Storytelling has never been more important for marketers. Brands are now creating more content and integrating themselves deeper into TV shows and movies, putting the way they tell stories at a premium.
With this in mind, FCB Toronto invited a group of clients and partners to one of its Ignite breakfast sessions earlier this month for a panel on the art of storytelling with Lee Smart, creative director at Second City; Frank Van Keeken, the TV writer and producer behind shows like Kids In The Hall and The Next Step and FCB Toronto chief creative officer Jon Flannery.
Here are seven tips from the talk.
Good stories make people feel something
Good stories connect with people on an emotional level. They make people feel something, whether it’s joy or sadness or laughter. “Whatever story you tell, it has to touch people’s emotions and make them want to share [it],” Flannery said.
Look for elements of truth
When a story works, it’s usually because the audience recognizes that it’s true. They can identify something in the story they’ve seen in their own lives or in the lives of their friends and family; a situation that’s familiar. “If an audience laughs, it’s because they know something is true,” Smart said.
Be ready to tell the truth, too
When a brand works with a content partner, like a TV show or a web series, it has to be prepared to tell the truth about its product. Smart cited tequila as an example. If a tequila brand pays for an integration into a TV show, Smart said, “it has to be OK for the character to get a hangover.” If the storyline isn’t true to the reality of the product, it will read as inauthentic.
Create more content than you need
In the TV world, Van Keeken always shoots more scenes than he needs. Brands should do this, too, he said, in order to try out different ideas and see what works. Flannery echoed this idea and said,“If you have three vignettes, shoot four. The incremental cost is almost always worth it.”
Test content, then spend
Van Keeken also recommended testing “micro bits” of content online before deciding what to put money behind. When you see “consumers respond, marry yourself to that idea,” he said.
For example, when Flannery and his former team at FCB Chicago created Kmart’s “Ship My Pants” campaign, the brand released it online first, with only organic distribution. “There was no media buy until it worked,” he said.
In storytelling, it has to be OK to fail
In his improv classes, Smart tries to create an environment in which it’s okay to fail. Students have to feel comfortable enough to trust their instincts and go where the scene takes them. The same can be applied to storytelling in a brand environment, Smart said. If brands are too guarded or fearful of repercussions in the creation stage, they aren’t likely to create bold work.
Build a world around your stories
When crafting a story, Flannery said brands should look for ways to include the audience by making content its customers can replicate, make their own, share or add to.
He said brands should also look to build a world around the stories they tell, as the British department store John Lewis did with its recent holiday campaign. The focal point of the campaign is a spot that tells the story of a boy and his toy penguin. To round out the story, the retailer created an actual toy penguin to sell in its stores and a children’s storybook that followed the same storyline as the advertisement.
