MarCom Mistake #1 - Overlooking the Practical & Tactical

Ron Watermon • August 4, 2021

Overthinking to the Point of Overlooking the Practical & Tactical

St. Louis, MO – August 2021 - The number one mistake most brands make with their marketing and communications is overlooking the basics. The practical and tactical. I see it all the time.

The marketing and communications team focuses so much on being creative and thinking outside the box that they end up missing the elements that really drive success – basic commonsense execution. Keeping it simple.

I’ve done it myself too many times. Overthinking and overlooking.

What do I mean by the practical and tactical? I’m talking about connecting the dots. Making sure that your communication or marketing achieves the objective you desire by connecting the dots with your customers or intended audience.

A SMART Practical & Tactical Approach

The best way to protect yourself from making the mistake of overlooking the basics is to ask some basic questions.

What is the purpose of the communication? Why are you communicating? You must be able to answer that question or you shouldn’t be communicating. The answer to that basic question provides the simple roadmap – the triple AA trip tick or google map to get to your destination.

Who are you trying to reach? Who is the intended audience? You must know who the audience is or you shouldn’t communicate. The success of communication is measured by the audience response. Your intent doesn’t matter. So to start, you must know who you are trying to reach with your story.

Then ask: How will you be reaching them? If your goal is to connect with your audience on LinkedIn, will your link work? Will they be able to watch, view or read what you share?

I think it is wonderful to get a traditional media outlet to cover your story, but will your intended audience see it when it is published? If you share a link after it is published, will your intended audience get a pay wall? If your whole goal is to reach your audience directly through the internet or social media, traditional media may not be the best way to do it.

Okay. Let’s say you know your purpose and you know your intended audience. The next question is what is your message?

What do you want them to know? Is it simple and straight forward enough?

Your audience will only be able to retain one or two messages. Three at the most. Don’t try to cram too much into your story, your press release or your marketing or communication. It will fall flat and miss the mark if you pile on with too many messages. I see this way too often with video.

I understand why those who buy scripted video storytelling try to cram too much into the video. They are spending half their marketing budget on this one video thinking it will have this amazing magical impact. It likely won’t.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. I am not a big fan of spending $10,000 - $20,000 on a single video for your website. I believe you are better off using that budget to tell four to eight video stories.

I firmly believe you need to be consistently communicating with your audience over time. Helping them with news they can use and are searching for online. Keep your video messaging down to 1-2 messages…three at the max.

If You Want To Be Remembered, Tell An Amazing Story

Telling an amazing story is absolutely the best way to be remembered. Human brains are hard-wired by our DNA to respond to story. It is how we learn and remember.

Consistently telling great stories is a way to grow your business in ways you never imaged was possible. Telling an authentic story with a video you share on your website is a good way to grow.

But not just any story. You need to be SMART about those stories.

SMART is mnemonic I created to remember some of these simple and basic communication best practices that should guide your storytelling. I used mnemonics in law school to remember legal rules before my law school exams. It helped me pass the bar exam.

Today the mnemonic that is part of my business name helps me stay focused on helping my clients get the most from their storytelling.

SMART stands for S- Strategic Purpose; M – Message; A-Audience; R – Relatable; T- Told



The SMART Mnemonic Will Help Improve Your Storytelling

Storytelling To Connect With Others

It isn’t just about telling a story. It is about telling a story that connects with your intended audience in a way that builds a deeper relationship with that audience. It is about building trust and connecting at a deeper, more meaningful level.

Some of that connecting is the warm and fuzzy kind. Some of it comes down to the practical and tactical things that businesses too often overlook.

Practical & Tactical Things You Should Consider

·Do you have a blog on your website to share this story?

·Have you included a great video?

·Does your written post with that video runs more than 350 words so it will drive organic traffic to your website?

·Have you developed a good email list and newsletter that allows you to share your stories?

oDo you have someone making sure you are keeping your email list up to date?

·Do you have someone managing your social media so they share it via all your channels?

·Have you included simple contact information on your website and blog so your customer can get in touch with you?

·Have you asked your employees to reshare your social media posts?

·Do you use consistent hashtags and meta data tag your posts so people can find it and join the conversation online?

We live in the Google era. Everyone uses search now. It is part of the fabric of our lives. It is also part of your buyers journey. I don’t care if you are B2C, B2B, B2G or some other B to whatever, I will bet big time that your prospective customer is out there online right now. They are looking for basic information as part of the process of buying. The journey starts with just getting information. Then it advances to identifying who can help them solve their problem. Who will they trust to help them?

