I was watching the morning news earlier and saw a pharmaceutical ad that tells a pretty good story.
It starts with a scuba diver swimming around a blob of giant black needles (a sea urchin) resting on the ocean floor.
Scary!
The narrator says, “Needles. Essential for the sea urchin. But maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Because there are options…
…like an ‘Unjection’.”
That’s good.
The ad is for Xeljanz, which claims to be the “only pill” for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
“One pill a day may give you symptom relief,” the narrator says.
I like this story because it’s not about the product.
It’s about you, the patient suffering from RA. It’s about the person who HATES injections.
The ad touts a feature: Treatment in pill form.
But it doesn’t stop there.
It focuses on the benefit for you: No more injections.
That’s a pretty good story.
Why isn’t it a great story? Because it doesn’t go far enough.
Great stories don’t stop with the benefit.
They focus on how that benefit transforms your life.
This ad hinted at that: Images of the diver moving easily underwater, hanging out with her family on the beach, folding towels with ease.
We infer that the medicine makes all of that possible.
But the ad isn’t really about the transformation that comes with pain relief.
The ad is about needles. So it should focus on the transformation that comes with the “unjection.”
I would power up this story by imagining a conversation with the patient and asking, “If you could switch from injections to pills, what would that do for you?”
That’s the magic question to get the story — your prospect’s story — from benefit to transformation.
I’m not in the pharmaceutical business, and I haven’t surveyed people with RA. But I can guess at some of the answers.
The transformation resulting from “unjections” might be about the FREEDOM you have because you no longer take time-consuming trips to medical offices for doctor-administered shots.
It might be about STRESS RELIEF because you no longer suffer that fear and anxiety that comes every time you’re about to stick a needle in your arm.
And so forth.
How does the benefit (no injections) make you feel? What does that benefit really do for you?
That’s the story.
The ad could have presented those transformations with just a sentence or two of narration and a second or two of video imagery.
When we tell our business stories, touting the benefits is just the first step.
Discovering the transformation is what makes a good story powerful, great and most persuasive.
Want to power up your stories so prospects WILL tune in, stay tuned, and act? Sign up for a Story Assessment.
I’m offering free, 30-minute web conferences to review your business story. I will meet with you via Zoom and review how you’re telling your business story — on your website, social media, and other channels. Then, I’ll recommend how to make it work better during these strange days.
I have a limited number of slots open on my calendar for these sessions. Please visit my calendar to book a time that works for you.
Thanks!
Tom
314-529-1431
tom@StoryUpMarketing.com
www.StoryUp Marketing