What is Storytelling and Why Does It Matter in Marketing?

How much can you do in 8 seconds? Not much? Well, this is all the time you have to capture and reel in your audience before they move on to the next best thing.

A goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds. Your audience comes in close at 8 seconds.

This emphasizes how challenging marketing can get. How do you stand out from the crowd when audiences are constantly bombarded with messages and signals from all directions

Storytelling is an excellent place to start.

Storytelling Definition: What Is Storytelling Marketing?

Storytelling marketing uses narratives to communicate with audiences. Storytelling goes beyond shoving ads in people’s faces and screaming ‘’buy now’’ at consumers. Instead, it seeks to connect audiences with a product, idea, or brand.

Getting it right will enable you to make more personal connections with potential buyers, impact audiences and encourage them to take specific actions.

Storytelling in Marketing: 10 Examples From Brands

As you can imagine, every business, brand, company, proprietor, and freelancer has a story. However, how you tell your story is the difference between a transformative campaign that converts and just another run-off-the-mill tale.

Unfortunately, taking up storytelling in marketing course might not help you get this right from the beginning, so you should be open to trial and error.

Here are storytelling in marketing examples from brands that perfected this art.

1. Coca-Cola

Like all other digital marketing strategies, you can tell your stories over multiple mediums. This augmented reality (AR) campaign from Coca-Cola emphasizes this.

In this campaign, customers could watch 1 of 12 stories come to life by pointing their phone's camera at a Coke can. Each story outlines scenarios where animated characters are engaged in a lighthearted conflict before finding a middle ground that involves sharing a coke.

These stores are varied from a couple in a movie theatre dropping their popcorn to kids on the beach having their ball deflated by an umbrella. Another story is about two rival football fans joining each other in a friendly game after a ball flies out of a coke can.

Not only are these stories moving, but using AR added another level of uniqueness to how the stories are told. Coca-cola sought to give its customers a more immersive experience, and these AR stories achieved that and resonated with people of all ages.

2. Manchester United

Manchester United has never shied away from being the first to attempt new things. And this campaign is just one of the many examples of this.

The club wanted to be the pioneer in creating a culturally relevant marketing campaign in China. To pull this off, the club partnered with Qumin to create a mobile-first storytelling experience that aptly encapsulated its Red Devil spirit.

The story, ''Wake Up The Devil Inside You'' produced a string of films merging football, gaming, and manga to draw in Chinese football fans.

The animation features the popular Chinese style of manga and Man U players. Fans then take a journey using their football skills to fight extraterrestrial forces and save the world. The game cleverly uses interactivity and personalization to capture a user’s data at various parts throughout the story.

This campaign does three things; it communicates a message in a way the audience understands, bypasses passiveness, and makes the audience active participants, and tells a powerful winning over evil story.

3. Volkswagen

As far as emotions go, nothing beats the power of love and the need to keep our loved ones safe.

This ‘moments’ ad by Volkswagen targets these emotions and beautifully nudges its audience towards the car brand.

The ad starts with a preschooler nervous about her first day in school. Next, we see her conversing with her mom about her friends and future. These moments flash on the screen as we see a woman driving, albeit a bit distracted, and stops a few inches from knocking down the little girl.

This story was meant to highlight the car’s automatic stop future. However, instead of going through the car’s safety features in an obvious, mechanical manner, this story tells of the same, but in a more compelling, more memorable manner.

Whether you are a mom with a little girl, the little girl, or the vehicle driver, this story means something.

4. Disney

Disney is literally in the business of telling stories, and they created a spectacular one about themselves with this ad.

This Disneyland Paris ad tells a grabbing narrative about a little duck who finds a Donald Duck comic book and makes him his new hero. Sadly, bad weather is approaching, which causes the family to flee. The little duckling then leaves his comic book and his hero behind.

The family goes through a wet, cold night, and the sun rises as they expectantly arrive at Disneyworld Paris.

Who is there to greet the little duck? His hero, Donald duck.

This heartwarming story can almost have you shedding a tear or two, and it perfectly screenshots the joy, disbelief, and excitement kids feel for Disneyland Paris.

5. Samsung

This South Korean electronic powerhouse always has one up its sleeves when it comes to marketing campaigns.

