卖什么也比不上卖故事
现代社会，卖什么也比不上卖故事，好故事都是有价格的，它是一种隐藏在经济活动中的情感商品，而爱听故事是人的天性，一个有好故事的人，更容易被记住，一个有故事的产品，在市场上更有明显优势，因为感性的大脑更容易被故事感动。水之帝王的高价秘密
从最初的品牌重复宣扬，到企业文化讲述，再到现在开始讲故事，以广告为目的之一的故事风受到了越来越多的品牌的欢迎。如果让你来销售一瓶水，你能卖到多少钱一瓶?全球有无数水源，井水、湖水、江河水、冰川融水……虽然全世界的政府都在描绘水资源枯竭的严重性，但今天的消费者依旧认为水是世界上最普通的事物之一。尽管瓶装水市场广阔，但在消费者眼中，饮用水与奢侈品绝不可能挂上钩———水就是个日用品，能值多少钱?包装很普通的一瓶水，消费者只愿意掏一两元钱去买。
与所有行业的发展轨迹一样，同质化竞争是不可避免的。瓶装水品牌之间的竞争愈演愈烈，许多企业降价促销，瓶装水价格甚至跌破一元。利润太低了，企业家们都在为如何扩大一瓶水的利润做文章。
如果不能拓展下游，则必须在产品的上游下工夫。众多瓶装水品牌纷纷走高端的路子，将水的价格提高，以扩大利润空间。不过，你要让消费者用高出水自身价格几倍甚至十几倍的金钱去买一瓶水，你就得给他们一个值得信服的理由。
故事，只有故事才具有增加产品价值的效果。世界上价格最昂贵的饮用水，非依云水莫属。法国美丽的依云小镇，背靠阿尔卑斯山，面对莱芒湖。高山融雪和山地雨水在山脉腹地经过长达15年的天然过滤和冰川矿层的矿化才形成了依云水。这个漫长的自然过滤过程为依云矿泉水注入了天然、均衡、纯净的矿物质成分，包括适合人体需求的钙、镁和碳酸氢盐等，依云水是最安全、最健康的饮用水。独一无二的天然矿泉水，是天地造化的奇迹，是大自然给人类的珍宝，也是人类常葆青春的源泉。
如果仅仅如此，你会心甘情愿地为它买单，让它荣登最贵矿泉水的宝座吗?我想应该再来点故事，你才会大方地出手。
1789年的夏天，正处于大革命的惊涛骇浪中的法国流传着一个奇闻：雷瑟侯爵患上了肾结石，长期的病痛让他痛苦异常。有一天他在依云镇散步时，有幸取到一些源自某绅士花园的泉水。饮用了一段时间后，他发现自己的病居然奇迹般地痊愈了。这个奇闻迅速传开，人们涌入依云小镇，亲自体验依云水的神奇，甚至一些医生将它列入药方。拿破仑三世和他的皇后也对依云镇的矿泉水情有独钟，1864年，拿破仑三世正式给小镇赐名为依云镇。1878年，依云水神奇的理疗功效得到法国医药研究会的认可。
神奇的依云水让人们不断地体验它的其他用法和好处。很快姑娘们找到了依云水的另外一种妙用：将依云水喷在脸上可以增加皮肤弹性。连续使用两周，即可使肌肤含水量增加60%，让肌肤柔嫩光滑。依云水成了最天然、最安全的美容佳品。
伴着故事的传播，依云水成为瓶装水中的皇帝。尽管买一瓶500毫升的依云水要十几元钱，但人们相信，依云水就值这个价。
战场故事打造出产品的男性魅力
如果依云的故事讲述的是水之帝王是如何诞生的，Zippo则是典型的用户习惯培养个案。1932年，美国人乔治·布雷斯代得到启示，设计了结构简单、不受温度影响的打火机——Zippo。在第二次世界大战中，上至总统，下至士兵，都对Zippo赞誉有加，他们将Zippo看作战斗中必不可少的一部分。如今，Zippo打火机同牛仔裤、可口可乐一样，已然成为美国的代表之一。男人们都把拥有Zippo打火机当作迈向成熟的标志之一。
