Well(ness), Well(ness), Well(ness) – It's Come To This
Stories With Heart – a fortnightly corralling of the best storytelling insights, for people and organisations aiming to win hearts and minds by telling better, richer stories.
Hello story lovers, Sam Lightfinch here. Welcome to Stories With Heart. As a brand strategist and storyteller, I create narratives that resonate with people and drive organisational success.
Are you ready to wire the story plug, connect those narrative wires and make something electric? Me too. Let’s socket to ‘em.
🏆 Story of the week 🏆
Strangers On A Bench | Tom Rosenthal
Wander up to a stranger, have a conversation, record it, release it as a podcast. That’s the simple and charming premise of Strangers on a Bench.
The podcast is a reminder that everyone has a story worth telling, and the best ones often come from unexpected places. Rosenthal doesn’t force a narrative – he lets it unfold organically, showing how curiosity and active listening are the key ingredients of great storytelling. His ability to find the depth in everyday encounters proves that compelling stories don’t need Squid Game stakes, just a real human connection.
Plus, there’s a lovely surprise at the end of each episode that I won’t ruin for you, but it’s a perfect little postscript to capture the essence of each episode.
Takeaway: Pay attention to the small moments. Whether you’re writing, speaking, or shaping a brand, the most powerful stories aren’t always the shoutiest – they’re the ones that make people feel seen.
Sweet things being evil of the week
Dog, Bear & Baby | Axe | LOLA MullenLowe
When I do campaign work, the first thing I do is look for a thread – that one razor-sharp idea that can be explained and understood in a few words.
The second thing is figuring out how to bring that same idea to life in multiple ways. Not because I’m lazy, but because repetition is what helps an idea stick.
That’s what LOLA MullenLowe have done here for Axe. Same story, three times over. By the time I’ve watched the third one, I know the formula, I know the punchlines, and I know what they want me to remember about the product.
Takeaway: Story frameworks can be reskinned. You don’t need to constantly rewrite and reinvent. Sometimes, the best strategy is to keep bopping people over the noggins with the same message.
Footy footy footy of the week
Brentford Football Club | Official Football Community
Stories with the biggest impact are often the ones told to the fewest people. Take this example (I appreciate the irony of it being shared on social, and then amplified to bigger accounts, then my friend sending it to me) from Brentford FC.
The club rings their season ticket holders to check in on their mental health. What a fine example of going above and beyond, living values and being a steward of the community the club has created.
Takeaway: This is proper story building. This is top-bins brand building. Anyone thinking about engagement metrics should set their goals beyond clicks and likes.
Meeting place of the week
The Sea | Finisterre |Via Board Women
I’ve had meetings in unusual places. A Canal boat. A fake house inside a showroom. Behind the scenes in a shopping centre. But I think Finisterre have me beat.
On the podcast Board Women, their CMO, Bronwen Foster-Butler, talks about having meetings in the sea. The actual sea. Holding meetings there shows that Finisterre are committed to experience-led decision-making, and that their connection to nature shapes their business choices.
This is a fantastic example of a company choosing deep alignment to values and actions over surface-level branding.
Takeaway: Showing commitment through action is far more powerful than simply stating values.
Strategy PDF of the week
TASTE | Joe Burns | Quality Meats
Taste. That instantly understood yet hard to define thing. Is it personal preference? Cultural influence? Emotional connection? It’s all of ‘em blended up to soup-like consistency.
So to unpick the idea of taste (and what it means for companies) with the deftness of a pheasant plucker – as Burns does over 20 punchy pages – is quite a feat. He argues that while many see taste as inconvenient due to its subjectiveness, its power stems from its stubborn resistance to universalism.
We’re taught to embrace universalism. Appeal to the masses. And so I see a lot of brands jumping on popular recipes for success (letter box OOH anyone?). Fine, but there will always be those who reject the sweet and crave brands that leave a sour tingle on their tongues.
Takeaway: Is taste going to be the hot take(away) of 2025? Only time will tell.
My story of the week
My Mind’s Eye Is Always Watching Me
Most mornings, I’ll have a quick scoot around some news sites while my coffee warms my belly and kickstarts my brain.
Creative Boom ran an article this week about Opera Air – the new mindfulness browser. I downloaded it out of curiosity.
The interface was well designed, and the roundness of it all was quite appealing first thing in the day. And then it gave me a quote from Chandler Bing.
“I’m not great at the advice. Can I introduce you in a sarcastic comment?”
Turns out it gives you a motivational quote every day. There are tabs that give me breathing exercises. Another tab lets me select music at the right hertz to stimulate my brain.
Gah. Mindfulness has crept into every corner of life. I get money off my life insurance if I let an app remind me to be present for 5 minutes a day. People have smart watches that tell them to take a deep breath. And now an internet browser, the very thing dragging me into the gaping maw of internet distraction, insists I pause to centre myself. Double gah.
Real presence for me isn’t another open tab. It’s doing something tactile and repetitive.
So I went home and started making a huge paper mâché head. Because I’m in my 30s and I can spend all night ripping up toilet roll rather than scrolling on my phone if I want. No browser can stop me.
THE END(ISH)
Hopefully you’re here because you like the cut of my jibs, and not the cut of my jeans.
If it’s the former, I’d appreciate it if you A) share this newsletter with someone who might like it, or B) check out my website.
If it’s the latter, then thank you for noticing my trouser transition. It’s nice to feel the blood in my feet again.
Love, Sam ❤️