Meet Park Howell of Business of Story in Arcadia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Park Howell.

Park, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been in advertising and brand marketing for 35 years, and ran my own ad agency here in Phoenix for 20 years working to grow hundreds of brands and thousands of the people who support them. But the advertising paradigm as I knew it changed in 2006 with the internet. Brands used to the own the influence of mass media, but the masses became the media. The old way of advertising and marketing of interrupting customers stopped working.

So I studied the applied science and bewitchery of storytelling distilled from the timeless narrative structure of the ancients. I was inspired by the story artists of Hollywood and influenced by how the masters of persuasion used storytelling. I even studied brain structure and how our mind grapples for meaning using story.

With my new knowledge, I pivoted from the old ad agency model and now consult, teach, coach and speak on the power of business storytelling to help purpose-driven brands clarify their stories, amplify their impact and simplify their lives. I created and taught the sustainable storytelling curriculum in The Executive Masters of Sustainability Leadership program at Arizona State University for five years. Plus, I hot the popular Business of Story podcast with more than 150 episodes featuring story artists from the around the world to help listeners craft and tell compelling stories that sell.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I have created the Story Cycle brand strategy system, which is based on Joseph Campbell’s universal narrative framework called the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is universal because it is a reflection of life. At the center of the journey are trials, struggles and strife. No conflict, no story.

So yes, like everyone, I’ve had my share of challenges. We diligently handled clients for 10, 18 and 20 years only to lose them to other agencies. The internet completely disrupted the entire ad agency industry causing us to get educated on brand storytelling and re-tool our offering. The great recession decimated our clients and therefore our agency. But these challenges, although unexpected at the time, are always expected to happen to anyone on a mission.

That’s life. Plan for them. Save for them. And be prepared to take advantage of disruption. For without it, we’d all be stuck in status quo, and there’s no margin in that kind of life.

Please tell us about Business of Story.
The Business of Story is the platform for the proven Story Cycle brand story strategy system. We help leaders of purpose-driven brands – whether it’s their personal brand story to grow their influence or organizational brand story to grow their companies and their people – clarify their stories to amplify their impact and simplify their lives.

We are the only place you can leverage the Story Cycle system, which has helped brands grow by as much as 400 percent.

I am most proud of helping international leaders, like those in the Executive Masters of Sustainability Leadership at ASU, advance their social initiatives further faster through the power of story.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I recommend that everyone starting out take stock in whether or not they are living into their most powerful story, or they trying to live up to someone else’s story? Look for the moments in your life that have shaped who you are today. Find those scenes and your story will find you. Then have the courage to explore your narrative, blaze your own trail. Go into the dragons den and fight for what is rightfully yours. Be yourself, follow your curiosity and live into your most potent story.

I always tell my audiences that the most potent story you will ever tell is the story you tell yourself, so make it a great one.

Pricing:

• You can use the proven Story Cycle system to get your brand story straight for $2,500 to $35,000 depending on the program you select.
• Park hosts half-day, full-day and two-day Business of Story masterclass workshops from $8,000 to $20,000.

Contact Info:

• Address: Business of Story
  4144 N. 44th Street
  Suite A2
  Phoenix, AZ 85018
• Website: businessofstory.com
• Phone: 602-770-1962
• Email: park@parkandco.com

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