Once upon a time, we were grown, groomed and nurtured under the light of storytelling. Our fathers, relatives, siblings and neighbours all had engaging stories to tell us. Some were didactic, some fictional and some, had enough ramblings, taking a shift from the complete subject matter but the primary thing was that, we listened.
We listened to know what happened, to whom it happened to and why it happened. We were not bothered if they were false, if they were fictional or if they were vague. Just as long as it had a “Once upon a time” or “Long time ago”, our attentiveness was pinned to whom was speaking.
Recently, businesses and organisations have lost the strength of brand storytelling is marketing their goods and services. They tend to take a linear form of presentation to their audience forgetting that their audience may be children below the age of 10 and need their eyes, ears and hearts to engage, sell and market their goods to their parents as well.
I recently watched a cereal commercial on TV and it was bland. There was no sensible activity, no descriptiveness, no narration and certainly no place for the supposed target audience.
The big question is, WHAT IS A GOOD BRAND STORY?
A good brand story is one that houses the SEC policies. That is, it is Sellable(S), Engaging(E) and Communicative(C). Not a vague or bland make belief that many are forced to key into. For instance, if your brand is one that into toys, you’re communicating to both the young and old audience. Primarily, children are your main focus, but they’re not the buyers. So, anything you primarily decide to say, you’re dividing it into a 70:30 ratio. 70 to your primary audience(children; since they’d also compel their parents to buy these things) and 30 to the parents, since they pockets are needed as well.
The place for brand storytelling in businesses is very essential to the growth of your outfit. Humans are attracted to what they hear, see or read. So operating in a 21st century market square, one must be a captivating storyteller.
Storytelling also could be told through testimonials. The testimonies from people who have used your products and enjoyed it could be used as a story. Tell the people things that would communicate to them. Do not bring “tales by moonlight” as a means of communicating.
In writing a good TV/radio script for adverts, consider your audience reach and demography and tell that story beautifully. Communicators who make use of stories are excellent communicators. People who can build trust with their clients.
There’s always a story to tell your audience. Something that relates to them. Something that endears you them, so why not capitalise on it today?
