Story Shop’s weekly trends meeting is one of my favourite parts of the week

Led by Madeleine and Kelan, the Storytellers gather round and share what we’re seeing and hearing, and then we start to think how that knowledge garnered from the diverse perspectives across the team can benefit our clients. 

A few weeks ago, following the finale, we noticed that Curb Your Enthusiasm was everywhere — from think pieces across the media to going viral on TikTok to trending on Google. 

With no client an immediate fit,  it was agreed that I, as the office’s resident Curb Your Enthusiasm obsessive, would write a blog for Story Shop’s website  (which is where you’re reading this) about Larry David. 

I was complicit in agreeing to the action. Eager to delve deep into my passions for PR and LD, and to show off my knowledge. No problem, I thought. Piece of cake; I can write about Curb all day with my eyes closed till the cows come home! 

I got to thinking…

• What about…why brands need to be relentlessly authentic, just like Larry David
• What about… why marketeers should adopt Larry David’s rules for life 
• What about…what can marketeer/ PR/business owners learn from Larry David?
• What about… why the end of Curb shows old ideas shouldn’t be sent to the scrapheap 

I felt sick to my stomach typing all of that. Each and every one of them. 

Whatever I started writing, I just felt like just another schmohawk on LinkedIn

I grappled with my less-than-stellar ideas; maybe I could foist the blog onto someone else? Maybe I should have done a “big goodbye” before the action points were attributed during the meeting? Maybe I should attribute the blog to “Anonymous” and pretend I had nothing to do with the inevitable ChatGPT-esque garbage that would ensue. 

Then, as I toiled, I remembered a thread running through Curb — Larry David’s strict adherence to “The Golden Rule”. 

For LD, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, stands above everything else. He reminds everyone he becomes embroiled in a contretemps with of the Golden Rule throughout the 20+ years of the best show on TV.  It’s more important than respecting wood, not abusing your sample privileges, no shorts on an airplane, no chat and cuts…

And our golden rule for marketing at Story Shop is not to put out content “just because”. Put out content that you genuinely think will educate, inform and/or entertain. 

Deep in my heart, I utterly despise those cobbled-together “Lessons from…” posts that flood LinkedIn after any cultural event, whether it’s a trending Netflix show or viral clip. 

So why am I still writing this?

Because if someone says they’re going to do something, I expect them to do it. And I’d agreed to do this. I was accountable to Madeleine and Kelan. Not writing it would be breaking the Golden Rule. 

I’ve grappled for the last week with how I could write it while still staying true to myself, without letting myself, Story Shop or Larry David down. I’ve stared at both an empty notepad and a notepad full of nonsense. 

I had no idea what to do. So I started writing. I’d do as I’d want someone else to do, to cut through the nonsense and authentically address the challenge they were facing, in the belief/hope that it will chime with some like-minded soul out there rather than trying to appeal to everybody, while actually appealing to nobody. 

And those, ladies and gentlemen, are some of the lessons I as a marketeer/ PR professional /business owner have learned from Larry David.