Kirk Cheyfitz gives us the inside scoop on journalistic storytelling and the art of blending it with marketing to create effective stories that reach consumers. How adding a brand journalist to your team can help your business.
Kirk Cheyfitz is the co-CEO and chief storyteller at Story Worldwide. He is an award-winning journalist, author, editor, publisher and innovator in nontraditional marketing and custom-created content. He is a leading expert in the profitable use of content to extend brands, win customers, create loyalty and build sales. His career began in Detroit, where he was a PooL-IT-ZER Prize finalist for his investigative reporting at the Detroit Free Press and winner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Bronze Medallion for investigative reporting, along with many other national and regional journalism honors. He also has broad experience in regional magazines, having been the editor and/or president of five major titles, including Chicago magazine.
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Think Like A Journalist quote
“In a world where people have a lot of choices, the story may be the deciding factor.” ~ Nick Morgan, a communications consultant and author of How to Tell Great Business Stories. Excerpt from an article by Adam Bluestein for inc.com.
Success Quote
“It’s always important to care about the brand wants but its so much more important to pay attention to what the audience wants and needs.” ~Kirk Cheyfitz
Career Highlight
Transformation from print producers of content for brands to becoming a digital-first but not digital only, content-focused advertising agency for brands. Today have 110 people on board at Story Worldwide telling brand stories and distributing across multiple platforms.
Created The Story Brand Development Workshop.
Worked with General Mills using narrative advertising to tell stories and shape the development of the iconic character, The Green Giant.
Created a blog: The Field Report
When It Didn’t Work
In 2006, Kirk echoed the mantra, “advertising is dead” but his company didn’t have full brand control with his clients because his own company didn’t look like a comprehensive brand agency. Find out how he transformed his company by using integration of the tools of advertising in order to create success and take charge of complete brand messaging for companies.
Brand Journalism Advice
- It takes a lifetime to master storytelling.
- Journalists must know both the storytelling and the tools of advertising.
- Brands should always hire journalists to help build brand newsrooms.
- The best thing you can do for a brand is tell authentic, transparent stories: the good, the bad. It helps attract consumers.
- Brands can’t buy attention. The message must be interesting, engaging. The prize for that is consumers will share it with their friends for free.
- Social search (peer-to-peer shared content) is the most powerful way to reach consumers.
- Internet viewing eclipsed TV viewing. Pay attention to digital trends or risk becoming extinct.
Multimedia Resource
Multimedia Book, Documentary, Podcast, Channel
The Mind In The Cave, David Lewis-Williams
The Hero and The Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through The Power Of Archetypes, Margaret Mark
Personal Influence: The Part Played By People In The Flow Of Mass Communications, Elihu Katz & Paul Lazarsfeld
Listen toward the end of the show to hear the answers to these two questions:
Think Like A Journalist Scenario
You have been hired to help an ailing company that’s about to financially collapse. Its reputation’s shot. You have one month, a $1000 budget, a smartphone, and a laptop. How do you begin to turn this company around?
Expert Predictions for 2025!
Resource Links
Wasting advertising budgets, article by Kirk Cheyfitz
Contact
Kirk Cheyfitz LinkedIn Profile
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