Deconstructing the Power of Storytelling to Win Consumers

• Consumer & Market Insights

A few days back, I visited an internationally recognized Cancer Care (hospice and palliative care) center, and the administrator narrated a story of how the center’s managers and volunteers helped fulfill the last wish of an ailing dad to witness his daughter’s marriage by arranging the marriage ceremony on the premises. The dad passed away a few days post the ceremony, but after hearing the story, I could feel the sense of contentment he would have felt before his last breath.

The Most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and  agenda of an entire generation that is to come – Steve Jobs

The story moved me, and it wasn’t the first time. Many such stories related to cancer patients have encouraged me to provide financial support to this center for years and to spread the word about them and their motto (the heart of all the stories I have heard) – ‘Provide comfort and happiness to terminally-ill cancer patients, to let them leave the world with a sense of peace and contentment.’

Muriel Rukeyser, an American poet, essayist, and political activist rightly said, The world is not made of atoms. It is made of stories.

What moves us, inspires us, triggers our emotions, creates memories, entertains us, keeps us going, shifts our beliefs, and even shapes our behaviors are all stories…. Yes, good stories about someone or something that we relate to. Stories are not just for books or movies or entertainment. They are the most powerful marketing tools and leadership tools. Brands that we have used in our childhood that create nostalgia are the brands that have told great stories or inspired us to attach our stories with them.

Why Tell a Story Distinctly human – hard-wired into DNA, Activates the emotional part of brain, and Aids memory

In this world of lackluster messages, stories make us memorable.

Psychologist Jerome Bruner suggested that facts embedded in a story are 22 times more memorable than those same facts told in isolation.

A lot has been said about ‘human centricity’ by marketers these days and almost every other company has set one of their future brand goals as being more ‘human’ vs. ‘customer-centric.’ Despite this pursuit, just a handful of marketers leverage the powerful kit of ‘storytelling’ as a way of making consumers ‘connect’ with their brands. What we largely see or feel around us are messages that scream – “See my product, my new innovation, the features, how it’s better than others, buy my products, try my products, try my service, come to my event, join my cause.” In other words, it’s all about “me” and “how I help” and “give me.”

It’s true that consumers may still ‘try’ or ‘buy’ these brands in the short run to get the ‘job done’ and fulfill an immediate need, but in that case, the brand fails to ‘connect’ or develop a ‘bond’ with these customers. What’s missing is a ‘good story’, a story that consumers resonate with, remember, and love to share with others. So, what makes a good story?

…and saying that in a simple and consistent manner where the audience resonates with both the story and the narrator.

Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell. – Seth Godin, famous author and marketing strategist.

Let’s decode this through some examples.

“I am here to listen” – Not just understanding your audience’s needs and expectations but understanding and depicting their unspoken desires, beliefs, goals, and pursuits.

Say a consumer is looking for sneakers for his daughter that are attractive, durable, and affordable. A traditional way of looking at this could be a retailer selling the customer an attractive, durable, and affordable pair of shoes that would have met his expectations. But this approach only scratches the surface of this opportunity. A true storyteller will go beyond the table stakes to understand and portray the unspoken desire that this shopper isn’t just looking for shoes; he is looking to make a smart choice for his daughter so he can be the best father he can be, making his daughter feel safe, loved, and accepted by her peers. These unspoken desires are different from those you think of as ‘customer needs’ like design, quality, and value. They create opportunities for brands to help customers achieve their nuanced human goals, that are more enduring than in-the-moment needs, and if addressed authentically, allow brands to deliver real value and build brand affinity.

Listening also means allowing consumers to tell their story with you….and to evolve with time.

It’s about creating an environment for a real ‘two-way dialogue.’ When we think of the most valuable, powerful, or favorite brands, Coca-Cola frequently crops up. How did this sugary drink company build such a strong association in the consumer’s heart? It’s through the stories Cola-Cola has been telling in the past 100 years that engaged their audience emotionally and created a memorable connection beyond just a beverage. The essence of their stories is ‘shared moments’, ‘bringing people together’, and ‘nostalgia.’

