This is how to ask for money – give vision to your tribe!

This concept is simple (Tell your Story) but it’s not easy. Every September, I look forward to hearing Scott Harrison tell me all the really incredible things that friends of charity:water have been doing over the last year. Seeing peers, families and kids get exited about making an impact in a community half way around the world is incredible – plus it doesn’t hurt when cute kids are putting on a lemonade stand for water projects either.

Conventional (or entrenched) wisdom would say that we need to make sure there’s a regular appeal letter, a response device and we need to wait 3 weeks to see how it does. Get some data returned and then look how else we can “engage” our print audience.

Can you imagine if charity:water did that?

I can’t – it would be against their DNA. They’ve never been a conventional charity, YAY!

Check out their website (it changes during this campaign- because it’s how they got started, they’re using every piece of communication to reinforce their position)

This design is so simple and extremely intentional. It’s pretty but the primary function of the webpage is quick connection and helping site visitors become participants in water projects.

But that’s them…. and you work at a more conventional charity and to mix it up too much could be disastrous.. What can we learn? Here’s a couple of tips.

Tell your story
Don’t just tell the stories of those your impacting make sure your organization doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s crucial to share your impact but make sure you’re consistently sharing with your audiences about why you’re active and why you’ve chosen this work versus others.

Film, Film, Film
Hire/partner with a filmmaker – and I don’t mean the guy down the street with a camera. I mean a professional that works withclients all the time. I’ve found that the best filmmakers to collaborate with have big dreams and don’t feel that client work is their endgame. They are pushing themselves and their company to be bigger, as a result, they are always learning and a position of learning means that they’ll have a careful eye on how to make your next film project. (PS if you’re nervous about it, I’ve got a great list of companies that I enjoy working with – just email me dan@portnoymediagroup.com)

A Clear Ask
One of the new trends is to kind of ask or soft ask. (Have a response device in a mailer but don’t draw attention to it.) It’s confusing. Ask your tribe or don’t. Give them information and thank them, tell them a story or an update but when it’s time to ask don’t “shuffle your feet”. “Do or do not. There is no try?”- Yoda Don’t apologize for raising money to save someones life! When you pause or don’t ask with confidence it can communicate a lot of extra negatives. Either you’re being a good steward with your funds and you can ask with confidence for the ability to carry on this work or you’ve abused this relationship and you’re unsure if this should continue.

Adjust Across Platforms
The web needs to reflect your campaigns. This sounds simple, and it is, but too many times the website is taking a backseat to the agency running a print campaign. remember, you can get more data in 30 minutes from a facebook post (with a vibrant community) than you will on how a mailer responded. (it’s easier for charity:water – to my knowledge they don’t have a regular mailing list, just email)

Community
How are you building it around your project. You have to show the peer to peer influence – don’t just give me some stats – that’s lame. Show me how a human was impacted and made an adjustment in their life for your cause. That will help your community know that this is the kind of action you’re looking for. Read Dan and Chip Heath’s book “Switch” they call it: Highlighting the bright spots.

Ditch the Text
How much text on the charity:water homepage is above the fold? Not that much. Bold statements and a video. This short film will do more than 3 pages of text could ever do to communicate a story. Now look at your website. I run into a lot of NPO’s trying to communicate everything that they do all at the same time. That’s not story telling, it’s asking people to drink from a fire hose and how long would you hang around if that’s all you could do. It’s not connection – it’s offensive. Don’t be offensive.. but you know that already.

Congratulations to Scott Harrison and the team at charity:water for hitting another homerun. I admire your work and you’re all top shelf in my book.

Breaking this information down and getting it working for your organization is what Portnoy Media does best. So if this is feeling like a lot and you’re interested in telling your story better and developing community around your brand – give us a shout. Nonprofits, over 40% of your annual revenue is less than 120 days away!!

Office Number 626.487.9823

Tuesday’s launch of comedian Michael Jr’s “O1″ video on Funny or Die.com was a great one for us at PMG. The sketch made it all the way to the homepage as one of their trending videos.

