Please provide posts for Discussion 1 and Discussion 2.

Please note Discussion 2 is aligned with the Final Project Assignment and images are required
on a PPT.

Please provide answers to Instructor and Students on both Discussions.

Discussion 1 and 2 Instructions:

Discussion 1: Buyer Personas in Storytelling

Effective brand storytelling includes the creation of relatable characters that your audience will
support. One approach is to develop a buyer persona and tell stories from this perspective. For
example, think about the Allstate insurance commercials featuring the Mayhem character. Each
commercial features Mayhem taking on various personas while telling a story representing
consumers’ attitudes and behaviors related to life’s unpredictability and the security of insurance.
Not only is this persona memorable for consumers, but it puts a face to a service that can have a
real impact on people’s lives and encourage greater interest in that product.
To prepare for this Discussion, consider a buyer persona you would create to connect
emotionally with a target audience. Make sure to review the Gaudett (2014) and Stillman (2015)
articles in this week’s resources when describing your persona’s specific traits.
By Day 3
Post a 2- to 3-paragraph story introducing your created buyer persona and his or her perspective
about a specific brand. Include the following:
 A description of the buyer persona
 A description of the buyer persona’s associated brand, including any specific products or
services tied to the persona
 A rationale for why you chose this particular persona’s particular features and brand,
including any distinctive features that would make him or her emotionally identifiable to
target audiences
Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s resources and any
additional sources.
Refer to the Week 6 Discussion 1 Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your
Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.
By Day 5
Read several of your colleagues’ posts.
Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ posts in the following ways:
 Compare your story with that of your colleague, including your persona’s shared and
divergent traits.
 Expand on your colleague’s posting by suggesting alternative features or brands that
might make the buyer persona story more effective. Explain your suggestions.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what
insights you gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.
Instructor/Students Posts Discussion 1:

Janet Deskins WALDEN INSTRUCTOR MANAGER 

Allstate Mayhem GPS Commercial Ad
CO LL AP SE
Hello class, I will be sharing some ads that relate to this week's topic:

Here is our first ad:

Please notice how the ad is relatable.

The buyer persona can pretty much relate to each of us that drive. Many of us also use
a GPS whether it is installed in our vehicle or if we use it through our phone.
Regardless, there is a storyline here that makes the ad relatable to many people.

Dr. Janet

Mark Metzler 
RE: Discussion 1 - Week 6
CO LL AP SE
For this week, we are to develop an idea of a buyer persona (which Gaudet (2014) explains is simply what is
commonly known as a “target customer”. This is the person to whom we are trying to sell a product or an idea.
I would like to consider United States military personnel as my target audience.  Many of our service members have
spent years in the military, selflessly sacrificing as they give up days, weeks, months and even years with their
spouses and children, or placing themselves in harm’s way in foreign countries.  Military members can become
jaded when they feel like they are not appreciated, or that people do not appreciate the United States and all it has to
offer.
This person’s persona would be drawn to purchase anything with a “Made in the USA” label. This label should
appeal to their sense that they are supporting the United States, going above and beyond what they have already
given by serving in the military as a career.
 The associated brand would be a mash-up of American-made products. Igloo coolers, Vitamix, La-Z-Boy, Vermont
Teddy Bear Company, and Zippo lighters could all be combined into a 30-secong story to illustrate that you don’t
have to “sacrifice” when you commit to buy most of your products from companies that build domestically. You
could have a military (retired) African-American farmer pull ice out of an Igloo cooler and place it in a Vitamix to
make a cold drink lemonade-based drink, sitting in an old La-Z-Boy on his back porch, and then placing his son’s
Vermont teddy bear on the chair to “save his place” while he goes to light up the charcoal bar-b-que with a Zippo
lighter.  This scene would reflect Crabb’s “Beat 1” (Stillman, 2013). One really wouldn’t need Beats 2, 3, or 4,
much like the Corona beer ads that simply show a beach shoreline and a chair on the sand. It’s just a feel-good
image. The delivery plan would simply be “personal”, as described in the Planning for Scale section of our text
(Sykes et al., 2013, p. 178).
The buyer persona may appeal to anyone else who considers themselves to be a “red-blooded American”. It is
important to note that of course this description includes all Americans, regardless of race, color, or creed. Many
people continue to support military members, even as they reject the idea of wars and the political instruments
behind these enduring conflicts. The idea to “Buy American” whenever possible would hopefully not be seen as
racist (against mostly China), but as a “We’re all in this together” point of view.
 
