Your Why is at the core.
It’s wrapped in your How.
And the circle’s outermost ring is your What.
The pitch: Most companies pitch themselves outside in (What you do, How you do it, Why you do it). But working inside out (Why, How, What) is far more inspiring and effective.
Because the model is so simple, yet powerful, Sinek’s 2009 presentation at TEDx Puget Sound is one of the most viewed TED videos ever (see it).
Here are two non-competitive, side-by-side looks at (and listens to) the same song producing a dramatically different customer experience. And what that means for your business.
The What: the same notes played and the same lyrics sung in the same order. The Why and How: wonderfully distinct musical outcomes.
What a fine bit of marketing genius by a company I respect and patronize!
Amazon stole headlines all last weekend, on the eve of Cyber Monday 2013 (biggest online shopping day ever), with a primetime television feature on 60 Minutes and the release of the Amazon Prime Air video.
Amazon Prime Air Video
So what do we have here? We have the suggestion that delivery drone copters will bring Amazon packages to you within 30 minutes.
This suggestion drew predictably mixed reactions – from “Absolute nonsense! It simply can’t be done.” to “OMFG, this is the new sliced bread! Now pick me up off the floor so I can pass out again from the proper blend of befuddlement and elation that every member of the flock of consuming sheeple should be experiencing right now.”
Naturally, the extremes have little relationship with reality, so let’s take a few minutes to get real about the Amazon Prime Air video.
Note off the top: this post is one of only two that ties together the themes of this blog – marketing, environment, and culture (only other one was about Lisa Gansky’s The Mesh). Now, on to the post …
Dow Chemical Company. Do you associate the name with nature, harmony, connectedness, or humanity?
No? Then you need to see this absolutely beautiful production from 2006 (posted to YouTube by DowChemicalCompany):
When I encountered this gorgeous production and its sweeping message, I was instantly fascinated with the idea of a global chemical company issuing this message.
Some of the intended takeaways:
Chemistry is natural
Nature is beautiful
Nature is clean and safe
Chemistry is clean and safe
Humans are nature
We’re all connected
Dow is human
Dow cares about people
In summary: trust Dow Chemical because they care about you and what they’re doing is healthy, safe, and consistent with nature.
Clearly, Dow, whose vision is “To be the most profitable and respected science-driven chemical company in the world,” obviously hopes viewers get swept up in the glossiness – and they do. The comments below the video are incredibly and overwhelmingly positive.
So What?
More voices, more publication, more sharing – this is a great time to be alive!
This corporate vs community contrast must always be kept in mind. Corporate happy talk doesn’t fly like it used to. I tend to believe my friends and neighbors more than I believe a global operation whose incentives tend to be short term and whose moral obligations are to shareholders above stakeholders.
Wishing I’d used KeepVid a week ago, I searched for it elsewhere online.
I didn’t find the Live It Up video, but I did learn that Colorado Springs is “the natural fit” for my family vacation, sporting event, or business conference!
Give a look to this video posted to YouTube in January 2011 by VisitCOS (the same folks who brought you (then took away) Live It Up):
Well, OK! Nature moves to the fore and extends into lifestyle.
Let’s give a quick evaluation, primarily in terms relative to the Live It Up video you can no longer see.
A few positives:
shows off the natural beauty better than Live It Up
includes aerial shots and jib shots that immediately provide more production value than Live It Up
includes active shots that make the place feel far more alive than Live It Up
hits several major local institutions and phenomena missed by Live It Up (Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Red Rock Open Space, Paint Mines Interpretive Park, USOC, AFA, Broadmoor, Hill Climb, Balloon Classic, Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, etc.)
gives Colorado Springs a one-of-a-kind feeling by definition
touches on regional history and connects it to present
A few negatives:
the music and voice are a bit too slow (don’t convey enough energy)
tries to do too much, selling to families, sporting events, business conventions (should be three separate 1:20 videos)
frequent discrepancies between the words being said and the video being shown (need to SWAP – sync words and pictures)
awkwardly abrupt ending (especially in comparison to the long :30 fade out on Live It Up)
The Bottom Line
As a slogan, The Natural Fit isn’t any more the answer than Live It Up; either would work fine and neither would work distinctively.
As a video, The Natural Fit feels more alive, rugged, vibrant, and exceptional than Live It Up. It does a much better job of showing that living means doing – rather than simply saying it repeatedly and in different ways.
Live It Up would certainly have benefited from extensive re-use of shots seen in The Natural Fit. Related: The Natural Fit could benefit from the skate park shots from Live It Up.
Both videos would convey more life and energy through quicker, more contemporary music, snappier sound from the voiceover artist and other speakers, and a higher cadence overall.