This ad is slightly different from its usual vibrant-colored, fast ads. Instead, the ad shows a Samsung technician getting a call to fix a TV and his journey to a remote part of the country to get it fixed. The joy and the reasons behind the call are palpable and memorable.

This touching story conveys something we all want to hear and feel as human beings: we matter.

Samsung tells us that it cares, is committed to our experiences, and will go to the ends of the earth for its customers. What's more potent than that?

6. Proctor and Gamble

This ad shows us a string of day-to-day routines as moms drop their kids off at sports practice. But, all is not perfect with mistakes made on the tear-jerking journey toward the kids becoming future Olympians.

Their supportive moms are the stable cheerleaders along the way. They wake them up on time, drive them to practice, love, encourage, and cheer them on. And the mom's joy as their children compete and win.

This ad has run for a decade with a few tweaks along the way and remains just as pulling and memorable as it was the first time it made its debut.

The ''proud sponsor of mom's'' slogan says it all. Mothers have a demanding role but are not alone, as P&G is in their corner. It also ends with a 'Thank You, Mom.' 

You almost feel guilty bypassing P&G products at the store.

7. Guinness

The fighting and triumphing story has a universal appeal because everyone in the world has obstacles to goals they are trying to reach. The idea that you can achieve hits everyone hard, and so does this ad.

This Guinness ad is set in 1989 and shows us the gender expectations for Japanese women at that time. It then shows us how these female players defied the set conventions brilliantly enough to represent their country.

This ad was part of the brand's ''made of more'' campaign and was created to promote inclusivity within rugby. Telling the story of Japan's women's rugby team Liberty Fields RFC lives up to the essence of this campaign. The ad is thoughtful, authentic, and inspiring.

8. Square

This ad won the 2018 Tribeca X award that celebrates content that straddles entertainment and advertising.

Square produced this ad as a series of 12 short films dubbed ‘’Every Kind of Dream’’. In the films, Square features real customers telling their stories.

One of the stories in the series is one of a former prisoner who sets up a secondhand store on a street corner. The business grows into a physical shop and even employs other former prisoners. This and other stories give us stories of resilience, hope, rebirth, and almost palpable triumph.

Any marketer knows the power of reviews and that they can make or break a business. This square ad took reviews and put them in moving clips, reminding us that sometimes showing is better than telling.

9. Apple

'Detour' was created for Apple by award-winning director and screenwriter Michael Gondry.

This clip tells the story of a child's tricycle that gets lost and its rather adventurous way back to its owner. A unique part of it all is that the entire ad was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus.

Aside from showcasing French cinema, the ad highlights features of the iPhone 7 Plus, including underwater filming, animation, slow motion, and time-lapse.

There was also an online masterclass explaining how everything was put together, which brought interested viewers behind the scenes.

Most would agree that this ad is magical, charming, and tells the story perfectly.

10. Barclaycard

Barclaycard created two films for this campaign, each told from a different perspective, to show how a couple put up with each other's passions.

The woman is a wrestling fan, and the first clip shows the couple at a wrestling arena with the lady having the time of her life. The man is not enjoying it as much and wishes he could be at his 'happy place. His happy place happens to be a music festival.

In the following clip, the man is at a music festival, taking everything in, looking delighted. On the other hand, the woman drifts off and begins daydreaming about starring in a wrestling match.

The message in the ad is that Barclaycard offers savings on thousands of events, regardless of what you are into. As such, the man or woman doesn't need to miss out on what they like entertainment-wise.

What Makes A Good Story?

Storytelling is an art, which unfortunately means there are a lot of gray areas regarding what is good storytelling and what is bad storytelling.

However, several vital components can be universally listed when discussing what makes a good story.

As such, good stories are:

• Entertaining: entertainment value means the story draws your audience and keeps them engaged and interested in what is coming next.
• Believable: a good story is easy to believe, trust and engage with.
• Educational: the best stories spark a reader's curiosity and teach them something they did not know.
• Relatable: marketing stories should remind people of places and people they know, things they have felt and gone through. Essentially, they help audiences connect to the content in the marketing campaign.
• Organized: a good story is well organized and thought-out. This ensures the message is conveyed clearly and unfolds organically.
• Memorable: you want your story to stick in the audience's mind. This can be achieved through controversy, humor, scandal, inspiration, and so on.

