Rethinking Business Communications Blog

Think back to your childhood.

What was that one advert that you loved and can still remember today, decades later? What made that commercial memorable? Was it funny, witty or silly? Did it tug at your heartstrings?

We as humans love stories. It’s how we make sense of our world and how we empathise with people we’ve never met by simply reading their stories. A good example is what happened in Africa in the 1980s. Pictures and stories of suffering Africans in the wake of terrible famines prompted action. Remember the devastating famine in Ethiopia? It galvanised the collaboration of some of the world’s most famous musicians and entertainers, including the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.  These celebrities gathered as a group to record the song ‘We Are The World’.

        

With the single, the group  USA For Africa raised $60 million which was distributed to Ethiopia, Sudan and other countries. Such a feat would have impossible to achieve without storytelling, which shed light on the pitiful plight of victims of famines at that time.

Storytelling is how our parents taught us good morals as kids.

It’s also how we connect with  brands and why we sometimes choose Coke, instead of Pepsi (or vice versa), or become lifetime customers of a business.

Companies use storytelling to coax desirable actions from consumers. Emotive storytelling used by brands goes further: it ‘ropes’ us in and makes us care about all aspects of the brands. It also influences our purchasing habits.                                            

And we may not have much of a choice. As noted in this article, science explains what listening to a story does to our brains. Simply put, a good story, (and a simple story is more effective than a complicated one), makes our brains more active. Researchers noted that a story is also the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the story into his idea and experience. This, of course, is a compelling way to influence people to accept our suggestions…kind of like directly imparting our ideas into peoples’ minds…like having a superpower.

Think about that for a moment.

How brands can use emotive storytelling to boost revenue


The best stories resonate the most with us and incite emotions that we simply must act upon. We tend to make emotional decisions about our purchasing habits every day. Therefore, emotive storytelling—creating and using stories to arouse strong feelings in order to connect with audiences—will be an effective marketing tool to consistently generate revenue, if done the right way.


In this post, simple tips are given on how brands could use stories about their products to influence consumers to buy, and even to pay more for them. 
                                  

But for such stories to be effective, they must touch a nerve. The examples below illustrate just how stories ‘hook’ us to brands. These stories don’t just sell us products; they sell us experiences and generate endearing messages. It’s no wonder that we’re likely to cherish those experiences and remember those messages long after the products have been consumed or the thrills associated with the purchases have dissipated.




1) Brotherly Love – Coca Cola South Africa