Storytelling has been around since cavemen could draw on walls. Its value in societies and cultures since then only emphasizes how important stories are to us. Why is it that some stories from fairy tales to Bible verses to Aesop’s fables to Shakespeare have all spanned centuries and are still told to this day? It’s simple. Stories are powerful. They fill our hearts with joy, our eyes with tears, and our heads with ideas. But perhaps most important, they inspire us.
That is why people love stories, even in marketing. In fact, according to research from OneSpot, 92% of consumers want ads that feel like a story. People don’t want to be sold to—they can smell a sales pitch from a mile away. But by applying a narrative approach to marketing, you instead take people on an emotional, thought-provoking journey that makes it easier for them to understand why your brand should matter to them.
To recognize the power of stories in our own industry, PM360 is introducing its first-ever Masterclass of Storytelling. We asked companies to submit their best storytelling efforts in any medium geared to any audience. We just wanted to see, hear, or experience master storytellers at their best and share the best submissions we received. What follows is our 11 selections complete with full details behind the initiatives along with images, videos, and links so you can see the stories in action.