Today’s guest post is written by Erik Hare.

The black and white TV images flickered inside the homes of viewers. A woman in a long dress and heels sashayed to the rhythm of the announcer proclaiming how easy the Robo-matic washer is to use ahead of the punchline – “Goodbye, Blue Monday!”

The baseball player could not slam the ball through the plastic that acted just like Guardal – “Protects your teeth!”

Thirty second morality plays flashed a quick and simple kind of storytelling bent to sell products.  The morals were clear: Modern products created a more elegant, clean, and easy life.

The craft of storytelling is important because it gets the message into the guts, not the head, of the reader.  It makes a connection that is deeper, more meaningful, and more permanent. It informs at a level that facts, figures, and bullet points never dream of reaching.

Storytelling has long been an important marketing tool. “Branding” is humanizing a product – telling a story that makes it personal. The difference today is the stories are told in little plays as well as in words. Social media is actually making us more literate.

This progression in storytelling is far from new.  (more…)