Storytelling is a fantastic technique for marketers because it mixes two things that people love: stories, and solutions to problems. Your product solves a problem—why not tell it in a story? Narratives are the new trend not just because they are fun, but because they have other benefits like increasing ad recall. Read below to learn why you should consider telling your brand’s story.
Introducing Our Creative Tactic Series
Creative is one of the most important elements of outdoor advertising. It’s make-or-break: If you’ve done everything else right, but your creative copy fails to communicate a clear, compelling message, then your marketing efforts will suffer.
For this reason, we are embarking on a series of blogs tied to creative, providing you with tactics you can use to design and produce effective creative that attracts and engages your audience. Stay tuned for more advice on our creative tactic series—this is our first installation.
The Human Brain & Branding
People who work in marketing tend to think about psychological concepts that can help them understand how humans behave, think, and feel. If we can understand how people think or what captivates them, it’s easier to design creative that engages your audience.
Stories are captivating for a reason—they are one of the best ways to provide information effectively. Our brains are designed to latch onto facts and opinions that are narrated in the form of a story. From a young age all the way to adulthood, we are drawn to the lessons we learn, the exciting journeys we embark upon, the knowledge we gain, and the opportunity to unleash our imaginations. And it’s been this way for millennia.
In marketing, we can turn information into stories in a simple way. One of the most successful ways to tell stories relies on likeable characters who go through a set of issues that we find recognizable. In searching for a solution, the character encounters your brand, which rescues the main character from his or her issue. The story is the vehicle; the brand is the superhero.
Post-COVID Storytelling
Post-pandemic, storytelling is even more important. The villain is easy to spot—it’s the virus. Does your product help people post-pandemic? How can you create a story? For instance, temporary price drops, price relief, or coupons and discounts are great ways to tell the story that your brand is here to help.
You might be asking—what’s the point? Is this just another gimmick? The truth is, storytelling has many benefits that go beyond uplifting your brand in narrative form. Storytelling improves retention and helps consumers recall events. For instance, it will be hard to remember a new brand of toothpaste that does not differentiate itself from its competitors; however, introducing the same toothpaste in the form of a riveting story will likely get the response. Any brand that has a compelling story to relate to its context is likely to make an impact subconsciously if the ad is narrated vividly.
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Call us today to set up a FREE consultation for your advertising needs. We can show you how we design creative with a storytelling and narrative focus and speak more specifically about how it could benefit your marketing goals.
Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Pivoting to a storytelling campaign doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to invent a story out of thin air. Think about the history of your business, the products and services you provide, and the problems you help solve on a daily basis. Think about the contributions you make to our society, and with all of that in mind—do you see that everything you do is filled with stories?
In marketing your brand, your goal is to show people how you can fulfill their needs. How have you fulfilled your customers’ needs in the past? You’re also looking to engage your customers on an emotional level, connecting with them and listening to their feedback. This is a great opportunity to share those testimonials you’ve been collecting.
Even your developed solutions are about stories. Think about the documents you share internally with your sales department—those sales kits can be turned into a narrative by giving them the classic story arc: character, problem, resolution. So don’t feel like you have to go back to step one and create a story from scratch—your company and your brand are living stories, waiting to be told to your loyal audience who always wants to learn more about where their product comes from, what problems it seeks to solve, and how it manages to do so successfully in 2020.
The last aspect of your story should be your call to action. In the end, your goal is to motivate your audience to take action—whether that means joining your organization, buying a product, or even something more simple such as visiting a website.
“Remember: The ultimate goal of marketing is to inspire. You want to inspire your audience to buy into your brand, draw them into your store, or give them a positive understanding of what you do. Your goal—as it always is in marketing—drives the campaign and the story.”
THE Storytelling Trend IS HERE TO STAY
The past few years have seen many changes. Due to the pandemic, many advertisers have had to rethink the way they make their brands stand out. In our post-pandemic world, people’s priorities and lifestyles have changed. They care about stories that speak to what matters most to them.
What does this look like for outdoor advertising? OOH marketers are embracing the concept by designing ads that tell part of a story, making the audience wait for the next ad in the storyline. It’s a concept that relies not just on the narrative, but the idea that many storytellers have used in the past—to be continued. We thrive on cliffhangers, and even if we hate them, we generally find them compelling enough to stay tuned.
It’s incredibly important that brands pay close attention to generating creative out-of-the-box ideas for storytelling, especially during the pandemic. When you create original ideas and display them with stunning visuals, your audience will engage with your advertisements. The story is not enough, of course. You still need to make it visually pleasing.
The Most Effective Medium
Storytelling is possible in many types of advertising media. If you’re looking to make a big impression with your storytelling, outdoor advertising might be right for you. The best way to make your ads visually striking and memorable is to make them large and eye-level.
With a small budget and a compelling narrative, you can create a lasting impression that will increase ad recall and keep your brand in the minds of your audience for longer. Furthermore, if you have the campaign running in several channels (like social media and outdoor advertising) you’re much more able to tell the story in effective and irresistible ways.