Exactly how business changes and morphs as we come out of Covid lockdown is a very murky crystal ball.

There is no playbook for the situation the world’s in, and we don’t know the ending…for individuals, for communities and for companies.

One aspect which will evolve are the stories businesses tell of themselves and to themselves.

Even more so, an organisation’s first most important story (their Million Dollar Message) almost invariably will need to be totally reinvented.

The encapsulating 2-10 words that, a mere two months ago, perfectly described a firm’s what and why is now quite probably redundant.

The BBQ or informal function inquiry as to ‘what do you do’ will no longer have the right resonance.

The expression which does all the heavy lifting and acted as a North Star for an institution’s storytelling on its website, sales documents and social media may now seem irrelevant.

For example if international and business travel become (initially at least) minor components of Air NZ’s offer, how should it reframe its value proposition?

How does travel and tourism convince us that they’re actually sustainable?

Can food and food production systems succinctly tell us stories that they’re on the side of the planet?

Post-Covid-reset

The post-Covid-reset by businesses will not only be in product and service offers.

The story and stories promoted post-Covid will need to reflect a new reality of a completely changed world – one where you have to demonstrate sustainability, if not positive contribution, to our planet.

You might be able to unearth an authentic story on your own that reflects this.

But because most of us (myself included), can’t see the wood for the trees, most find it impossible to do by themselves.

Punchline’s promise is that its two-hour questioning-framework will reveal the words that are at least 80% of the way there in describing why someone should be interested in your offer.

By taking this expression – and applying more thought, time and tweaking – a business has the basis for their own bona fide Million Dollar Message.

A firm’s first, most important story is the most difficult one to bring to light. It is a concentrated narrative, very often incorporating a magical metaphor, that most writers and branding agencies shy away from.

But as they say, never let a serious crisis go to waste – tell your story in a different way, today.