In 2020, when the world ground to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, the sports giant Nike presented the campaign ‘You Can’t Stop Us‘, which drew the attention of people around the world. The 90-second video showcased athletes and individuals trying to stay active despite the restrictions they were facing. Nike, a brand known for its distinctive personal communication tone, once again addressed and inspired millions of all kinds of people around the world. Will you say this was just the result of the millions of dollars, euros, yuan and other currencies the company can pour into marketing?
Without good content, the fortune invested in advertising would be money thrown away.
The success of the campaign proved that storytelling with strong emotional elements and positive messages can create a deep connection between a brand and its audience.
The importance of communication in marketing
In a world where artificial intelligence today quickly generates content that may be impersonal, but is increasingly at least linguistically clean and correct, it is essential for companies to focus on unique and engaging stories. They have to stand out through their character and message, since they are competing for their share of the market with ever more rivals, and with artificially generated messages.
Engaging campaigns whose message stays alive long after everyone has watched the video online and the poster on the roadside billboard has long since peeled off show the real character of a company or its brand. And that character is what connects a company with its audience over the long term.
Key elements of successful storytelling
At the Pakt agency we believe that successful communication is the foundation of successful storytelling. Our philosophy revolves around three key elements:
TALKING, UNDERSTANDING, and TRUSTING ONE ANOTHER.
In the first step, we focus on open and honest communication with the company we are working with. Every brand has its own message, values and identity that need to be expressed.
It is important that we talk and understand what the company wants to communicate and how it wants to be perceived by its customers.
When we talk, we work to understand what the customers’ needs and wants are. This includes researching their behaviour, interests, and values. Sometimes a client, in their focus on their own products and services, overlooks a small detail and can lose touch with the audience. This is where we step in and reconnect them with the people they are addressing.
Above all, we trust one another. Trust is key to building long-term relationships. When the company and the agency share common goals and values, they create a space for dialogue in which fresh ideas come to life. And what do these ideas bring? Better results.
Creating unique content
We focus on innovative approaches that allow our clients to stand out on the market. We use various creative techniques and tools that let us tell stories in a way that touches the emotions and sparks interest. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we always want to be the loudest, the most striking, the most entertaining. Not all companies are the same. We do, however, stick to the same principles that guide us toward good results.
We’ve gathered them into four points.
1. We look for genuine stories and heroes.
Made-up names, photographs of ‘doctors’, ‘experts’ and ‘customers’ from Shutterstock, and sentences produced by ‘chat’ tools can’t persuade in the long run.
2. We create attractive images.
The world is spinning ever faster. With good ‘visuals’, we capture the user’s attention and open the door for an opportunity to tell them the story of the company we are writing the story with.
3. We bring in the emotions.
The Nike example from the introduction shows what emotional elements can do. Users, customers, the people we are working to make trust the company and the brand, aren’t robots, they are living people. They are receptive to good stories, they understand challenges, and above all, they want sincerity.
4. We communicate the whole time.
When your company chooses the Pakt agency, it changes from a client into a partner and an interlocutor. Together we know more, together we come up with more fresh ideas. We are better at making them happen, and more objective at assessing the results.
Join us on this path and discover how, together, we can create stories that will inspire your audience too.
‘Nothing can stop what we can do together.’
