Your story is valuable.
Marcus Collins, the current Head of Strategy at Wieden+Kennedy New York, knows a thing or two about transforming stories into content that has brought in lucrative amounts of money for his clients.
The Power of Storytelling
“Storytelling is the currency of community,” Collins told “Black Tech Green Money” podcast host Will Lucas. “Storytelling is how culture moves forward and also how it propagates. You tell the next generation who tells the next generation and the next generation, right? So, stories are probably the most powerful vehicle for information exchange, for cultural expectations to be established, and for expectations to be socialized through stories as well.”
He continued: “So whether you are a marketer, whether you are a coder, whether you are the person pushing the broom as the janitor, the stories align us to what we’re about, what we stand for, what we believe in, and how we preach the gospel to people to bring them in.”
His Expertise
As the person who helped launch successful campaigns for major brands including State Farm, Google, Made in America, and more, Collins provides extensive expertise in the world of marketing. He also serves as a clinical marketing professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Working Alongside Beyoncé
Additionally, he played a role in running digital strategy for Beyoncé, whom he uses as one of many perfect examples of what it means to use your brand to drive your story.
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“I used to work for Beyoncé,” said Collins, adding that her ability to transcend the category in which she resides is much like Nike, in that her brand operates from an ideological standpoint.
“Beyoncé’s the same way. We’ve known that Beyoncé believes in or stands for women’s empowerment since the days of ‘No, No, No,’ to ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ to ‘to the left’ and ‘you ain’t gonna break my soul.’ So, while we know Beyoncé as an artist, and in all the many ways that she is artistic, the meaning of Beyoncé transcends those things.”
For more on how storytelling can ascend your brand to greater heights according to marketing expert Marcus Collins, listen to the full BTGM episode below.
Plus, check out his book “For The Culture,” here.