那么，这个小小的打火机是如何捕获男人的心，最终成为行业霸主的呢?Zippo的辉煌，一般公认的是离不开其在美国第二次世界大战中的表现，正是这场战争使Zippo最终获得了世界的认可。二战期间，拥有着独特的军人特质的Zippo获得许多美国大兵的青睐。大兵们钟爱它，因为它确实十分实用。战争非常残酷，硝烟中的大兵们需要情感的寄托。在静肃的夜里，用Zippo点燃香烟，就着Zippo微弱的亮光写封家书，或者把玩着Zippo打火机消磨时光。就这样，这个看起来毫不起眼的小玩意儿时刻陪在大兵身边，成为除了枪以外能随时在需要的时候派得上用场的物品。
战争的硝烟已然消散，Zippo 打火机的注意力也从战场转移到了商场。如今钟情于它的人不仅仅只是士兵，还有全球从事其他职业的不可胜数的男男女女。尽管打火机品牌众多，但是世界上再没有第二种打火机可以像Zippo那样，拥有如此丰富的故事和美丽的回忆。如果您仔细留意便可以发现，Zippo打火机不同于其他商品的是：广告极少。这是因为它拥有的故事本身就是其最好的宣传广告。就像人们所传唱的那样：真实的事迹赋予Zippo英雄式的传奇色彩，使它超越平凡的打火机，成为男人们的挚爱。
一句口号创造出大市场
此前，在大众评选的对我国消费者最具影响力的广告口号里，戴比尔斯公司那句“钻石恒久远，一颗永流传”榜上有名。这句广告语自1953年推出沿用至今。1993年，这句广告语传入我国，立刻被奉为经典，并且对我国城市消费者的婚庆习俗在很大程度上产生了影响。
在没有“钻石恒久远，一颗永流传”的口号之前，结婚与钻石之间还不像现在这样完全等同。法国著名时装香奈儿的创始人可可·香奈儿女士如此评价：“钻石用最小的体积，凝聚了最大的价值。”钻石，以它不菲的价值和关于爱情的特别寓意，倾倒了天下所有的准新娘准新郎。
20世纪上半叶，经济的萧条使得钻石需求量急剧下降，戴比尔斯公司必须寻找新的销路来保证业绩，在这种情形之下，钻石被从奢侈品的神坛赶下，开始走入大众市场。被赶下神坛的钻石迫切需要一个故事让普通大众注意到它。它几乎没有什么特点，除了昂贵和坚硬，然而，正是这些，最终让戴比尔斯公司决定，把这种坚硬与爱情的坚贞扯上关系。重新对产品进行定位后，忠贞爱情的结晶物钻石就这样闪亮登场，“The Diamond is Forever”，当这句产品口号响起时，消费者的心弦被拨动了，谁不期望有一段像钻石一样坚贞的爱情呢，似乎只要在手上戴了这样一块石头，爱情就会如它一般坚贞。
我国庞大的市场让戴比尔斯公司决定进军，不过，在我国的传统文化里，钻石与爱情实在是风马牛不相及，要将他们扯上关系可不是件容易的事。为迎合我国的文化，“钻石恒久远，一颗永流传”的广告词应时而上，很快敲开了人们的心房。在这种象征意义的影响下我国的钻石消费量节节拔高。
一句口号创造了一个庞大的市场，并且它的影响力随着时间的推移不断地增大，吸引了越来越多的消费者。由此，戴比尔斯公司对未来信心满满。拥有了钻石的新人是否能够携手共度一生我们不得而知，选择戴比尔斯钻石也只是对未来的一种美好愿望而已。但是我们见到的是，钻石，如今似乎已经成为爱情的不二诠释物。“钻石恒久远，一颗永流传”也成了珠宝界被传诵最为广泛、最为响亮的口号之一。
准确的定位为戴比尔斯公司带来了巨额的销售额，其全球营销主管就曾经公开表示，中国大城市中有数目相当可观的新娘是用钻石来庆祝她们的婚礼的。现在，这还仅仅局限于城市，我们假设农村地区的新娘也开始用钻石庆祝婚礼，那时候，这个行业才将真正进入一个全新的时代。
典故卖出的传奇
与其他国家和地区以讲故事的方式介绍产品的生意经不同，我们中国人不擅长发现经济生活中的情感商品，留下了许多空白，而作为企业，应该及时地发现这些空白，这个空白就是为自己的产品讲故事。以我国目前的发展状况来看，以后的几年间，最受欢迎的产品仍旧会是注入了梦幻、联想、情感等元素的产品。
石头记是一个知名的玉石首饰品牌。最初它仅是一个濒临破产的小作坊，但为何在苏木卿入主后的短短几年里，它从一个小作坊翻身成为行业的龙头呢?
