Pooja squealed as the doorknob turned, had her family returned....

Kartik Johari, Vice President - Marketing and Commerce,  Nobel Hygiene shares his two cents on benefits of storytelling with an interesting story

“Pooja smiled softly, basked in the glow of the “75” candle on her birthday cake! She wished her family was here with her too, but the doctors insisted that she had no family. She is a spinster who lives alone, true, but the doctors couldn’t read the memories of her kids in her mind could they? As she blew out the candle, she heard a loud thump at her front door. Pooja squealed in delight and clapped as the doorknob started to turn. Finally, has her family returned?”

There’s nothing which captures our imagination as a good, engaging story. A good story is a cultural bridge; helping us connect with anyone, regardless of background, race or upbringing. There’s something very primal about stories; they make us find the common themes which all people aspire to. May it be the glory of the just, the fall of the cruel, the climb of a hero or the yearning of love. Stories, are what binds us together as people. 

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Your group of close friends have your own, shared, secret stories. Those are what keeps you close to each other. Your family knows all your stories and is a leading participant in most of them! Your significant other, is the one with whom you can share all your stories. Your religion is the resultant of you ascribing to a particular story over others. You continue to grow, to add to your own saga, and to leave a legacy. After all, being legendary, is nothing more than to have an enduring story!

The Digital World has exploded as the choice medium for stories. The rapid nature of development, release and review has allowed for a multitude of story creators and stories to blossom; whether they are text, video, audio or graphical in nature; and whether they are an original piece of content, or fan-fiction (a HUGE trove of content), adaptations, improvisations, mocking, satirical or reverential in nature; the internet has seemingly unleashed our fullest (and sometimes depraved) potentials.

Having said that however, the problem today is not the quantum of content; there is a dearth of stories in any format. The challenge lies in finding the right content, and in designing something which breaks through the white-noise. The digital world has taught us to be engaging, authentic and direct. Real attracts real. Stories will always continue to be the best medium in which we can converse with our audience, and here are a few brief learnings which we had during our latest campaign for Friends Adult Diapers, #WahiMastiPhirSe :

1. Story is King: Your content is going to be the catalyst for your efforts. Only targeting, no matter how meticulous, can never make a bad creative successful. Also, ensure that your story evokes emotion. A bad story will never have a good rub-off.

2. Never compromise on Planning: Planning your spends is important, problems in the planning stage usually scale up during the actual spends. Ineffective spends act as a dampener for all your efforts.

3. Synchronise like a Boss: Due to the variety in media options now, ensure you start and end with a round-table meet between all your arms. I.e: ATL team + BTL team + Digital Team + PR team = should all function as one.

4. Multiple “types” of content: Always plan for (and keep ready) a large variety of stories around your central theme. Each stream requires it’s own content.

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Get to crafting your own cherished story. There’s a storyteller in all of us. Find a story that excites him!