The importance of storytelling in marketing
Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I’ll begin.
First, look at the image above — a red apple, on an outstretched hand. Now, think of a story.
What story are you thinking of?
Perhaps it’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The evil witch and her evil poisoning ways.
Maybe not.
Perhaps it’s the most famous apple-related story of all.
Twilight.
Nah, just kidding. Of course, the Garden of Eden.
Either way, the point is: storytelling can be so evocative just a simple image can have multiple complex narratives* associated with it.
*You might need to take a metaphorical leap with this one for Twilight.
Not only that, but the narratives embody key messages: don’t be naïve, don’t break promises, and don’t hang out with the creepy vampire who nobody else likes.
Stories are powerful. For thousands of years stories were spoken word and cave art, with myths, legends, and fairy-tales bequeathed through the generations around campfires and through stone carvings. In fact, some estimates state that two millennia passed between humans talking and humans writing[1].
That’s a lot of verbal storytelling.
Stories were a way of conveying warnings, of preserving history, of cementing ideals and morals. For thousands of years, the human brain learnt to heed a good story; do not enter the dark woods, only eat the white mushrooms, the birds seeking shelter mean the storms are coming. As an engaging method of information sharing, stories played an integral part in human survival.
The human brain evolves slowly. We are still hard-wired to pay attention to stories, but we often struggle to distinguish the survivalist from the superfluous. There’s a wide array of content types which tap into this misfunction — some contemporary examples include conspiracy theories, wellbeing articles, and lifestyle blogs. Am I under an unknown threat? How can I enhance my chance of survival? How does the wider pack thrive in this environment? It’s not surprising their popularity has boomed since the birth of the internet. Our content-seeking is driven partly by fear, partly by aspiration, partly by a need to be entertained. We want to survive, and we want to be the best at it.
Improving memory recall
A lot of research suggests that people think narratively; a lot of the information that we store and retrieve is episodic (broadly: incidents, experiences, outcomes, relationships). Humans are natural storytellers — we enjoy the performative side of telling stories to one another, whether that’s regaling an amusing anecdote about that time you got stuck in a lift with <insert celebrity of choice> or sharing your life’s wisdom on a TED talk.
“Human memory is story-based”
Schank, 1999
In short, stories stick in our minds because they mirror our thinking patterns.
One of the reasons stories are so memorable are due to the relatable and empathetic indices they contain. Indices are ‘touch points’ which can trigger an implicit awareness and comprehension for the audience. It might be a particular location, decision, action, crossroad or attitude. Think of the sage archetype; the old wise man passing on wisdom to future generations. We pay attention to these indices because they might just improve our odds of survival. In fact, research on Super Bowl adverts shows that the adverts which people paid attention all had one underlying theme in common: good storytelling[2].
Of course, for most people the majority of stories we hear are not life-or-death scenarios (especially when it comes to brand marketing). But by framing products appropriately within an index, advertisers and marketers can prime consumers to think about their product the next time they’re in that position. Think about some of the famous ads of the past two decades. Want a TV with high-definition visuals? Buy Sony. Need to cool down on a hot summer day? Drink Coca Cola. Looking for technology that’s sleek and simple? Pick Apple. The product might not be relatable (yet) but the situation just might be.
Creating aspirational narratives
Big or small, we all have aspirations. They might be materialistic, altruistic or self-interested (buy a new bag, be more charitable, start a new hobby) or longer-term aspirational goals (start a new career, take a new course, buy a new house). Brands can tap into these aspirations by positioning themselves as aspirational; the product placement in Bond films is a great example of this. If you want to be as cool and attractive as 007, you’ll drive an Aston Martin, wear Tom Ford and shave with Gillette.
“Specific brands and products often play pivotal roles enabling consumers to achieve the proper pleasure that results in a consumer mentally and/or physically enacting a specific archetype”
Woodside, 2010
This isn’t too difficult to imagine.
A quick glance at any television commercial will reveal the aspirations the brand has in mind; takeaways often focus on jubilant nights in with friends, perfume brands typically evoke a heady mix of (male) desire and freedom, and holiday firms envision footprints on white sand beaches and calm turquoise pools.
The reality might be very different, but it doesn’t matter. The consumer envisages themselves as the main character in these narratives. The fact that 90% of the holiday will involve dragging bored and tired kids to places they don’t want to visit won’t break the paradise illusion. It’s too desirable.
A theory by Bagozzi and Nataraagan (2000) suggests that “people need help in finding what makes them happy, and this is where marketing comes in”. Aligning marketing content to a persona doesn’t just help brands target users directly, it also helps consumers find products/services they may also enjoy. It’s one reason why adding a “people who purchased this also bought…” suggestions can be so powerful; it helps build a herd of similar people based on their purchase history. If User A buys a new iPhone and extended charging cable, user B might be swayed into purchasing the same charging cable with their new iPhone if prompted during the ecommerce process.
Creating a physiological impact
Whilst we might know how to engage people through stories, how do we drive a desired outcome? For this, we need to look at the physiological impact of storytelling.
Everyone has probably experienced how stories impact us physically; we hide behind cushions during horror films or cry at the end of Titanic. The physiological impact of emotive narratives has been explored in numerous studies; they have been shown to impact our hormone levels[3] or trigger a stress response.
But how does this impact subsequent behaviour? This is where the link between oxytocin, empathy and monetary decision making comes in.
A 2009 study by Barraza and Zak shows that emotionally engaging narratives caused an increase in oxytocin. This change in oxytocin had a positive correlation with feelings of empathy, and this increase in empathy was associated with greater generosity and higher charitable donations[4].
The emotional narrative engaged the audience and triggered the release of oxytocin, which led to a sub-sequential monetary action. In this research, there were two separate studies — one which asked how much people would donate to a thematically-related charity, and the other had an ultimatum-style game where Person A decided how to split a prize fund and Person B could reject or accept. People exposed to oxytocin were more generous when it came to making a financial decision.
So how can marketers use storytelling?
- Create aspirational narratives: Create narrative experiences that your consumers will want to be in
- Weave your positioning into stories: Overcome hypothetical barriers in your advertising, and use stories to enact your brand values
- Ensure you engage your audience: Put simply, if your audience isn’t paying attention, they won’t have an emotional response
- Create an emotive experience: Drive consequential action by bringing your audience into the heart of your narrative
First published on psykkd.com
[1] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/01/human-language-may-have-evolved-help-our-ancestors-make-tools
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445577/
[3] http://ns.umich.edu/index.html?Releases/2004/Jul04/r072004a
[4] Empathy Towards Strangers Triggers Oxytocin Release and Subsequent Generosity, Barraza and Zak, 2009
