Telling Good Stories

摘要

A portion of this issue has been about products with carefully crafted stories behind them. I learned the power of a good story two years ago April Fool's Day when, with the knowledge and encouragement of the German seed company Benary, I invented Titanic Begonias, which were grown from Benary seed that had been aboard the great ship when she went down. Managing director Matthias Redlefsen received requests for the fictitious begonias all day long (at $25 per plug!) and he felt a bit guilty when he had to fess up that it was all a prank. But not so guilty that he didn't display a big Titanic Begonia poster at Benary's Spring Trials the next week. He knew the power of a good story, too, and milked it for all it was worth.