The Story

Recently I’ve gained a new level of respect for the challenges our clients face. Not because of the economy, not because of competition, or anything like that. More because they’ve got me constantly harping at them, telling them to prove their stories…preaching that they need to have a spine, stand up for what […]

My last mini case study explored the fluffy French power room that is Anthropologie. This time I’m going to concentrate on a slightly-less-feminine company called Tao of Tea. Not many of you have probably visited Tao, since it is a local Portland establishment. However, you may have heard of the tea house, […]

I recently had the chance to stay at the Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallin, Estonia - a new, hip, modern hotel. I was really impressed by the way the hotel stayed true to its brand through their interior design choices. They had a clear nature theme, which contrasted (pleasantly) with the […]

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Starbucks is undergoing a lot of changes in an effort to get back to their core. (Check out this article about Howard Schultz’s return in TIME magazine.) One of the changes includes getting rid of the popular breakfast sandwiches - a truly sad moment for several […]

Today I’ll take a break from my branding and multi-sensory marketing soapbox and report about an interesting experience I recently had. A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking at the Best Marketing Password 2008 conference in the Baltics. First stop was Vilnius, Lithuania. Then it was on to Riga, […]

I went to Caprial’s Bistro for dinner recently - a well known Portland restaurant - and had a very interesting experience when ordering wine. There was no wine list…instead, the entire back wall of the restaurant was covered in shelves with bottles of wine. When you are ready to order your wine, you […]

“The Finishing Touch” is the fifth article in a five-part series about using multi-sensory marketing and experiential branding in the banking industry. The articles were authored by CBC’s Jeff Stephens for ABA’s Bank Marketing magazine, which is running the series during this fall/winter.
Branding With All Five Senses
Part five of a 5-part Series on Multi-Sensory Branding […]

On a recent trip to Southern California, I got my first taste of Pinkberry, the fast-growing frozen yogurt chain taking over LA and NY. Each one had the store concept I had heard so much about - the hanging lamps, pebble floors, ghost chairs, etc. The stores are cool, and the frozen yogurt […]

We’re proud to announce that The Story is now listed on the AdAge Power150 – the world’s top media and marketing blogs as ranked by Todd Andrlik at Advertising Age. Though we concentrate on bank and credit union branding, the ideas presented in our blog are relevant for folks far outside the financial services […]

Dan and Chip Heath, the progressive authors of the popular “Made To Stick” book, recently documented the importance of thinking outside the box, by thinking inside the box in their recent Fast Company article, “Get Back In The Box.” The article leads-off by discussing the idea from a bank manager to redesign its bank […]