Here’s a picture:

With nearly 1,000 views in just 48 hours since it’s launch – we’re thrilled to be producing collaborative high quality shorts. Plus, Michael is bringing the funny!

Watch the short here.. and don’t forget to vote!

Ben Stiller and Stiller Foundation launched a video 2 weeks back about an organization involving Jennifer Aniston and the idea of her being naked. This video preys on the natural behavior on the web (that many people want to see her naked) and give it the old Bait and Switch (because she’s not going to be naked) I’m sure this results in some serious clicks.

Sadly, clicks are not the name of the game when it comes to donor development and brand champions. This video is a great grab for acquisition to a whole bunch of people that probably don’t get asked to help kids in Haiti. (Which is fantastic!) Here’s a breakdown on the video launch.

What he did that was great:

Splash – Using the star power super effectively, Stiller uses his and that of Anistons for fun and with purpose. I applaud Stiller for the brash nature of what he’s doing. The status quo is not getting it done in Haiti so bucking the system is a great start.

A Talkable Video – It’s highly sharable and because of the nature of the video saw exposure on morning talk shows and lots of blog posts. So many nonprofits just communicate facts and forget that they’re crafting a narrative around their brand. Stiller knows this and doesn’t forget.

What could’ve been better:

Nonprofit Youtube Channel – There’s great use of title cards at the end. They show where you can connect to the Stiller Foundation but it would’ve been super hot to allow users to just click the annotations in the video. I’ve written about Annotations inside YouTube videos before (Thanks again for talking about it Weber Shandwick, call me!) and they put a potential donor really close to engagement in your campaigns. Any 501(c)3 can apply for one at google.com/nonprofits

What’s Next? – The question that is always asked. If I do decide to visit the site, the call to action is to support the foundation financially, also a bold move, but it looks like that’s it. There’s connection if I want to click to facebook or twitter (also good) but what about a call to join the email list? Is there an email list?? I couldn’t find one easily. What if in that email was a system of 2-4 auto-responders that explained why Ben felt so strongly to spend his money, effort and energy in this idea. That’s a great story and you’d have me hooked and I’d guess a lot more people too.

Interesting to note:

Impact – With nearly 2 Million followers on Twitter I’d expect a 2 week old video to have more impressions (call me picky). It’s a great video (for reasons mentioned above) but it tells me that the impact for cause related media is not why many of his followers are there. I’d be thinking through how to convert them from observers to participants.

PS. My favorite role of Stiller has to be Tony Perkis in Heavyweights.

A prequel to the Ocean’s franchise – Michael Jr shows what it looks like before Danny Ocean was involved.

As a continuation in his series of cinematic shorts like Blackberry, “O1″ takes it to the next level of funny.

Portnoy Media produced the video, coordinated the shoot and brought in top notch talent to make it possible.

We’re pleased to continue our partnership with Michael Jr. Check out his site here

the crew at Cool It are giving away a Cool It Prize Pack – The film on DVD and the book The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg. Lomborg is known for going against the flow in the modern debate of carbon footprints and green activities that the world should be investing in. As a result, he’s become terribly popular and infamous at the same time.

So sign up today to win the prize pack – the email itself is full of small things that subscribers can do in their day to day that helps the environment and doesn’t hurt your wallet.

Cool It is released by 1019 Entertainment – a venture from Terry Botwick (Veggie Tales) and Ralph Winter (X-Men, Planet of the Apes)

As part of the ongoing [the films of] series, Kees van Dijkhuizen released a super cut of Pixar and it’s captivating.

If I mention Pixar what do you think of? It is their story capability, their business savvy or their critical acclaim?

Pixar is an easy example of a group that understands the concept and execution of story. The realism that they can bring to fanciful characters and the ability to evoke emotions from an audience more than any other studio.

Their savvy as a studio is of serious note when you think that they’ve made more money with fewer films than any other studio in the history of film.

