So, your client is a known consumer brand that has a NEW story to tell. That’s right, after years of working tirelessly to get out the perfect, authentic brand message, that message has now changed. It’s not because the old message wasn’t great; rather, it’s because the product has changed. In fact, it has improved, and thus the brand’s story also needs to evolve to reach a similar level of brand enlightenment. The trick is figuring out exactly how to tell this new story to the world…

That’s what happened when Story Worldwide’s long-time client I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter!® reformulated its popular spread to completely eliminate hydrogenated, making it healthier than ever with 70% less saturated fat than butter and no trans fats, all the while maintaining the product’s  signature butter flavor.

Story Worldwide stepped in to unearth the new brand story—yes, stories exist within brands; it simply takes a skilled journalistic approach to uncover them—and then to tell it to the masses. Story Worldwide, along with PR, promotional and media partners were responsible for the ideation of this campaign. Story conceptualized and developed online digital assets and email communications, as well as distributed content experiences to bring this program to life. The savvy team over at Mindshare Entertainment ultimately brought the new story to the small screen with a 30-second commercial spot and a full-length music video (launching on December 16th). And Megan Mullally of Will and Grace fame helped tie the whole thing together with joyful song and dance. Here are the four steps Story Worldwide took to help tell this new story.

1. Unearth the brand’s story.

Anybody can tell a clever story or come up with catchy messaging for a brand. (Well, not anybody, but meaningless campaigns that tell you nothing about the product at hand—and sometimes even work to distract you from it—are a dime a dozen, wouldn’t you say?) Story’s approach was to focus on those elements that differentiate I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter® from competing brands and to use those elements as the foundation of the brand story. Because these unique elements lie in the product’s improved nutritional value, Story Worldwide wanted to emphasize them with a practical, but fun, approach: get consumers to pay attention to the nutrition facts on the back of the tub.

And thus was born, “Turn the Tub Around,” a campaign whose soundtrack is based on Gloria Estefan’s song “Turn the Beat Around,” only with a buttery twist, and vocals/dancing by the lovely Megan Mullally.

2. Decide who to tell it to.

Story Worldwide decided that because the brand’s new story was so rich and because it was one that people across the country would be anxious to hear, that it would actually transcend media channels. In other words, there was no need to limit this story to a specific platform—such as online, print or TV—it’s one that would engage people wherever they happened to be.

3. Create a central hub where engaged customers can find more information.

Knowing that the message would be shared over numerous channels, Story Worldwide created TurntheTubAround.com, a microsite housed on the main I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter® brand site.

Visitors are led to this site from a 30-second TV commercial (produced by Mindshare Entertainment) and print ads. The site displays the new messaging front and center, and creates a clear visual tie-in with the other platforms. Most importantly, visitors are encouraged to, you guessed it, turn the tub around, by clicking on a flash animation that spins Megan Mullally and the tub of I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter ® so that the nutrition facts face the visitor.

4. Tell your story to a mouse, in a house…  (Tell it to everyone, wherever they are.)

This story is multi-faceted, with a series of components that will launch over the next two months. In mid-December, you can look forward to a series of user-generated content applications that will help Story tell this story even better. And in January, a digital campaign will make it back to viewers with a pretty spectacular ending (yes, this story has a happy ending) that incorporates all elements to date.

In addition to unearthing this story and giving it an online home, Story Worldwide worked with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter® to create all online digital assets and email communications for this series. Stay tuned!