3 Communication Lessons from Jasmine Bina, CEO of Concept Bureau
(Photo Credit: Courtnie Lewis)
On this week's podcast, I spoke with Jasmine Bina. Jasmine is a former speechwriter, a brand strategist and CEO of Concept Bureau, a brand strategy firm. We discussed in the episode why rituals are more important than habits, what is a product ritual, and how to create rituals in products.
I implemented a new format for the interview summaries. Please let me know what you think HERE.
Why You Should Listen to this Episode?
I speak to many companies who say, "I want to be in the WSJ or go on CNBC." OK? But why are you interesting? There is so much to write about. What makes your company, product, or team of interest to others? Well, for Jasmine and Concepts Bureau, their answer is storytelling. Before you can create an actionable PR strategy, you need to create a story around your brand. Jasmine gives insights on how to do that and brands that are doing a good job of implementing this advice.
Ari's Three Actionable Takeaways for Communication Professionals:
1. PR Starts with Storytelling
I own a Peloton. It was the first in-home fitness equipment I ever purchased. I bought it even though I have a gym in my apartment building. I believe I did because I liked the idea of being part of a community. Peloton's selling point has never been we will get you fit. It is join our fitness community. It's the reason why Peloton outsells it's less expensive competitor Echelon despite offering essentially the same product. Storytelling creates an opportunity for a company to develop a moat. Start with creating a story before you start pitching the media and your customers. You only launch once.
2. Build a Ritual Not a Habit.
When Jasmine told me she wanted to speak about habits vs. rituals, I didn't quite understand. I thought they were the same. Boy was I wrong. If you have eight minutes, read Jasmine's article (don't worry, I'll wait). Ok, your back. I really liked what Jasmine wrote:
“Habits make life easy. Rituals make life meaningful ... Rituals fulfill our current needs in a way that habits can’t.”
The key is to understand that habits are just habits. There isn't anything special about them. A ritual is much more powerful. I know most people reading this aren't on the product side. You can still create rituals through content. How? Tie your brand or product to something more meaningful. The most obvious example is Don Draper and the Wheel.
Don needed to sell a Kodak Slide Projector. At the time, a fairly complex product. The layperson didn't really understand why they'd use it. Don Draper explained it perfectly:
“This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards… it takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel, it’s called the carousel. It let’s us travel the way a child travels - around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved.”
Don't underestimate the power of words. Figure out how you can use them to create a selling point deeper than solving a utilitarian need.
3. Gamification is Cheating
I've been fascinated with gamification since high school. I started a skilled-betting company during my freshman year. It was fascinating that you could "train" someone through your product to do something. The idea of gamification is that you can apply "gaming" elements to non-gaming situations. Users will be rewarded for accomplishing certain activities. In theory, this sounds great, but is this what you really want? Do you want users tricked into using you? Or do you want them to have a deeper bond with the product? Yes, gamification has its purposes, but don't rely on it. Otherwise, you'll have customers who are using your product for all the wrong reasons.