A Business Story: Art from the Heart
Telling your business story will take many forms, you’ll tell it from different angles to illustrate different points.
It can be as easy as pointing a camera at a person (or have them point one at you) and ask the question “Why?” - and then listen.
I recently did this with Michael Feldman, an artist living and working in San Anselmo, California. We sat down, I propped up my camera and asked “Why Art?” what emerged was his “Why” - a story I call his “Passion Path” - in a few short minutes, he opened up and shared a very compelling message:
In a few short minutes I understood more about this man and what drives him than I likely would have with hours of conversation. I asked, listened and recorded. I learned how Michael came to embrace art as a child (and why), the impact it made in his life, and how he became this friendly, cool guy with a downtown art studio and an “Art Camp” for Kids.
Not all stories are selling stories; Michael gave us insight about what drives him and why he gives back as an Art Teacher. We could have added a call-to-action at the end (perhaps with an ending slide or by having him give a little promo about the camp). But we didn't.
For this story, it feels right to just let it be a “Passion Path” - we get that he’s in business and we discover the “Why” behind Art Camp - this makes him more ‘real’ and offers a level of intimacy that an advertisement just can’t do. If we wanted to drive enrollment for camp, we would have made a second video about the benefits to the kids, how camp is organized and where to sign up.
This video offers a very human look at a working artist. In a few short minutes I see his art differently and I think his camp is worthy of mentioning to friends with children that age.
Marketing results from a non-selling video story.
Simple 🙂
