Storytelling communication is the communication of a brand's core values to its audience. When you see an ad for a specific product you automatically associate the product with the communication of the brand. This communication is done by various communication tools and social media platforms. The best brands have a story. If you're a marketer, you've probably heard the phrase "storytelling" a million times. But what does it really mean? In a nutshell, storytelling is simply sharing information through stories. One of the best ways to build a brand is to tell stories. This is because stories are so much more effective especially through communicating. Consumer skepticism has always been a problem for brands; therefore, brands need to be trusted, authentic, and effective in communication. The (Edelman 2019) Trust Barometer Special Report: In Brands, We Trust? An eight-country study showed that 81% of consumers across markets, ages, incomes, and gender say that brand trust is essential to buying. Brand communication is a direct interaction between a brand and its internal and external stakeholders. It is a combination of TV or radio or online advertising, social media, reviews, emails, online or paper newsletters, and billboards used to communicate internally and externally. Consistency is crucial between all channels, which requires using unified and noncontradiction messages. Brand visuals such as colors, logos, tags, symbols all must be consistent. (McKinsey & Company 2017) revealed that only 13% of customers remained loyal to a brand in 2017. 87% considered other brands while 58% switched to a new one.
The switch off from one brand to another is evidence of poor communication in some respects. There might be other reasons related to the brand itself for not adding value or solving customer problems. For instance, the evolution of mobile shopping apps that showcase options, simplify pricing, compare product specifications, and facilitate peer reviews make it possible to size up brands effortlessly. In addition, social media lets consumers know what their friends are buying and what they like and dislike about those purchases. All this encourages consumers to shop around, and changes patterns that marketers have counted on for years. In contrast, the primary goal of marketing communication is to reach a clearly defined audience and influence its purchasing behavior by building awareness and stimulating customer trials. On the other hand, brand communication is successful if it creates the desired response in that audience. The goal is to keep consumers connected with the brand and enhance customer loyalty. Brands need to improve products and services and make them more valuable for the consumers. Apple has outgrown competitors by offering differentiated product innovation and a better consumer experience.
Hyundai Storytelling Communication
During the recession that occurred in 2008, Hyundai did not follow the usual car industry playbook by stopping the bleeding with short-term sales incentives. Instead, the company used an innovative marketing campaign to build consideration. It promised to take back cars from customers who had lost their jobs or incomes to drive up consideration among consumers financially unsettled by the recession. Further, Hyundai was one of the very few auto companies to grow when the industry was widely losing ground at that time.
Following are some types of brand communication: -
In a business life cycle, companies may face several difficulties. For example, there might be structural changes or mergers and acquisitions or simply economic drawdown periods or disruptive technologies, pandemic such as covid -2019 where jobs must be eliminated and staff to be laid off. Communicating these changes in emotional storytelling to the stakeholders can help to increase the trust and the transparency of the brand.
3) Sharing The Company’s Mission, Vision, And Culture
Lego had created an animated video to celebrate its 80th anniversary. Through the art of storytelling, Lego beautifully communicated how it started its business, combating struggles and ups and downs and how its culture and values were shaped over the years.
4) Learning And Development
5) Coaching And Learning
Coaching techniques are better delivered to the audience through a life story. Coaches take the learners through their journey, ups and downs, and turning points. It helps the learners connect with their coach, and it also keeps the coaching authentic and not a hypothetical journey.
6) Customers’ Testimonials
With a visual story context, customers’ testimonials are more exciting and far more memorable and impactful. Customer testimonials stories demonstrate a customer’s need, show how the company or brand fills that need, and improve the customer’s life by using brands’ services or products. Tesla successfully did this by posting a series of customer stories, a mix of video testimonials and stories spoken by the Teslas’ customers themselves. These stories show real Tesla customers interacting with their cars and how being a Tesla owner has improved the customer’s life positively.