References
Gaudett, C. E. (2014). How to develop your buyer persona and reel in better customers. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/10/28/how-to-develop-your-buyer-persona-and-reel-in-better-
customers/
Stillman, J. (2013). A storytelling guide for those who stink at storytelling. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved
from http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/a-storytelling-guide-for-those-who-stink-at-storytelling.html
Sykes, M., Malik, A. N., & West, M. D. (2013). Stories that move mountains: Storytelling and visual design
for persuasive presentations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Tony West 
RE: Discussion 1 - Week 6
CO LL AP SE

            In this week discussion we are focusing on the aspects of buyer’s persona in persuasive
storytelling. In many ads and commercial they used these tactics to have a successful ad
campaign, According to Guadet buyer’s persona is a targeted customer within the message is
appropriated to (Guadet,2014). The consumer of the product that is being sold would be the
buyer’s persona. I saw a commercial for Verizon that was aired in 2020. The Verizon
commercial show the different aspects and benefits that the services have for its customer. I
believe that perspective customers who are looking for a new company or Verizon customer who
are debating on leaving the company. The supported associated brand with version that were
displayed where family, friends and unity. The company has always focused on the structure of
unity and how that can bring in more consumers into the company.  In the commercial they also
tied several different brands to the company such as Hulu, ESPN, and Netflix which are
streaming services. They used those different brands because of the familiarity and how families
can use time to bond over watching and using those streaming systems.
            Within the commercial the focus was on capitalizing the audience or the target audience
within the commercial. According to Jessica Stillman many business owners or entrepreneur
main focus to get these attentions of the audience so that they can pay attention to the product
with the commercial (Stillman,2013). The wanted to build in a “family atmosphere” within the
commercial to get more individuals to buy into the new products within Verizon. I think they
wanted to draw a personal connection with the customers, getting these customer invested
emotionally is what they feel as if can make the difference in the commercial for successful
storytelling to persuade (Sykes et al., 2013). This buyer appeal to anyone who is interested in
changing cell phone plans and have a family that is intermediate. This would be more so focused
in their direction for the commercial campaign.
Video Link: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/na6U/verizon-unlimited-mix-and-match-30
Resources
 
Gaudett, C. E. (2014). How to develop your buyer persona and reel in better customers.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/10/28/how-to-develop-your-
buyer-persona-and-reel-in-better-customers/
Stillman, J. (2013). A storytelling guide for those who stink at storytelling. Inc. Magazine.
Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/a-storytelling-guide-for-those-who-
stink-at-storytelling.html
Sykes, M., Malik, A. N., & West, M. D. (2013). Stories that move mountains: Storytelling
and visual design for persuasive presentations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Discussion 2: Evaluating Visual Aids in

Storytelling
From images, to videos, infographics and presentations, the magic is truly in the mix with more
visual mediums than ever before to bring your story to life.
—Jessica Gioglio

Sometimes, words are not enough, and this is especially true in storytelling. Visual aids help
marketers increase the impact of their story by bringing the story to life, and the current age of
digital technology has opened up many new doors for visual marketing. Not only can products be
beautifully photographed and prominently featured, but marketers can employ visuals to
influence emotions and create connections.
To prepare for this Discussion, review this week’s resources and select at least two visual aids
from the Final Project you are developing. Consider how you chose the visuals for your Final
Project and how they enhance the different stages and overall effectiveness of your story.
By Day 4
Post an evaluation of the use of visual aids for storytelling to maximize impact. Include the
following in your evaluation:
 A description of at least two visual aids, including their source and placement within
your Final Project
 A brief rationale for why you chose these particular visuals for your Project
 An explanation of how these visual aids will increase the impact of your story as a whole
Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s resources and any
additional sources.
Refer to the Week 6 Discussion 2 Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your
Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.
By Day 6
Read several of your colleagues’ posts.
Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ posts in the following ways:
 In what ways do you agree or disagree with your colleague’s assessment of the impact of
visual aids on his or her Final Project?
  Share an insight gained from your colleague’s posting regarding your own choice of
visual aids to enhance your Final Project.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what
insights you gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.

Janet Deskins WALDEN INSTRUCTOR MANAGER 

What are visual aids?

