Never underestimate the power of a good story. Cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner once found that the human mind is 22 times more likely to remember facts if they are part of a story. Other studies have backed this up. When Stanford University Professor Chip Heath asked students to give one-minute presentations, most figured facts would be the best approach and included an average of 2.5 statistics in their speeches. Only 1 in 10 told a story. Guess which method was more effective. When polled 10 minutes following the presentations, only 5% could remember a single statistic—63% remembered the stories.
Stories are particularly effective in marketing. According to Search Engine Watch, storytelling can boost conversion rates by 33%. And if audiences really love a brand story, they are 55% likely to consider buying it in the future and 44% likely to share the story, based on findings from Headstream. But as we just learned above, you are not very likely to remember any of these numbers we just threw at you. However, you will remember the stories we are about to share.
For our 2nd Annual Masterclass of Storytelling, we once again asked life sciences marketers to share their best storytelling initiatives. And we once again chose our favorites to show you what great storytelling in this industry looks like. What follows is eight powerful storytelling campaigns including the details behind them, photos, videos, and more, so you can experience the stories in action. Trust us, these are stories you won’t soon forget.