7) Employees’ Testimonials Storytelling
Employees are a fundamental element that shapes the company’s core values and culture. Marketers can use storytelling to showcase employees’ achievements and assign them ambassadors for the brand. The types of people the company employs, and the things they are passionate about, communicate massively about the company’s values and culture. Employees’ stories help communicate that culture to audiences who will connect with employee stories on an emotional & personal level. The environmentally friendly clothing company Reformation showcases short employee story videos on Instagram and YouTube. The videos feature Reformation employees are working in the factory where the clothes are produced. The video series showing the factory employees telling their life stories and daily routines is a solid storytelling approach.
8) Brand Influencer Communication
Data from the (MuseFind 2018) report showed
that 92% of consumers trusted an influencer more than an advertisement or
traditional celebrity endorsement. A study by (gen. video 2017) found that 33%
said influencers were trusted sources when making shopping decisions, while
only 17% trusted friends and family for shopping recommendations. Influencers
provided insight into their personal lives and interacted with their followers.
By responding to messages, giving their opinions influencers are more impactful
to followers than their celebrity counterparts.
(Takumi 2020) research revealed that people
most trusted YouTube content creators. Influencer marketing is estimated to be
worth $15 billion by 2022, almost
double its value in 2019 -$8 billion-. 27% of 16-44-year-olds were influenced
to buy a service or product by YouTube influencers during the past six months
of collecting the data. In contrast, 24% were influenced by Instagram creators and
15% by TikTok creators. Furthermore, younger consumers (16-24-year-olds) are
more likely to buy a product or service due to TikTok influencers as 30% in the
United Kingdom and 40% in Germany were influenced to purchase a product or
service by TikTok influencers. In comparison, 37% of 33-44-year-olds were most
influenced by TikTok influencers in the United States.
Meanwhile, 38% of 25-34-year-olds in the U.K. and 59% of 25-34-year-olds in Germany were influenced to purchase by YouTube and Instagram influencers, compared to the U.S., where 57% of 35-44-year-olds were influenced by Instagram and YouTube content creators. The research showed that consumers trusted influencers more than they trust the information coming from a brand. Now more than ever, a brand message is competing with traditional media, word-of-mouth, online reviews, blogs, and more. Brands that can educate and entertain their audiences via influencers will capture consumers’ hearts and wallets compared to traditional media. However, marketers’ trust in different channels differs, with Instagram being ranked on top, followed by YouTube and TikTok. One of the top three concerns for marketers included a ‘lack of familiarity with TikTok, while 96% of marketers felt familiar with Google’s YouTube. With that being said, the ability of creators to demonstrate return on investment could enhance the trust of marketers. The report also states that customers recognized Instagram as more aspirational, informational, and easy to use than TikTok. In contrast, consumers consider TikTok more engaging and creative than Instagram. To leverage influencers for brand storytelling content for maximum impact, brands must learn how to:
- Discover the right influencers and sign them up.
- Measure the success of influencers.
- Brand storytelling needs a storyteller. Some of the most compelling storytellers are influencers. The best ones already love the brand; they can be found through social listening or agencies. The high-quality content creators that already used brand hashtags and talked about the products on social media are the best choice to leverage communication and emotional reactions.
Brand Authentic and Consistent Storytelling Communication Messages
Consumers respond to authenticity. Storytelling allows to bring personality and authenticity to brand marketing messages, and it is a powerful tool for delivering what consumers desire. Brand communication requires consistency across multiple mediums and social media channels. Consistency is a crucial deliverable because it promotes brands messages by including storytelling in its brand communication strategies, companies can provide platforms for spreading stories about their consumers and building brand loyalty. In addition, well-told and communicated stories prompt ongoing conversations and generate followings and patronage.
The Purpose Of Storytelling Communication
The ultimate reason for every company is the purpose for its existence.
