Whenever I hear the word ‘marketing’, I hear ‘advertising’. And we all know that advertising sucks. Well it does in my world, nobody truly love the adverts, they are an interruption to your browsing or watching experience and possibly 99% of them are not interesting, they are brainwashing of the highest order.
Ever found yourself buying something you then realise you didn’t actually need after all? We’re exposed to maybe 5000 ads every single day, whether it be on TV, Radio, Web, Podcasts, Billboards, Posters, Bags, Product Placement and many many other methods that we may not even realise are there. They all effect our subconscious mind!
Unfortunately advertising works, because otherwise they would have stopped it a long time ago. Further bad news for the marketers is that the discerning browser and watcher is now switching off from the constant bombardment of ads and switching to places where there are no adverts, Netflix may spring to mind. We’d rather pay for a service we can enjoy instead of getting a free service we don’t enjoy.
In our house if we’re interested in watching a show on TV channel that has adverts, we record it. When we watch it back, our remote allows us to hit the speed play button three times and it skips the 3 minute ads interlude. I can tell you we were overjoyed when we found that button!
So why do marketers continue with the ads instead of sharing stories. The temptation is there I know, everyone is doing it so you have to join the bandwagon for fear of missing out.
Truth is, stories work even better, just look at the movies. They are all stories and we love them. When they write the script they don’t think, where can I fit in an advert or product placement just so the viewer can get distracted.
You can still feature your product or service in your story, but a word of warning, don’t be tempted to explain every single detail, your story is there to make someone curious. Curiosity is so much more effective then telling the viewer or reader everything that you want them to know. They won’t remember anyway, just share a story that is relatable and will make them think a bit further. Leave it up to their own imagination, let them feel and imagine like they are featuring in your story.
Happy storytelling!