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become overwhelmed and have their creativity blocked. After
clicking on ‘Start a project’, users are taken to a page that simply
states, “Bring your creative project to life.” Underneath are
images of the faces behind three successful Kickstarter cam-
paigns that each raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, with
links to each of their campaign pages and updates about their
creative projects.
example, she is a positive body image crusader who often
bares skin on social media and she isn’t afraid to open up about
her miscarriages. This is hard to pull off, all the while staying
on-brand and mixing this content with marketing and business
advice. She knows that her stories aren’t for everyone, but
that’s what makes them land so well; she speaks directly to her
people without watering down her message for the masses.
As they say, “if you’re speaking to everyone, you’re speaking
to no one,” and Kutcher speaks to hundreds of thousands of
followers who cling to her every word, every day.
charity: water
charity: water is a US-based organization that helps bring clean
water to the developing world. While there are lots of compet-
ing not-for-profits vying for donor money, this organization
stands out through its authenticity and connection both before
and after money has exchanged hands.
This brilliantly simple page immerses users in these stories and
forces them to read between the lines: anybody can make their
project come to life and be wildly successful using Kickstarter.
Kickstarter doesn’t try to give them the hard sell about why,
how, or when they need to upload their creative project.
Instead, they let visitors come to that conclusion on their own.
By not bogging them down in the details, they enlighten and
inspire creative projects on their platform.
Jenna Kutcher
Jenna Kutcher runs the wildly successful Goal Digger podcast
with nearly 300 5-star ratings on iTunes to date. She’s a pho-
tographer, marketing coach, and entrepreneurial maven who
turned her Craigslist camera purchase into a million-dollar
venture…and she’s not even 30 yet! Kutcher is a storytelling
master and her greatest strength is her authenticity.
100% of privately donated money is used to fund water projects
and the charity provides updates about where and how that
money is being used. They share the names of local organiza-
tions they have partnered with and the specific work being
undertaken with statistics that help validate their work. In their
updates they also share stories about community members
who will be positively impacted by the clean water project.
Stunning photography and minimal text helps to beautifully tell
their stories.
Ultimately, great stories are ones that we remember. Great
stories connect to their audience through emotional messaging
and they commit completely to authenticity. It’s no exaggera-
tion to say that great stories have the power to transform the
world. They inspire listeners to become participants and take
action. Great stories are inherently sharable and create brand
evangelists who spread the word on behalf of the organization,
without ever having been paid a dime. Tell a superb story,
transform a brand.
Kutcher excels at providing consistent and authentic messaging
to her audience, as well as connecting to them in a variety of
ways – Instagram, her blog, and podcast. She both knows who
she is, as well as who her people are and she speaks directly
to them. This is Kutcher’s secret sauce, as she would say. For
@graphicarts
Diana Varma is an Instructor at the School of Graphic
Communications Management at Ryerson University and the
Owner of ON-SITE First Aid & CPR Training Group, a health & safety
company that provides training to the Graphic Arts Industry.
GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | May 2018 | 29