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When brands tell stories effectively, they become more relatable and memorable to their consumers. This goes beyond simply marketing products or services, but involves forging an emotional connection with consumers that translates into brand loyalty, writes Angela Northover, Head of Content at Eclipse Communications.
There’s nothing quite like a good story that hits all the right notes. The greatest stories draw us in, tug at our emotions, and inspire us.
Brands that use storytelling to reach their audiences understand the compelling power of persuasion to fire their audiences up, get them talking and, most importantly, build brand love.
When brands tell stories effectively, they become
more relatable and memorable to their consumers.
This goes beyond simply marketing products or services,
but involves forging an emotional connection with consumers
that translatesinto brand loyalty, writes Angela Northover,
Head of Content at Eclipse Communications.
There’s nothing quite like a good story that hits all the right notes.
The greatest stories draw us in, tug at our emotions, and inspire us.
Brands that use storytelling to reach their audiences understand the
compelling power of persuasion to fire their audiences up,
get them talking and, most importantly, build brand love.
Its importance is evident, particularly as studies indicate that 55% of consumers are more likely to remember a carefully crafted story instead of a list of facts, 68% say that brand stories influence their purchasing decisions, and 64% are convinced to make a purchase after watching a branded social media video.
The award-winning writer, screenwriting lecturer and director, Robert McKee, suggests persuasion is best achieved when an idea is united with an emotion, and the best way to do this is by telling a compelling story.
The narrative usually goes something like this: life is ticking along relatively predictably. Then, an event or ‘inciting incident’ occurs, throwing life off-course – someone dies, loses their job or has a meltdown, amongst many possible scenarios.
Summarising McKee, the story that follows is how the affected party (hero or protagonist) tries to get life back on track while trying to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and deal with antagonists (hostile parties). This calls on the protagonist to dig deeper, work with scarce resources, make difficult decisions, take action despite risks and ultimately discover the truth or succeed.
In essence, we need to be able to put ourselves into the shoes of the protagonist; feel empathy when he or she hits bad times; and share in his or her little or big wins.
Instead of pitching their businesses, brands or services using conventional means such as online presentations and bar charts, CEOs and brand teams could be harnessing the power of storytelling to have a greater impact.
It is easy for brands to tell a compelling story if they understand their purpose beyond the product or service. A brand can use purpose led stories to communicate its contribution towards social or environmental change that makes the world a better place.
Purpose enables a brand to create an emotional connection with the recipients of the stories by touching on societal issues that they care about. It portrays the brand as a protagonist fighting social ills that impact society.
Every brand has a story to tell, with hurdles, failures, challenges and accomplishments.
For their audiences to relate to them, brands should not only be shouting about the good news or their successes. This is not to suggest that they air their dirty laundry, but being honest about the difficult times and sharing their authentic stories will make them more relatable.
Getting to grips with their audiences is an ongoing challenge for brands. The world is more fast-paced than ever and something that is popular today may be old news tomorrow.
Swimming in the same seas or walking in the same shoes as their audiences is the best way for brands to know what they’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Engaging them in meaningful conversations will help inform their brand stories.
A brand such as L’Oreal, which is steeped in history and science, is vocal about solving the everyday skin and hair issues of women around the world. Its commitment to solving particular hair care issues has seen it set up a research and innovation (R&I) lab in South Africa.
Every brand has a character. Maybe it’s a bank with a more formal, shirt-and-tie type of personality or a sports apparel brand with an adventurous take on life. While the former may be more serious and authoritative, the latter is probably more daring, outdoorsy and casual. These differences inform the language they use and the tone of their stories.
Finally, stories that grab our interest usually harness some of life’s big themes: love, betrayal, death, despair, power, freedom, justice and transcendence. Brands that can bring some of these themes to life into their narratives in a believable and compelling way will have their audiences eating out of their hands.
Is your brand in need of a Shakespeare to help you on your quest to communicate your story in a more compelling manner and sway consumer behaviour? Send an email to info@eclipsecomms.com and one of our experts will be in touch.
Eclipse Communications is an adaptive and agile full-service communications agency with a strong track record and wealth of experience across Arts & Entertainment, Consumer & Lifestyle and Corporate clients.
We are one of South Africa’s fastest growing, independent communications agencies, acknowledged as the Best Large PR Consultancy at the 2020 PRISM Awards and Public Relations Agency of the Year at the fm AdFocus Awards 2020.
Over our 20+ year history, we have evolved our service offering to include digital media strategy and execution, reputation management, content creation, influencer management and relations, event management and production, to name a few.
Cheryl Reddy
+27 86 132 5472
cheryl@eclipsecomms.com
Charlton House, Hampton Office Park, 20 Georgian Cres E, Bryanston East, Johannesburg, 2191
Cheryl Reddy
+27 86 132 5472
cheryl@eclipsecomms.com
5 conference lane, Bridgewater Suites, Block 3, Unit 503, Century City, Cape Town, 7441
Cheryl Reddy
+27 86 132 5472
cheryl@eclipsecomms.com
Aradhna Boodhoo-Laumond
+230 57739688
aradhna@eclipsecomms.com
Eclipse communications ensures all information is secure, private and will not be sold or distributed.
Eclipse Communications is an adaptive and agile full-service communications agency with a strong track record and wealth of experience across Arts & Entertainment, Consumer & Lifestyle and Corporate clients.
We are one of South Africa’s fastest growing, independent communications agencies, acknowledged as the Best Large PR Consultancy at the 2020 PRISM Awards and Public Relations Agency of the Year at the fm AdFocus Awards 2020.
Over our 20+ year history, we have evolved our service offering to include digital media strategy and execution, reputation management, content creation, influencer management and relations, event management and production, to name a few.
Cheryl Reddy
+27 86 132 5472
cheryl@eclipsecomms.com
Charlton House, Hampton Office Park, 20 Georgian Cres E, Bryanston East, Johannesburg, 2191
Cheryl Reddy
+27 86 132 5472
cheryl@eclipsecomms.com
5 conference lane, Bridgewater Suites, Block 3, Unit 503, Century City, Cape Town, 7441
Cheryl Reddy
+27 86 132 5472
cheryl@eclipsecomms.com
Aradhna Boodhoo-Laumond
+230 57739688
aradhna@eclipsecomms.com
Eclipse communications ensures all information is secure, private and will not be sold or distributed.
Please provide us with your information and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Please provide us with your information and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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