Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future

Does your brand tell a story?

In Winning the Story Wars, globally recognized storyteller, designer and entrepreneur Jonah Sachs argues that only those brands that tell values-driven stories through the right channels will revolutionize marketing. Above that, they may become humanity’s greatest hope for the future.

It’s no surprise that most of today’s marketing messages are swallowed up in a flood of noise the minute they hit the market, with thousands of ads and emails hitting each recipient on a weekly basis. And those recipients, empowered by social media tools and on-demand viewing, will ignore you in favor of something they’d prefer to seek out themselves. Sachs cites a quote from the former advertising chief at Macy’s and Citigroup to emphasize this point: “The irony is that while there have never been more ways to reach consumers, it's never been harder to connect with consumers.”

For those of us who not only want to be heard, but need to be heard to create a better future—the time has come to cross the chasm with the only strategic approach that has ever really worked: telling great stories.

In Winning the Story Wars, Sachs systematically breaks down how communicators can go beyond the sell by creating stories that inspire people not just to listen, but to proselytize. The President and co-founder of Free Range Studios, Sachs has been a David among Goliaths helping hundreds of for-profit and non-profit organizations rise above the din with campaigns built around the internal structures of ancient myth. Even with a modest budget, his first two viral media efforts—The Meatrix and Store Wars—alone yielded forty million viewers. Drawing on the wisdom of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, Sachs will guide readers to harness myth-making powers of their very own. Weaving prescriptive tools throughout the book, Sachs will help communicators:

• Identify and learn the best myth structures at work today
• Find a tight-knit audience of evangelists to spread the word
• Foster the image of their audience as potential heroes
• Watch the message take on a life of its own

This book will speak to the message-makers in any type of company or organization. The Story Wars have long been underway, now it's time for heroic communicators to turn the tides away from simple selling, and towards real inspiration.