” Good question! Working from home is one of the biggest narratives in 2020. It’s of course driven by a sea of emotions connected to disruption, change, uncertainty and stress. The plot doesn’t shy from these issues. A team of four people are working at home, and thanks to a dictatorial boss and zealous accountant, have been given a short timeframe and tight budget to design a physical product for a project aptly named “Pandora’s Box”. (Pandora's Box is an artefact from Greek mythology which today is used to describe a gift which at first appears valuable, but is in fact a curse.) So is all that drama fodder for comedy and brand storytelling? Sure is. Looking through the Beliefonomics lens, here are four tips, or dare I say, storytelling seeds that CEOs, leaders and storytellers can learn about navigating uncertain times from Apple’s seven minute creative feast. Seed 1: Embrace all the feels In classic Apple style, this mini-film embraces the working from home narrative without pandering to panic, fear or hopelessness. It keeps our attention with an upbeat sentiment and sharp humour. As I write in Beliefonomics, we connect with hearts and minds when our storytelling is weighted in favour of emotions. A good rule of thumb is to direct 70 percent of your strategic focus towards emotional engagement versus the pursuit of rational arguments (or product features). The music and soundscape is bright, the scripting is tight, and the characters are carefully diverse while relatable (I recommend ‘Beauty of Diversity in Storytelling with Director Carrie Stett’ for more on this topic). It’s very much in sync with Apple’s tone of voice and aesthetic. With the right mix you can create what I call a Belief Moment, an active moment of choice that shifts people from unbelief towards belief, or vice versa. Seed 2: Drama is your friend Without drama, or tension, you simply don’t have a story. Who wants to watch a film, TV-series, comedy show or documentary devoid of drama? No one. Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey teaches us our hero must encounter insurmountable odds and emerge triumphant. Apple embraces this idea of creating conflict with the character of Vivienne, the team’s boss. She appears outrageously arrogant and dictatorial. She’s the villain needed in every story, but she’s not the only source of drama. The team finds itself beset by all the high-pressure normalities of working at home life - kids making a mess, parents getting in the way, sheer exhaustion and attempting to navigate collaboration tools. Seed 3: Don’t take yourself too seriously Apple is quite clearly having fun, again. It discovered the power of fun with Mac vs PC, deliberately provoking the competition, and Microsoft fans. As a counterpoint, it'd be remiss of me not to share many reports that Steve Jobs apparently culled some of the funnier versions. Apparently about 300 were shot, but only 66 ever aired, with actor Justin Long - the “Mac Guy” - quoted as saying, ‘[Apple] said, basically, that Steve Jobs preferred when they weren’t super funny . . . because he thought it would detract from the point of the commercial. He thought if people were too focused on the humor in it, they would lose sight of the product.’ What’s curious today is our inclusive, sensitive culture (which I welcome) can sometimes miss the point. One Forbes contributor attacked the ad, calling it an “appalling” example of leadership. Another columnist, this time at Inc. wasn’t impressed, either. He argued the film normalises a stressful remote working environment. Leaders should set clear and realistic expectations, and this was a bad example. In a follow-up article, he doubled down in response to reader feedback: “For a brand, trust is by far the most powerful asset, and when the story you tell is disconnected from the reality people experience, you lose credibility. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how playful or fun an ad is if it's wrong. And Apple's ad is exactly that.” Wrong? Appalling? Both writers earnestly miss the point. This isn’t reality or “an example” of Apple’s views on leadership. Comedy thrives on exaggerated, hyper versions of reality. Seed 4: Comedy is strategic Corporate storytellers often reflexively avoid comedy because it’s considered ‘risky’. That’s definitely true, comedy is a storytelling art and science in itself. But comedy cuts through like few other approaches. Make someone laugh and you can tell them anything, to misquote Marilyn Monroe. A key insight lost on many marketing commentators is the underlying business issue: Apple might be the world’s most valuable company by market cap (as of 1 August) but it doesn’t own the market for office productivity suites, despite the fact its software ships natively with hardware like the MacBook, iPhone and Apple Watch. Traditionally a consumer tech company, Apple is not seen as the first choice for most organisations when it comes to office suites. That world is of course dominated by Microsoft 365 and G Suite. Apple’s messaging is different, literally. It doesn’t just sell office software, but an entirely integrated hardware, software and cloud-based ecosystem. Not surprisingly, you’ll find the business tab at apple.com is also called Apple at Work. So the question I’d ask you, having watched Apple at Work, do you now believe Apple’s ecosystem is a viable competitor to Microsoft and Google? Having laughed along as the film showed a seamless collaboration between team members, would you now reconsider Apple as an office productivity solution? Note that I said reconsider. Mapped against The Belief Journey (illustrated below) it appears this film is designed to move customers from “Unbelief” in Apple’s business software credibility to the “Reconsider” stage. The Belief Journey One of three dials in the Beliefonomics Storytelling Framework™ global leaders are now using to unlock power and purpose in their brand storytelling. Learn more about the six stages of The Belief Journey HERE. Does it work? For me, the answer is yes. I am reconsidering my beliefs. For example, is it really as seamless and powerful as predicted? I want to know more. How about you? Mark Jones is a master storyteller, brand strategist and author of 'Beliefonomics: Realise the true value of your brand story' available in print (A$24.99 plus P&H) or ebook (A$9.99). 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In Beliefonomics I talk in depth about The Belief Journey for brands, and how organisations can map a direct correlation between customers' beliefs and market impact. Below is a brief excerpt from the book where I share some of the inspiration behind storytelling model that's impacting leaders of organisations all over the world. BOOK EXCERPT: "Back in the mid 2000s when I was studying theology, I came across what’s called the Engel Scale. It was the first time I consciously realised that we’re all on belief journeys of different kinds – not just in our spiritual or faith lives, but all aspects of life. Developed by James F. Engel in 1975, the Engel Scale maps out some 13 different stages people progress through on a journey from no knowledge of God to becoming a well-informed, knowledgeable Christian believer. To summarise, the stages include moving from an awareness of a supreme being, to initial awareness of God and the Gospel, a growing interest and understanding the implications, developing a positive attitude, making a decision to act, then experiencing what’s often called a conversion. On the flip side of conversion, people evaluate their decision, attend church and change behaviours to alight with new convictions, then go on to share their story with other people. The model applies equally well to other religions, politics or health and lifestyle choices. Consider a simplistic version of a vegan’s journey, for example. A happy meat eater has no awareness of the idea you can survive without meat. A series of stories, personal encounters and situations moves this person from awareness to conviction, a conversion experience (perhaps a chosen date from when meat would no longer be eaten), reviewing the decision, ongoing behaviour change and ultimately a mature belief system. Likewise, in business it’s easy to see how this model applies: At first, you have no awareness of a brand or organisation. That awareness and interest grows to the point where you develop an opinion, consider your options and perhaps trial one of the offerings. If it’s a positive experience or compelling offer, the decision is made the transaction is done. You may even become an advocate and recommend it to others. Of course, this journey is also known as the marketing funnel – but what strikes me as different here is interrogating the belief systems that underpin our journey and decision-making. BOOK EXCERPT from "Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story” by Mark Jones (2020), Chapter 9. Buy a copy here.

Here it is, a quick overview of my world-first brand storytelling model, shared here especially for readers of my weekly Beliefonomics Report (subscribe here) given I mention it a bit! The Beliefonomics Storytelling Framework™ BOOK EXCERPT from 'Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story' by Mark Jones ©2020: “We always begin the process of developing your brand story from the outside in. So, the concentric circles [in the model illustrated above] are the first thing to note. The four fundamental elements of business strategy must create a safety hedge around all our brand storytelling: Strategy Storytellers Budget Audience. Each of these elements most often already exist in some form when we begin working with the Beliefonomics Brand Storytelling Framework, but it's important to be clear and unified on each of them from the start. Moving toward the centre, we see our three critical dials used to unlock a Brand Story that unlocks profit and purpose in your business or organisation: Brand Journey Belief Journey Channel Journey. There’s no right or wrong order for interrogating them. For example, your Origin Story may jump out as the most strategic first focus for the season you are in at the moment. Regardless, it is vital you develop solid insights into each one of the central dials in the Beliefonomics ecosystem to arrive at the destination: The Brand Story with insights to spur action and focus to achieve measurable growth." READ MORE in your copy of "Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story©" available to order here in print ($24.99 plus P&H) or ebook ($9.99). In it, I go through each element of the Beliefonomics Storytelling Framework™ from the outside in and show you how it works in detail, including stories of clients I've worked with like GHD Digital, Sage Software and UniSuper. Contact me if you'd like to discuss workshops or events: mark@markhjones.net

