Story - says it all

Story is the very basis of creation, existence, death and reincarnation of brand / concept. It is the story which makes brand known, creates opinion and affinity. So how is the story told? Advertisements have traditionally been the most preferred / used way of communicating a story to the audience. Advertisements are attractive, appealing, imposing and with a clear message. Marketers used to (and still do) put a lot of emphasis on media like TV, Print, Radio, OOH, POP and what not....the latest addition being online media. TV is an audio visual devise so one can see and hear what a storyteller wants to convey...there have been many such successful ad campaigns which get top of the mind recall. But then it is no more a green pasture...it is over exploited and too cluttered. Don't you prefer to put the TV on silent or at least change channels when an ad appears in between movies or a show? Audience perceives it as a nuisance to a great extent. Print ads have a good visual appeal but no audio component present...and they are less interactive. Radio ads are great in audio effect but lack visuals...and they are also going the TV way...too over exploited and cluttered. Marketers thus are emphasizing more on online by each going day. It is interactive, appealing, measurable and importantly ads can be more targeted in terms of relevance (relevant site / geography or audience). But in a broader view, an ad is an ad...where people look at it from a certain degree of prejudice. So audience have inhibitions while measuring the ingenuity of message / story.

A more subtle and effective way of storytelling is to endorse the brand more indirectly...advertorials come in handy in this regard. A more refined version is PR. And we have the most refined version by means of sponsorships / featuring brands in movies (visual or just a word about brand during interactions between characters).