Are you telling your company story well?
Nearly every company wants to include its history on its website or in brochures. But very few company histories are interesting to read - and even fewer could ever be used as an advertisement. Finding a compelling way to talk about company events a hundred years ago isn’t easy. Some companies use graphs, some bullet points and others turgid text. And very few are successful.
And then I came across this:
He just wanted a decent book to read…
Not too much to ask, is it? It was in 1935 when Allen Lane, Managing Director of Bodley Head Publishers, stood on a platform at Exeter railway station looking for something to read on his journey back to London. His choice was limited to popular magazines and poor-quality paperbacks - the same choice faced every day by the vast majority of readers, few of whom could afford hardbacks. Lane’s disappointment and subsequent anger at the range of books generally available led him to found a company - and change the world.
‘We believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it.’
Sir Allen Lane, 1902-1970, founder of Penguin Books
The quality paperback had arrived - and not just in bookshops. Lane was adamant that his Penguins should appear in chain stores and tabacconists, and should cost not more than a packet of cigarettes.
Reading habits (and cigarette prices) have changed since 1935, but Penguin still believes in publishing the best books for everybody to enjoy. We still believe that good design costs no more than bad design, and we still believe that quality books published passionately and responsibly make the world a better place.
So wherever you see the little bird - whether it’s on a piece of prize-winning literary fiction or a celebratory autobiography, poitical tour de force or historical masterpiece, a serial-killer thriller, reference book, world classic or a piece of pure escapism - you can bet that it represents the very best that the genre has to offer.
Whatever you like to read - trust Penguin.
This was a full-page ad at the end of a Penguin book, and as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked. So why does it work so well?
For a start, the opening question sets up a little mystery for the reader. We hate an unsolved question, and we read on to find the answer. The same question puts us in Allen Lane’s shoes, we can feel his frustration - we’ve all searched the newsagent book stand looking for something decent to read, knowing that if we don’t find something we face a long, boring journey.
Then there are the details. Exeter train station, a packet of cigarettes. These locate the story for us in something concrete that we know and understand. Notice that these aren’t overdone: we don’t know if it was raining, or hear about the bussle of a busy station. But there’s just enough for our imaginations to flesh out the story.
Next are the emotions. We know that Lane was disappointed, angry even. Using these emotions enables the story to make quite dramatic claims (he changed the world). It also lends weight to the words believe and trust towards the end.
Then comes a strong (and slightly humorous) link to the present day. Things have changed the story tells us, but the belief at Penguin stays the same, and that means we won’t experience the same frustrating moment on Exeter train station.
Finally, it doesn’t tell too much. It doesn’t talk about takeovers, factories opening in Asia or recent product innovations. It tells just one story - the one that supports Penguin’s basic principles.
So, if you want your company story to do more than just be a list of facts and figures, look back into the past. Every company has an starting point - and with the right treatment, it can be used to enhance you brand.
You can read the full Penguin story. This version was a little too long for my taste. But still, every paragraph contains elements of what’s described above.