Hi everyone,

Just in case you have a question on what constitutes accepted visual aids for the final
project, I created a list. You may have found something else that is not listed here. As
long as it is a visual aid that adds to your project in a visual manner, it should be fine.

Dr. Janet

Examples of Visual Aids:

 Microsoft PowerPoint - Do you need suggestions for making PowerPoint slides? Check out this
link on YouTube - 

3 PowerPoint HACKS for INSTANT

Improvement (incl. Morph between Shapes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
time_continue=1&v=s7jbBLJZ6a0&feature=
emb_logo
 Image with detailed information - examples include a chart of any kind or other image with an explanation.
 YouTube videos can be effective formats for visual representations. However, please make sure that any
video you select has Closed Captions included. To find a Closed Caption "cc" you will go to the settings
and then search for your topic. You can make sure the video has Closed Captions by looking in the bottom
right corner for the "cc". But, if you do use a video of some sort, please clip it down or take a screenshot of
the video so that you can reference it. You should be able to use a video for reference to get your visual
aspect across, but not use the entire video.
Tools that are NOT considered as visual aids:
 Please do NOT use any social media platforms as a visual aid. Social media is the connection between
people. Now, you can use an image that may be posted on a social media website. But, do NOT use the
social media platform as a means of visual aid.
 Do NOT overdo it with memes. While memes are good visual aids, you will need explanations on your use
of any memes. So, be careful.
 Do NOT insert your CAST story map into a PowerPoint slide. Remember, you want clean text on each
slide - do NOT overclutter with a table or too much text.
Hopefully, this post will give you some ideas of pulling your presentation together. Most
students go with PowerPoint. So, be creative and have fun with this project. Also, you
should use your slide notes that are at the bottom of each slide. The slide notes allow
you to input a lot of information to help explain what is on your limited slide.

Dr. Janet

Instructor/Students Posts Discussion 2:

Ebone Liggines 
RE: Discussion 2 - Week 6 
CO LL AP SE

For part 2 of this week’s discussion post, I shifted my focus to researching visual ads that would help great a better
impact for my target audience. According to Gaudet, before we can find ads that help bring our project to life, we
must first identify our target audience. “The first step in defining your buyer persona is gathering demographic
information. This can include their income, occupation, interests, gender, level of education, and where they live,”
(Gaudet, 2014). My target audience identifies as everyday people who are small business owners, people who work
for a living that have families, and individuals who like to track their daily spending habits.  For the first image I
selected represents a business owner stress out for various like how to keep her business taxes separate from her
personal taxes, How to understand and function QuickBooks, etc. This is what most business owners look like when
are frustrated with business operations. I think this image is something that many business owners can relate too
regardless of your age, gender, or race. The second image I selected is image of kid who is excited about saving
money. This image was a great selection because some of target audience are individuals with families at home that
they have to support. Having kids are a very costly and I can only imagine that most if not all parents are interested
in figuring out ways to save more money. Seeing an excited kid on a Visual Ad will help capture the attention of
parents because it something that they can relate too.

Visual Ads – intuit.pptx  

References

All images are from Google

Gaudett, C. E. (2014). How to develop your buyer persona and reel in better customers. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/10/28/how-to-develop-your-buyer-persona-and-reel-in-better-
customers/
Sykes, M., Malik, A. N., & West, M. D. (2013). Stories that move mountains: Storytelling and visual design for
persuasive presentations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Demetric Bonner 
RE: Discussion 2 - Week 6
CO LL AP SE
The visual aids that I will be utilizing within my final project are Power Point presentation and
photo’s directly related to Samsung. I think they will both enhance my project and make it more
interesting to the reader. Visual aids assist in the presentation to life because now you can see
what the author was talking about.
Power Point presentations tell the story in a series of slides and images and helps to engage the
reader. If done correctly and creatively it can have a great effect on the final outcome. It also
helps the reader with their visualization.
Photos are also a great way to help the reader visualize your point or story that you are trying to
get across. Photos can tell a story themselves if situated properly within the presentation.
From images, to videos, infographics and presentations, the magic is truly in the mix with more
visual mediums than ever before to bring your story to life (Gioglio, 2014).
Hopefully by utilizing these visual aids it will help me in bringing my final project to life and
produce a quality presentation.
References
Gioglio, Jessica (2014) Seven Tips For Jumpstarting Your Visual Storytelling
Strategyhttps://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-case-studies/seven-tips-for-jumpstarting-your-visual-
storytelling-strategy/