Our human brain is designed to absorb stories that teach us something about life. That’s how stories shape up our personalities. Any story whether it’s high on emotions and drama or if it’s based on logic and rationalism, the moral makes the difference. Yes, in order to gain the reader’s attention, the story must be as gripping as it can get. That’s where the story-teller ought to weave his/her magic. You see today, stories are successful as long as they are able to engage their listeners. And today even short stories are the biggest motivations for an individual. Can Story-telling be integrated into Advertising?
Post World War II, the advertising sphere mainly prospered on the basis of showing the brand products intelligently or by just displaying its features, benefits etc. It actually took quite a long time to bring in the art of Story-telling in this field, that too, amidst several apprehensions. But the experiment was worth it. By creating a story, the consumers were able to connect more with the product and its value.
How does it work? A product is infused with a human quality, trait or even with a human personality, surrounded by a premise or a background narrative. The story has a moral in the end, which is the link to the product’s USP or any of its distinct features. Advertisers even use existing stories and folklore and fuse their products into them, converting the outcome into a winning formula.
It’s the 21st century. People have become more aware and alert about the products they buy and the brands that they choose to stick with. Because of that, advertisers need to become more street-smart. They need to know the target group’s feedback, likes and dislikes, and their opinions towards a specific brand. Stories do work well even today, but you can’t create superficial tales that look and sound far-fetched. They need to have some sort of authenticity to link it to the product. Today, your art of Story-telling all depends on your central idea and the flow of your story. It’s about how are you going to communicate your message through a simple story. Appeals and genre come a bit later.
Brand stories are basically either based on fictionalized circumstances or inspired by slice-of-life experiences (day-to-day life experiences). But in the end, for both types, it’s the same method of educating the audience i.e. bringing the product or service into the ad itself along with the logo of the brand. Sometimes, it’s just about hitting the audience right on their face with an intense and frank story of events which will convince the audience to act at once. Take the example of children. They tend to buy items that they recognize, courtesy a strong and captivating background story that intrigues their young minds. Then come the stories that are partially depicted in testimonial form.
Still, one more question arises that, how do modern-age advertisers learn and apply the art of story-telling? Yeah, because narrating as well as characterizing a story in an ad format is not an easy job.
This is where experiences count the most…
Simple instances and jokes that you hear every day in your life has a story to tell. Listening to the radio, checking the social media, hearing out your friends, even eavesdropping on a romantic conversation helps! It has the potential to give you some crazy but fabulous ideas. They all are nothing but a story waiting to be told in the end. It’s how the products create a stir in the market. It’s how the brands are able to create life-long bonds with the consumers of the modern era.