The Art of Storytelling: Establishing Bridges with Audiences -

Key Takeaways from this article:

• Defining the art of storytelling in marketing.
• History of storytelling in marketing.
• Process guide to the art of storytelling in marketing
• Different stories for different consumer segments.
• Future of storytelling in marketing.

Storytelling in Marketing

“Deep in the heart of a sprawling forest, there lived a young girl known as Little Red Riding Hood. With her bright eyes, cheerful smile, and a bright red cloak that was her namesake, she was a beloved figure in the village.” You might have come across many such adventures in your childhood. It was fun, wasn’t it? The fun of deep diving into fictional journeys and feeling every emotion. This is the art of storytelling. The art where one wraps you up with such easy yet interesting plots that you remember them for life. It doesn’t matter if I recite this verse to a five-year-old, a twenty-five-year-old, or a fifty-year-old, I’m sure they will all remember our little Miss. Red.

Now that you know the art of storytelling, do you think advertisers use this for you to remember their brands? Of course, they do. Before we understand how they use this art, let us understand what storytelling is in marketing.

Storytelling in marketing is a creative process of using narratives to send messages across to a target audience. Humans have been detailed in such a way that we learn, connect, and make decisions based on the stories we know. This is a prime reason why storytelling is such an effective way to promote products to consumers and also why it is widely used by brands. To understand this art, it is imperative that we first understand its history.

History of Storytelling

The evolution of storytelling in marketing began in the early days of print advertisements, and commercials. It was often used as a source to communicate with consumers, persuade them, and grab their attention. Print advertisements were a resource of visually appealing images that narrated stories that resonated with the emotions of the consumers. Commercials were of two types: radio commercials and television commercials. The power and depth of a word spoken with immense emotions created an image that consumers were attracted to and were easily able to relate to. This was the highlight of a radio commercial. For television commercials, it was a mix of both audio and visual elements which proved to be a powerful source of storytelling, creating an impactful and positive brand image, communicating some great narratives, and connecting with the audiences on a deeper level.

As we are moving towards the digital age, the marketing landscape is transforming. With the introduction of social media and other digital platforms, brands have a wealth of tools to engage with audiences and create an enhanced and positive brand image. Brands have access to creative and interactive platforms that aid in providing personalized experiences to consumers. Blog posts, videos, reels, interactive content, and user-generated content have allowed digital storytelling to reach new heights.

Can you think of the benefits that storytelling provides to marketing? Let us list down some of those and understand them with some examples.

Meaningful bonds – Stories have so much power in them that they can bring out immense emotions in consumers and make the brand memorable and the message across.

E.g., We all have heard of Brook Bond’s Red Labels campaign “Swad Apnepan Ka”. How many of us remember the advertisement of a grandmother who was stuck in traffic on a rainy day with a granddaughter and was irritated? This advertisement represents the prejudice faced by the transgenders and how a simple cup of tea converts this prejudice into acceptance. Some might remember this story because it signifies the meaningful bond among humans that we sometimes forget. Through this advertisement, the brand not only shared a meaningful message and made an incredible impact but also made the brand’s image unique fostering brand loyalty, and emotional connectivity.

Memorable – It is its characteristic that it is memorable which makes it more efficient than any facts or figures. This promotes brand loyalty, increases touchpoints, and most importantly helps in improving sales.

E.g. “Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai”, an acclaimed campaign by Airtel can be the best example to understand this benefit. Airtel, a telecommunication company, presented friendship – a relationship cherished by many as a link between the services they provide and their consumers. Here, the consumers were taken by the thought-provoking music and the bond that Airtel wanted to signify. This made the advertisement so memorable that even today you might sing its melody just as soulfully if not better.

Relatable – If we can relate to something it is always present in our minds. Brands make sure that the stories are relatable so that the consumer can feel and understand the brand leading to customer lifetime value and repeat purchases.

E.g. Zindagi ke sath bhi, Zindagi ke bad bhi – a campaign by Life Insurance Corporation of India stressed the emotions of life and signified the importance of life insurance to secure the future of our loved ones. This advertisement was so relatable that the viewers were able to connect and see themselves facing the unexpected challenges of life and the support a life insurance policy can provide them.

Persuasive – Stories that can persuade consumers and convert them to sales are what all brands look after. If the story is not persuasive, it is likely, that it will not be selected.

E.g. the Surf Excel campaign “Daag Achhe Hain” focused on altering the perception of the viewers and consumers of stains on clothes. It persuaded its consumers and views by presenting the spirit of childhood and how parents can encourage the spirit by embracing the stains validation to the active lives of not just children but every human.

These are just a few examples of these benefits. One can find many more without breaking a sweat.

Process of storytelling

Creating an impactful storytelling advertisement is a multi-step process. These steps can be broken down into:

Brainstorming
Development
Implementation
Analysis.

