If you aren’t a parent it might have escaped your notice that it was World Book Day on 3 March. I packed my two small people off in their favourite dragon and monster costumes, books grasped in their clammy little hands. I know these ‘awareness days’ can seem like a bit of a gimmick, but I love the innocent optimism of WBD. When I asked my eldest what he wanted to dress up as he jumped up and down with excitement, reeling off a list of treasured stories. Even better, they had characters easily served by costumes we already owned.
I grew up in a house full of books, largely thanks to my grandad, who worked for Hodder and Stoughton. I can’t imagine living in a house without bulging bookcases so my children are also being raised on an endless diet of stories. It’s easy to think of a ‘story’ as being the stuff of childhood, making way for literature when we grow up, but I don’t think that’s the case. Every message we send out into the world is a story. I believe that it’s hugely important to remember that when creating business communications.