The Elements of Storytelling

Regardless of the kind of narrative you are trying to illustrate, the perfect story has three essential elements.

These are:

1. Character(s)

Each story needs one character, at the very least. This can be a person, a talking toy, or a plant; it doesn't matter.

It is through the character (s) that a story is told in a relatable way to your audience. If a particular character stands out, this one is known as the protagonist. 

Generally, your characters bridge the gap between your brand or yourself as the storyteller and prospective customers. If your audience can engage and relate with your characters enough to see themselves in their shoes, they are much closer to following through with your call to action.

2. An Obstacle Or Conflict

If there is no conflict, then you don't have much of a story, to begin with. For your audience to need your product, there must be a problem they intend to solve with it.

When telling your story, have a conflict or obstacle thought out. Think about where your protagonist is today and where they need to be.

Think about the external and internal roadblocks to their goals. What psychological and emotional obstacles has the protagonist created for themselves?

The answers to these are the meat of your story.

3. Resolution

Nothing irks audiences like an ending that leaves them hanging. A good story is wrapped up in a good ending.

An ending should provide some context to the characters and the conflict and end with a call to action.

How to Tell Great Stories

Here are some storytelling tips to help you craft powerful stories:

• First, choose a clear central message where the story will ultimately go. Then, everything else should be built with this in mind.
• A good storyteller cannot avoid conflict. This ingredient is vital and makes resolution even more satisfying to audiences.
• Each story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. There are different ways this can work out, and you can even tell your story backward. Either way, have these three parts in place.
• Dig into your personal experiences to create universal stories that resonate with most of the target demographic with specific messages.
• Find a way to engage with your audience, so they are encouraged to stay and watch your entire advert.
• Always look out for good storytelling and what you could borrow from them to create your own powerful, memorable, inspiring stories.

Storytelling Frameworks

It helps to understand some of the main frameworks directors and screenwriters use to tell their stories.

If you are looking to upgrade your storytelling, these can provide new insights and help you pick up a tip or two that will make it easier to more insightful stories.

The Pixar Storytelling Framework

Over the decades, Pixar has created films loved by adults and kids. Pixar’s storytelling framework is built on phrases like;

Once upon a time, there was…

Everyday...

Then one day…

Because of that…

And because of that…

Until finally…

Harry Dry’s Features and Benefits Formula

This is the go-to when you want to quickly and easily tell your brand's features and benefits.

Harry’s formula is as below:

• Describe the feature
• Ask ‘so what’ to find the benefit
• Contrast the old way with the new way

The Rags to Riches Storytelling Framework

These stories take on stories of beating obstacles and triumphing. This can be from poverty to riches, rising to celebrity, becoming healthier, happier, more prosperous, and so on.

A Hero’s Journey Storytelling Framework

This concept is also known as the monomyth. This framework offers the standard structure where a hero gets on an adventure, comes through a crisis, and comes home transformed.

Creative Marketing Ideas: Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most frequently asked questions about storytelling marketing.

What does storytelling mean in marketing?

Storytelling in marketing means creating ads and other content by using powerful stories to pass the message along.

These are way more powerful than salesy content, and they help audiences find connections between their lives and your brand.

How does storytelling help marketing?

Storytelling helps your marketing efforts by:

• Helping you overcome media fragmentation
• Helping you create consistent messages, which help build audience trust
• Making you more memorable to audiences. Brand recognition, recall, and awareness have a direct impact on sales
• Providing social links that can alter consumer behavior in your favor

What are the 4 Ps of storytelling?

These are;

• People: The characters in a story that make us emotionally invested in the story
• Place: this is the location or setting where particular events take place
• Purpose: figure out why you are telling this story. Why should your audiences care about it?
• Plot: what is the conflict and the journey?

What is storytelling in digital marketing?

Traditional marketing mainly featured companies pushing branded messages onto consumers.

Digital storytelling, on the other hand, aims at pulling viewers into a story. It tells stories that resonate and appeal to human emotions. As a result, consumers find parallels with these stories and become more connected to the brand.

Final Thoughts

Every brand has a story to tell. However, how to tell it is just as important as the story itself. Some marketers have an innate ability to tell their stories; some need a little help. This article can help you clarify your structure and map a clear game plan for your next campaign.