Brands Talk Too Much — It’s Time to Shift From Storytelling to …

Jacob Lund - stock.adobe.com

Talk is cheap; actions speak. Storytelling is paramount to a brand’s narrative. But marketing’s emphasis on this single facet neglects a fundamental human reality: People must live a story for it to matter to them. Your target audience needs more than to hear your narrative; they need to lose themselves in it.

Confucious said in The Analects, “The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterward speaks according to his actions.” The truth is superior brands translate their stories into moments and rituals.

Last I checked, we’re still selling to humans, not robots. Humans will likely always crave genuine connection — visceral experiences through curated moments.

Some of our most formative memories stem from our experiences with brands. What we choose to buy, wear and consume are all a part of the identity we present to the world. If you want to embed your product in your consumer’s life and emotional memory bank, you have to make them part of your brand’s story. This comes through experience.

Contrary to popular belief, UX, or “user experience,” is not owned by technology. I don’t know where we got that idea. But the fact that it’s become almost synonymous with tech is a sacrilege. UX has been a concept since 1950 and is analog, first and foremost. It’s not just about screens or interfaces; UX is felt across all consumer journey dimensions.

Tech is important, but it’s a means to an end. It’s a vehicle to scale, spread, categorize and organize. An app, software, website, QR code or AR filter can help connect you to another person or brand, but it can’t produce the emotion that human connection conjures — at least not yet.

We wear, drink, eat, spray, lather, use and play with our brands’ products; all of this happens in the real world. Technology is fantastic and connects us in many ways, but it can’t connect us at the human level. Digital tools can only enhance, scale and quantify experiences.

Brands that focus too much on their stories and algorithms end up plateauing because they talk too much without giving goosebumps. Don’t get me wrong, great ads are great. But they can’t stand alone.

Your consumers interact with your brand across many touchpoints but how many are experience-based? Experiential marketing — the art and science of connecting people to brands through impactful, immersive physical, digital or hybrid encounters — allows people to live the brand’s story. It’s not enough to design an event and hope for the best. A strategic storyliving approach can yield the intended results.

More and more brands are craving these pop-up experiences, using physical space to create and extract ad-worthy content and then multiply it through social media. The big idea — once captured in a one-time ad with a huge investment — becomes the long idea extended through a palpable experience that people want to attend and, more importantly, want to share. It’s become essential for marketers to integrate storytelling with storyliving.

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To help you navigate this shift successfully, here are my top three tips for marketers new to experiential:

Before determining your scope, you must decide whether your KPIs prioritize brand building or demand. If conversion is critical, incorporate immersive rituals derived from the pillars of your brand’s story into your retail and e-commerce channels. This can generate small, impactful moments that inspire sales.

If brand awareness is your main objective, focus on curating emotional experiences at the beginning of the funnel. Target a broader audience to ensure your message reaches and resonates on a larger scale, leveraging specific aspects of your brand’s story to build an emotional connection.

Maximize social currency by creating content that places your audience at the center. Evaluate the cultural relevance a celebrity or influencer could bring when incorporating them into your campaign or experience. When the consumer and brand ambassador are in the same environment, it can create an emotional connection between them. The nexus stemming from that common experience can inspire your target audience to share those assets across social media like wildfire.

Make your consumer feel like part of your brand’s family. This is how you generate digital word-of-mouth.

Don’t forget that the influencer is your first consumer. Crafting a content playground that’s appealing to them can inspire them to post beyond contractual obligations, generating greater marketing for your brand. You can do this through physical and digital features that illustrate your story — from the venue to lighting, backdrops, branded filters and music.

Whether a vintage vanity for a new fragrance line or an ’80s-inspired bedroom covered in vinyl records, bring the specific notes of your brand into reality so the influencer lives a slice of your story. This can inspire posts above the contract. Authentic images from an immersive experience are worth a thousand clicks.

This approach has proven successful for my organization in our collaboration with spirits brand Knob Creek. Our accounts team is collaborating with the brand’s visionaries to refresh its Single Barrel Program. A new facet of this refresh means consumers can immerse themselves on-site for several days, tasting samples, meeting the master distillers and learning about the history of the brand’s Kentucky roots. Using their “rare by design” concept, exclusivity is branded into every visit element to deliver a deeper connection to the people behind the bourbon.

While storyliving separates extraordinary brands from ordinary ones, storytelling remains paramount; it’s your DNA. You must know your raison d’être or “reason for existing.” However, the exceptional occurs when you extract elements of that DNA and give them flesh through a superior user experience.

Don’t fall into the trap of algorithm-centric strategies and one-and-done ads. Focus on generating authentic content by bringing your story to life and making your consumer the center of it. Impactful UX through storyliving creates a ripple effect. If your brand isn’t rippling, it’s stagnant.