Peter Guber: "Tell to Win," and Tell it Face-to-Face - Ed Keller

Entertainment mogul Peter Guber has written a new book Tell to Win This is not a celebrity tellall nor a personal memoir of quotmy forty years as a mover and shaker in Hollywoodquot from this former studio chief of Columbia Pictures and Sony and producer of Rain Man and Batman among other positions he has held in major entertainment companiesRather it is a business book about the pathway to success and has won wide praise from such divergent voices as Arianna Huffington and Forbes As of the time I am writing this it is the 1 book on the Amazon best seller list quite an unusual feat for a business bookThere are two primary themes that Guber believes underlie business success both of which are important and timely reminders for those of us who believe strongly in word of mouth marketing1 The power of great storytelling2 The power of facetoface communicationsquotIt39s the story stupidquot says Guber It39s not surprising that a movie producer would have a soft spot in his heart for storytelling But Guber39s argument is that storytelling shouldn39t be limited to entertainment but for business success as well quotFor too long the business world has ignored or belittled the power of oral narrative But as the noise level of modern life has become a cacophony the ability to tell a purposeful story that can truly be heard is increasingly in demandquot Guber says that his biggest competitive advantage in business has been his ability to persuade customers employees shareholders the media and partners through successful and compelling storytelling He considers storytelling to be quotthe missing link in businessquotNot only is Guber a fan of stories he39s also a fan of inperson storytelling Beyond expressing this as a core belief with support from heads of business the arts and entertainment and politics Guber cites academic research that shows our brain39s mirror neurons which allow us to process emotions intentions and actions fire up far more effectively via facetoface communication than communication through other channels And the brain processes meaning more effectively and is more meaningful when it happens facetoface In other words there is a science behind Guber39s advocacy for facetoface inperson storytelling Arianna Huffington the queen of online blogging agrees telling Guber39s class at UCLA quotThe more time we spend in front of screens the more time we crave human contact I believe that intimate inperson interactions where we tell stories to realize our ambitions goals and dreams will only intensify as technology expandsquotThis observation applies to marketers who wish to tap the power of consumer conversation As those of you who read our blog regularly will know our word of mouth research at Keller Fay strongly supports this notion Despite the rapid growth in social media there is far far more word of mouth about products services and brands that takes place offline And offline recommendations have greater credibility and lead to greater intent to purchaseTo tap the power of word of mouth it39s a mistake to focus on medium over message Too many brands these days start with the technology quotwe need a Facebook strategy or we need a Twitter strategyquot No brands need a consumerfocused story to begin amp8211 something to talk about and a reason to share or make a recommendation The first question to ask is quotWhat39s my storyquot The second question that needs to be answered is quotWho should tell the storyquot amp8211 who are your brand advocates and influencers Only after these two questions have been answered adequately should a brand address the question of what channels are best for helping your story to be told amp8211 maybe that will lead the marketer to social media but oftentimes it will be another marketing channel amp8211 television print outdoor internet portals the brand39s own website or potentially any other marketing medium whether earned owned or paidAs Guber says quotDon39t rely solely on stateoftheart technologies to connect It39s the stateoftheheart technology that39s the game charger when you tell your story in the room facetofacequotEd Keller CEO of the Keller Fay Group has been called quotone of the most recognized names in word of mouthquot The publication of Keller39s book The Influentials has been called the quotseminal moment in the development of word of mouthquot Ed can be contacted at ekellerkellerfaycomRead all Edamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at WOM MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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Peter Guber: "Tell to Win," and Tell it Face-to-Face - Ed Keller

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Peter Guber: "Tell to Win," and Tell it Face-to-Face - Ed Keller

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