这应该从苏木卿退伍回乡后讲起。27岁的苏木卿回乡后一脚迈进了兄长们开办的玉石作坊。狭小的工作空间、落后的制作水平、平平的工艺水准，使苏木卿意识到如果不马上进行改革创新，则随时有可能被市场淘汰。于是，在他的号召下大家组建了圆艺珠宝企业有限公司。公司以策略联盟为主要形式，在开始不被看好的情况下，短短3年，一跃而成为中国台湾玉石界龙头老大。
接下来的时间里，苏木卿为了让自己的产品能够顺利地进入大陆市场费尽了心思。最终，他想到了从名字着手，大胆借用传统故事的方法。于是，一个浪漫而饱含深意的名字———“石头记”诞生了。提起“石头记”这个词，大部分中国人都感到耳熟。我国古代四大名著之一《红楼梦》描写了一个缠绵缱绻、情长意浓的故事，说的是女娲炼石补天之时，剩一块可炼之石未用，便弃在青埂峰下。时间一长，此石已略通灵性，大小可随心，来去任由意，但常因未被选中补天而悲伤、自怨自艾。和尚茫茫大士和道士渺渺真人因见其可爱，便携它至昌明隆盛之邦、诗礼簪缨之族、花柳繁华地、富贵温柔乡走了一遭。这个故事，原名也叫“石头记”。
沾了《红楼梦》的光，石头记品牌被赋予了浪漫主义色彩和浓厚的传统文化神韵。借助《红楼梦》的故事，苏木卿建立了一种传统和现代相结合、故事与玉石相辉映的独特经营模式。不再追求原料的稀缺和成品后高昂的价格，而把追求丰富的外形设计、浪漫的玉石内涵作为主要目标。浪漫、个性，石头记产品凭借这两个优势打动了恋爱中的男男女女，成为男女之间传情达意的佳品，当然也就顺利地拿下了大陆市场。
“世上仅此一件，今生与你结缘”，浪漫、唯美的广告语是石头记留给世人的念想，也是石头记品牌成功之所在。
看了石头记品牌的发家史，你是否也想有自己的故事经呢?
该贴已经同步到 蝴蝶梦的微博 'Mad Men:' The doorway, Don Draper, Dante, Zippos
Monday April 8, 2013 9:36 AM By Verne Gay
Photo credit: AMC | Don Draper (Jon Hamm) in "Mad Men" Season 6, Episode 2: "The Doorway."
"Man Men" returns and with it, questions, thoughts, observations, and a few hundred blog posts attempting to define The Meaning of It All.And with your forbearance, here's mine. Let's start at the very beginning of Sunday's "The Doorway" because -- in a series where nothing is ever wasted -- that is where you were meant to begin.
And in the meantime, this quick note -- I'll spend most of this post talking about Don, and not that Peggy, Betty or Roger didn't have equally important moments but -- to be blunt -- I gotta get some other stuff done.
The scream: And then, "Oh my God, my God . . ." In which series creator Matthew Weiner interjects a determinedly religious overtone to the season opener though one with an ironic twist, for what you are hearing is Meg's reaction to the "death" of Jonesy, the doorman, who of course will be saved by newcomer Doc Arnold Rosen. That sets up the entire internal reverie that Don goes through this episode: What comes after death and, in fact, is MY death approaching? And if so, how can I change or should I change? But what you -- the viewer -- doesn't know and that Don does is that he is already cheating on Megs -- back to his old habits -- knowing full well that this has set this marriage on the path to doom as well. You know this only by watching the very last scene, of course, in which Don's latest paramour -- the doctor's wife,Sylvia (Linda Cardellini) whom he sees upon entering a dark doorway -- wonders if he's read "The Inferno." (I should add, Don is not only wrecking his own marriage -- but Rosen's . . . He's an equal opportunity wrecker.)
