REFLECTION: STORYTELLING TOOL for PILLOWS    THE CHALLENGE:  I work for a company in the Philippines that has been a pioneer in the specialization of bedding   products. After sixty or so years of procrastinating on an idea revolving around uplifting the pillow  division, the company decided to purchase some land and build a factory that manufactures pillows.   The CEO had a dream some years back that one day pillows will generate as much business as the  bedsheets themselves.  After reviewing the data on how over the years, pillows had indeed started to gain popularity with the  local consumers he decided to activate this dream and presented the challenge to me.  Already, we had  a business model that functioned organically and showed profit by targeting the mass market. Since the  existing platform had garnered enough interest by the general public the next step was, to truly  understand what the product could do and how best peel its layers and create more product diversity  through the filling, inner shell and outer shell .  The occasion of the pandemic provided an opportunity  because, firstly everyone was stuck at home with their existing bed items and secondly, they realized  they needed a change.  Probably the most beneficial aspect of calling attention to the idea that pillows needed replacing was  the fact that the consumers did not understand the kind pillows they were buying and what type of  sleepers they were. This was a fantastic moment to bring about a transformation for the local consumer  market.    SELECTION:  I decided to use storytelling as my chosen tool with the simple goal of making the consumer understand  that they needed our product, despite many other varieties of pillows in the market.  I was going to  create a story that would be empathetic.  I used the video of Luke Navarro( Global leadership  development director) because he was very strategic when he stated that “Every great brand has a story  to connect to the emotions, the character and the value of the people that live the product everyday.”   Our brand is great, our brand is trusted because of its more than 60 years of service to the local public,  and our brand cares for the people.  Since the brand connects with the people, we have its ear, all we  need to do is provide them a logical explanation by giving them the facts, data, and recommendations.     APPLICATION:  The first step is to design my story for my audience (references were social media, websites and  physical store visits):  I prepared a series of slides using power point to convey my story with texts and images that would  connect to my target audience and when I was done I called in the Managing director who then invited 3  of his sales executives, and five regular customers ( a designer, a bank executive, a retail buyer, two  accounting staff).    The next step is creating a sequence of events/ build suspense:  A good story for me starts with a scene that introduces the main character immediately.  In this case the  main character was a pillow. Beneath the image was a question: What position do I sleep in?  This  immediately brought several smiles around the table. After a round of discussion on positions of sleep,  my sequence of slides depicted cartoon images of the possible sleep positions by people, either on the  side, on your back, or stomach or multi positions. After capturing the emotions of the audience in this  way. I proceeded to point out the things that consumers should look for when they choose a pillow such  as loft, size, weight and most important filling material as well shell material. This raised a lot of  questions and what impacted on me the most was even the managing director was unaware of some of  the facts I presented such as we were using PET filling which is sustainable, shells varied therefore if you

use a microfiber shell the filling became tougher and when using 100% cotton shell, the filling was softer  because it could breathe through the fabric. Insulation was a key factor in ensuring that there was no  heat build up and other important facts that we needed to understand about our sleep.   After showing different possibilities illustrations shapes of pillows and benefits to sleep, I noticed the  audience was silent for a moment before the question began to volley forward.  The story tool was the first step in attracting attention to the possibilities of what our company could do  with it’s pillow factory and the way the brand could position the product in the market against all odds.  After the presentation was delivered, I received the approval to proceed with developments and  improvements.    INSIGHT:  When I started in this company over 15 years ago, I was dependent on graphs, charts, numbers,  extremely tedious data analysis that took me weeks to condense before presenting a possibility of  direction. It was always very bland and basic. However, when I took the approach of story telling, my  energy seemed to be impacted.  It created an excitement within me that fueled the conversation and  made it quite exciting. I am no expert or doctor of sleep but suddenly my presentation created a shift in  the very organization I worked in where I would find people approaching me to recommend pillows.  Suddenly I became the pillow expert in the company.  That is a funny result but fulfilling.    APPROACH:  In making presentations I have always relied on presenting, charts, graphs, pie charts, excel sheets, to  show numbers and I believe it is important, but it can be improved. Storytelling as a tool provided an  exciting creative approach to presenting facts by building suspense.  It was different, innovative and fun  to create.  Perhaps on another level I could use The VISUALIZATION TOOL because it can also tell a story  but using images more creatively.  I’m a fine art  artist and I like to paint so I can relate to visual images  and cleverly manipulate them into my challenge because just like a movie I could present the images in a  manner that would create an energetic vibe but conveying the same message.


