Strategy
Brand storytelling
Strategic writing, such as reports and presentations
Messaging hierarchies, toolkits and playbooks
Storytelling workshops
Tone of voice development
The Magic 8 Storytelling Questions for Strategy
Strategic projects may complement and overlap with copywriting projects. But we’ll still kick things off by working through these questions, adapted for strategy, to help make sure we get the outcome that best meets the brief.
What's the story?
(the brief, in a sentence if possible)
Summarising the brief in a sentence might be tough to do. But it's worth having a stab to help clarify the project's purpose. What are the brief's objectives and the reasons behind it?
Who are we telling it to?
What do we know about them?
The audiences for strategic storytelling projects often include internal colleagues and professional people, but that doesn't make them any less important. What are their roles and responsibilities? What do we know about their motivations that will inspire them to engage and act?
Why should they care?
What's in it for them?
Whether internal or public-facing, how will this project usefully contribute to them? How does it align with their personal, professional and strategic priorities? What problems will it help to solve? How will it improve their lives?
Why should they believe us?
What's our credibility in this space?
Whether this project is inter-departmental or aimed at a wider audience, what specialist knowledge and experience are we bringing that will convince people that this is a valuable process and set of outputs?
What do we want them to feel, do and think after hearing this story?
Strategic storytelling should still trigger an emotional response and action. Often involving deeper research and insight, it might also aim to change the way people think about an issue or challenge.
Why are we telling it now?
Have we told it before? What's new?
Is this project part of a wider strategic shift? What's the bigger picture and direction of travel? If we're aiming to land a new brand story, messaging or tone of voice, how will we make it current, relevant and future-facing for internal and external audiences?
Who else is telling a similar story?
Why is ours different?
What are the strategic points of difference with comparator and competitor organisations? How will we distinguish our strategic storytelling to help our audiences align with us?
Whose story is this?
How are they represented?
Who are the characters in our story? Who is affected by it? How will we ensure everyone – colleagues, partners or public partners – is included and represented fairly and equitably?