In 1985, Michael Jordan was named Rookie of the Year. People still smoked cigarettes in their living rooms and at restaurants. Nintendo released the NES just two months before Christmas. And my parents took out a small classified ad in the back of the LA Times to advertise their antique business.
Because in 1985, everyone still read the newspaper.
Do you remember the Yellow Pages? Yes, the printed book, usually dropped off at your doorstep, filled with phone numbers and ads. Those ole Yellow Pages adverts were costly, but they were effective.
Because in 1985, everyone used the Yellow Pages.
What makes marketing and advertising so different today is that there is no one medium everyone uses anymore. Multiple channels exist - social media, search engines, web citations, directories, and more. And even being present on all these channels is not enough because competition is relentless.
Big box marketing budgets, online e-commerce giants, or the law office down the street with a marketing budget more significant than your annual salary is the reality for small businesses.
It's why we exist.
We started 4Stories for you - the Underdog: the store owner, the service provider, and the creatives. We see you. And we have learned that telling a story is the best way to help your brand stand out. And that is precisely what we do. We craft and tell stories.
We'd love to tell yours.
The 4Stories Story
TEAM MEMBERS
Brianna Dawn
Managing Director
Rande Vick
Founder, Designer
Brian Oliva
Story Strategist
Judah Cyrus
Copywriter
ORIGIN STORY
Do you remember the first time you died? I do.
Mrs. Clifton, my second-grade teacher -- who always wore a pearl necklace --made us memorize short poems and recite them in front of the class every Friday. I hated it. Mostly because I was unduly shy, and the dread of standing in front of 29 judgmental seven-year-olds is enough to frighten the hardest of men.
The first time I had to stand in the front of the class - knees wobbly, heart-racing, voice shaking - I died.
But I loved finding the story in the poems. I loved wrestling with the words to ransack them of their meaning. This would instill in me a life-long love affair with words.
Soon enough, I started writing my own stories. By the time I was in college, I started to pay attention to the way people could be moved, inspired, and challenged by story. I. Was. Hooked.
Eventually, I found my way with words playing an important role in my work. Business storytelling moves mountains. Stories connect people. A well-crafted story communicates in ways that disarm and draw readers in. And that is meaningful work to me.
This is why I started 4Stories Media. I believe that storytelling - done right - is the most powerful marketing tool known to humankind. Far beyond any algorithms.