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Ah yes. "The Inferno:" Dante's allegory of the human soul, which opens with some of the most famous lines in all of literature, "Midway in our life's journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood . . ." The idea of Don on a beach, reading "The Inferno" is the stuff of comedy -- a divine comedy (sorry, couldn't help myself) -- but there he sits . . . Don of course is the one alone in a dark wood, the "valley of evil . . ."
Since Weiner introduced the idea of an allegory to the mix here, what comes next? Pfc. Class Dinkins, at the bar, drunk, in need of a best man at his forthcoming wedding and Don will do.
He's back from Vietnam, and offers Don this singularly great line, "they offered me R and R in Honolulu. Did anyone notice this is the same place?" (Naturally, conflated Vietnam -- hell - with Hawaii -- paradise.) Then, he goes on to convince Don: "I believe in what goes around comes around. One day I'll be the veteran in paradise. I'll be the man who talks to strangers."
I could go on and on about the meaning of this remarkable scene, but we haven't got all day, have we? Instead, I'll make this brief: The drunken serviceman is Don, an earlier version of Don, on an earlier stage of his life when he was in fact Dick Whitman -- long before he co-opted the identity of Don Draper. The full force of this realization doesn't strike Don until midway though the episode when he discovers the Zippo lighter he has is actually Dinkins.
For Don, the idea of a switched Zippo is only a short step away from switched dog tags. He is not Don Draper, but Dick Whitman -- who is "dead," but then so is Draper. With that cold realization, Don finds himself very much alone on this life's journey. He is in the dark wood, a place as forlorn and remote as hell itself . . . For him, and really, for the rest of this series, the question becomes for Don, as it was for Pfc. Dinkins: How to get to "paradise?"
The Zippo lighter:Let's tarry a little longer with the Zippo. How did Lt. Don Draper -- the real Lt. Don Draper -- die? From a Zippo lighter. Remember that scene? The mortar round has ended, and both Whitman and Draper relax to have a smoke. But gasoline is everywhere (a Whitman mistake) and the explosion occurs . . . Draper is burned beyond recognition, and Don, er, Dick, has his new identity. So the lighter of course represents a multitude of things for Donand us --a light, as in symbolic; a new identity; a lie; the beginning of this particular journey; and of course most of all, it represents death.
The Ad: I'm jumping way ahead here to that great scene in which Don unveils his ad for the Royal Hawaiian, to the befuddlement of the client who correctly deduces it as a man committing suicide. What happened to the man in the (empty) suit? Washed out to sea perhaps? Or was he perhaps Don himself, without bearing and without identity? Remember, "The Doorway" sets up an important question for Don: How can you locate your true self if your true self doesn't actually exist, or Dante-like, exists in some peculiar stage of limbo, halfway between paradise and hell?
Obviously, Hawaii was also the "jumping off point" for GI's headed to Saigon, and this ad is presented to the Royal Hawaiian exactly at the outset of the worst year of the war, and one of the worst years in American history, something neither they or Don could yet know.
Because "Mad Men" is always so rich with parallels -- all the better to infuse depth and meaning -- parallel this ad with Peggy's, at her new agency. As you recall, she quickly has to change the ad because the client makes the wild leap that consumers will somehow associate it with the grisly practice of GI's cutting off the ears of dead VCs (yes, this did happen in some instances). The tagline, "lend me your ears" has to go.
In this sense, both Peggy and Don are confronting Vietnam, because the war is being refracted through their work.
Roger and doorways: Another beauty in which Roger talks to a shrink -- who looks suspiciously like Matt Weiner; an inside joke, no doubt -- about life's peculiar journey. It's a series of doors -- gates -- that you go through; no better yet, a series of pennies you bend down to pick up on the way to "you-know-where . . ." Doors refers I would imagine to portals, while Dante has positioned a famous sign above one of the most famous portals of them all: "Abandon all hope ye who enter here . . ."
Roger, like Jonesy, has gone through the door of death, too -- died and returned. He is seeking meaning to the journey and so far finds none though in contrast to Don, is at least seeking. Of course, the complexity of the quest for Don was made clear earlier in this episode -- how can you find the meaning of your life if you are not who you say you are, and who you are already died years earlier?
