The days of businesses selling a product (only) are slowly disappearing. The ability to connect with your customer emotionally, is what sells. 

Marketers are increasingly creating content that appeals to the emotional side of their readers/buyers. A product may be able to kill 99.9% of bacteria which is aim, however, how the product will keep a family safe from germs is what a business is selling. It’s not just the product, but the message that lies behind it. 

We’re seeing more advertisements and social media campaigns which are tailored to connecting the customers’ daily life into the product. A common feature of such marketing campaigns is playing up the frustrations and potential conflicts a customer may be facing, and how the service being advertised can make it all better. 

Credit card provider, Barclaycard, demonstrate and effective example of this with their campaign. Their ad features two films, each told from a different perspective, to show how couples put up with each other’s passions. 

The first advertisement takes place at a wrestling match. The woman is a wrestling fan, and her partner doesn’t quite feel as enthusiastic as she does about the event; so he drifts off to a more “happy place” which is at a music festival. 

The second advertisement shows the opposite. The man is enjoying himself at a music festival, but his partner isn’t enjoying it as much as he is, so she drifts off to her “happy place”, a wrestling match. 

Meanwhile, both advertisements highlight the fact that Barclaycard offer savings on thousands of events. The message behind the adverts is that as Barclaycard offer savings on events, neither partner has to miss out when it comes to entertainment. 

At the time, Managing Director, Alex Naylor, Marketing Communications, at Barclays UK said: “When it comes to our love for entertainment, our passions and preferences are all unique – whether that be attending a wrestling match or dancing in the crowd at a music festival. We are excited to be able to bring this to life in an innovative way using mirrored storytelling.”

As well as “mirrored storytelling”, we’re seeing Augmented Reality (AR), play a part in the art of storytelling in Marketing. Coca-Cola brought elements of their campaign to life, using AR. Their ad features 12 stories, with minor conflicts and the animated characters engage in an exchange, which is then resolved with a positive outcome, which revolves around sharing a Coke. 

Jonah Hall, Creative Director at VFX house Timber told The Drum: “The nature of AR allowed the viewer to bring these stories into their environment using the practical can of Coke as a prop and become the backdrop for each of these scenarios to play out.”

Creative Marketing

Possessing creative elements as a marketer, has become one of most in-demand qualities employers and brands are actively seeking. Building brand visibility through storytelling is what marketers are now focusing on. 

Consumer behaviours are constantly changing. As they become more intelligent, stories which are smart and effective, is what they’ll gravitate towards more. This means brands are catering towards different audiences, whether that be family, single parents, those in relationships and young and mature people. 

Stories are not just effective with the visual aspect of marketing such as advertisements and social media videos, but they can also be incorporated into: blogs, e-books and the website, so customers can find out more about the backstory of the business, featuring some of the personnel at the business. 

The art of storytelling can also be used to not only advertise services, but also to accumulate sales. A sales team can be trained to tell the story about the company or a product, or to attract potential investors and increase business. 

Stories with an impact

Storytelling marketing not only allows marketers to be creative in their thinking, but it also enables brands to communicate key messaging in a way that doesn’t need explaining. An authentic story is easy to understand. 

As well as engaging an audience, there are various benefits towards telling a story effectively. Once an audience is hooked by a story, they’ll want more. This leads to readers turning into leads, leads into customers and customers into loyal customers.