According to Kate Santore, a senior integrated marketing content manager, Coca-Cola has also been evolving the stories to be more relevant, and engaging more with their audience. The company also acknowledged the fact that today’s audience is more ‘open’, and wants to share. Hence 8 out of 10 stories are created by their fans. They started working with influencers and fans directly, gave them the keys, and helped them write the stories with them.

One example is how in 2017, Coca-Cola partnered with Kurt Hugo Schneider, a YouTuber famed for his Acapella songs (remaking some popular songs), and one of their customers, Cinemark, to create an Acapella story where his friends and influencers came together at the Cinemark theatres to sing their take on Coca-Cola’s ‘taste of feeling song’, all orchestrated with the sounds of the movie theatre.

The popcorn popping and shaking, the sipping of an ice-cold coke, tickets being swiped – a beautiful story that was super popular on YouTube and premiered at every cinema theatre across the US. So, what Coca-Cola was trying to do here was – Tell the same story of sharing happiness, but giving an opportunity for ‘two-way dialogue’ and understanding the current pulse of consumers.

It could be how your products or services simplify life for your customers, for instance. These could be stories about your unique raw materials or how you collaborate with users to develop your products.

One of the best examples is Dove’s “real beauty” campaign. Dove noticed the issue of stereotyping beauty standards in media, resulting in low self-esteem and body image issues among women and girls. The company saw an opportunity to make a difference and launched a series of advertisements that featured women of various body shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities. These stories empowered women to celebrate their natural beauty and aimed to challenge the narrow beauty standards set by the beauty industry. Dove didn’t just stop at traditional advertising.

The brand conducted a ground-breaking social experiment called the ‘Dove Real Beauty Sketches’ video, where a forensic sketch artist drew women based on their own descriptions and then again based on descriptions from strangers that had just met. The result was a powerful visual representation of how women often perceive themselves more critically than others do.

The impact was indeed profound with the campaign receiving widespread media coverage. It sparked conversations about beauty, self-esteem, and authenticity. The story resonated across generations and cultures as it not only challenged the ‘age-old unrealistic ideals’ but also beautifully portrayed the pursuit of ‘self-love and increased self-esteem.’ The other factor that created the magic was how the story was narrated – real women with real stories, making it relatable and authentic to the audience.

This leads us to another important factor of storytelling – the narrator.

Good stories make powerful connections between the storyteller and the story listener.

This is the reason why Nike’s ads with Lebron James don’t include a bunch of close-up shots of the shoes they are selling. They don’t need to. They found the perfect person to represent a specific relatable challenge – namely overcoming obstacles to beat an opponent.  The audience connects with the message and the story only when they resonate with the narrator.  These relatable characters could be your customers, employees, or even fictional personas that embody the values and aspirations of your audience. Relatable characters are inevitable to make your story more engaging and memorable.

In this pursuit of ‘humanizing’, what’s important is consistency and simplicity and standing by the brand values.

Would you relate to your favorite personality if he or she isn’t humble, simple, and doesn’t stand by his or her true self and values?

Nike has built a loyal customer base and inspired millions through their simple inclusive messaging and empowering campaigns that have been consistent for the last 30 years. They tap into people’s aspirations as well as celebrate their personal achievements. Nike has created a movement that resonates with athletes of all levels.

In 2015, Budweiser, the famous beer brand, launched a campaign titled “Up for Whatever.” The campaign included various TVCs and promotions to position the brand as a drink for those who are adventurous and open to new experiences. This was a failure. The slogan lacked clarity and was vague. It was unclear how drinking Budweiser related to being open to new experiences or adventures. To add to it, one of the TV ads in the campaign featured a scene where a Budweiser bottle was handed to a young woman with the slogan “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” This message was widely criticized for promoting irresponsible behavior and undermining consent. The campaign faced significant backlash on social media, and it even damaged the brand’s image leading to a loss of trust among some consumers. So, what went wrong? Budweiser’s attempt to appeal to a younger, adventurous demographic came across as insincere and out-of-touch with the brand’s core audience of loyal beer drinkers.

The campaign serves as an example of how a lack of customer insight and clear and responsible storytelling in marketing can lead to misinterpretation and backlash, and how important it is to have a coherent message that aligns with the brand’s values and resonates positively with the target audience.