The importance of Story

One of the things NT Wright drove home for me is the importance of story in ancient culture. If you don't understand the general cultural stories people told about their lives, who they were, what the problems were and what the desired solutions would be, you're likely to mis-read an ancient book like the Bible. It is a story, told to people for whom story was a primary means of communication, entertainment and value sharing.

Today is no different, but instead of sharing stories personally we rely on mass communication for our stories. I wonder if we really understand the significance of this shift. Now, instead of telling "our" stories, we're left with others stories, conceived of in "Hollywood" (for lack of a better generalization), and co-opted as our own. Indeed, Hollywood is a powerful story teller as witnessed by the profound influence Western culture has on the rest of the world.

It's not just Hollywood, though. Brands tell a story, too. Listen to Max Kalehoff, vice president of marketing for Nielsen BuzzMetrics, talk about a recent study in Online Spin: We’re All Suckers For Narratives:

When people ask me what is my secret sauce, my answer is simple: it’s the ability to probe deep and elicit the essence of who you are, and to extract key stories that passionately demonstrate relevance, mission and a human connection to our world. While great brands are the result of many things — particularly all the factors that deliver great experience over and over and over again — it’s the presence of compelling, authentic stories that determine high resonance in our minds. Face it, we’re human and we’re suckers for narratives.

But it’s more than my gut that supports this notion. According to a three-year study by the Advertising Research Foundation and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, ads that tell a branding story work better than ads that focus on product positioning. As reported by Brandweek, 33 television ads across 12 categories were analyzed by 14 emotion and physiological research firms, with tools that included testing heart rate and skin conductance to brain diagnostics. Reported Brandweek: “The report contends that in many ways, advertising is stuck in the past. The 20th century was dominated by a one-way transactional focus where ads were pushed at consumers. Today, consumers interact with ads to ‘co-create’ meaning that is powered by emotion and rich narrative.”

He goes on to say, "But the most valuable takeaway is at the core brand level — specifically, how our minds are hardwired to embrace narratives and distill meaning with emotional force."