Storytelling and TV Advertising (No Story, No Glory)

“No Story, No Glory”FUTURELAB

Alain Thys

How do we go from imposing ourselves to being embraced?

The $200 billion question

(*) 2012 Global TV advertising forecast = $202bn, Zenith Optimedia December 2010

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Can we get people to hit pause instead of fast forward

Or being even more ambitious

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I don’t have all the answers, but I’m willing to look for them.

#ChangeMarketing:

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5 Suggestionsfrom the world of storytelling

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Brands, agencies and TV stations need to develop a new approach

They will require co-operation

Especially if they stopped making sense

Orthodoxies will need to be challenged

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But considering the prize, the effort is worth itWhat if consumers embraced our messages willingly?

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Suggestion #1

Take your time

Only a genius can tell a story in 30 seconds or less.

For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn

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Let’s face it:

Case: Titanic is a great story, but

It just isn’t the same in 30 seconds

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http://www.angryalien.com/0604/titanicbunnies.html

We will continue with this programme after these important messages.

So why do we hurry? Where did the 30 second spot come from?

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Orthodoxy alert

Pat Weaver& Leonard Lavin

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Orthodoxy alert

As advertising industrialised, the logic became entrenched in the system

What if?The 30 second orthodoxy didn’t exist?You had the time you needed to tell the story?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMjoEFyWn8w

Suggestion #1

Make sure you have the time you need to tell your story

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Suggestion #2

Consider context

• Who is my audience ?• Why are they coming ?• What is on their mind ?

Every storyteller asks:

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If you forget to ask them,

Things go wrong

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Some time ago, my son and I had the house to ourselves

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“YEAEEEH!!”

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Don’t worry Mrs. Thys, I’ll take care of your boys.

Movie NightMinimum effort, maximum explosions

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We had it sorted

+ + =

OMG Will’s in trouble, how will he EVER get out of this car chase alive ???

On the edge of our seats

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Time for some important messages on the benefits of well-fitting female hygiene products.

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What’s wrong with this picture?

+ + +

2 guys Will Smith Popcorn Female hygiene

Impact requires context

Yesterday’s homogeneous audience has fragmented into hundreds of subsets.

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Context effects are more pronounced for TVContext effects more pronounced in interrupting than shoulder blocks

Positive valenced context improves ad effectiveness

Marketing Communications, A European Perspective 3rd Edition, P. De Pelsmacker; Maggie Geuens and Joeri Van den Bergh, FT Prentice-Hall, 2007, p. 247

Impact requires context

Today’s fragmented audience makes context more important than ever (Mediapost, March 2011)

Some remarkable practices

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Suggestion #2

Don’t just plan based on (average) numbers.

Make sure your creativity matches the context of the programme.

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Suggestion #3

Be meaningful

Once upon a time, advertising content mattered to us

Orthodoxy alert:

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The bath tub is fullToday

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The commercial messages we once welcomed, lost their appeal.

Share of voice

has become

Share of noise

Imag

e: (

c) A

dam

boot

h

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As we move on and our interests change, so does their story

Great storytellers continuously adapt their message

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They anticipate with plot-twists and different formats

If we risk tuning out, they don’t shout louder

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Luke, I am your father.

If I give you 30” of my life, what are you offering me in return?

Don’t be a GRP addict, yet find new ways to give your ads meaning

Suggestion #3

Plan for reach, but aim for impact.

Talk about things that have real meaning to your audience.

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Suggestion #4

Invite the audience

Great storytellers

Invite audiences to sit down and listen

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Try to catch our attention while we’re doing something else

Advertisements

Remember the soaps?

Invite audiences

to cometo you

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Encourage channels to come up with quality product shows

Join forces with your audience’s favourite storytellers

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Consider product placement that fits the narrative

Join forces with your audience’s favourite storytellers

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Leverage the webisode concept to digital TV

Or invite them to listen to a story you craft yourself

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Suggestion #4

Invite your audience to sit down

and give you their undivided attention

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Suggestion #5

Go Transmedia

Every story seeks to share itselfIf it doesn’t spread, it’s dead (H.Jenkins)

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This is proven by developments in social TVLive television brings unites whole tribes on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

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Many brands would like to center these conversations on themLeverage promoters, create positive WOM, “buzz.

But there’s just so little to talk about

What can you say about this?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnfHDp19k5s

Source: http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

We all see the same content = no conversation value

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Media neutrality (simplified)A single idea iterated across all touchpoints

Tell me a storythat makes my conversations more interesting

If you want me to talk about you.

This requires remarkable contentConsider this classic from 2004

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toD0WzAbb3I

• Six seasons on TV (144 episodes)• Online & mobile episodes• Season prequels • 5 graphic novels• Games (mobile, boardgame, online, trading card)• 11 Paperback novels• Series of companion books • Action figures• Feature film (upcoming)• Massive amounts of web & fan content

But one story doesn’t cut it in the fragmented mediascape

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Transmedia storytellers create multiple entrypoints to the same story

FUTURELAB Transmedia planning (oversimplified)Multiple representations of a story across ≠ touchpoints

Source: http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

We can all see different content and are part of the conversation

How Nokia got its Emmy nomination

Imagine adding TV to the mix

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Suggestion #5

Use Transmedia planning to:

• capture attention across channels,• drive conversations, • make people part of the story

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Summary

# 1 Take your time

# 2 Consider context

# 3 Be meaningful

# 4 Invite the audience

# 5 Go transmedia

A final thoughtFUTURELAB

A final thought

Storytelling is a craft

“it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a genius”

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Learn by doing

Set up brand-agency-media dialoguesExperiment in story and medialabsInvolve architects/puppetmasters

Try out new planning systemsCall me

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And above all, adopt a mindset to only create ads

That your audience would embrace

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Start a conversation

Alain Thys

www.futurelab.net www.alainthys.com

Twitter: @FLB_alainthys

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