(This blog also appears at
Michael Margolis, chief instigator at Get Storied in a
1.When we name something, our relationship with it transforms
Hisfirst example has an agricultural flavour.
“If a cow is given a name by her owner, she generates more milk than a cow that’streated as an anonymous member of the herd,” according to a research study by NewcastleUniversity.
Margolis goes on:
Names provide us with purpose and direction, often revealing the inner purpose anddestiny we are expected to fill. Those names impart an energetic connection that shapes us. When youname the people, creatures and places around you, your connection with the universe is strengthened,all through the stories you tell.Brands operate in a similar way. A brand represents the complex emotional relationship betweenthe storyteller – the one who is sharing something about that brand – and the audience. Put in amore traditional context, a brand represents the emotional relationship between a consumer and aproduct.
For all the above reasons, this is why NZ Inc should brand our method of responsiblepastoralism.
We can capture the hearts and minds (and wallets) of consumers who care, by connecting with theiremotions.
We can get off the commodity treadmill differentiating ourselves from much less pleasant andpicturesque means of producing protein.
We can reinvent ourselves….but only if we give ourselves permission to think differently aboutwhat it is we offer the world. (Clue, it is vastly more than a piece of meat or a dairy ingredientin someone else’s product).
No one has laid claim to the pasture-based system of working in harmony with nature.
We can – and to reiterate Margolis’ words:
When we name something, our relationship with it transforms.