creative writing - Express Writers

A Tale of Crazy Good Marketing Storytelling: Poo~Pourri

December 31, 2020January 11, 2016 by Adam Oakley

We’ve got a pitch for you. Imagine this: a tiny bottle of magical mist you can spray into the toilet to cover up unpleasant bathroom odors. People will love it, right? If you’re like most people, you’re probably thinking, “That’s a crazy idea.” You’re probably also thinking, “Aren’t there already 10,000 products identical to that on the market?” You may even be thinking, “There’s no way that would ever sell.” You’d be right on the first two and dead wrong on the last one. Here’s why it would sell. Let your mind be BLOWN… Be introduced to Poo~Pourri, a wacky “spray before you go” bathroom mist that’s gone viral and sold millions of products. “How,” you ask? Because of its incredibly creative use of brand storytelling. I’m going to dissect just how this crap “made it” (so well, in fact); and five essential lessons you can learn from the way they’re winning. Let’s proceed! Who (or What) is Poo Pourri? Head to the Poo~Pourri website and you’ll find a page that immediately resembles something from Alice in Wonderland, complete with an embedded video of a pretty princess who is, presumably, squatting on her porcelain throne. The entire page, from the font to the color scheme is decidedly elegant and playful. And, at first glance, the only thing that really clues you into what the product is all about (besides the name, of course) is the slogan beneath the brand’s logo: “Spritz the bowl before you go and no one else will ever know.” Before we hop down the rabbit hole of what makes Poo Pourri such a genius brand, it’s important to understand where the brand came from in the first place. At the top of the page, beneath a header titled “The Magic of Poo,” there’s an “About us” section (it’s called “The Story of Poo”). We must warn you, though, this “About us” is likely different than any you’ve ever seen. It starts out innocent enough: the founder’s name is Suzy and she started the brand as the “first natural, truly effective solution to a universal problem.” In her words, “Poop happens, and it stinks!” She goes on to encourage you to “Take a shift!” and allow Poo Pourri to liberate you from “toxic thoughts and ingredients” because, hey, you’ve “got more important crap to worry about!” Does this introduction have the six-year old inside of you giggling and blushing? Good, because we get the distinct feeling that that’s exactly what Suzy is going for. We’re willing to bet, however, that you’re also silently acknowledging that Suzy is indeed right. This is a universal problem. And therein lies the first stroke of genius. Since its inception, Poo-Pourri has sold more than 4 million products and that number only continues to climb. These products are neat little 2 – 4 oz spritz sprays, all natural with essential oils and no parabens or chemicals (which I personally love!), and start around $9.95 without shipping per bottle. The products even have cute little names, and the product descriptions themselves maintain the storytelling vibe. Even if you agree that nicely-packaged bathroom spray is a sensible idea, it still seems almost unbelievable that such a company should experience such runaway success. It’s happening though, and the brand owes it all to storytelling. Something we talk a lot about (here, and here, for instance.) How Poo Pourri Rocks Storytelling Remember that embedded video on the main page of Poo~Pourri’s website? Well, they made a few original stories with the same lovely British redhead – 12, to be exact. Delight yourself in the crappiness of their entire channel, here. Hilarious, right? Hilarious and slightly cringe-worthy, as well. The latter part owes largely to the fact that that video may be the single most daring and honest marketing video you’ve ever seen. Honesty is a theme that runs throughout the website. From the unique section titled “Let’s Talk Crap” at the bottom of the home page (where you’ll also find the below “Hey Girl” gem) to the attractive product photos throughout the site, the brand’s home page manages to be hilarious, bawdy, and just sophisticated enough to pull it all off. How does Poo~Pourri pull it off, though? And how do they take all of that storytelling and transform it into something that genuinely helps the brand make sales? The answer is that they use a series of tried and true marketing tactics that they infuse with their own individual flavor. 5 Marketing Lessons to Learn from the Storytelling Genius of Poo~Pourri Here are the top 5 things we could all learn from Poo Pourri. 1. Know your audience You’ve heard this before and you’ll hear it again but, come on, is there a brand out there that knows its audience better than Poo-Pourri? Doubtful. It’s clear from the get-go that Poo-Pourri is aimed at young, eco-conscious females everywhere that are having a hard time bucking the social norms associated with bathroom business. If you need extra evidence of this, consider the video titled “Girls Don’t Poop.” The video underlines the product’s quality by boasting that Poo-Pourri has more 5-star ratings on Amazon than the iPhone 5. It also offers a good-natured nudge at self-consciousness that generally surrounds bathroom visits. As Entrepreneur points out in their article on the company, “Everyone has a use for a spray that makes bathrooms smell fresh, but Poopourri did not target every Tom, Dick, and Harry.” Because of this, the brand is dominating while other bathroom spray brands are…stinking. 2. Be bold If there’s one thing Poo-Pourri doesn’t do, it’s tread lightly. Phrases like “dirty little secret,” “tiny astronauts,” “chocolate éclair,” “intestinal cigar,” and “heaping dump” are prevalent throughout the brand’s advertisements. And, yes, while we know that the majority of those phrases are enough to make you blush, they’re also bold. One of the best things this brand does is remove the timid language that often surrounds the topic of bathroom use. In doing so, they make the topic relatable and create an … Read more

The Art of Storytelling: Is Your Story Worth Talking About?

