Content marketing and The Hero’s Journey.

“Hark! The siren sounds of the ads called out to me. On my quest for a new phone, I journeyed the lengths of the Internet, I met an oracle through the magical portal called YouTube. The oracle gave me the knowledge I desired.

I battled the persistent sales person in Best Buy trying to sell me a TV on sale on my path to reach the mobile phone section. I faced my deepest fears of emptying my wallet to obtain the iPhone. And now, with my thirst to use Snapchat on mobile vanquished, I return home a changed and more powerful man.”

In terms of marketing or content marketing, I just described what’s called a customer journey (sure, if Thor was making it) to buying a smartphone. But I also described something else. The Hero’s Journey.

The Hero’s Journey.

The Hero’s Journey is a story template that is very similar to the path customers take (the customer journey) to buying a product. Understanding The Hero’s Journey can aid a UX professional, content strategist or marketer in being able understand how to deliver experiences and content on the right way and right time to help the “hero” on the path to completing their journey towards making a satisfying purchase.

What is The Hero’s Journey?

Commonly associated with Professor of Literature Joesph Campbell (building off the work of others), Campbell developed The Hero Journey’s story template by analyzing the stories and myths told by various cultures over time. From there, he came up with a set of sequential events that seemed to be common to most of the stories. This came to be called The Hero’s Journey. It’s also referred to as the Monomyth (the one standard that applies to all myths and stories).

The overriding story arch involves a hero (which pronouns unfairly seem to point towards males) who goes on an adventure. Faced with a decisive crisis along the way, they win a victory and then return home changed or transformed.

Or as Joseph Campbell put it…

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

This journey has been told, again and again, in modern-day story telling. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Spider-Man, Wizard of Oz and my trip to NYC to find really good bagels are examples. Like those examples and the path of the average consumer purchase, the journey will have the following phases…

Departure.

The hero or protagonist lives in the ordinary world and receives a call to go on an adventure. The hero is reluctant to follow the call, but is helped by a mentor figure.

Initiation.

A spiritual initiation, the hero then makes a journey of return, bringing these gifts of insight back to the larger community.

Return.

Once the hero’s transformation is complete, he or she returns to the ordinary world with the elixir, a great treasure or a new understanding to share.

Campbell notes that “love” is one of the most powerful and popular of elixirs. In terms of the customer journey, that love is more likely love of product or positive experience with the product.

Mapping The Hero’s Journey to the customer journey.

Using the smaller steps listed with those three phases, let’s see how The Hero’s Journey tracks with a customer buying journey. And because Campbell’s Monomyth employs masculine pronouns a lot, our hero mapping this journey will be a heroine in the adventure of…

Jane and the Quest for Headphones. The Hero’s Journey.

Departure: The call to adventure.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: The hero begins from a since of normality. Information is received that acts as a call to head off into the unknown.

JANE’S QUEST: Our story begins with Jane. Who enjoys listening to music on her wired headphones. Her friends tell her that her current headphones are “old, tired and embarrassing” and should think about getting wireless headphones.

Departure: Refusal of the call.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: When the call is given, the future hero first refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his current circumstances.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane doesn’t see a problem with her wired headphones. They work just fine. One day, her wired headphones keep coming out of her ears as her arms catch the cord while she’s running at the gym. As it happens again, and again, she becomes frustrated. One day, she accidentally catches the headphone cords in such a way, it shorts the connection in the left headphone. She’s mad…and suffers without her uplifting motivation music.

Departure: Supernatural aid/meeting the mentor.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his guide and magical helper appears or becomes known. More often than not, this supernatural mentor will present the hero with one or more talismans or artifacts that will aid him later in his quest. Meeting the person that can help them in their journey.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane starts looking for information about headphones from influencers on YouTube. From there, she learns about tools and information in which to evaluate wireless headphones on her journey.

Departure: Crossing the threshold.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: This is the point where the hero actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are unknown.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane has decided and put money aside for headphones. She starts checking websites for more content and options about wireless headphones.

Departure: Belly of the whale.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: This represents the final separation from the hero’s known world and self. By entering this stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis. When first entering the stage the hero may encounter a minor danger or set back.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane checks out more specific videos about wireless headphones. During her search she runs into a video with a grief-stricken video host that warns her, “Why you shouldn’t buy wireless headphones! The warning makes her hesitate for a moment about buying wireless headphones at all.

Initiation: The road of trials.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: A series of tests that the hero must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the hero fails one or more of these tests. Eventually the hero will overcome these trials and move on to the next step.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane keeps looking at headphone options. She likes a set, but it’s too much money. She looks at another, it’s not right. Another she’s considering is not in stock.

Initiation: The meeting with the goddess.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: This is where the hero gains items given to him that will help him in the future.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane encounters the goddess of the internet known as Google. Google search results lead Jane to a landing page. She gives the site her email address and gets access to resources that allow her to review an amazing collected set of audio guides and audio equipment reviews, including cool wireless headphones.

Initiation: Woman as temptress.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: In this step, the hero faces those temptations, often of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him to abandon or stray from his quest, which does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane tells her boyfriend she’s looking for headphones. Her boyfriend thinks he might have an extra pair of wireless headphones for free. He’s not sure if he can find them, but if Jane is willing to wait for him to find out, they’re hers. Wireless headphones, for free? Jane feels that’s hard to resist.

Initiation: Atonement with the father.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: The hero must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his life.

JANE’S QUEST: Should she wait for the headphones her boyfriend may have? Should she move forward on her own search? After soul searching, Jane feels simply waiting is keeping her from an experience that will make her and her workout routine more satisfying. And she wants them before her workout tomorrow. With that in mind, Jane lets go of her procrastination and decides to continue her search.

Initiation: Apotheosis.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: This is the point of realization in which a greater understanding is achieved. Armed with this new knowledge and perception, the hero is resolved and ready for the more difficult part of the adventure.

JANE’S QUEST: She goes to the store.

Initiation: The ultimate boon.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the hero went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the hero for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.

JANE’S QUEST: She buys the headphones.

Return: Refusal of the return.

CAMPBELL’S DEFINITION: Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.

JANE’S QUEST: Jane loves her headphones. She can’t imagine not having them.

The return goes in to deeper parts. Which to align to the customer journey would be post sale. And a story we will address in a future post. ‘Till then. I wish Jane well on her continued journey.

Why a content strategist or UX professional needs to understand The Hero’s Journey.

Like the Hero’s Journey, We develop a customer journey for people like Jane to understand what it takes for her to find satisfaction and meet her needs.

To help a potential customer like Jane on her hero’s journey, we must understand the steps and challenges she faces and how to be of assistance.

As the content marketer or UX or content strategist, we can be there as the “supernatural” force to help guide them on their journey.

For example, a content strategist can provide “supernatural” help in the form of:

• SEO. Optimizing content find-ability to Jane can find the headphone content she’s looking for
• Blogs and video. To give Jane the knowledge and tools to complete her quest
• Display ads and (social ads). The “sirens” that call Jane to under take the adventure for new headphones

Obviously there are more areas of “divine intervention” through content that can be used depending on what your customer/hero’s journey is.

No matter what you choose, remember your hero (or heroine) is seeking satisfaction. By understanding the hero journey and creating your role their customer journey effectively, you can help them find success at the end.

CONTENT STRATEGY CONSULTING

Content strategy is defining today’s successful business and leaving those too slow behind. Looking for more ideas and strategies around content marketing and delivering satisfying digital experiences for your brand, website or mobile application contact me for a free consultation.