Storytelling and its importance in Marketing

As entrepreneurs, we see things differently. Often a true entrepreneur will see a business opportunity where someone else did not. Take the case of Lynda Resnick and the Jackie O pearls. Resnick the mastermind behind iconic brands such as the Franklin Mint, POM Wonderful, Teleflora and more. Turned 3 strings of fake pearls into millions and showed the importance of storytelling in marketing. As she wrote in her autobiography Rubies in the Orchard. When doing your social media consider your story. And if you need help with your social media we are glad to help.

The Legend

Jacqueline Kennedy was often photographed wearing those pearls. She wore them to state dinners. She wore them on trips to India, Greece, and Japan. And when she greeted the high and mighty and when she was looking after the children. But what you may not know is that the pearls were fake. Jacqueline Bouvier purchased them at Bergdorf Goodman in the 1950s for about $35.

In 1996, Sotheby’s announced its “Auction of the Century” to sell the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. I could find only one thing in the entire auction that I wanted: those pearls.

Winning the pearls

The starting price was $5000. By the time the hammer came down on our winning bid, we had agreed to a final price of $211,000.00. We now owned the most expensive strand of fake pearls in the entire world.

People magazine ran a story on the pearls, as did most U.S. newspapers. Dewar’s Scotch took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal with the headline “Just pay $211,000 for a strand of fake pearls? You need a Dewar’s.”

We sent two guards from the Mint’s private army to New York to bring back the pearls. They delivered them to me directly at work. Everyone stood around and watched the unveiling. As I opened it, I caught a faint scent of Jackie’s perfume. It was a chilling experience. My eyes welled up as I thought about what that divine creature had meant to me and my country.

We analyzed the 139 European glass faux pearls and made exact reproductions from a mold. The pearls were colour-matched with the same seventeen coats of lacquer. Then they were put on hand-knotted silken cords. The circle was closed by a silver art deco clasp featuring nine period-style rhinestones and bearing a Franklin Mint silver monogrammed emblem of authenticity. They were as close to the real fake Jackie pearls that any combination of art and technology could muster.

The opportunity

At $211,000, the pearls turned out to be a bargain. We sold more than 130,000 copies at $200 a strand – for a gross of $26 million. Owning the original pearls gave us the credibility to sell the copies; it certified and rewarded our collectors’ faith that they were getting as close to the real deal as anyone could. By wearing those iconic pearls, women everywhere could channel a bit of Jackie.

The same idea applies in social media, storytelling is so very important. Resnick was able to seel the pearls using storytelling and giving people a chance to be connected to Jackie.