There’s a cutting edge, former advertising agency in New York that is 100 percent focussing its business on story. Story Worldwide has rebranded itself to be ‘post brand’ and ‘post advertising’.
In today’s ‘opt in’ culture, interrupting narrative with brands as we have traditionally done with advertising just simply no longer works. Today, to let people know about stuff, you simply tell a story.
Communication I believe has now come full circle. Scientists are clear that we created stories to survive very early in our evolution. The difference in interpreting a pattern of a rustle in the bushes as either being wind, or a predator, taught us to create stories for patterns as a simple matter of life or death.
This hard wiring for story still exists in us today. We create patterns constantly to make meaning of our surroundings. Storytelling keys right into this primal urge to understand to survive.
It is much less natural to analysis and be skeptical. We prefer the pattern and the story, and as TED speaker, Michael Shermer says, we even unwittingly live our lives by patterns, and prefer to ‘believe’ than question.
I believe embracing story as our primary means of communication will match our natural way of learning and understanding. With the right intention, using story to connect and convey information will hit the mark, because deep in our brain, we are wired to understand this way.
Powerful storytelling is authentic, intimate, and delivered integrating heart and mind, and this way connects with others deep in their brain and their instinct.