With over 40 Oscar nominations and nearly a dozen wins on their feature films, their critical acclaim is nothing to balk at either. So what’s the secret to balancing a formula with great artistic creativity? It’s part art and part science and it depends on who’s in the mix every time. A project being helmed by John Lasseter is going to look and feel slightly different than when it’s being helmed by Andrew Stanton or Brett Bird. The science or principles of story are broad strokes and the art is in the fine details.

So how do they score so consistently?

They Focus
Instead of trying to release several films a year like some other studios they focus on one. Doing one thing well tells me more than several decent things. That’s not to say that what some of the other studios are doing is bad, it’s not. What’s the enemy of the best? It’s not the bad – it’s the good.

They Risk
Pixar has a distinct culture, in part because they aren’t in Southern California. They’re sequestered away with the rest of silicon valley. This didn’t happen overnight. Their culture has been cultivated over 20 years by constantly asking what works and improving on their systems. Remember Pixar was on the ropes for many years before Toy Story’s success. They know what it’s like to win Oscars and still be sweating the electric bill. The entrepreneurial spirit is part of their DNA and they aren’t afraid to take risks. Explain the story of Wall-E in a few sentences and mention that their’s no dialog for the first 40 minutes but instead we’ll be drawn into the emotions of the characters solitude. I’ve been in pitch meetings and I can’t imagine that working. It’s so risky. Pixar made a bold move and we love them for it.

They Lead
I can’t tell you how many times I’m seeing their story experts leading a seminar or workshop (and on occasion, I’ve attended). I think I receive an email about it at least once a month. I couldn’t tell you the last time I got an invite from another studio hailing their story experts.

They Innovate
When was the last time you were looking forward to a short in front of a movie? I bet it was before a Pixar movie. What started as a way to test out new technology for their films has become an added bonus for us as viewers. R&D is going to happen for every company but how many have turned that into something with added value for their customers/their tribe? Below is a behind the scenes look at the short Night & Day.

So How do you get started telling a better story about your company or your organization? Sign up for the Portnoy Media Group email list and I’ll give you the introduction and first chapter to my new book ahead of the release date – It comes out in the next few weeks!

PS. A day in the life of John Lasseter

This week it’s for the LULZ!! Join Tiffany as she catches up with Bay Area three piece, Lady Danville. They talk about touring, being high maintenance and solidarity. The episode includes the track “Kids” an MGMT cover – download it today!

Lady Danville’s Website

Subscribe to the podcast

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This past weekend was a big weekend for movie theaters and for Warner Brothers with the triumphant return of “Harry Potter” to theaters for its final installment. The lobby was packed with costumed patrons all saying goodbye in their own way to characters that they’ve come to know and love over the last 14 years. (“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was published on June 30, 1997.)

I’ve read the books and seen the movies and enjoyed them all thoroughly.

As I sat in the dark theater this weekend, surrounded by a myriad of ages and ethnicities, I started to think about the series, the business, the franchise and what made it work. Next I thought about my clients. What principles could we glean from this success? How could these principles be used to cultivate community?

Here’s a few takeaways:

The Content is Remarkable
Bottom Line – It’s a good story. It’s THE story; the hero’s journey is the foundation of every story and what draws us in. J.K. Rowling created a rich, dynamic world for readers to enter. There’s a spinoff series around every corner; she can tell you the story of characters going back 100 years. She looks to connect us to the humanity in the story. We wrestle with the unknown, we feel uneasy when our characters do and we shed a tear in a Starbucks when Dobby dies (maybe that last one was just me). Point is, it’s worth talking about. It’s a great experience and it’s rewarding. There’s intrinsic value to it. Now how many nonprofits are creating remarkable content? Nonprofits that have great value and with great stories to tell – true stories! Stories of the hero’s journey, of life change and of impact. Takeaway: Make the best content you can.

