Fuel Your Imagination
Dr. Martens champions sustainable fashion
Genix Nappa, a new material made of leather offcuts, aims to reduce waste
The Storytelling Series
Humans experience stories on a different level from rational information, and it’s this deep emotional tie which helps build memorability and meaning into brands over time.
Ed Woodcock
Founding Partner & Director of Narrative Aesop
At Aesop, we believe in the power of story.
We don’t just make ads that tell a story, we apply narrative thinking to everything we do.
Humans experience stories on a different level from rational information, and it’s this deep emotional tie which helps build memorability and meaning into brands over time.
We’re proud to present The Aesop Storytelling Series. An introduction to how storytelling can ignite your brand and engage your audience.
Key take outs:
-
1. Storytelling just won’t die. The technologies we use to tell those stories are changing fast, but our brains still seek out timeless narrative patterns as much as our ancestors did.
-
2. Embrace the dark side. Finding the tension in your brand isn’t something to be afraid of, and in fact is one of the most powerful and engaging things a brand can do.
-
3. Storytelling can have a strange effect on the way we think. Stories are experienced emotionally, so the information in the story tends to bypass our critical faculties—something that can be incredibly powerful when it comes to advertising.
-
4. Not all brand storytelling is content…And lots of supposed storytelling content doesn’t tell a story. You can’t assume that people will readily watch what is merely advertising posing as content.
-
5. Stick at it. Success comes down to a magical combo of consistency and persistence. It’s consistent emotional brand storytelling that builds long-term equity. In other words, don’t give up.
About
Ed is one of the Founding Partners at Aesop and Director of Narrative, overseeing the strategy and editorial departments. Prior to Aesop, he spent over decade in marketing consultancies and creative agencies, but it was only when he took some time out to do an MA in creative writing that he became aware of, and was excited by, the many links between narrative structure and brand planning. Plans to write a novel were sidelined by a new passion for brand strategy (and by a dislike of working by himself), which culminated in the founding of Aesop, a creative agency powered by narrative thinking.
Users who viewed this article also looked at:
