monkeyboy (monkeyboy7) wrote, @ 2011-10-11 16:08:00

Exemplary storytelling in Sony's "Michael" ad campaign
A new gaming commercial has been hitting the internet for the last week or so. In just the first day alone, it received over a million views from social media sites.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/mdWkKKSckNk

If you've seen Sony's "Michael" commercial, you might understand the role gamers have in promoting a game. In fact, Sony has claimed that gamers are its biggest marketers. How did you find out about it? There's a very good chance it was through a social network.

Sony's commercial is a classic example of business storytelling at work. The term business storytelling is usually a vague, empty word--like "transparency" or "accountability." But here's a genuine example that was so successful, it went viral overnight.

The key here is that the creators of the commercial remained very true to their source material (and, as a result, to their audience). The commercial pays tributes to gamers by featuring popular characters, so any inaccurate details or liberal interpretations would not have been welcome by fans. In fact, the creators went as far as recruiting the original voice actors of the characters for their live-action counterparts. By knowing their audience and satisfying their expectations, Sony ensured that their video would go viral as soon as they uploaded it to YouTube.



So what's the takeaway here? Well, if you want to try your hand at business storytelling, make sure you have a consistent message that is in line with the expectations of your customers.

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