REFLECTION : STORYTELLING TOOL for PILLOWS THE CHALLENGE : I work for a company in the Philippines that has been a pioneer in the specialization of bedding products . After sixty or so years of procrastinating on an idea revolving around uplifting the pillow division , the company decided to purchase some land and build a factory that manufactures pillows . The CEO had a dream some years back that one day pillows will generate as much business as the bedsheets themselves . After reviewing the data on how over the years , pillows had indeed started to gain popularity with the local consumers he decided to activate this dream and presented the challenge to me . Already , we had a business model that functioned organically and showed profit by targeting the mass market . Since the existing platform had garnered enough interest by the general public the next step was , to truly understand what the product could do and how best peel its layers and create more product diversity through the filling , inner shell and outer shell . The occasion of the pandemic provided an opportunity because , firstly everyone was stuck at home with their existing bed items and secondly , they realized they needed a change . Probably the most beneficial aspect of calling attention to the idea that pillows needed replacing was the fact that the consumers did not understand the kind pillows they were buying and what type of sleepers they were . This was a fantastic moment to bring about a transformation for the local consumer market . SELECTION : I decided to use storytelling as my chosen tool with the simple goal of making the consumer understand that they needed our product , despite many other varieties of pillows in the market . I was going to create a story that would be empathetic . I used the video of Luke Navarro ( Global leadership development director ) because he was very strategic when he stated that “ Every great brand has a story to connect to the emotions , the character and the value of the people that live the product everyday . ” Our brand is great , our brand is trusted because of its more than 60 years of service to the local public , and our brand cares for the people . Since the brand connects with the people , we have its ear , all we need to do is provide them a logical explanation by giving them the facts , data , and recommendations . APPLICATION : The first step is to design my story for my audience ( references were social media , websites and physical store visits ): I prepared a series of slides using power point to convey my story with texts and images that would connect to my target audience and when I was done I called in the Managing director who then invited 3 of his sales executives , and five regular customers ( a designer , a bank executive , a retail buyer , two accounting staff ) . The next step is creating a sequence of events/ build suspense : A good story for me starts with a scene that introduces the main character immediately . In this case the main character was a pillow . Beneath the image was a question : What position do I sleep in ? This immediately brought several smiles around the table . After a round of discussion on positions of sleep , my sequence of slides depicted cartoon images of the possible sleep positions by people , either on the side , on your back , or stomach or multi positions . After capturing the emotions of the audience in this way . I proceeded to point out the things that consumers should look for when they choose a pillow such as loft , size , weight and most important filling material as well shell material . This raised a lot of questions and what impacted on me the most was even the managing director was unaware of some of the facts I presented such as we were using PET filling which is sustainable , shells varied therefore if you use a microfiber shell the filling became tougher and when using 100 % cotton shell , the filling was softer because it could breathe through the fabric . Insulation was a key factor in ensuring that there was no heat build up and other important facts that we needed to understand about our sleep . After showing different possibilities illustrations shapes of pillows and benefits to sleep , I noticed the audience was silent for a moment before the question began to volley forward . The story tool was the first step in attracting attention to the possibilities of what our company could do with it ’s pillow factory and the way the brand could position the product in the market against all odds . After the presentation was delivered , I received the approval to proceed with developments and improvements . INSIGHT : When I started in this company over 15 years ago , I was dependent on graphs , charts , numbers , extremely tedious data analysis that took me weeks to condense before presenting a possibility of direction . It was always very bland and basic . However , when I took the approach of story telling , my energy seemed to be impacted . It created an excitement within me that fueled the conversation and made it quite exciting . I am no expert or doctor of sleep but suddenly my presentation created a shift in the very organization I worked in where I would find people approaching me to recommend pillows . Suddenly I became the pillow expert in the company . That is a funny result but fulfilling . APPROACH : In making presentations I have always relied on presenting , charts , graphs , pie charts , excel sheets , to show numbers and I believe it is important , but it can be improved . Storytelling as a tool provided an exciting creative approach to presenting facts by building suspense . It was different , innovative and fun to create . Perhaps on another level I could use The VISUALIZATION TOOL because it can also tell a story but using images more creatively . I ’m a fine art artist and I like to paint so I can relate to visual images and cleverly manipulate them into my challenge because just like a movie I could present the images in a manner that would create an energetic vibe but conveying the same message .