Rabid Fans Spread Rabidly
The engagement and the worldwide spread of Harry Potter is a phenomeon. It’s part art and part science. We know that to tell a good story that it must have certain pieces (science) and it must weave eloquently (art). Rowling’s blending of the two is nothing short of genius. She gives us the story we want but not in the way that we want it. This is the mark of a great storyteller. Spending a few hours with Harry Potter, using our imaginations and joining his friends on an adventure is a great experience. When I was handed the books I was told, “Hurry to the 3rd book, it gets amazing!” and when I finished it, I was having a great time reading. I was having a great time reading?!?!?! It’s not all that often, I read a lot and most of it is to stay informed about issues or a new strategy, but this was pure pleasure and glorious. I wanted to share this experience with others and tell my sphere about this positive experience. Takeaway: Make sure your donor experience is positive!

J.K. Rowling Has a Formula
As each story starts, Harry is introduced to a new concept and sees that the world is bigger than he thought – just like growing up. She starts each story in August just days before Harry’s birthday (a big event in any kid’s life) and every year she introduces a new mode of transportation, a new creature and fills in the gaps on the evil in the world. The truth is: for every similarity she also breaks her rules but always to further the story. This formula gives us tracks to run on, we can get comfortable and then she uses that comfort against us when she’s breaking the rule. Yet we’re not upset. It’s entertaining and it’s great storytelling. Takeaway: Be informative about how your community works but don’t be afraid to push the envelope.

Up the Ante
Building on the formula, the stakes get bigger every time. We see characters die in the “The Sorcerers’ Stone” but they were villains so we don’t feel too terrible. It’s what good does, it triumphs over evil and the minions are left holding the bag. By the time the fourth book gets started and we’re introduced to even more characters, we think we’ve got it figured out but then tragedy. A character dies. Not a distant relative or a story from years past. Cedric Diggory is murdered right in front of Harry Potter. When I read this part is was so abrupt that that I was looking for more exposition on the circumstance. The death of characters continues throughout the books. Characters we’ve come to care about, characters with influence. But this is how life is, no certainty and when conveying your story it’s important to up the tension. It’s crucial to show that the act of donating or volunteering will make a difference but you must ACT – and do it now! It’s also important here to note that the story of “Boy who Cried Wolf” is a very important fundraising lesson. Donor fatigue is all too real in today’s world and we need to be mindful and thank our donors as often as possible.. besides, I’ve never heard someone complain because they just keep getting thanks for their work with a nonprofit. Takeaway: Use tension to create urgency in your story. What time of year is this most appropriate? Remember to say “Thanks”, often.

It Takes Time
It’s easy for us to look at the Harry Potter franchise and say, “It’s obvious this would be a hit.” I don’t think the editor of the first book was thinking that this series would bring in over $21 Billion, spawn a theme park and become a household name. After the fourth installment – some would say the second – it was obvious that this series was going to be big. The big lesson here is that consistency will pay your bills in the tough months as long as the tyranny of the urgent doesn’t distract. So publish on Facebook, update your Twitter profile. Do it often and don’t miss your email updates. You’re making deposits into an emotional bank account for your brand. Takeaway: Winning on the web is a splash for some but most involves daily farming. Be consistent!

Helping organizations be creative in the telling of their story is our specialty. (It’s also one of my more favorite things to do!) We love getting to the heart of what your organization is about and then giving you, and your team, the tools to make a major impact. If your organization needs a boost in how you’re communicating online – Give us a shout on our contact page!

Hussah!! This week we’re pushing the headline of “Local Guy Made Good” and that’s the story with Andy Grammer. You’ve probably heard his song on the radio and this week Tiffany catches up with Andy and talk about his upcoming release (6/14), high school life and songs for his mom. The episode includes the track “Keep Your Head Up” – download it today!

Follow Andy on Twitter

Visit AndyGrammer.com

Buy the self titled EP on iTunes

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This week we hear from the Ladies and more specifically Virginia native Schuyler Fisk! Tiffany catches up with Ms. Fisk about her dream duet, who’d she call if she were in jail and pop culture zombies plus they talk about her latest album Blue Ribbon Winner. Download it today!

Follow Schuyler on Twitter

Friend Schuyler on facebook

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