The Art of Storytelling for Marketers using adapted version of BCG Matrix

The 3 essentials,

experts never

disclose about

Storytelling

The Art of

Storytelling for

Marketers using

adapted version of

BCG Matrix

Jasleen Kaur Gumber

The Art of Storytelling for Marketers using adapted version of BCG Matrix

2015

Jasleen Kaur Gumber

Introduction- Story, Storytelling and Their Elements

Contents- Assumptions, Anagnorisis and the Success Matrix

Over the last few decades, Marketers have started utilizing the art of Storytelling to create their brands and bring out in the market and to customers, their Brand Promise and Product communication. This paper will deal with the Objective and Outcome setting from the Storytelling exercise. This paper will also deal with a few overlooked yet extremely essential assumptions we make during the storytelling process.

Story is a narration of real or fictional event(s) with characters which are weaved in a plot. A story can be both concluding and open-ended depending upon the objective of the story teller.

Storytelling is getting the story in action through words, visuals, or/ and sound. It has matured like an art over the years.

Storytelling has three elements to it and before any story is even told we make the below assumptions without even realizing. There is no such problem but the thing to be kept in mind is do confirm if the story you want to float out in the market does comply to these.

Elements Assumptions

Story Story has a point of view

Storyteller Storyteller has an Objective

Audience Audience has ability to understand the story

Once these assumptions fall in place with the storytelling strategy of the brand, the brand can be at least taken with surety to be going in the right direction with the objective setting bit of the story telling strategy. The underlying objective of every digital storytelling is Anagnorisis.

Anagnorisis is a Greek word that is used in relation to theatre performances and stands for the moment in the play when a character makes a critical discovery; it is the hero’s sudden awareness of the real situation. Replicating the concept to the Digital Storytelling, Anagnorisis is the function of customer understanding. A good story would definitely lead the audience from the stage of Ignorance to Cognizance.

For example- Dove wants to promote the story of ‘You are more beautiful than you think’, leaving all variables apart, once the audience watches the video completely he gets a sense of understanding of what the storyteller is trying to put across. That realization is Anagnorisis which reflects the success of the story told. It is success because the audience has got a

The Art of Storytelling for Marketers using adapted version of BCG Matrix

2015

Jasleen Kaur Gumber

comprehension of the message, thus they have undergone a transition from ignorance to cognizance about the particular topic of the story.

Video Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

Besides Anagnorisis, below is a two by two matrix which leads to the second level of success

indication.

Each audience has two tools inherent in them, through which they lead to Anagnorisis. First is

Identification and second is Appreciation. An audience is able to feel Anagnorisis if they can

identify with few/many/all elements in the story. There are certain far-fetched, supernatural

and highly fictional stories that no one is able to identify with and yet they may feel Anagnorisis

and that is because they are able to appreciate the story.

These both or at least one is an inevitable part of audience appreciation to a story told. We will

take up a few examples to elaborate that in detail through some very successful digital

storytelling done by brands.

This is a story told by True Move, a Thai brand and deals with a poor boy who witnesses a

miracle in his life turning out to a doctor when he grows up. In the course, he repays a small

help done by an old man to him. This is not our story. We don’t get repaid that way every day

but the fact that every human has the capacity to appreciate this has led to phenomenal

success of this digital story.

Video Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89aowrlN--k

The Art of Storytelling for Marketers using adapted version of BCG Matrix

2015

Jasleen Kaur Gumber

There is a thin line of difference between the two videos. Whilst I am a woman, I can identify with women undermining their beauty whilst others would see it; I am a human enough to appreciate the act of kindness being compensated.

A marketer or a storyteller should make sure that one of the matrixes is getting fulfilled in his story if not both.

The below matrix gives a success representation to the story

The Art of Storytelling for Marketers using adapted version of BCG Matrix

The above diagram is an adaptation of BCG Matrix for Market share and potential growth. Above though has been adapted for Mind Share instead of Market Share and growth gets replicated to digital viral spread.

What is Appreciation Quotient? Humans are quick to respond with a like, dislike or unconcern. The more universal appeal a story has, the more any human is likely to like it. Appreciation means, he is able to comprehend the idea behind the story and understands the communication established. What is Identification Quotient? When a human appreciates the art (story here), he naturally feels inclined to identify or see himself in it, or if the art is negative he tries to identify himself not being like it. This phenomenon is called Identifying With. A universal appeal in the story following by an identification quotient is sure to touch more lives than with one alone but it can’t be the case always hence other outcomes follow like- Cash Cow, Dog and Question Mark Marketer has options on taking the next steps after he understands where the story he has told does fit.

THE THREE RULES TO STORYTELLING

The three rules enlisted here don’t promise a story like a fire in woods but certainly these are

core to a well framed one.

-Hide the Storyteller

Humans love stories and they love the storyteller, as long as the storyteller doesn’t interfere

himself in the story. Be subtle with branding the story with your brand. Avoid coming loud with

tagging it as a Marketing effort.

-Kill the noise before you start, by taking it to extremes

In the real world, don’t you wait for the attention from the audience before starting a story?

Would you start telling your story to someone if the radio is playing a parallel music alongside?

No. But how do you control this digitally?

A lot of ‘context setting’ things in Digital storytelling do the trick. The objective is to grab the

attention of the audience to the maximum and this can be done or undone in the first 10

seconds. Many of the ways include:

Visual Color- Creating a block colored page to silent the stuff going on in the audience’s mind

Audio- Modulating the background music, either you start with a bang or a pause

The Art of Storytelling for Marketers using adapted version of BCG Matrix

2015

Jasleen Kaur Gumber

Cerebral Curiosity- Start with Macro; may be a pollen grain inside the flower, or a woman playing with her ring. Giving such frames instantly trigger the curiosity in human mind to comprehend what is coming next. This way you grab their brain to concentrate.

-Build up the ending of your story, but don’t end

It is natural for human minds to seek ends, completions and conclusions. But what if you get

there- to the end and leave your audience abruptly? They will take it up from there in their

minds. What you get are some extra units of time in the audience’s brain. But what is important

here, is you show them the direction it is likely to end at. A loose closure of the video might

back fire as being incomplete otherwise.

P.S. Some other brilliant stories are here-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsjRRMMg_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaWA2GbcnJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHGDN9-oFJE

-Jasleen Kaur Gumber

I am working as a Senior Executive with Canon after having completed my MBA from

Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India (Major- Marketing and Minor- Strategy)

and Master’s in English Literature from Jamia Millia Islamia. I can be reached at

iamjasleenkaur@gmail.com or Jasleen.kaur@canon.co.in