Most great love stories usually
start with, "Once upon a time." This story is no different.
Once upon a time a video game
developer decided to create a video game. To execute the hugely
successful launch of their video game, they began telling the story
of the game for years before it actually hit the shelves.
When Destiny was
launched on September 9th, 2014, it earned $500 million in sales
and was awarded the biggest new franchise launch in that industry's
history as well as the accolade of highest-selling day one digital
console release in history.
This was no accident.
Bungie and Activision, video game developers, began the process of
seeding Destiny to its fan base well before the game was
brought to market. They were able to create an emotional connection
with their audience so when launch day rolled around, people were
ready, waiting and anticipating the release of the game.
What we, as marketers and
business owners and creators, need to be doing is actively telling
the stories about our companies, products and services that will
get people interested. We need to open up and give people a sneak
peek into the inner workings of our business to get them invested.
We need to show them the reason that we understand who our customer
base is and why we're creating this very special thing
just for
them.
Many companies fail at this piece.
Most companies choose a product
or service, design and develop it in-house, gather little to no
customer feedback, keep the product or service secret until launch
day and then they launch it with the expectation that people will
invest in whatever it is they just launched. The old "if you build
it, they will come" adage, which most of us know is not true. In a
loud and crowded marketplace, you can no longer expect for people
to care if you haven't given them a reason to do so.
Your customer base is not going to invest their hard-earned dollars
in your product, service or company unless there is an emotional
reason for them to do.
Creating the container and eliciting emotional
response from your customer base is your company's job.
That's what this book explores.
The way in which a video game company wooed their customer base for
years before asking them to make an investment and the success they
saw because of it.
They were vulnerable.
They told their story.
And now, I'm telling their story.
A story about love, marketing and storytelling.