More About the SMART in StorySMART

Think Like The Media Outlet You Are

And Don't Forget the Practical & Tactical

If you have a website, you can connect with anyone anywhere in the world. Especially your prospective customers.

You can answer those prospective customer search queries through simple, authentic video storytelling and blogging. It is a practical and tactical approach that works if you are StorySMART about it. It is time for you to #getStorySMART about growing your business online.

Springsteen's New Film is a Boss Lesson in Storytelling

By Ron Watermon • October 21, 2025
When Deadline first reported that Bruce Springsteen’s Deliver Me From Nowhere was headed for the screen, I expected it would be more than another typical music biopic because it was based on a book that focused on a sliver of Springsteen’s life. That “sliver” was a singular defining period of Springsteen’s life. When I wrote my book, I took note of the fact that when Hollywood came calling, they first reached out to Warren Zanes who wrote the book and not Springsteen himself. I was trying to make the point about the importance of securing storytelling source material. The real work in telling a story is that of the author. Writing a great story isn’t easy. When it happens, someone in Hollywood is bound to notice. What I didn’t fully appreciate until now is that Springsteen’s story to screen journey is a masterclass in focus — a case study in how a single defining period, a writer who truly understands his subject, and a team of champions can move a story from the page to the screen in record time. Zane’s book was published 2023. A little more than two years later, the film is being released. That is amazing in of itself, but the approach to the story told is also instructive. Most people think you need your whole life story to make a film. Springsteen — and Warren Zanes — show us you don’t. It can be a sliver. The story behind this storytelling is a Boss lesson in storytelling that help you deliver your story from nowhere. 

Friday Night Lights

By Ron Watermon • October 13, 2025
Your Clear Eyes, Full Rights, Can't Lose Playbook.  If you’ve ever watched Friday Night Lights, you know the phrase: Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. It’s the mantra Coach Taylor preached to his team. But when I look at the 35-year storytelling journey of Friday Night Lights—from a reporter’s notebook to a bestselling book, then a film, a beloved series, and now talk of a reboot—I see a slightly different mantra: Clear eyes, full rights, can’t lose. Because underneath the inspirational football story is a lesson we can draw from in how one journalist’s immersive reporting became a durable, multi-platform franchise. And for me, it’s a perfect demonstration of a pathway we advocate for at STORYSMART®. It all starts with investing in good clear-eyed journalism. It is the single most important investment you can make in developing a true story. When you take control of your source material to tell a true story and develop your story properly, your story can live on for years far beyond the page. I’m a big proponent for adopting a story franchise mindset when approaching storytelling projects. That is why I tell clients to think like a studio executive by adopting a media mogul mindset. When you open your mind to that, it opens the doors of possibilities. The storytelling journey of Friday Night Lights helps illustrate what is possible, as well as offer other lessons on what to do and not do in designing your own professional storytelling path. How a reporter’s notebook became a franchise In 1990, journalist Buzz Bissinger published Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream. It wasn’t just another sports book. He moved his family to Texas to immerse himself in this story. Bissinger spent a year in Odessa, Texas, embedded with the Permian High School Panthers, capturing the obsession, pressure, and community identity that revolved around high school football. He conducted hundreds of hours of interviews and built his narrative from a deep archive of source material. Every interview he conducted is his work product, what I often refer to as copyright protected storytelling source material. Make note of that. That depth of Buzz’s reporting gave the book credibility. It also gave it power as intellectual property. It was a fantastic book that was a hit.

Media Lens: NCAA NIL Guidance & Storytelling

By Ron Watermon • October 3, 2025
The NCAA just approved new guidance on NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals — and while the headlines mostly talk about money, what’s really at stake here is storytelling. Starting this past August, athletes have had to disclose NIL agreements over $600. Schools will help monitor and even facilitate opportunities, and standardized contracts are being promoted to protect athletes. Meanwhile, new rules for collectives are meant to stop disguised pay-for-play deals while still allowing legitimate business arrangements. ( Full NCAA release here )​ On the surface, this might sound like dry compliance policy. But here’s the STORYSMART® takeaway: Transparency is power. The clearer your contracts and disclosures, the harder it is for someone else to hijack your story or exploit your image. Standardization levels the playing field. Whether you’re a star quarterback or a swimmer at a smaller program, having clear terms makes it easier to protect your rights. Your story is the real asset. NIL isn’t just about a jersey deal or an autograph session. It’s about controlling your narrative — the way your life, your legacy, and your values are presented to the world. ​ This guidance is another reminder that athletes — like families, public figures, and estates — need to see their story as intellectual property. The athletes who win aren’t just the ones who score on the field; they’re the ones who invest in how their story is told off the field. ​ STORYSMART® Rule of Thumb: Don’t just cash a check. Build a story that grows in value over time.

