Marketers have been drawing on the power of storytelling to persuade consumers for decades. Whether it’s been “Not happy Jan” reminding small businesses to get their listing in the Yellow Pages before it was too late, or Crocodile Dundee, and more recently his long-lost son Brian, reminding Americans what a beautiful and welcoming tourism destination Australia is, memorable and emotionally engaging brand stories have proven their success time and time again.
Yet there are challenges for those who want to use the storytelling technique. You may have a compelling story but be held back by budgets, a risk averse C-suite or board, or an organisational culture resistant to self-promotion. The corporate preference might be to fly under the radar for fear of drawing unwanted attention.
Many big mining companies have interesting and seldom-heard stories to tell. Some have made a conscious decision to not mine coal; others mine for rare earth minerals, without which we would not have smartphones. Then there’s aluminium for our cars, planes and medical equipment; iron ore to build our high rises, schools and hospitals; copper for communications. Other companies have been highly innovative with automated trucks and trains, ahead of a world striving for driverless cars.
The positive and true stories for mining companies can be found on their websites, but it’s been rare in the past decade or two for them to tell these stories in mainstream media. It’s not a budget issue, as the two largest mining companies in the world are Australian, both turning over more than $US40bn ($61bn) last year. But compared to similar-sized companies such as Woolworths, the mining companies spend a far smaller amount on marketing and storytelling. It’s an opportunity missed.
The second issue for marketers who want to use storytelling arises when you have to create a highly engaging story when there is little substance behind it, or the product or service involved is below standard. This is a high-risk strategy given today’s marketing-savvy consumers, and ever watchful competitors and media. In Australia we’ve seen much-hyped international brands come and go quickly. Some start-ups have met the same fate.
The third challenge is to tell the story well. Even if there’s a willingness to tell the interesting brand story and then promote it, it can fall short if not done in an engaging, emotional and memorable way.
Dr Tom van Laer from the University of Sydney has found that best-selling novels, Hollywood blockbusters and even the most persuasive TripAdvisor reviews have some common storytelling elements.
The first is relatable characters with real thoughts and feelings. Yellow Pages’ Jan and Tourism Australia’s Brian Dundee both certainly ticked that box. The second is anchoring the story in a particular place and time, and the third is to make the story nonlinear, for the story to be able to roll through an emotional curve of ups and downs, which means that sometimes the best storytelling has the climax at the beginning rather than the end. The takeout of the research for marketers, like those in the travel and hospitality industries whose brand success depends on reviews, was that the most persuasive reviews for consumers are simply great, very short stories, following these common storytelling elements.
The other category where storytelling is becoming more important is the not-for-profit sector. Powerful storytelling has galvanised people around social movements, such as Earth Hour. Other not-for-profits have used storytelling to influence government policy decisions. And it is also helping many highlight the impact of their efforts, to reassure donors their money has been used well.
Brand storytelling is a powerful tool for marketers when done right. And often it has been in the most rational categories where an emotional brand story has pivoted that business away from its competitors and into successful territory. Categories such as insurance, tyres, the internet, and tax. Will mining be next?