Anytime I refer to The Belief Journey, I'm talking about one of three critical dials in my world-first Beliefonomics Storytelling Framework, the other two being The Brand Journey and The Channel Journey. All three work together to unlock your central Brand Story that drives purpose and profit. The Belief Journey contains six distinct stages, illustrated below thanks to Ashley Boyd: I explain it in actionable detail in my book, with an excerpt provided below for you now: BOOK EXCERPT (Chapter 9, "Beliefonomics: realise the true value of your brand story", Mark Jones, 2020). Let’s clear something up straight out of the gate. When we talk about belief, it isn’t just a conversation about religion or politics, as much as I love those subjects. Within each of us exists this sea of existential beliefs about who we are, how we interpret the world and understand other people. These self-beliefs fundamentally shape our world view. The key to understanding this reality is realising that our beliefs are constantly forming, shifting and changing. Each night, scientists tell us, dreams are one way our brains pro cess and make sense of the day’s activities. These happy, sad, terrifying or profound experiences form, and inform, layer upon layer of belief systems that govern our decision making – commercial or otherwise. For example, a large number of people believe all people are essentially good. Dr Brené Brown advocates this thinking, famous for her research into vulnerability and leadership. Her top tip is to assume others are not out to get you, they’re doing the best they can. It follows that if most people are doing their best, we believe most people are good. It’s not hard to see evidence of this belief at work. How often have you seen pedestrians stopping instinctively to help someone who just stumbled and fell? We believe most people will help us in an emergency. Flip this thinking into the commercial realm. Back when Uber started, it was a radical idea. Why would you jump into a car with a random stranger? The most popular conversation at the time was about trust – do you trust Uber's rating system to protect you from bad drivers? Do you trust random strangers? For the early adopters like myself the real question was do I believe most people are good? Yes, I do. Yes, they did. And here we are, some 11+ years after Uber was founded and the world is populated with ride-sharing services who trust the technology and believe in good people. Of course, it almost goes without saying that we believe in a lot of things. Another common belief in society is that each of us has the choice and ability to significantly change the direction of our lives. Not happy with your health, body shape or appearance? The gym, a fitness coach, weight-loss program or plastic surgeon will deliver the results. Self-belief is combined with belief in commercial services. At the consumer product level, we don’t just trust in products. We actively exercise belief in those products. For example, I believe that the breakfast cereal Weet-bix, combined with milk and honey, is good for my kids. All four of them have consumed vast quantities of the stuff over the years and, as parents, we’re happy if they eat it every single day. Sometimes twice. If that statement makes you twitchy, perhaps you have a different set of beliefs about what foods are good for you or your kids! With these ideas in mind, and inspired by my own Belief Moment (which I share in my book), I developed the Belief Journey (model pictured below) which is one of three critical dials in my world-first model for brand storytelling, The Beliefonomics Storytelling Framework. If you’ve been exposed to ideas like Design Thinking, User Experience Testing or Customer Experience, you’ll know the customer should always lead strategy development. The Belief Journey is a complementary model that helps us understand how customer beliefs operate and change within distinct stages. As we intuitively know, life is more complex than the binary notions of I believe in something or I don’t believe […] BOOK EXCERPT from “Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story” by Mark Jones (2020), Chapter 9 Buy a copy of the book here, available in print ($24.99 plus P&H) or ebook ($9.99), or contact Mark to discuss mapping the Belief Journey of your organisation.

No storytelling model captures my imagination quite like The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell (1904–1987). Thanks to my book illustrator, Ashley Boyd, it looks like this: To create this model Campbell studied thousands of stories, genres, mythologies and writings from across the world in a quest to unlock storytelling’s common themes and narrative threads. Thinking about it as a monomyth, or a single myth, is the key to understanding its profound insight. His argument is that all stories follow the same pattern or journey from the known world to unknown world, and back again. A simple example is leaving your home in the morning (known world), going on a holiday to a new location (unknown world), and returning home (to the known world) again. We’ll unpack it below, but Campbell’s legacy is one we can’t ignore in brand storytelling. Regardless of whether you’re the brand or the customer, we all live in a complex, fascinating world in which everyone is constantly shifting between known and unknown environments. Comfort and safety are traded for discomfort and danger, before resolving issues and returning back to comfort. I think about this model all the time. Once the monomyth sinks in, you start seeing evidence of it everywhere: religious traditions, cultural mythologies, films, corporate history, the rise and fall of nations, governments, and even the microcosm of your own family. The penny dropped for me when ..." READ MORE in your own copy of 'Beliefonomics: Realise the true value of your brand story' available to order here in print ($24.99 plus P&H) or ebook ($9.99).

