Nicolas Roope thinks that a brand’s story is what makes it strong.
The founder and ECD of the London-based digital agency Poke said at Percolate’s “Transition” conference that companies “without a grasp of their truth” can’t survive in today’s world, where social and mobile are king.
Take the case of Tesla. Roope said that the story felt like it was baked right into the core. By making the first high-performance sports car that runs on a battery, the company has “given us a product that satisfies both our desire to be good energy consumers and our desire to show how successful and manly we are.” They have, in other words, “gave us hope for the future.”
Journalists are moving toward content marketing.
This story is also what led journalist Hamish McKenzie to leave Pando for Tesla. McKenzie wrote on Medium, “I would not leave Pando or journalism for any old reason. Elon Musk, a man I have a lot of respect and admiration for, offered me a job as a writer at Tesla Motors to write about the company, the car, and the cause: “starting an electric car revolution that will help wean the world off fossil fuels.”
Compare this to Chevrolet, the company that makes the Volt. According to the website for the car, hybrid owners who charge their cars regularly can drive an average of 900 miles without stopping at a gas station. But, as Roope said, the Suburban is also made by Chevrolet. “And they can’t make the two fit together. It feels like there are still too many problems within the business and with who they are for this to be a huge success.
Roope first used this lesson when he started making cell phone handpieces with a retro look and selling them on eBay in 2002. Pokia, who is now called Hulger, was born there.
In just a few short years, the new company found a market that grew to include about 50 countries. Roope said that the reason was because “we weren’t dealing with marketing, we were dealing with the story, with the core.” With each handpiece, Roope was rebelling against the rest of the world’s phone makers, who were all in a race to make the smallest device with the most features.
Years later, when technology changed again, Roope made a product that fit with his background as an artist. Plumen came out in 2010 and was the first low-energy lightbulb in the world.
The press release for the company’s first bulb said, “Isn’t it strange that the bulb, which is so often associated with ideas, doesn’t have much imagination?”
In an interview with Contently, Roope said that the company had “a mission,” which was “if we’re in a period of transition, if we’re in a period of change, embrace that change and look for the exciting possibilities that emerge and design around those.”
They did this to find “a way to make a magical object that makes people feel like they’re making progress.”
Roope said that Steve Jobs understood this, which is why Apple is the company it is today.
He said, “Their success doesn’t come from being a great marketing company.” “Their success comes from being single-minded and realising that their stories and marketing are everywhere. I’m just surprised that the business world hasn’t learned from it.”