TAKEAWAY: So, it is the renaissance of brand storytelling and the techniques of multimedia storytelling come to the rescue.
It is, in my view, the hottest topic at the workshops I conduct globally. It is likely to change the way we interact with advertising in the newsroom. It will probably lead to serious discussions of the role of editorial and that of advertising now that they will stop being occupants of a same building, and more like those couples who like each other and can’t stay away from each other, while giving each other room for independence!
It is the role of storytelling in advertising.
Now a piece relates how Millennials now watch absolutely no , causing a lot of brands to seek alternative methods of presenting information to a coveted audience. This is giving way to the beginning of a renaissance in brand storytelling through multimedia. What Snowfall started, the idea of multimedia storytelling, transfers nicely to telling specific stories that advertisers wish to present to their audiences. Gone is the 30-second ad spot and in is the in-depth narrative that tells a story tying a product with a lifestyle or outcome.
The search for talent
In fact, and appropriate to this very topic: I just found out that colleague Josh Klenert, the vice president of design and UX at The Huffington Post, and a major creative force behind the HuffPo’s products, such as Huffington. magazine, is joining JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Yes, Josh is not joining another media company, but one that deals with the financial world. Except that JP Morgan Chase, like many other big firms, wants to tell its story better.
That is where Josh and others like him come into play.
In my congratulatory note to Josh this week I wrote:
“You will take your storytelling and visual journalism skills to where it will be greatly utilized.
“Interesting, at a time when brands, such as J P Morgan Chase, realize the importance of having talents like you in their midst, is also the time when branded journalism/sponsored advertising content is taking root across the big media brands.
“You will have an opportunity to do what I think is the next big discipline to explore: combining storytelling/advertising/marketing into a new discipline that we don’t even have a name for. I see it as a great opportunity for you.”
Indeed, a new opportunity for the mega talented Josh, but also a signal that things in this industry are changing rapidly and that those with visual storytelling skills are going to be in demand, and not just by traditional media firms.
