A new year begins. Another one ends. A mix of nostalgia and hope for the future. Running around on New Year’s Eve, Dan Fogelberg’s song “Same Auld Lang Syne” plays as I park the car. I sit and listen, remembering how much I loved the story behind the song. Dan Fogelberg was one of the original troubadours. I made a note, as I often do, to research the song as my next blog post. There’s always a story behind the song. Here’s the list of things I learned from the story behind the story:
- Dan Fogelberg was from Peoria, IL (or as we Chicagoan’s like to call it, the Quad Cities)
- He liked Irish Coffee (so did my dad) and went out to purchase whipped cream on NY eve (his mom made him go)
- He ended up at a convenience store with no stores open and ran into an old girlfriend (small towns-love that!)
- They split a 6 pack in the car and caught up and went their separate ways (been there, done that)
- 5 years later, he wrote the song
- His dad really was a band director (the story behind the story-“Leader of the Band”)
- He was discovered by Irving Azoff (yet another Irving story)
- Irving Azoff sent him to Nashville to hone his skills (there’s always a Nashville connection)
- “Part of the Plan,” the musical, opened at TPAC in 2017 ( I was there)
- My Morning Jacket’s (another fave) frontman, Jim James, said Fogelberg was a major influence (another favorite band of mine)
What’s the story behind your story? Here’s mine, in the same top ten fashion.
- Daughter of an ex-Jesuit priest (in the early 80’s dad has a license plate made for his BMW X-Priest-it hangs in my brother’s garage
- Private catholic school girl all the way through ( nuns, favorite one? Sister Nancy Murray (Bill Murray’s sister)
- Humor and music were a part of my early life (first concert-Woodstock, The Pink Panther movies, and Peter Sellers got me through chemo)
- Yes, I am the Sloane Peterson
- I lost the first love of my life at 22. God gave me a second one
- 3 x ovarian cancer survivor. If given the chance, I’d rewrite the patient experience.
- Lucky enough to ride alongside some of the smartest people I know (shout out to Kenny Lauer, Elizabeth Pinkham, Karin Flores, Christine Kiesling, Holly Miller, Andre Gaccetta, Mark Montgomery, and Gavin Ivester)
- A big believer in giving back (Hope Clinic for Women, Ordinary Hero, Can’dAid, Thistle Farms)
- Passionate believer in Jesus Christ
- Collector of hardcover books (children’s books and cookbooks, especially) and antique ribbon (hats)
Every brand has a story to tell. And there’s always a story behind the story. Early in my branding career (shoutout to Marty Neumeier) I learned that “customers don’t want to be told, they want to tell.” That’s where the concept of story framing comes from. It’s the discipline of building a structure that lets customers create their own narratives. Be the hero in the story.
Is your brand letting customers be the hero in their own story?