At underscore we create brand stories that form an emotional connection between brands and their audiences, and here’s a few reasons why we take that particular approach.
Whether chronicling life’s events, communicating with others, or creating an inspirational image, stories have formed a vital part of human development.
Storytelling and narrative tap into a fundamental form of human communication and connection, engaging with the imagination and through that, our empathy and creativity.
When the story has creativity, relevance and integrity, it provides a common language that unleashes inspiration and invites maximum engagement through audience participation.
Stories provide emotional transportation, inspiring action because the audience can easily identify psychologically with the characters, the experience or the values courtesy of the images evoked in the telling.
Equally important, stories have the power to turn the audience into viral advocates of the proposition or brand by paying the story—and not just the information—forward.
They provoke our memory and provide a structure and frame of reference for our understanding, and they also reflect the way the brain works. Whilst we often think of stories as vehicles for the information, they are in fact the foundation of our understanding and retention.
“We perceive and remember something based on how it fits with other things. One way the brain sorts things is by metaphors,” says psychologist Pamela Rutledge, director of the Los Angeles-based Media Psychology Research Centre. “When you’re describing things in a story, you are creating visual imagery that engages you in multiple ways. You’re bringing your own stuff to the story, which is reinforced through the emotions associated with the experience,”
Given their importance, it is worth investing time in preparing your story thoroughly and understanding your audience better before you start to tell it.
What you know about your audience is key, as it influences what you say and how you say it. So a good brand will always ensure it has a really strong understanding of its audience, because without that, even the best stories will fall on deaf ears.