Don and the photo session: Just another great scene in a great series about identity and so much else. Just be who you are, the photographer commands Don. And then, the Zippo lighter as he lights another cigarette . . . Sure, Don, just be who you are.
Don and Rosen. Ah yes, another doctor who looks like Matt Weiner. Is there a pattern here? Rosen presents to Don something that Don has never really had before -- perspective and especially perspective on life and death. Rosen and Don digging out skis so the former can make his way to a patient in the middle of a snowstorm. There's something comical about the scene, and there is supposed to be something comical about it, but Rosen -- however briefly -- ties what he does for a living to what Don does. For Don, that presents -- however dim it may be -- a glimmer in the dark wood.
Finally, and I really must be moving along after this, let’s talk about doors. We've already played with their allegorical nature in this post, or at least Roger has, but keep in mind the meaning of doors in "Mad Men." Poor Lane Pryce hung himself from one last season. Poor Jonesy, who opens doors, died and came back to life in this season premiere episode. Caroline comes through one to tell Roger about the death of his mother; Roger finally breaks down and cries, when one is closed behind him.Everything happens behind doors -- even sometimes when walking through them: Betty tears her jacket on one when she leaves the flop house on St. Mark's Place. Doors open and close throughout this episode and in just about every scene. They are a dominant image and metaphor in "Mad Men," and like Roger's trail of pennies, will lead us all somewhere when "Mad Men" finally wraps. I would argue however that we, and possibly even Matt, still don't know where the final door will lead.
“在人生旅途的中段，我迷失了正确的路径，在幽暗的森林中醒来，独自一人。”《广告狂人》第六季开篇《门道》，在天堂般的夏威夷沙滩上，Don在看但丁的《神曲》地狱篇。Megan事业有成，心情愉快，要帮人签名，又要与人跳舞。Don愁眉紧锁，在酒吧孤独一人喝Old-Fashioned。Don问几点，Megan说谁关心现在什么时间呢。不禁令人想起上季的开篇《轻轻一吻》：为Don庆祝40岁生日，Megan搞了一个派对，请了很多朋友同事，自己唱歌跳舞，宣称可以挑起所有人的性欲；但Don难以接受。派对结束之后，Don说他只想躺下来睡觉。年轻的Megan认为载歌载舞是追求快乐，而中年的Don只想独自在一边喝威士忌。
