How to create an epic comic strip for your organisation
A guide to creating the only corporate newsletter people can’t wait to receive!
Story telling is an integral part of human society. Used to great effect, it can educate, excite or even impart wisdom onto younger generations.
Wonderfully crafted stories can also insert a bit of light-hearted humor into our otherwise straight forward and mundane corporate life.
We all know those branded, unread newsletters the company sends out periodically that no one looks forward to. Our challenge was to break this pattern, and create a piece of communication from the company that people actually looked forward to receiving.
How? You guessed it…it came in the form of a bespoke comic strip that spoke to the culture of the organization. It was for the company, by the company and did not take itself seriously at all. This is how we did it.
Build your team!
As with most things a killer team is crucial to making this happen. Our team was made up of art directors, designers and a copy writer. It’s up to you how you want to structure the team, but it’s important to get a group of people who have the same vision for the strip and can help lighten the load of work. This was our team!
Determine the style, tone of voice and frequency
A comic strip has a rhythm and a pattern, and you got to get in and out quick. So you set up a joke, tell the joke, and done.
– Stephan Pastis
It’s important to know upfront what the style and tone of the comic strip will be. Typically this is driven by the core competencies of the team members. Another crucial element is a release schedule that is manageable and does not create extra unwanted stress for the team. Few things suck the fun out of something as quickly as a tight deadline.
Brand it!
This is where the fun begins. Come up with a name and logo. This step will stem from the style and tone established already. The vision starts coming to life!
Create the characters
For us this step was simple, as the characters where simply going to be actual people from the agency. Here is how we took some of the more colorful well-known team members and created their characters first.
Write your first script
All your comic strips are going to start off as scripts. The first piece is what you use to sell the idea to the leadership so it needs to be punchy, funny and courageous. Take aim and fire at those issues in the company that everyone knows exists but no one is willing to talk about openly.
This is important because the comic strip is the voice and mind of the people. It not only provides a way for leadership to speak candidly with staff, but also for the staff to find their voice, speak out and tackle issues in the company (more on this later). After all, every good joke is steeped in truth.
Package the idea and get buy in from leadership
It’s time to pitch the idea and get approvals. The most important thing here is to know your audience. Keep your pitch simple, straight to the point and tailor it for your desired audience.
Does your boss always make a funny joke? Make the strip about that and poke fun at him. Have courage to do the unexpected (within reason) to really set the tone of the comic from the beginning.
Have 2–3 strips/scripts ready at launch
This is a crucial point as you always want to be ahead of the release schedule. Being 2 strips ahead means you never miss a deadline and you can work at a comfortable pace.
Encourage the company to contribute stories
In your first release have a panel at the end that encourages people to submit funny stories for the strip. This approach fosters a culture of inclusion and ownership from the beginning. People need to know that this platform is a peer to peer piece of communication …not from the company.
Encourage constant feedback
A stand-up comedian faces the audiences and gets their immediate feedback. I hide behind the comic strip, and unless people write to me, I don’t know what they think.
– Stephan Pastis
Keep your ears on the ground for feedback and criticism. Your audience will ultimately shape the future of the strip. Get feedback and put it all together to find common themes. Encourage people to email their thoughts and feedback so you can improve the quality of your output.
The Result
The response?
People loved it and it really become the newsletter that people looked forward to receiving. Collaboration was great as people started submitting stories we could adopt. Its success even led us to consider making an animated web series based on it for the agency.
Our key take away was that real stories, about real people, resonate with your audience. They allow them to escape into a world where candor is accepted and celebrated.
The comic strip provided people a freedom of expression not usually found in corporate environments.
So, the next time you receive that corporate newsletter from your company, sit back and imagine how you could use this piece of communication to brighten someone’s day.
