One of the nice things about having two daughters—ages 12 and 10—is that they like for me to watch certain TV shows with them. Cupcake Wars, Once Upon a Time and Project Runway areour favorites. As a content creator, Project Runway stands out to me with some really great lessons on how to be a fantastic storyteller.
3 Tips from Tim Gunn
- Know your Girl: Heidi is always pressing the designers, “Who’s your girl? Where’s she going?” This obsession for designing for a real person with taste and an aesthetic is something marketers should strive to reach. Too often companies tell me they don’t have personas or they don’t use them. It’s crazy—how can you have a conversation if you don’t know to whom it is that you’re speaking?
- Edit: The judges often tell the designers, “You just didn’t edit enough. It’s like you couldn’t decide what you wanted it to be.” Or Tim Gunn will say, “Pick a focal point.” We make that same exact mistake all the time with content and storytelling. We don’t decide exactly what we want people to remember. The best advice is to begin with the end in mind. What do you want people to do? Only persuade them down that path.
- Take risks: Too often designers are sent home because they “played it safe.” Fashion is fun. So is content and storytelling. What may appeal to one person won’t appeal to the next. You need to decide who your people are, and take risks with them. As Tim Gunn says, “Make it work!”
For more insights, download our infographic, The 10 Commandments of Content.