Brand purpose is the reason that business exists beyond making money. Of course,
not every company has a solid basis for its existence beyond making profits. Nowadays,
many companies and big brands try to show their purpose to become more
recognized in the noisy, crowded marketplace. Big brands such as Dove, the
Bodyshop, Unilever Apple, Ikea, Ted, and many others created social media
campaigns to deliver their purpose messages in the shape of storytelling. Unilever stated that its purpose-led brands grow 69% faster than the
rest of their business. It is a clear signal that brands with sustainability at
their core are beneficial to both people and the planet. Here are some examples
of brand purpose inspirations: -
TED “Ideas Worth Spreading”
Dove “Help women everywhere develop a positive relationship with the way they look, helping them realize their full potential”
TESLA” To Accelerate the world transition to
sustainable energy”
PATAGONIA “We’re in business to save our home planet”
When the purpose is identified, communicating brands’ identity becomes more straightforward and incredibly powerful. It provides customers, partners, vendors, and employees possibilities to feel like they are a part of a brands’ tribe. A brand’s purpose provides a sense of belonging and togetherness, initiating a movement to build up around its purpose. The purpose should be the core, the soul, of a business. Every action of that business should authentically convey its purpose and meaning. If employees can recognize the company’s core story, they will proudly share it. A strong brand always starts internally to enhance its purpose message with its employees to have a long-term effect externally. If Nike’s employees could not identify and advocate their belief in “the will to win,” sooner before later, the prestigious brand commercials will seem silly and forgettable. Employees are the single key ambassadors of a company brand.
Burger King, “Whopper free zone”
In 2007, Burger King carried out a social experiment to remind the Americans’ love of the Whopper visible. First, they declared a random Burger King restaurant a “Whopper free zone.” Then, they temporarily took the Whopper off the menu to measure consumers’ reactions. Naturally, the consumers were unhappy, and many were annoyed and complained about the unavailable beloved burger. The campaign affected Burger King restaurants’ sales, with Whopper quarterly sales increase up by double digits.
The ad campaign was awarded a Gold Effie in the restaurant’s category, the top award given to acknowledge effectiveness for the campaign’s “boldness and creativity across multiple media platforms.” Moreover, fewer customers visited the competing burger restaurants. Burger King proved the Whopper is much more than just a burger; it is a part of American culture.
Dollar Shave Club -Storytelling Communication
In 2011, Michael Dubin met a friend’s father-in-law at a party who had a
warehouse filled with razor blades he wanted to sell. The concept for Dollar
Shave Club is about building a passionate tribe around a feasible demand. The
idea behind the business is to compete against those dominant brands such as
Gillet, which offers high prices for its several blades razor packages. While
Dollar shave club provides low prices, it builds up a community movement around
itself. Establishing a social movement community would make it more appealing
for customers who want to fight big dominant brands. The rise of social media
apps helped spread the newborn brand.
Michael Dubin had a brilliant idea about a promotion video that stars
Michael himself walking through a warehouse while talking about the company’s
purpose. The video generated over 12,000 orders on that day and has since been
viewed over 27 million times. But, while one viral video makes for a splendid start, Dollar Shave
Club knew it could not stop there. If the company was genuinely going to
improve the customer experience in purchasing razors, Michael knew it needed to
do more than sell. So, inspired by the notion of a member’s club, Michael
branded himself the “Club Pro,” a confidently trusted mentor who would answer
all the weird and wonderful questions his customers could dream up. The company
then decided to lead the conversation with helpful, humorous, socialized
engaging content.
Dollar Shave Club’s core belief and purpose have not changed since its
inception. Even though business strategies change and grow, the core purpose
stays consistent. For example, Ford’s purpose is to “open the highways to all
mankind”, Southwest Airlines’ purpose of providing affordable transportation to
the common person; Walt Disney’s purpose is to bring joy to children everywhere,
and Coca-Cola’s purpose is to inspire happiness. Serving its purpose, Dollar
Shave Club went from a one-person operation to a mega brand. Unilever
eventually acquired it for $1 billion. Dollar Shave Club’s website or social
media channels today still at the same spirit and purpose in everything that it
does. A company’s purpose will shape its brand’s values, as well as its
personality and voice.
