Story Mining: finding the unique story of a brand or

companyHow top marketers think about storytelling

By Lemon Scented Tea

The Storytelling ExpeditionsTogether with Adfo Groep Lemon Scented Tea is organising Storytelling Expeditions: three boat trips on the Amsterdam canals, where marketers and storytelling specialists will discuss the do’s and don’t’s of storytelling. The theme of the first edition was Story Mining; finding the unique story of a brand or company. The session started off with a quote from John Weich, author of the book 'Storytelling on Steroids‘: ‘Storytelling is a company strategy, not a communication tool’.  

How top marketers think about storytelling

10 takeouts

“When you see the stories of a company solely as content, you wont do that company justice. The story

should be leading, and be deeply embedded in the boardroom.” – Gijsbregt Vijn, Lemon Scented Tea

“All organisations have stories that can be gathered from employees in every layer of the company. After finding

those stories, companies should spread them in the rest of the company. Every employee should be able to get inspiration from the stories of other employees.” – All

participants

“A company can have multiple important stories, that can be used for different occasions.” – Coen Olde Olthof, KPN

“Isn’t storytelling just a different name for advertising?” – Karin De Loos, independent marketing consultant

“Storytelling is different from advertising: it is the glue that keeps a company together and connects different

parts of the organisation.” – Friso Westerberg, Nuon

“The feeling behind a brand is becoming more and more important. The story is the connection between internal and external parts of the company: if they differ to much

it is hard to bring the story out to the public.” – Mayke van Keep, Issuemakers

“Story Mining, doing internal interviews, is the foundation of the brand and it’s marketing

communication.” - Gijsbregt Vijn, Lemon Scented Tea

“Storytelling is about what your company really does. Everyone outside of the company tells stories about your company, so you have to talk along with them.” – Coen

Olde Olthof, KPN

“The time that a brand could sell stories based on bullshit is over. Nowadays you make your brand with your customers and their stories; it’s a process of co-

creation.” – Coen Olde Olthof, KPN

“International storytelling is harder than it looks: different countries with different cultures and, on the

more practical side, different budgets, still need to sell one story. The best way to do this? A story with

minimalized noise, as close as possible to the soul of the company.” – Sabine van de Velde, Diageo