Clickability, Copywriting and Crocs

Happy Friday!

We’ve been working on a research project about how people find, use and share stories now. One of the findings is around how much people who work alone miss the ambiance of creative conversations in the workplace. We’re not just talking about what you pick up from group discussions or watercooler moments. In particular, people pointed to how much they miss from ambient conversations that they’re in earshot of but not necessarily a part of.

So, we’re opening up our team Show and Tell sessions for creatives who don’t have a team. You can show, or tell, or just go ‘mute and camera off’ mode. Leave us playing in the background like a radio station that only plays conversations about creative ideas. Sound interesting? Tell us how often you think we should do this. Weekly? Fortnightly? Monthly. Leave a comment below or just reply to this email.

Thanks for choosing to open this email. If you like it, sign up for our other newsletter Formats Unpacked. If your content isn’t getting the results you want get in touch. Let’s see if we can help you in some way.

OK, Have a spooky weekend. See you all next week.

Hugh

The Creative Idea That Got Friday the 13th the Greenlight (3 min read)

Has the Internet Reached Peak Clickability (8 min read)Copywriting Principles For Copywriters and Strategists (6 min watch)How the FT Got More Than 78K Replies to a Survey (7 min read)Krispy Kreme, Crocs, and Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing (7 min read)A Brief History of ‘People Have Lost Their Sense of Humour’ (Thread)Lists of Note: Fumblerules of Grammar (2 min read)Designers Share Posters to Amplify #WomenLifeFreedom Protests (4 min read)Taylor Swift on How She Categorises Her Lyrics (6 min read)

70 Films and TV Shows to Watch on Halloween (List)

How can we help you?

Storythings is a strategy and production company based in Brighton and London. We'd love to help you with some creative and bold ideas. Here are 3 reasons to get in touch. 

1. You want to talk to us about content production: podcasts, videos, animations, illustrations, editorial. 2. You want to talk to us about audience research, content strategy or format development.3. You want to create a brand or an identity that makes it easier to communicate your message.We do other things too. We're very friendly and always enjoy meeting people, so get in touch. 

The Creative Idea That Got Friday the 13th the GreenlightIt’s Halloween weekend so here’s a related story that may serve as inspiration for anyone looking to fund a creative project. The Friday the 13th movie franchise includes 12 films and has grossed more than $468 million at the box-office. But none of that would have happened if not for a really smart trick filmmaker Sean Cunningham used to secure funding. (3 min read)

Has the Internet Reached Peak ClickabilityThere have been a few articles written recently about the death of the internet. My general rule for articles announcing the death of such things is to simply replace the word ‘death’ with ‘change’ because that’s what’s happening. As this piece points out, the change currently happening is a huge drop in engagement on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, clickbait forcing us to be more selective about where we spend our attention, and the top 10 podcasts getting 14% longer last year. A change is definitely happening. As this piece concludes: “For the last decade the web has served up bite-sized information like cheap fast food. But the new web just might give us that nutritious gourmet meal we’ve been waiting for.”(8 min read)Copywriting Principles For Copywriters and StrategistsIf the best copywriter thinks like a strategist, can the best strategist write like a copywriter? Strategy is clarity, so the best strategist should. In this video brand and tone of voice consultant, Vikki Ross talks about the key copywriting principles that copywriters and strategists should consider using to make their words work.(6 min watch)How the FT Got More Than 78K Replies to a SurveyIf you want to know more about your customers or audience, this piece on how an FT survey got more than 78K replies is handy. There’s also some interesting detail on how they used the data to shape their huge newsletter offering. (7 min read)Krispy Kreme, Crocs, and Keeping the Main Thing the Main ThingThis is a good read on how a couple of struggling brands had massive turnarounds as a result of focusing on their main thing, avoiding distractions and turning that main thing into multiple product lines. I was surprised to read that Costco’s main thing was membership and that the profit on everything they sell is 0%. (7 min read)A Brief History of ‘People Have Lost Their Sense of Humour’Have you heard the latest? People have lost their sense of humour. (Thread)Lists of Note: Fumblerules of GrammarI’m enjoying my Lists of Note emails. It’s a nice addition to Shaun Usher’s Letters of Note. In 1979, New York Times political columnist and presidential speechwriter William Safire compiled a list of 36 “Fumblerules of Grammar”—rules of writing, all of which are humorously self-contradictory—and published them in his popular New York Times Magazine column, “On Language.” Ten years later, he devoted a book to the same subject. (2 min read)Designers Share Posters to Amplify #WomenLifeFreedom Protests In the face of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a platform of open-access graphics calls for audiences to harness modes of visual revolt in protests and online. From our own experience, we’ve found that sometimes a simple poster is an incredible way to connect with audiences. Our STEM role model posters were downloaded over a million times. (4 min read)Taylor Swift on How She Categorises Her LyricsIt’s not often I find a reason to include the words of Taylor Swift in this newsletter but I really liked this. Last month she was honoured with the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Songwriter-Artist of the Decade Award. She used a great metaphor to talk about the three types of lyrics she writes in her speech. (6 min read)

70 Films and TV Shows to Watch on HalloweenI started with a Halloween story so thought I’d finish with one. My wife is at a party this Halloween so I’ll be home alone. I need something to watch. Here’s a long list for anyone else looking. Feel free to leave any suggestions of good horror in the comments.(List)

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Thanks for reading. We’ll see you all next week.

Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the whole team at Storythings.