Airbnb’s #WeAccept Campaign
In 2017 Airbnb launched a campaign on short notice in response to President
Donald Trump’s travel ban and starred its employees. The camera zooms in on the
diverse faces of Airbnb’s employees as the audience read titles, “We believe no
matter who you are, where you’re from, whom you love, or whom you worship, we
all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept #WeAccept.”
Given that the Super Bowl was just days away, the company took the
opportunity and purchase a 30-second spot to run the video during the game for
maximum awareness. In addition, the #WeAccept campaign included a letter from
Airbnb’s founders featured on its website, plus social media content featuring
personal stories from its employees. The letter states, “We know this is an idealistic notion that faces tremendous
obstacles because of something that also seems simple but isn’t—that not
everyone is accepted. The letter then showcases Airbnb’s goal of providing
short-term housing to over 100,000 people refugees, disaster survivors, and
relief workers over five years. Airbnb’s stance, combined with the quality of
its message and timing, resulted in #WeAccept becoming the most tweeted hashtag
during Super Bowl, with over 33,000 tweets and 87 million earned impressions. In
addition, 60 global news outlets covered it, crediting Airbnb for not only
making a bold statement but for creating a solid call to action for its
community to join in and help. Airbnb continues to document its progress on its
website, citing over 15,000 of its members volunteering to donate their homes
and over $4 million raised for the International Rescue Committee. Furthermore,
#WeAccept reinforces the type of customer and community Airbnb has and will
continue to build. Of course, when a company takes a stand, it will not appeal
to everyone. However, if the brand deeply understands its core customer base
and aligns its stance with significant issues, that is where the magic happens.
By acting on what it believed in, Airbnb made its existing customers proud and
attracted a group of like-minded customers to join its tribe.
(Sprout social 2017) report “Championing Change in the Age of Social Media” uncovered that people would like brands to take a stance on social and political issues in social media. 66% felt that topics such as immigration, human rights, and race relations need to be addressed by brands. Relevance is key to reception. 47% of consumers say brands are most credible when an issue directly impacts their customers, while 40% see credibility on matters affecting employees and 30 % in business operations.
Storytelling Communication in Social Media
People believe brands and social media can empower connections. 91% of people believe in social’s power to connect people despite feelings of division. Further, 78% of consumers wanted brands to use social to help people connect. When customers feel connected to brands, more than half of consumers, 57%, will increase their spending with that brand, and 76% will buy from them over a competitor. Consumers wanted to learn more about the people behind their beloved brands. For instance, 70% of consumers feel more connected when a brand’s CEO is active on social. 72% of consumers report feeling connected when employees share information about a brand online. According to sprout social research, 65% of consumers feel more connected to brands with a robust social presence. That means brands must focus on their content’s consistency and quality.
Notably, consumers want material that humanizes an otherwise faceless brand, and they wanted the people behind the brands doing the posting. The social behavior from highly engaged brands with customers enhances sales engagement. Answering a customer’s question on social prompts sales. According to sprouts’ (2017), 48% of customers purchase from a responsive brand on social media. Companies shall monitor mentions and conversations about brands’ products, hashtags, employees, competitors, and customers. Social listening helps track, analyze, and respond to discussions across the internet. Brands need to use hashtags to centralize conversation on social media so that their customer can find it and engage with it.
Former Papa John’s CEO on the Call That Cost Him His Career
Former Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter, during a call in 2018, used a racial word that led him to be removed from the company. The company hired an agency to help the brand re-build its image and identity and re-establish connections with its consumers through emotional storytelling and social transparency. They avoided launching an apology tour for Schnatter’s word. Instead, the company created the “Voices of Papa John’s” campaign, a series of short videos profiling the brand’s diversified ethnic employees, explaining why they value working at Papa John’s.
