"#$%& '%$( %) *%+,- ,% '%$( %) *%+.

/"
"1he ?--CeneraLlon, or Mlllennlals, has a more crlLlcal and self--decldlng menLallLy, whlch
requlres a new, horlzonLal approach. 1hese people musL be consldered and LreaLed as
equals. As a resulL, Lhe only way Lo geL Lo Lhem ls by horlzonLal communlcaLlon, or
horlzonLal lnfluence. lnLerneL allows brands Lo spread Lhe word. noL Lop down, buL as lnpuL
for Consumer CeneraLed ConLenL. rovlde Lhe lnformaLlon, be genulne and leL lL lead lLs
own llfe ln Lhe realm of word of mouLh. LeL Lhe mouse run!"
"0//(123 ,-/ '/4"
"1he flrsL Lhlng Lo do when you wanL Lo Lell Lhe brand sLory onllne ls Lo cool Lhe conLenL. 1he
sLory wlLh sLlcklness and a wow facLor can Lhen be acLlvaLed Lhrough soclal neLworks,
Lheme--relaLed blogs, pod casLlng, vldeo casLlng, 8SS feeds and oLher consumer generaLed
medla. 1he conLenL LhaL ls seeded onllne can cover all klnds of sLorles, anecdoLes,
experlences, LesLlmonlals from people wlLhln Lhe company or from ouLslders."


56/7(8 )%$ 9%$(:%):&%+,-;
When l sLarLed lnLervlewlng brands and my flrsL quesLlon was, So, whaL's your sLory?" 1he
vasL ma[orlLy of lnLervlewees sLarLed glvlng me a long offlclal accounL or even showlng me
owerolnL presenLaLlons.

eople have Lrouble Lelllng Lhelr sLory for Lwo reasons. Cne, Lhey know Loo much. 1hey wanL
Lo show you all aspecLs of Lhe brand and Lherefore can'L dlsLlngulsh beLween wanL Lo
be compleLe and do noL wanL Lo leave anyLhlng ouL.

Second, Lhey aren'L dyslexlc. 1hey assume everybody has an aLLenLlon span of 43 mlnuLes or
more, so Lhey keep Lalklng and Lhlnk Lhe lnformaLlon ls belng absorbed.

Paven'L Lhey ever heard of lnformaLlon overload?" l asked myself. eople don'L wanL more
lnformaLlon, Lhey wanL your sLory!"

And besldes, mosL people have a genulne dlsLrusL of Lop-down messages and corporaLe
[argon. eople LrusL lnformaLlon from frlends and famlly. SomeLhlng llke 70 or 80 of all
purchases are lnfluenced by peer-Lo-peer communlcaLlon.

l declded Lo sLop lnLervlewlng brands and go lnLo Lhlrd-parLy sLoryLelllng. l wlll Lell Lhe sLory
for Lhe brand. 1he Lone of volce ls horlzonLal, llke ln peer-Lo-peer communlcaLlon. 1he sLory
ls wrlLLen ln a narraLlve way ln whlch l englneer Lhe maln message. 1he sLorles are fun Lo
read, easy Lo undersLand and easy Lo LransmlL.

8eady for word-of-mouLh.


MaarLen Schafer
AuLhor 'Around Lhe World ln 80 8rands'
lounder C8nWS
hoLographer - SLoryLeller