Advertisers have discovered stories. There is an advert
about a Volkswagen Golf at the moment that I can’t watch because for some
reason it makes me cry. This is a major trend (the use of story in ads, not
things making me cry. I’m OK guys.). The product is often not featured until
the last second. As we have gotten better at ignoring adverts, so advertisers
have tried to get better at keeping us watching them. Advertising is becoming a
true art. They use stories to hook us in immediately: as curious humans we are
truly fallible to narrative. They provide a compelling, emotive narrative
featuring characters we can associate with and care about because they are
vulnerable. And then at the end, when they have provided all the value, they
try to sell us the product. Two conclusions:
1. As an artist (or entrepreneur/marketer) you may
have a great product but no one will care about it unless you can package it
and sell it as a compelling, authentic story. This principle is applicable to
everyone: screenwriters with great dialogue and hilarious characters that are
wasted because of a flimsy plot, stand-ups with great jokes that are presented
as an unconnected mess which reduce their impact and lose people’s interest,
businesses with a great product but who can’t convince people why it is
relevant to their lives and how it will fit into THEIR narrative.
2. Marketing is no longer about interrupting people
to tell them to buy your product. It is about giving them a great experience for
free and then suggesting they might get more of it they buy what you have to
offer. You’re going to have to be creatively prolific and generous. But there
is no other way.
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