January 1, 2021October 2, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Anyone who has ever heard the story of Scheherazade (pictured in our featured image) knows that storytelling can be a lifesaving skill. In the tale, Scheherazade was destined for beheading by a bored and vengeful King. A skilled storyteller, however, Scheherazade managed to keep herself alive for 1,001 nights by telling the King stories. At the end of 1,001 nights, the King decided to spare her life and realized, in the process, that he had actually fallen in love with her. For content marketers, the tale of Scheherazade is more than just entertaining – it’s a framework for success. Storytelling is one of the best ways for companies today to set themselves apart from the competition. Additionally, it is a fantastic way to reinforce company values and add interest to your products, goods and services. In today’s world of competitive content marketing, the only way to truly be heard is to tell a story that is better than everyone else’s. What is Storytelling In Content Marketing? For many communications professionals, storytelling may seem unrelated to business. With tools like traditional advertising and PPC ads under their belts, many marketers fail to see the value of storytelling, which is often regarded as a fanciful pastime. Storytelling can be fairytales, yes, but it can also be the process of producing a human connection through great business writing. Whether you realize it or not, there is no successful product, business or site on the web today that doesn’t utilize storytelling in its content marketing. This is because storytelling is one of the most effective ways to spike customer interest and encourage increased interaction. In order to purchase a product, a customer needs to feel a connection with that product. This only happens when they can see themselves using the product or when they fully understand what makes it special. This, in turn, only happens when the person creating the content for a given company is capable of telling a story that sucks customers in and keeps them interested. A great story transcends traditional facts and figures and evokes a strong response from customers. Additionally, telling a great story helps to create “sticky” memories that remain with customers long after the story has ended. Content marketing provides the ideal vessel for great storytelling and, when done correctly, it can easily help a company reinforce their values in the eyes of their customers. It can be difficult, however, for Type-A company mindsets to wrap their heads around the fact that something as seemingly “fluffy” as storytelling can actually help boost their business in large ways. Fortunately, we’re not making this up and the first step of telling a great story is simply finding out whether or not your story is worth telling in the first place. The 4 Types of Stories Worth Telling Whether or not you realize it, storytelling in content marketing is almost exactly like storytelling in novels or journalistic content. Stories, at their core, are archetypal and storytelling in content marketing is no different. The 4 types of stories that are worth telling in a content marketing setting are as follows: 1. The Origin Story Where did your company come from? How was it born? Was there a colossal failure that leads to success? Telling your origin story helps customers find something to relate to within your company, which in turn helps them build loyalty. Customers love a shared mindset. Take Cory’s Cookies for example. With an origin story like that, how could you resist? 2. The Product Story Why did you create the product? If you answer is “to make a bunch of money and add more consumer junk to the mainstream” you can bet you won’t be very successful. People want to know why your product is different and what inspired it. Canadian clothing manufacturer Lululemon tells their product story by including a “why we made this” segment in every product description on their website. 3. The Customer Story How has your product affected the life of your customers? Why do they love it? What do they do with it? Potential customers look to existing customer reviews as a main source of information when making purchasing decisions, which means that by including the customer story in your marketing, you can help inspire confidence in your potential clients. 4. The “What I Stand for Story” Think about Apple’s wildly successful “Think Different” campaigns. Why were they such a runaway landslide of success? Because the marketing department of that company is and has always been great at extolling the virtues of exactly what the company stands for: end-to-end integration, beautiful products, seamless software, art and technology combined into one package. As a result, Apple has an absolute cult following of people who want to stand for those things, too. Five Tips for Great Storytelling In terms of execution, storytelling for content marketing and storytelling for book writing diverge slightly. Since content marketing storytelling is designed to invoke a response from customers, it follows a different set of guidelines than novel-based storytelling does. Incorporate these 5 tips for great storytelling in your content: 1. Give the Story a Message: As is true with other sectors of marketing, it is important to know whom you’re writing to and what you want to convey. In order to create great story, begin by asking yourself about your target audience. Are they young or old? What do they care about? Where do they live? What are the values experiences and concerns that they are most likely to connect with? How much money do they make? These questions will help you hone your statements to get right to the heart of your audience. Additionally, it will help you devise a moral and construct a story your target audience will love. 2. Include Your Experiences: We’ve all heard the saying “Write what you know” and storytelling in content marketing is no difference. In order to tell a great story, you need to mine your life experiences in order … Read more

