by Kevin Coupe
Yesterday, in a parenthetical context, I wrote:
“By the way, I see that Taylor Swift has been shortlisted for the Time Person of the Year cover. While I think the whole concept is anachronistic, I do think that there’s no question that she should be the winner – Taylor Swift has been an economic force, creative joy and bright spot in an otherwise rather dismal year. But I digress.”
I got that one right. (Not that it was hard.). Time this morning announced that Taylor Swift is its Person of the Year.
An excerpt from the story:
“Swift’s accomplishments as an artist – culturally, critically, and commercially – are so legion that to recount them seems almost beside the point. As a pop star, she sits in rarefied company, alongside Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna; as a songwriter, she has been compared to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Joni Mitchell. As a businesswoman, she has built an empire worth, by some estimates, over $1 billion. And as a celebrity – who by dint of being a woman is scrutinized for everything from whom she dates to what she wears – she has long commanded constant attention and knows how to use it … But this year, something shifted. To discuss her movements felt like discussing politics or the weather—a language spoken so widely it needed no context. She became the main character of the world.
“If you’re skeptical, consider it: How many conversations did you have about Taylor Swift this year? How many times did you see a photo of her while scrolling on your phone? Were you one of the people who made a pilgrimage to a city where she played? Did you buy a ticket to her concert film? Did you double-tap an Instagram post, or laugh at a tweet, or click on a headline about her? Did you find yourself humming ‘Cruel Summer’ while waiting in line at the grocery store? Did a friend confess that they watched clips of the Eras Tour night after night on TikTok? Or did you?”
Time goes on:
“It’s hard to see history when you’re in the middle of it, harder still to distinguish Swift’s impact on the culture from her celebrity, which emits so much light it can be blinding. But something unusual is happening with Swift, without a contemporary precedent. She deploys the most efficient medium of the day – the pop song – to tell her story. Yet over time, she has harnessed the power of the media, both traditional and new, to create something wholly unique – a narrative world, in which her music is just one piece in an interactive, shape-shifting story. Swift is that story’s architect and hero, protagonist and narrator.”
Here’s the larger business lesson:
The concept of narrative is critical to understanding Taylor Swift’s mythology and reality. She knows how to tell a story.
Pretty much from the beginning here on MNB, we have spoken about the importance of story. How important it is to control your narrative, and to make storytelling part of everything you do – your brand, your connection to shoppers, your relationship with your employees, the products you sell and the services you offer, both in-store and online. It has to be consistent and compelling. It has to be rooted in core values and constantly evolving.
Taylor Swift core competency, I would argue, is a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the power of story, and an unparalleled ability to tell that story.
In fact, it isn’t her core competency. It is her superpower.
And it should make every business leader ask these questions:
What is our story? Are we telling it effectively? How can we tell it better?
And even this question:
How can we make our story sing?
The post Wednesday Eye-Opener I: A Story I Got Right appeared first on MNB.
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