Yoplait, You’ve Got This, Mom On!
Imagine that an Australian yogurt brand wants to tackle a social issue about mothers to shine among its competitors as a genuine value brand. Yoplait aspired to send this message to its female customer mothers, “The first rule of motherhood, someone’s always judging. So, to all the moms out there, we see you and say, Mom On!” Yoplait tapped into a shared public debate: mum-shaming. It relates to the often preachy or patronizing information given to mothers about being a good parent and shaming those who do not follow it. In Its 2018 campaign, ‘Mom On’ depicted mothers addressing common criticisms they face, such as a judgment over breastfeeding, going back to work. While the ad did not focus on a current event or overly controversial subject, it presented the brand stance bold on a specific issue, with the clear potential to offend those who might disagree. The social stance made the campaign hugely memorable, standing out amid a sea of similar and formulaic ads from competitor brands.
Airbnb “Wall and Chain”
Catherine was an Airbnb
guest in May 2012. She traveled to Berlin with her father, Jörg, a Berlin Wall
guard at the Cold War. Catherine told Airbnb about an incident that made the
trip a powerful story. She wanted to show her father the vibrant city of Berlin
how it changed, but coincidence happened that it was the man they met at their
rented Airbnb apartment that changed everything for Jörg. As a result, Airbnb
connected two Berlin wall border guards back together. Airbnb felt that telling
an inspirational story is the best way to connect and belong to each other,
making them feel emotional and associated with the brand. The intelligent,
fantastic, and cool animation, “Wall and Chain” tied immediately into
the international ‘be anywhere’ feel the company has worked hard to create.
The story at the heat of the animation is about
a genuine and authentic story to let the customer buy in the core message and
believe in it. Anyone who watches the animation will be impacted by the
simplicity of the ideas at its heart. It is about connection, family, and being
a global citizen. What made the
captivating story more compelling is that it is delivered with such simple
animation. The animation was told in an intense and instantly memorable story,
as the emotions that pour out of it are phenomenal.
Buy My Barina, Barinageddon
David decided it was time to sell his beloved 1999 Barina car with 188,000+ kilometers on the odometer, only three hubcaps, and its share of dents and scratches. David, who worked for a video production company, had a brilliant idea with the help of his colleagues to let bring Barina to life in the most epic used car sales video ever. They came up with the clever tagline, “Don’tjust make history—drive it”. He received valid offers of $1,000 and $2,000 (double the asking price). Finally, Australia’s NRMA Insurance made David an offer he could not refuse. NRMA Insurance, a company that offers a range of automotive and home insurance solutions, wanted to buy the car. David accepted and donated the money to Cancer Council Australia. The company wanted to use Barina’s fame to tell a story about the work the NRMA Insurance research center carries out with physical testing, data analysis, consumer advisory on car safety, and comprehensive car insurance reduction.
It was a brilliant move for NRMA Insurance to jump onto the board of Barina’s story. NRMA Insurance took Barina’s success story and leveraged it to showcase the work it does in its R&D lab. When a brand industry is more formal, like an insurance company, telling a story in a fun, creative way differentiates it from its counterpart competitors.
Emotional Storytelling Ad, A Hair-Raising Message
The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation wanted to make a bold ad that emotionally affects the people passing a subway train to help donate for children combating cancer diseases. So, just as the passenger arrives, a static billboard of a young woman with long hair comes to life, and her hair starts to blow around. It is as if the wind generated by the train’s arrival is propelling the movement of her hair in real-time. However, as the train slows down, the wind blowing the woman’s hair exposes her bald head. A shocked expression likely replaces the passenger’s surprise and smile. They are stunned, trying to figure out what just happened. The billboard’s animation ends with the message “Every day a child is diagnosed with cancer” and invites you to text a specific number to donate to the foundation.
