When you look at something while listening to music, the thing you’re looking at takes on stunning new meaning. Music creates mood. That’s why great music is key in film and key in the communication of a message.
Music also implies story. Both music and story require the passing of time for them to even exist. Music is completely incoherent if all of the notes of a piece are played at once. Music only has meaning when notes are spread out over time and played in rhythm.
May I make an odd suggestion? Make sure that you have a strategic adviser that’s either a musician or someone who “gets” music deeply. Here’s why:
Music is art that is directly tied to time and process. What’s happening at any given moment only makes sense in the context of what has already happened and what will happen.
There’s movement. There’s change. There’s direction. There’s preparation. There’s fluidity. There’s purposeful tension and dissonance… that resolves. There’s story. And there’s meaning in it all.
Sound like something your organization needs? Music people get it. Have them write your song.
ANALYSYS, a full-service IT company in Baltimore and Washington D.C., commissioned Wordswell to create a film to achieve several goals.
The film was going to be presented to business owners attending a virtual trade show sponsored by SmartCEO Magazine. Those owners needed to know what ANALYSYS did, as it related to the purposes of the industry event. So, the film lauds the benefit of IT outsourcing.
But ANALYSYS knew that IT outsourcing can be seen as a bit of a commodity. To differentiate themselves, they hired Wordswell to use this film as an opportunity to tell a story bigger than just IT. In reality, ANALYSYS helps their clients achieve their mission. The case study in this film demonstrates it well. Because ANALYSYS handles the IT for the non-profit organization So Others Might Eat (SOME), SOME is able to complete their mission better.
Connecting IT outsourcing to feeding the less-fortunate was a challenge. But, by telling the story well and connecting the dots, Wordswell was able to position ANALYSYS as the brand they want to be.
Learning
We all know how Pavlov could ring a bell and get a dog to start drooling.
But do you know about Pavlov’s second experiment? This time he tried to use shapes to stimulate salivation.
Over time, the dog was trained to salivate at the sight of a circle. But he was also trained to stop salivating when a long oval was on display.
Maybe Pavlov was a bit of a sadist when he started to change the shape of the oval to become more circular. When the shapes became very similar in shape “the dog became highly agitated and the previously conditioned reflex was lost.” Ultimately the confused dog ignored Mr. Pavlov entirely.
Mixed Signals
Here’s the lesson: If you want people to complete an action that you desire, your message must be singular, focused, clear, and repetitive. Your message must be bound to a need your audience already feels.
Are you sending mixed signals? Why don’t you figure out your own story and tell it over and over. Make sure your customer is the main character.
Otherwise, people might stop listening to you and you’ll be left with drool to clean up.
Here’s to an effective 2009. Happy New Year!
Brody