What is The STORYSMART® Way?

By Ron Watermon • October 1, 2025
At it's heart, STORYSMART® is about democratizing access to elite-level professional storytelling. Storytelling has been controlled by gatekeepers for far too long.

What "The Studio" Gets Right (and Wrong) About Storytelling

By Ron Watermon • September 24, 2025
The Studio offers a behind-the-scenes look at the chaos of Hollywood, but there are lessons about what the industry gets right & wrong about storytelling.

Goodnight, John-Boy: Lessons in Family Storytelling from The Waltons

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Be Like Mike: Own Your Story Like a Champion

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Forget AI - the Two Letters That Matter Most to Your Story Are IP!

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Why I Wrote STORYSMART® Storytelling for ALL

By Ron Watermon • July 21, 2025
July 22, 2025, St. Louis, MO - There’s a line in Jerry Maguire that has always stuck with me. Young Ray asks his mom, “What’s wrong, Mom?” And she replies: “ First class is what’s wrong, honey. It used to be a better meal. Now it’s a better life. ” That line hits hard. Because access—access to opportunity, tools, and professionals—changes everything. And when it comes to storytelling, access has long been unequal. For decades, only a small group of insiders had the power to tell stories at the highest level. If you weren’t already in Hollywood or publishing, your story stayed in coach—often ignored, misrepresented, or lost. I wrote STORYSMART® Storytelling for ALL to change that. This book is a roadmap. It’s designed to give you—whether you’re a public figure, entrepreneur, athlete, or someone with a life story worth telling—the same tools used by insiders. The same strategies that power studios, presidents, billion-dollar production companies, and bestselling memoirs. It’s also deeply personal. I’ve seen too many remarkable true stories disappear because people didn’t know how to protect them—or worse, were taken advantage of. I’ve felt like an outsider myself. And I know what it means to want your story told right. That’s why I developed the STORYSMART® Framework. To empower people with meaningful stories to protect their rights, preserve their vision, and share it with the world—on their own terms. I’m making the Author’s Note from the book available as a free PDF download as part of this post. And if you’ve got 90 seconds, I invite you to watch the short video message from me below. This is your story. Let’s tell it the right way. About The Book In a world hungry for authentic narratives, STORYSMART® Storytelling for ALL™ : How to Take Control, Own Your True Story and Profit Like a Hollywood Insider delivers a rare insider’s guide to turning a true story into a cultural and financial asset while maintaining control. Designed for public figures, entrepreneurs, and individuals with powerful life stories, the book introduces the STORYSMART® Way, a step-by-step framework to organize, preserve, and professionally develop your story for books, film, and television. The book pulls back the curtain on how stories move through publishing, Hollywood, and streaming—and empowers readers to navigate the process like seasoned insiders. Topics include copyright and licensing, collaborating with elite-level professional filmmakers and ghostwriters, developing a pitch-ready treatment, and monetizing true stories through publishing, streaming, and merchandising. STORYSMART Storytelling for ALL is available currently as both a paperback and e-book. It will be available soon be in hardcover and audiobook formats. About the Author Ron Watermon is the founder of STORYSMART®, a cinematic storytelling consulting service and story development film studio. A lawyer, filmmaker, and Emmy-nominated television producer and writer, Ron’s led strategic communications for an MLB team, advised high-profile clients, and has produced both film and television productions. Ron lives in St. Louis with his family. Learn more about Ron at storysmart.net and ronwatermon.com #STORYSMART #StorytellingForAll #NewBook #MediaRights #TrueStories #BookLaunch

