Twice As Tall An African Giant Is The Storytelling Strategy You Should Adopt
In the wee hours of the morning of August 12th, Burna Boy released one of the strongest albums of 2020 — Twice as Tall. This was Burna’s reawakening after not bagging the 2019 Grammy. Cementing himself, not just as the African giant, but twice that title, this album was about self-awareness of the black man with an underlying strong pro-black message.
Yet, the strength of this album did not lie in the message of its 15 tracks, or the versatility of its features. All of this pale to the intentionality of this campaign from its inception.
To transcend his title as the African giant, reaching out and getting a co-sign from Sean Diddy Combs as Executive Producer gave Burna access to resources and talents that created a ripple effect for the impact of his story. This changed the way we perceived the album, not as a world album but as a world-class album.
Bringing it home to the visual art direction of the album art and music videos ensured the message is consistent. Choosing iconic elements of the Idia mask of Benin to the pyramids of Egypt, we resonate with the motherland.
We have made greater albums in Nigeria, but what made this unique in the here and now?
Intentional storytelling.
Burna in all his glory is not the best storyteller, this knowledge meant surrounding himself with the right team of storytellers to achieve this next stage of career.
To change a narrative for Burna, Sean Diddy Combs meant he could chart the global territory. The spirit of diverse collaboration meant that every creative involved in the production of this album pushed it with their platform. The organic stories sold more than paid promotion. These creatives were very vocal and active in telling the story. You can say they even did this more than the artist himself.
https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/1294023824640552962?s=20
A greater storyteller is Beyonce, whose Black Is King leveraged on the diversity of creativity. From July 2019 to July 2020, she featured in the Lion King live-action movie, dropped an album, and in recent times a visual album with a life of its own.
A campaign in the eye of a true storyteller is not about the initial reaction of a campaign, but that the impact has a long lifespan and every phase serves its purpose.
You’ve read this far, do any of the things, in all honesty, describe any campaign you have rolled out in recent years?
How did you start this campaign?
How long were you able to drive the conversations that involve the campaign?
The attention span of the consumer in recent times is short. However, Beyonce could keep us for an entire year. Twice As Tall has/had a shorter lifespan, but it served its purpose.
What category does your campaign fall under?
If your answers have not followed suit with the above stories, then you need to have a rethink.
Intentionality and creative direction are elements necessary to tell an impactful story. These elements will drive every phase of your campaign, from the creative team you assemble to the channels you use to reach your target audience.
Treat every campaign as a story you have to tell your audience to strengthen your brand values in their mind, build loyalty, and expand your community.
The strategy of using the marketing budget to push the story has worked in the past, but it’s phasing out.
When telling your story, temporarily forget your marketing budget, and ask yourself the following questions;
If I had no money behind this story, would it sell?
Would it have the impact I desire for my community?
And if you can, think like your parents and ask, “what will people say?”