How Creative Writing Has Changed the World for the Better

December 31, 2020August 3, 2015 by Adam Oakley

From Chaucer to Rowling, creative writing has often been the boon to our stressful, busy world. It started as a way to maintain folklore tradition and tell us tales of knights in shining armor who brought whole countries together (King Arthur). But creative writing has now become an absolutely powerful force for good. We see the wisdom of Gandalf and Baggins (Lord of the Rings)… …The humor of Bridget Jones, and the horror that only Stephen King (The Shining) can produce. Whether you read or write a high fantasy novel or an epic crime drama, there will be an amazing impact. Creative writers of all types have brought about amazing results for the world and all they did was grab the nearest pen, typewriter, or computer and got down to writing. I want to take a look at just how powerful creative writing has been for our society and just how it has changed the world for the better. 7 Amazing Instances of Creative Writing Impacting the World Creative writing has been a huge part of making the world a better place. Here are some awesome instances of just how powerful it is. 1. It Captured Oral Tradition Giving Us Amazing Stories to Look Back At. When you think of creative writing, one of the first things many think of is the stories of the Brothers Grimm. They are dark and full of terrors, but those stories are also incredible for many reasons. One reason these stories are so immensely powerful isn’t just because they provided us with great fairy tales that influenced our popular films, but they also captured history. The Brothers Grimm traveled around, learning some of the popular folklore that was told in one way and one way only – orally. We all know how much impact those stories had (just look at all the Disney films we have). What would have happened if the Brothers Grimm hadn’t stored these stories? What would the world look like now? What a fascinating, and slightly terrifying thought to think. By writing down these creative folk stories, the Brothers Grimm opened a whole new world of creative possibility. 2. Creative Writing Has Shown Immense Power in Physical Health. When the Brothers Grimm popularized creative literature, they probably didn’t realize what this would mean for the world. A huge impact that all creative writing has had, no matter its age, genre, or format, is that of improving physical and mental health. There are so many amazing health benefits when you read creative literature, and that is a pretty awesome impact if you ask me. When you write creatively, you can see some health benefits such as the ability to improve your memory and have a great format to release pent up emotions. Reading creative literature also gives you immense health benefits including better cognition, relieving stress, and helping you sleep. That’s right, if you have a hard time sleeping, reading a good book might just be what you need. The great thing about this is that creative writing and literature doesn’t have to be one type of thing – it can be anything. It can be a comic book, a science fiction novel, the latest study, or a great nonfiction book. 3. A Simple Novella Can be a Letter to a Loved One. Another way that creative writing has made the world a better place is actually something rather small. But, as well all know, those small things add up to something major in the end. Neil Gaiman is an amazing author with an impressive range of works including The Ocean at the End of the Lane. While this seems like a jaunt into urban fantasy, there is something much deeper. This story started out as a simple, small letter to his soon-to-be-wife, Amanda Palmer. He wanted to make sure she knew things about him, and he wanted to share his life with her, and creative writing was what helped him achieve this. It ended up turning into an absolutely gorgeous novella, but his small action was something Amanda greatly appreciated. It might not have made a worldwide impact, but a small gesture through creative writing can change someone’s world for the better. And Amanda experienced something that many of us would absolutely enjoy. 4. Creative Writing Might Send You to San Francisco with Flowers in Your Hair. When you look at the world of creative writing, there are so many facets. There are books, ad campaigns, music, and more. The 1960s and 1970s were a powerful decade when it came to moving and emotional creative writing. The United States was at war with Viet Nam, with protestors calling for peace. America and the entire world were also on the cusp of major social change. And music and creative writing had an important role to play. We had songs about peace, encouraging people to avoid war and work together to meet a resolution without the shedding of blood. People marched singing these songs, hung around in large groups with these songs, and many were backdrops to some of the most intense and saddest moments in American history. Not only did we have songs about peace, but we also had songs about racial problems around the world but specifically in America. We had books such as To Kill a Mockingbird that highlighted these problems and a speech no one will ever forget: “I have a dream…” 5. Fiction and Creative Writing Help Create Literate Children and Adults. I’ll admit, when it comes to creative writing and literature, my go-to author is Neil Gaiman. He has great wisdom about creative writing and its importance and he often illustrates that importance himself. In an article for The Guardian, Neil talks about the importance of creative writing, specifically that of fiction. He points out how fiction can improve someone’s life, no matter if they are reading to escape, learn, or have fun. He believes, and rightly so, that with literature, we open the door to … Read more