STORYSMART® Film Receives Major Grant Support from St. Louis Film Project

By Ron Watermon • April 24, 2025
We are honored to share some big news. Our documentary, A Steak Guerrilla in St. Louis: The Dr. Arturo Taca Story, has been selected as one of five projects to receive funding from the St. Louis Film Project , a collaboration between the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) of St. Louis and Continuity . This recognition comes from a highly competitive pool of 115 applicants. The grant—up to $100,000—represents a decisive vote of confidence in our story and our approach to telling it. It also offers meaningful momentum as we enter the next phase of production. Most importantly, it reinforces what we believe: Dr. Arturo Taca’s story matters and deserves to be told. A Story Rooted in St. Louis — and Felt Across the World “A Steak Guerrilla in St. Louis” is a documentary rooted in the unlikely convergence of midwestern Americana and Filipino resistance. It follows the story of Dr. Arturo M. Taca, a Filipino surgeon and political exile who made St. Louis his home while taking a stand against Ferdinand Marcos's brutal dictatorship. Before terms like “fake news” and “disinformation” became common in American discourse, Dr. Taca uncovered the truth behind the Philippine president's fraudulent war record. That investigation began here—in dusty archives just outside of St. Louis—and set off a chain of events that toppled a brutal dictator. Our film uses a hybrid storytelling format, combining animated reenactments, interviews, and archival research to tell this story in an emotionally resonant and visually striking way. The Grant That Helps Make It Possible The St. Louis Film Project grant, funded through RAC and administered by Continuity, is part of an initiative to uplift the film community in St. Louis. RAC’s press release states that the fund was created to “support local filmmakers and organizations to tell stories rooted in St. Louis.” The evaluation process was rigorous. “Choosing five projects from over 100 submissions was no easy feat," said Vanessa Cooksey, President of RAC. "The talent and stories presented were incredible.” That’s why being one of the five chosen is more than just a financial boost—it affirms this story’s value and connection to our community. It means much to us, and we don’t take it lightly. A Delayed Start But a Firm Deadline While the grant announcement arrived months later than initially expected, we’ve been working behind the scenes to be ready to go once we receive funding. With this grant officially in place, we’re full steam ahead. The grant contractually obligates us to deliver the completed film by January 2026. That’s a fast turnaround in documentary filmmaking, especially for a story with historical depth, international relevance, and a visual style that blends live action with animation. That means every day counts. While the grant covers significant production costs, it also comes with essential parameters: 75% of funds must be spent within the City of St. Louis. We’re proud of that requirement—it aligns with our belief in investing locally and elevating regional talent. But it also means we must be innovative, strategic, and resourceful with every dollar we spend. We have our entire team in place, minus one critical position. We need a gifted DP to join our elite team. We are eager to work with a tremendous city-based production company or cinematographer who calls St. Louis home. If you know a great cinematographer who would like to join us, please have them email me at ron@storysmart.net. Why We’re Still Seeking Donor Support Even with the RAC grant, bringing this film to life in the way it deserves will take more. Animation, archival licensing, original score composition, color grading, distribution planning—it all adds up. And some of this can't be sourced in a way that fits grant guidelines. And because of the ambitious deadline, we’ll need to scale quickly without cutting corners. That’s where you come in. We’re seeking additional donor support to help us: Expand our animation sequences and visual storytelling capacity. Secure the rights to key archival materials that deepen the film’s historical accuracy. Shoot at least a couple of interviews with key individuals who live outside our region, including the Philippines. Invest in editorial and post-production tools that allow us to move efficiently without sacrificing quality. Ensure the finished film reaches the broadest possible audience, from film festivals to classrooms to international broadcast platforms. Your contribution—no matter the size—helps ensure that Dr. Taca’s story is told with the care, accuracy, and cinematic impact it deserves. If you believe in the power of truth-telling… if you value stories that connect communities and illuminate buried history… we hope you’ll consider becoming a supporter. Click here to donate Learn more about our film at steakguerrilla.com A Final Word: Why This Story Matters Now We often think history is distant, locked away in textbooks or museums. But A Steak Guerrilla in St. Louis reminds us that history is constantly being rediscovered—sometimes in our backyard. It’s a reminder that exile doesn’t silence the truth, that one person in one city can stand up to a dictator and change the course of a narrative written in lies, and that the work of defending democracy happens quietly, persistently, and often without recognition. Now, it’s time to give that recognition. With this grant—and with your support—we’re going to finish the film. And when we do, we’ll bring a hidden chapter of St. Louis history that reverberates far beyond our city limits. Thank you for sharing this journey with us, and a special thanks to each member of our talented filmmaking team. I'm grateful for your willingness to work to bring this story to the screen, your patience through this process, and your unselfish (uncompensated) work to make it happen. I have no doubt it will all be worth it! --Ron Watermon, Executive Producer & Director, A Steak Guerrilla in St. Louis: The Dr. Arturo M. Taca Story
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