LESSON 4

the art of storytelling

introduction

How to capture the attention of a public that is impervious to traditional advertising? How to create interesting content for the public?

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THE ORIGINS OF STORYTELLING

FROM HUMAN TO BRAND STORYTELLING

THE POWER OF A STORY

STORYTELLING CASES

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2

3

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A definition

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Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination*.

is interactive uses words uses actions presents a story

encourage active

imagination of the listeners

*National Storytelling Network

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A story that began long ago... - the origins of storytelling -

Man as a social animal

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“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god. ”

Aristotle, Politics

The original structure

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ACT 3 CLIMAX

Turning point

ACT 4 REVERSAL

Falling action

ACT 2 COMPLICATION

Rising action

ACT 5 DENOUEMENT

Moment of release

ACT 1 EXPOSITION

Inciting moment

The novelist and playwright Gustav Freytag has described the structure of a classic plot. For years the Freytag’s pyramid has been the reference point for every writer.

The evolution of storytelling

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"Yes We Can!" Photograph: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Stories became the emotional context able to bring people in a larger experience.

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We are all storytellers, brands included

- from human to brand storytelling -

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We are all storytellers

click to play

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpOjnXcy8NE

Brand and human stories

The researcher Elizabeth Hisrchman demonstrated that the

“brand stories and human stories are both the products of a human tendency to see causality in the world, to experience time (whether cyclical or linear) as an opportunity for change and challenge, and to project human-like traits onto external objects and those of external objects onto ourselves.”

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Hirschman, E. (1986). Humanistic inquiry in marketing research: Philosophy, method, and criteria. Journal of Marketing Research, 23, 237–250.

Brands as storytellers

As the media landscape continues to evolve, audiences are gaining more and more control over the information they view and share. To remain relevant, brands understand that telling compelling stories to reach them is fundamental. Today brands are “the emotional connection between a customer and a product”.

A real a cultural a mindset shift for companies, possible thanks to four pillars:

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brand authenticity

meaningful message

content and media

skills conversational

attitude

10 functions of storytelling

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1. Explain origins

2. Define individual and group identity

3. Communicate tradition and delineate taboo

4. Simplify and provide perspective, reduce complex problems to a series of easily principles

5. Illustrate the natural order of things

6. Concisely communicate complex history

7. communicate moral and ethical positions and the transference and preservation of values

8. illustrate relationships to, and with, authority

9. describe appropriate responses to life or model behaviours

10. define reward and detail the paths to salvation and damnation

What's Your Story?: Storytelling to Move Markets, Audiences, People, and Brands By Ryan Mathews, Watts Wacker

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Tell before you sell - the power of a story -

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Human memory is story-based Schank, 1999

The first principle of storytelling behaviour

Why stories are so powerful?

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By lining up key elements of intelligence, cooperation, pattern-seeking, alliance-making, and the understanding that other beings have beliefs and knowledge of their own, stories make us stronger and more effective as a species.

Humans are social creatures and are emotionally influenced by the stories of other people.

Source: Brian Boyd, On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction

Consumers love stories

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The state of online advertising Research.Adobe and Edelman Berland http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pdfs/Adobe_State_of_Online_Advertising_Study.pdf

Tell before you sell

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Some stories people loved - storytelling cases -

Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches

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In May 2013, Unilever published a research asserting "over half (54%) of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic, which equates to a staggering 672 million women around the world”.

The campaign teaches an important lesson about how we perceive ourselves compared to how others see us.

The video has been viewed in more than 110 countries and became the most watched video ad of all time, with over 114million views.

Source http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130520-905751.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

The beauty inside

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Everyday Alex wakes up, he wakes up in a completely different body. He's the same person on the inside, but on the outside he's always someone new. And it's been happening for as long as he can remember. He shares his story through filmed episodes and real-time conversations with the audience. Audience members play Alex throughout the experience, both in filmed episodes and on his Facebook timeline, via photos and videos, adding to his narrative every step of the way. The Beauty Inside is a 2012 social film developed by Intel and Toshiba: six episodes, connected by interactive storytelling that takes place on the main character’s Facebook page, and that gives everyone the chance to play a role in the plot.

http://www.thebeautyinsidefilm.com/

http://vimeo.com/album/2229079

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stories can change the world for better...

Bat Kid by Make a Wish

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In November 2013, Miles Scott, a five-year-old leukemia patient, realized his dream to become Batman for a day. Thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation, thousands volunteers - and also businesses, the San Francisco Giants and even the city’s mayor and police department - responded to an avalanche of social media blasts, lining the streets wherever Miles and a full-sized Batman swooped into action.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/15/batkid-san-francisco-charity-make-wish

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THANK YOU Have you heard of the "digital natives"? Discover who they are in our next lesson and why are they important!  

For questions or suggestions please write to: whirlpool_emea@whirlpool.com