很快就发现这集不是《轻轻一吻》的重复，而是系列总第一集《香烟蒙眼》的重复。创作人没有灵感，死线将至，焦虑不能挽救失败的局面。Don 的客户是夏威夷的一间豪华度假酒店，他们夫妇旅游的目的正是让Don 获取广告灵感，但他却被笼罩在地狱与死亡之中。另一边，Peggy要卖的是高斯的一款新耳机。原来的广告词是“借我你的耳朵”。因为越战中发生的割耳朵事件被电视脱口秀节目放大，该广告词成为了敏感词，在耳机广告中提及耳朵几乎成了禁忌。Peggy面对的情况跟Don在《香烟蒙眼》面对的类似：政府禁止了吸烟不害健康的广告，而Don的客户好彩香烟的卖点却正在于比其他烟健康。
这就回到《广告狂人》的一大主题：面对残酷的改变。片头动画中，一西装革履的现代人，在《美丽的金矿/地雷》音乐声中堕落，被建立的文明在身旁不断崩溃；但最后，他却能泰然自若地坐在沙发上吸烟。滑稽的是，Don重复了Pete在《香烟蒙眼》中的失败。对好彩香烟，Pete的创意是“它危险，又怎样”。对夏威夷酒店，Don的创意是一套脱在沙滩上的西装，前面两个脚印，标题“跳跃点”。酒店老板马上就联想到了死亡。Don居然像Pete一样，承认了其创意隐含了人的自我毁灭倾向。深陷对死亡的焦虑的Don，似乎忘记了自己的名言：广告只基于一点，幸福感，远离恐惧的幸福感。Peggy则正式成了新的Don，就是那个面对自己创造的世界不断崩溃仍能最后泰然自若地吸烟的背影。Peggy为耳机创造出“新车的香味”般的幸福感——“声音尖锐清晰到可以看得见”。
与《香烟蒙眼》不同的是，这次泰然自若地重生的全是女士们。除Peggy外，本集着墨的女士还有Don的两任妻子， Betty和Megan。她们曾经充满焦虑，因为虽然生活富裕但对现实世界感到非常无力。作家贝蒂•弗里丹称之为“没有名字的问题”。Betty这次面对的改变来自考不上朱利亚德学院而逃走的Sandy。Betty为找Sandy来到一肮脏破败的、嬉皮士聚居的大楼。一无所有的嬉皮士与生活富足的Betty形成强烈的对比。社会上不同的人在同一场景的对比是《广告狂人》非常常用的手法，带出因观念或外貌等各种差异形成人与人的实质不同。这里容易令人想起第一季第八集《游民代号》中，代表传统的Don和代表反传统的Roy的对峙。到底Betty是要寻回Sandy，还是要成为Sandy？后来，Betty也选择了逃走，或者说自我改变，自信地将金发染成了黑色，追随当时的“玉女”明星伊丽莎白•泰勒。另一边，Megan面对戏份只有一幕的打击也轻松得以解决。
Betty和Megan焦虑的减退来自对自己所在局促环境的逃离。在上季第12集《佣金与费用》中Sally首次来了月经“成为了一个女人”（在本集头发也拉直了），Betty于是获得从母亲角色的轻微逃离，并获得Sally的真诚求助。在上季大结局《幻影》中Megan获得了梦寐以求的拍电视广告的工作机会。她们，还包括Peggy，都获得了权力，都不同程度地有能力远离禁锢自己的“没有名字的问题”的环境，从而对现实世界不再觉得那么无力。Peggy不单要解决问题，她要“做一个伟大的广告！”她们的生活充满可能。
相反，男士们，Don和Roger却被死亡包围。Don看到了楼下门卫猝死的幻觉，Roger突然收到母亲去世的消息。死亡和对死亡的恐惧更是象征性的。一夜间成为陌生军人的证婚人，再次牵起Don的身份危机，对Don Draper这一身份的死亡恐惧。Roger躺上了Betty曾经躺过的沙发，被心理治疗的黑色沙发。他说，生命就像前面有一扇门，你一开始好奇后面是什么；通过几扇门之后，你会想试试通过一座桥。之后你会发现，通过之后全都是更多的这些东西，门，桥，窗，同样的打开方式，同样地在你背后消失。人生应该是条路径，有转变，但原来只是一条直线去，去你知道的那个地方（死亡）。“这是我的葬礼！”以幸福感售卖致命的好彩香烟的狂人们不能再无视这残酷的事实。死亡的笼罩非常惊人，压倒了资本主义现代社会的优等生。Roger第一次哭了，Don第一次醉到吐了。事态非常严重。
或者，可怕的并不是死亡本身，而是那种突然性，那种不可预测性、不可控制性。Roger说他母亲过去20年都说自己快死了，所以知道消息后他只是轻松举杯向天致敬。但后来突然听到他的擦鞋工也死了，Roger立刻痛哭。商业社会的人们追求降低风险，巩固权力，但无法控制可能突然而来的瓦解。这是推销幸福感的人依然要面对的恐惧。
这份恐惧从《香烟蒙眼》起就一直存在。广告人一直游离在看清生活的残酷真相和不自觉地沉醉在自己创造的幸福幻象（另一真相）之间。在首季大结局《旋转木马》中，是由Don来介绍柯达幻灯机带来的家庭幸福感。这次，Don已败阵下去，由Megan以幻灯机和莱卡相机展现其幸福感。
当然，Don是不可被打败的。Don还是Don，会继续保卫建制。会有外遇。本集最后很《LOST》 般揭示那位医生的妻子原来是Don的情人，《神曲》是她给的。情人问他的新年愿望是什么，他说，我要停止这样做。要在幽暗中泰然。
或者不是，谁知道这个谜将往何方。正如不知道那个军用Zippo打火机会不会再回来一样。世界是不会停止崩溃的。
文化、底蕴，赋予美丽的传说和历史的厚重和沧桑感。
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