The Importance of Storytelling in Marketing

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

Meet Karl, a former marathoner living his golden years in a nursing home.

Except his days are nothing like gold.

Every day he wakes up, eats his tasteless bowl of porridge, and stares listlessly into space. He spends his days and nights looking out the window, reminiscing about the adventurous life he once had. A joyless birthday marks another dismal year. Time slowly marches on.

One day, he finds his old running shoes. He puts them on, and the memories come rushing back. Tying his shoelaces brings back the spark in his eyes and the bounce to his feet.

He sprints through the hallways of the nursing home, breaking the monotony of the residents’ daily existence. He reaches the door — so close to once again feeling light, free, and alive.

But not today. Karl is stopped by the orderlies, and his shoes are taken away.

But Karl cannot go back to his meaningless life. With a few more practice sprints, makeshift weights, and a little help from his friends, he once again puts on his shoes. He sprints through the hallways past the cheering retirees and finally breaks through the door and into the glorious outdoors.

As he pumps his arms in triumph, the Adidas logo flashes briefly. Then the scene cuts to black.

In one minute and 39 seconds, we go through an emotional journey with Karl and fall in love with adventure and freedom. We find ourselves in Karl’s shoes, inspired to break free from our own monotonous lives. And the last few seconds give us the easy first step to feeling alive again — get ourselves a pair of Adidas running shoes.

This is the power of storytelling in marketing. When you apply the essential elements of a storytelling framework to your copywriting, you inspire your ideal audience to action and become a part of their lives.

What is storytelling in marketing?

As marketers, we are always searching for ways to attract attention and convert this attention into action.

You’ve probably tried the usual suspects — fear, shock, urgency. You’ve dug deep into your ideal client’s fears and pain points, hit them with your product’s best features, and…