A video released by the nonprofit captured the powerful reactions to the billboard from people on the train platform, expressing their shock and sadness. The Sooner the video was shared across social networks and news media, the passionately it responded in Sweden and worldwide. The foundation’s pioneering use of innovative technology in its visual storytelling successfully raised awareness and funds for childhood cancer. The right visuals appeal to human emotions and make a story memorable. Stories communicate values. But they also communicate knowledge. By exchanging stories, brands share knowledge. Stories information packaged in a meaningful context is more accessible for the audience to understand its depth and relevance.
Häagen-Dazs Passionate Honeybee Storytelling
Since 2008, the company has used its platform to talk about waning honeybee populations, telling stories to persuade their audience to action. It has been done through its Honeybees initiative. Honeybees pollinate one-third of the foods we eat, including many of the ingredients Häagen-Dazs used to make their pure ice creams, sorbets, frozen yogurts, and bars. Unfortunately, honeybee populations are disappearing at an alarming rate. So Häagen-Dazs ice cream has teamed up with leading research facilities to donate more than $1,000,000 to honeybee research. One of their most results methods of highlighting the honeybee’s plight is the modern virtual reality methods. The educational VR video invites the viewer to fly along with a bee named Alex as he shows them the threats facing his species. Häagen-Dazs hopes that this award-winning video will help bring the plight of the bees the attention it deserves.
Storytelling Communication Through Logos and Colors
The psychology of color relates to persuasion aspects of marketing &
branding. It helps to understand perception and consumer behaviors. Further,
color helps humans memorize certain information by increasing their attentional
level. The secretariat of the Seoul international color expo researched in 2004
revealed the following relationships between color and marketing:
- 92.6% said they put the most importance on visual factors when purchasing products. Only 5.6% said that the physical feel via the sense of touch was most important. Hearing and smell each drew 0.9%.
- 84.7% of the total respondents thought that color accounts for more than half of the various factors essential for choosing products. The University of Loyola, Maryland, performed a study that revealed that color increases brand recognition by 80%.
- The Midwestern U.S. insurance company used color to highlight essential information on their invoices. Consequently, they began receiving customer payments an average of 14 days earlier. Customers remember documents and presentations better when color is used.
Psychology of Color in Advertising and Branding
Heinz introduced EZ Squirt ketchup for children in the early 2000s. The company introduced artificially colored ketchup that featured a nozzle like a glue bottle and allowed the user to squirt the colorful mixture on foods. The first color rolled out was green, followed by blue, purple, and a mystery color (kids love mystery colors), which could be orange, teal, or purple. From 2000 to 2003, the company sold over 25 million bottles of condiment. However, like so many colorful fads, this one wore off as well, and the product was discontinued in 2006. As time went on, consumers have become more health-conscious, limiting, or banning artificial food dyes in some areas. While this may not have directly affected EZ Squirt, it was likely a factor in its waning popularity. Colors express different emotions and personalities. Here are some popular colors and what they symbolize:
- Yellow: optimism, clarity, warmth
- Orange: friendly, cheerful, confident
- Red: excitement, bold, youthful
- Purple: creative, wise, imaginative
- Blue: trust, strength, dependable
- Green: peaceful, growth, health
- Gray: balance, neutral, calm
Many brands whose products deal with the environment utilize green. John Deere, Animal Planet, and the Girl Scouts all use this color. Green’s value goes beyond nature-focused companies. Food manufacturers take advantage of the fact that people associate green with health. Gray plays an essential role in the logo world, especially when it is shined to a silver finish. Car companies like Mercedes-Benz and Honda use logos that feature silver. Some companies that are partial to red include Target, Coca-Cola, and Netflix. In contrast, iconic technology brands such as Dell, IBM, Intel, and G.E. leverage blue’s robust and trustworthy persona to represent their brands. Whole Foods, Starbucks, and Girl Scouts use green to showcase a peaceful, healthful brand identity.
0 Comments