“Show your customers everything, tell them nothing.”
— Adam Ridgway
When starting off my media career back in the late nineties, a TV producer offered some advice which I’ve carried with me throughout my career. She said, “Adam, you’ll remember what you are shown, not told. So, show, don’t tell.” I found it profound. In my late teens, I repeated it to peers which seemed to clunk with ones interpretation. I got it. I believe it was the most powerful lesson a storyteller can learn.
To be a story teller, you need to tell a story, right? (Adam Ridgway pre 2000) However, the Adam of today believes “You need to show the audience a great story”!
Right now, in business’ around the globe – marketers place a driven focus on content telling a story, we should remember this – even though it’s much easier said than done.
What time frame are we in right now? Marketers may tell you, “although the world is going digital, traditional means are still working effectively”. Are they?
For those who are familiar with Dubai the arterial road (Sheikh Zayed Road) which runs through the heart of most of the Emirate, is undoubtedly saturated with billboards (even some digital ones too), yet the ad agencies selling these to their clients as a successful ‘The Medium’. Please think as you drive home from work this evening, how many billboards do you remember seeing, furthermore, how many have you remembered over the years and thought, “WOW, I’m going to click on that website when I get home and see what they are trying to sell me”. What many Marketers are misplacing is the awareness of now. What era are they selling their clients? It’s not 2016, right here, right now.
Take the internet, back in 1996 when you received an EDM from a company, you’d read it. (why wouldn’t you? It was the only thing you were sent). Now, how many do you read? Exactly, so don’t send them thinking the world is different from you. We aren’t.
Using platforms – like my favoured – LinkedIn as an example; how many times have you been ‘spammed’ with people joining your network only to send you their business profile. Do you do business with them? Do you think… “Awesome, I’m glad that a stranger got in touch to sell me something I don’t want”?
Question: Within a 24 hour period (even when you’re asleep), your mobile phone is no more than 1 metre away from you (an arms reach), right?
If I may just dip back to the previous point of billboards, 90% of passengers in the car will be on their phone, and if we’re honest 80% of us driving will also be on the phone at some point during the journey. (Some, barely look at the road).
So marketers, business’, agencies, please stop selling your clients something that doesn’t work for their business, costing $millions per year – if we discuss the (‘important’) cliché of ROI, yes there may be 200,000 cars a day driving past that piece of ‘real-estate’ but it isn’t impressionable, WOW, engaging, nor memorable. Nor can it be tracked, measured or qualify a lead/sale.
Try my now approach.
Fortunately, some of todays marketers do realise this. They are focusing on video to place emphasis on showing. Video is the perfect format for quickly grabbing busy audiences’ attention. If you are a strong storyteller – Video is a short but memorable format viewers can enjoy – and marketers can measure.
“Video doesn’t need to be expensive. It does, however, need to be effective, produced professionally and show a great story.”
Grabbing the attention of potential customers is more important than ever. (attention being the key word here).
When do you watch your favourite TV show at the exact time the TV station broadcasts it?
Or do you watch it when you want? When it suits you? [Netflix]
How many times do you allow yourselves to be told something that an advertiser wants to tell you? Or do you consume information when you allow it to be shown.
This is all part of my now theory.
In a world where buyers do most of their own research online before ever contacting a vendor. We have to cut through the noise and engage these prospects with content that entertains, inspires, engages and educates them about what we do and who we are.
A wonderful quote I read recently, “Facts tell, but stories sell.” There is no better medium than video for storytelling.
Up until recently, most marketers have used video sparingly as a way to enhance their website, maybe through cost, ideas, or indeed understanding. Very few have invested in it strategically as a way to improve the results of marketing and sales programs. That’s changing, join us and be a part of it.
From 2016-2018, my agency humbly grew to be the largest producers of content of the UAE, created 9,300 hours of video, shown our clients’ story thousands of times to an audience of over 100 million.
I’ve just told you that. My clients believe in the results for their business and 82% of my business is referrals. You might not appreciate the importance of video right now, and that’s OK. To leave you with a fact, which might be the catalyst defining my point, “In the Middle East, YouTube is the largest search engine – it outranks Google”. I’ve just told you that too.
If you take anything away from this article, please consider my now theory, is your business in the now? Are you marketing to the now audience? Are your methods of broadcasting now? Do you want more business now?
Other than being a passionate story-shower, I also love to discover the greatest coffee and travel the country in search for it. If you would like to discover more about video, digital content, now marketing I’d love to share some time, over a coffee.
“Work and live in the now”.
Thank you for reading.
A.