It is said not to leave any stone unturned, so let us break down this comprehensive process a little more.

Defining the target audience

In this step, the brand understands its own identity, values, and its target audience. The brand will then identify the communication that it has to send along with the desired emotions to the selected target audience.

Brainstorming

As the name suggests, the advertisers have to use their creative understanding to come up with a range of ideas/stories. These must align with the message that the brand wants to send to its target audience. A variety of emotions that the end consumer can connect with their experience must be presented compellingly. Advertisers have the liberty to use general experiences, intriguing narratives, and even traditional references to mark a successful brainstorming session.

Storyboard

Now that the creators have come up with an impact full story, it is time they deal with it at the microscopic level. At this stage, the advertisers start building on dialogues, characters, visuals, and key scenes. A storyboard is used to visually represent the story of the advertisement to ensure smooth and correct communication with the consumers.

Mood board

A mood board is a collection of images, textures, colours, and visual graphics that represent the vibe of the story. Mood boards must contain the personality of the brand, the preferences of the consumers, and the emotions that the story must contain.

Voiceover

After the story has been visualized, it is of utmost importance that any final touch, if required, to the dialogues or characters have to be made. It is to be taken into consideration that the script has to be compelling, the dialogues neutral, and the characters relatable. Voiceover, if necessary, has to be taken into consideration and appropriate measures must be taken.

Editing – Audio and Video

In this step, advertisers focus on graphics, cinematography, visuals that align with the mood board, and editing techniques. Along with this music that arouses desired emotions, a proper sound mix, and balance for a seamless audio and video experience is emphasized.

Feedback

Feedback is an important component concerning any category of work. Advertisers now gather feedback through a sample from a certain percentage of the target audience. Through this feedback, the story is evaluated based on the message communicated and the emotions evoked by the sample consumers. Any changes, if required, are made to ensure the effective fulfilment of the objectives of the story.

Approval and D-day

Now that the advertisers know that everybody is happy with the story, there is a greater percentage for it to be a hit. The next step is the final approvals and the story is made live in the form of an advertisement.

Storytelling for Different Consumer Segments

Consumer segments are the broken down and more manageable groups of consumer proportions that have the same characteristics. Different characteristics make a consumer segment. Some examples of the same are:

Demographic segmentation – This category includes age, gender, income, education, and family status.
Psychographic segmentation – This category includes personality, values, and lifestyle.
Behavioural segmentation – This category includes brand loyalty, purchase frequency and occasion, and benefits desired.
Lifestyle segmentation – This category includes consciousness, tech-savviness, health and wellness, and thrill-seeking capabilities of the consumers.

In all the segments listed above, storytelling is used to connect with consumers on a deeper level and influence their buying decisions. It is not necessary that the same story might be equally compelling to all the consumer segments. It is important to learn about the needs, wants, and motivations of different consumer segments to present them with the desired story they can resonate with.

Some tips that can be used to make a compiling story for different consumer segments are:

Identifying target audience – Stories are created to fulfill the needs and wants of a consumer segment. To understand these needs and wants, identifying the correct consumer segment is crucial.
Understanding consumer journey – It is necessary to understand consumer journeys so that all the necessary touchpoints are taken into consideration. The brand can now identify opportunities created through a desire to story and increase engagement with the consumers.
Ideating stories that will connect with the specific segment – Here, the advertisers must take into consideration the emotional connection that is desired, relativity, credibility, and relevance of the story.
Applying different formats of storytelling to different consumer segments – Different segments rely on different modes or formats of storytelling. For example, a specific age group might resonate more with an audio and video experience, as compared to a written experience. There might be some behavioural segments that might be more engaged with quizzes, polls, and feedback.
Evaluating results – To understand the degree of performance of a storytelling campaign, its impact has to be measured concerning the audience response. This aids the advertisers in evaluating the favorable and non-favourable aspects of a campaign and enhances the approach to improve productivity.

Future of Storytelling in Marketing

Storytelling is a powerful tool in marketing and its future is on the rise. With the advent of new technologies and the constantly altering preferences of consumers, marketing enthusiasts have the opportunity to build compelling stories to communicate and connect with their target audience.

Some trends that will build the future of storytelling are:

AI tools: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that helps in ideation prompts, mood boards, and storyboards.
Social change: Raising awareness of social issues drives a positive change. It is an impactful method of using storytelling to make a difference in the world.
Emphasis on data: As we move towards the digital age, our reliance on data has increased. Marketers can make use of the easily available data to create compelling stories and achieve their targets.
Interactive storytelling: The more interactive and engaging the story, more is the positive outcome it results in. There are various methods to make a story interactive. Marketers can also use augmented reality to make compelling and interactive stories.

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