Because of the potential competitive advantage that results from StoryTellings™, a number of our clients require that we do not publicly divulge that we are working with them. We honor their need for confidentiality. Some of those clients who are at liberty to talk about their work with StoryTellings™ have the following to say:

"Ford is an iconic American brand. Our challenge was to understand what Ford ‘means’ to the American public at a deep and powerfully emotional level. We knew traditional qualitative research was not going to give us what we needed. We worked with Edward Wachtman and StoryTellings™ to identify those words, images, and symbols that are the essential core of the Ford brand story...those words and images that speak to the heart of Americans. The results of the StoryTellings™ research are becoming an integral part of Ford’s communication strategy."

Ford Commercial #1 - (WMV format)
Ford Commercial #2 - (WMV format)
Windows Media Player Required - Speakers Recommended

Michael Bentley
Executive Vice President
J. Walter Thompson

“For a company that is built upon a cultural foundation of individuality and diversity where every employee, every hotel and every restaurant has its own unique and compelling story, hiring Edward to help us further decode our brand DNA was truly an inspired choice. The work he and his stellar team conducted for us was absolutely brilliant and exceeded my very high expectations. What we had originally understood about our brand turned out to be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Through the Storytellings process, we were able to uncover a number of ‘core’ themes and a brand meta-story that has provided us a far deeper and valuable means of understanding what really matters to both our guests and our employees. Edward’s work will have a long-lasting impact in shaping and growing our brand. On top of all that, Edward is delight to work with...he brings experience, insight and humor, along with equal parts anthropology, mythology and wizardry to his craft.”

Mark Campbell
Sr. Vice President, Branding & Communications
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

"I had the pleasure of working closely with Edward Wachtman on a project for M&M’s, one of our clients. The client and the BBDO team were very impressed with the way the StoryTellings™ methodology brought out the deepest meanings of the M&M’s brand. Unlike other methodologies which claim to understand consumer motivations, StoryTellings™ got to the underlying patterns and emotional relevance of the M&M’s brand through the stories and images people constructed themselves. These insights will have a lasting impact on brand advertising and product directions. I would recommend this process for anyone who wants a deeper, more meaningful connection of their brand to the consumer."

Timothy Malefyt, Ph.D.
Director of Cultural Discoveries
BBDO Worldwide

StoryTellings™ is the most powerful qualitative research technique I have ever experienced.  It is the only tool I know that helps you identify the intuitive, mythical, non-verbal, body language components of a brand.  For a while, I was describing it to people as “focus groups on steroids,” but that doesn’t do it justice.  If you want to find out how best to connect your product with your customer on an emotional level, I strongly recommend the StoryTellings™ process. It is a Creative Directors dream.

Bob Prewitt 
President, Dana Communications

"Intrawest has been using stories to drive business performance for more than fifteen years. Over that time Edward's extensive background in myth and storytelling has influenced our thinking about stories. It has provided key insights into the development of Intrawest’s unique way of marketing and selling resort real estate. We have branded this process as storyselling™. When one our companies was going through a period of reorganization and restructuring, Edward tailored his StoryTellings™ research process so that we could use our intranet to collect stories from employees. His analysis and interpretation of these stories helped us understand our culture at a level far deeper and more comprehensive than ever before. It is helping us immensely as we move forward."

Michael Coyle
Executive Vice President
Intrawest Placemaking

“At AIR MILES, we are a consumer-driven reward program that depends on our ability to listen to the Collector voice.  With 72% of Canadians active in one of the world’s most successful coalition loyalty programs, we have made a business out of listening to consumer needs and wants, and using customer information and data analytics to change behaviours.   But, as we laid the groundwork for a brand re-launch in 2005 we recognized the need for a deeper understanding of the emotional drivers of customer loyalty.  We engaged Edward Wachtman and StoryTellings™ to explore what it means to feel rewarded.  The experience was a remarkable one.   With groups across Canada in English and French, we discovered new insights that had never been heard in focus groups.  We were amazed by the fact that in the diverse stories that we collected, we heard a single underlying theme that resonated with our employees and echoed the voice of our Collectors.   As we have moved forward, StoryTellings™ has been a key input into our brand positioning, our customer voice and creative strategy.”

Caroline Papadatos
Cheif Knowledge Officer
The Loyalty Group

"Our agency’s challenge was to take a national brand to the next level. A close associate recommended Edward and his StoryTellings™ as a way to understand this brand at a much deeper, archetypal level. We conducted a number of StoryTellings™ sessions and the results were dramatic. Through consumer stories, we gained valuable insights that would not have been possible in more traditional market research. More importantly, we are developing this brand’s story in a way that directly connects it to the personal stories of consumers; potentially strengthening the emotional bond consumers have with the brand. We are at the beginning of our journey, but all indications suggest that StoryTellings™ gave us the breakthrough that we were hoping for. Every time we revisit the research results with Edward, we discover additional insights…the brand story grows richer all the time."

Stuart Grau
President
Avrett Free and Ginsberg

"StoryTellings™ was recommended to us by colleagues from the hotel industry. The objective of this research was to break out of more conventional ways of thinking and understand our customers’ unspoken needs and wants using their stories. StoryTellings™ allowed us to solicit true out-of-the-box ideas and establish a revitalized roadmap for our marketing concept that truly reflects the needs and wants of our customers."

Nancy Celetti
VP Marketing
Earl’s Restaurants, Ltd.

"I shared the Ford Story findings with the Corporate Advertising Group and their agency. Well, yesterday I saw some awesome creative on the Ford Story. It is emotional, relevant and timeless. The Ford story is getting out. Thanks for the awesome job you did conducting the groups and in helping us understand the message, meaning and myth of our brand. And thank you for a great summary report; the agency found it very helpful saying ‘it was something creatives can sink their teeth into'."

Christine Stasiw Lazarchuk
Director - Global Consumer Insights and Futuring
The Ford Motor Company

"As an office of architects and designers, we constantly work with clients in creating, designing and building projects that are based on a story in order to deliver a great guest experience. But amazingly, we never thought about 'our story' until we met and talked with Edward and went through the StoryTellings™ process ourselves. Through his guidance, we learned so much about ourselves as an organization that we're now in the process of using "our story" as a cornerstone for connecting to existing and potential clients. And the results are starting to show!"

Rebecca Martinez
Director of Marketing
The Cuningham Group

Printer Friendly version