Lessons learned

James Rutter, the brand director at the frozen-food brand Cook, went to the pilot workshop

1 Punchdrunk is in total control of its story. Nothing within the show is forgotten or left to chance. It accepts that the story is everywhere and that you can’t neglect any little details.

In a retail environment, we have to get across to shop managers that they are stepping on to their stage every morning. How they perform affects how much money they take.

A brand needs to create an immersive story that works across every touchpoint, from the shop floor to its website. 2 Warm-ups aid the creative process. In theatre, it is taken as a given that, when you do anything, you warm up to get yourself in the right headspace. There is an assumption in business that, if you’re involved in a creative endeavour, you can go into any room and just turn it on. That’s wrong. Warming up brings visible results because it increases the quality of debate and ideas. 3 You can apply the story and production treatment to a brand. When thinking of a brand, imagine you are in a film. Who are the characters? What is the emotional impact?

I have started to use that approach to get the team to think about the brand story. When customers walk into a store, what do they see? What would the first image be if it were the opening of a film? What music would be playing?

With all brands and businesses, all you are trying to do is tell an alluring and inviting story for people to engage with. If you can achieve the slightest hint of that, you are doing well.