BOOK EXCERPT from 'Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story' Up to 90 percent of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously through our emotions, according to research by the Nielsen Company and about 20 PhD and MD neuroscientists who discovered a correlation between the brain's processing ability and real-world consumer behaviour. The conclusion for those of us passionate about storytelling in business? Choose your emotion wisely, apply through story and expect to affect change. Following the map outlined in my Beliefonomics Storytelling Framework, your goal is to foster Belief Moments that engage hearts and minds – and wallets. Belief Moments move us on the journey from unbelief to belief in a product, service or idea. Get it right and your stories are not just emotional reflections of an ideal, they’re speaking a truth that captures the essence of your brand. The story becomes who you are, your identity. Likewise, your customers' Belief Moments are stories that can act as a reflection of society, shared morals, and who we are at different stages of life’s journey. Nike’s famous Just Do It advertisement narrated by Colin Kaepernick is powerful, and memorable, because it emotionally hooked us into the brand’s vision - everyone can achieve greatness on their own scale. [see my musings on Nike's 2020 update to this campaign here]. “Don’t believe you have to be like anybody, to be somebody,” Kaepernick says. “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” The soundtrack and images irresistibly bring these ideas to life. So, what was the impact? Not everyone was happy. Some called for a Nike boycott over claims Kaepernick disrespected the American flag, but that’s a side story in my view. The overwhelming view was Nike kicked a field goal, experiencing a US$6 billion lift in value following the campaign (source: Abad-Santos, A., 2018, ‘Nike has made $6 billion since its Colin Kaepernick ad, Vox). It’s at this point I should jump in and call out what you’re probably thinking – I don’t have Nike’s budget and a top-notch creative team. Sure, but the principle still applies and the creativity inspires. It is possible to create your own Belief Moment, regardless of budget. For example, the 2011 film Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead remains one of the best low-budget film-maker and brand collaborations I’ve seen. Joe Cross, an Australian entrepreneur with health and weight problems picked a Breville juicer and travelled across the US, meeting people and existing on a diet of blended fruit and vegetables. Joe lost weight, restored his health, started a movement, and ultimately kicked off a new lifestyle business. Although not originally involved in the documentary, Breville realised it was a good opportunity and partnered with Joe. According to media reports, the Australian brand more than doubled juicer sales after the movie launched on Netflix. In fact, you can count me a convert. After watching the doco, I was inspired to crack out a blender for the juice diet. Remarkably, I lost 10 kilos and to this day juicing is part of my diet. It’s an instructive example. One of the first steps in the storytelling journey is to put your brand aside for a moment and think about your customers in a different way – beyond traditional demographics into the world of psychographics and belief systems. Ask questions like, What do customers believe about their world? How well do you ‘get it’? Using the Breville example, how many future customers believe they could change their lives on a smoothie and juice diet? I call this stage of brand storytelling strategy The Belief Journey, and it’s the focus of [Chapter Nine in my book] and many energetic workshop engagements. BOOK EXCERPT from 'Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story' by Mark Jones (2020), Chapter 8. Buy a copy here in print or ebook version.

"You can expect to increase your Market Impact exponentially by developing a Brand Story – a clear, compelling narrative that taps into your customers’ belief systems and underpins your go-to-market strategies.” Book excerpt: "Beliefonomics,” Mark Jones ©2020, p234. Buy it here. The Beliefonomics Brand Storytelling Index© is a method of self-evaluation for organisations (grid pictured below), and it’s where we start every engagement. The goal is clearly to achieve an Amplified story state where the story is Simple and the Market Impact is high (10x). Most of my clients begin somewhere between Disorganised and Managed. As you can see from the right hand column - headed Next focus - there are certain steps required to move up the ladder. The Beliefonomics Brand Storytelling Index© NOTE: I share details in my book about how the Market Impact figures are calculated. Now, I'll share with you some of the diagnostic questions used by teams in a co-creation workshop setting to help identify their current Story State and Market Impact. Have a go at answering them for yourself: To what degree do you have a simple, well-defined brand story? How successfully have you aligned all your sales and marketing resources around a common storytelling vision? To what degree are you held back by organisational silos or lack of reliable data? Are you amplifying your brand story across every relevant customer media channel? Given these factors, what story state on the Beliefonomics Brand Storytelling Index best describes you today? A brand’s story gains traction with customers, partners and staff who do more than engage with its content – they’re actively sharing it to invite others into the conversation. It’s important to emphasise the significance of this simple, unified story from an economic and profit perspective. Brendan Markey-Towler from the Australian Institute for Business and Economics and the School of Economics at the University of Queensland, writes in The Conversation: Our research shows the more simple a story, the more it extends and agrees with preconceptions, the more persuasive it is. A good story becomes embedded in investors’ minds; the story becomes the expectation. Source: Markey-Towler, B., 2017, ‘How storytelling drives finance and economics’, The Conversation In my experience, you start to see the impact of a strong, simple story almost immediately after it hits the market. Brand stories develop a life of their own, spreading by word of mouth and through customer advocacy. A good litmus test is whether the mainstream and marketing trade press are writing about, and analysing, your campaign. BOOK EXCERPT: 'Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story', Mark Jones (2020), Chapter 7. Buy it here, ebook or print versions now available.