Steve Ballantyne

Steve Ballantyne

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
9K followers 500+ connections

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Gisborne Boys High School

About

Most brand stories are boring.
Safe. Sanitised. Forgotten in seconds.

I’m The…

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Articles by Steve

  • The re-branding of the potato.
    Jan 20, 2020

    The re-branding of the potato.

    Here's a tale from the 1700's that beautifully demonstrates the Law of Scarcity. Old Frederick the Great ruled the…

  • Powerful beginnings.
    Nov 7, 2019

    Powerful beginnings.

    Powerful beginnings are the thrust of any good story. I love spending a night out at the movies.

  • The curious appeal of sweet and salty stories
    Oct 25, 2019

    The curious appeal of sweet and salty stories

    I’m not a big popcorn eater but I do have a weakness for Sweet and Salty popcorn made by Sweet As Popcorn in Raglan…

    2 Comments
  • Why your self indulgent ‘About Us’ page needs an overhaul.
    Sep 29, 2019

    Why your self indulgent ‘About Us’ page needs an overhaul.

    Everything you think you know about writing your ‘About Us’ page on your website is wrong. You can do better, you just…

  • Are you telling overdog or underdog stories?
    Sep 23, 2019

    Are you telling overdog or underdog stories?

    I attended a function recently and was introduced to a guy I hadn’t met before. He asked me what I did, and then cut me…

  • The legend of Hemingway’s six word novel
    Sep 19, 2019

    The legend of Hemingway’s six word novel

    There’s a literary legend that Ernest Hemingway was once sitting in a bar in the Florida Keys and got into a fierce…

    1 Comment
  • Why your business needs a story bank
    Sep 16, 2019

    Why your business needs a story bank

    Over the last few years of working with CEOs, marketers and salespeople, the one thing I’ve found that comes up time…

  • The brain science of storytelling.
    Sep 9, 2019

    The brain science of storytelling.

    We devour books, binge watch TV series, and pay millions of dollars to watch movies. Why? It’s not because we have a…

    3 Comments
  • Why your brand story needs heroes and villains.
    Sep 4, 2019

    Why your brand story needs heroes and villains.

    Let’s talk for a moment about some of the greatest movies of all time. The Godfather, Schindler’s List, Lawrence of…

  • Why every CEO needs to be a great storyteller.
    Aug 26, 2019

    Why every CEO needs to be a great storyteller.

    “Tell me the story of your business.” Take a moment and think about how you would respond.

    1 Comment
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Experience

  • Brand IQ Graphic

    Brand IQ

    Auckland, New Zealand

  • -

    Melbourne and Auckland

  • -

    Auckland

  • -

    Auckland, New Zealand

Education

  • Gisborne Boys High School

Publications

  • The Medici Effect

    Stop Press

    WHY PURPLE COWS ARE NO LONGER ATTRACTING ATTENTION

    In 2002 Seth Godin wrote his breakthrough book, Purple Cow. The idea behind the book was that to stand out we need to be remarkable, worth talking about, worth noticing, exceptional.

    Almost 18 years later the world has changed, and brands are again having a differentiation problem. We are faced with great challenges that require thinking that is beyond the “purple cow”. Purple cows are not that uncommon anymore. In today’s…

    WHY PURPLE COWS ARE NO LONGER ATTRACTING ATTENTION

    In 2002 Seth Godin wrote his breakthrough book, Purple Cow. The idea behind the book was that to stand out we need to be remarkable, worth talking about, worth noticing, exceptional.

    Almost 18 years later the world has changed, and brands are again having a differentiation problem. We are faced with great challenges that require thinking that is beyond the “purple cow”. Purple cows are not that uncommon anymore. In today’s fast-moving digital world, it’s easy to paint a cow purple. Metaphorically, purple cows are a dime a dozen. Most product categories have become crowded, homogenised, and lost in a sea of sameness. The market has become hyper-competitive and saturated with way too many products. Everyone looks and feels the same. At the end of the day, black or brown, purple or pink, it’s still a cow!

    The challenge today is first to differentiate yourself from your competitors (being purple isn’t going to cut it anymore). And second, make sure your ‘different’ is also ‘helpful’. Unless you are supremely useful, your differentiation will not be sustainable. In today’s marketplace people are not looking for novelties, but results.

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