Why Storytelling is Important in Marketing and Specifically Advertising

Capturing attention is more difficult than ever, which is why narrative has become a staple of modern marketing methods. Rather than just highlighting goods or services, advertising that works creates a story that resonates with its target audience, creates emotion, and establishes a relationship. This semester, I explored the power of storytelling in advertising in my Advertising and Promotions course with Professor Kull and the University of San Diego, in which I learned that effective campaigns are founded on stories rather than sales presentations.

One of the key takeaways from the class was that storytelling helps humanize a brand. The ads that highlight emotions, human experiences, or customer journeys are notably more memorable than basic product ads. For example, we looked at Nike's "Just Do It" advertisements, which promote motivation, determination, and success rather than shoes. Nike created a brand identity that millions of people relate with by producing inspiring storylines, demonstrating the power of storytelling. HubSpot also emphasizes this principle, stating that consumers recall stories 22 times better than data alone.

During this class, I learned how powerful narrative can be in both traditional and digital advertising. Stories, whether in a Super Bowl commercial or a TikTok video, may elevate an advertisement to a higher level of significance. Storytelling is also effective in smaller projects; throughout my marketing internship and brand ambassador work, I saw that authentic, story-driven material resulted in greater engagement rates and more genuine audience interactions.

If you want to understand more about how storytelling affects advertising, I would recommend reading this article by Oxford Academic on "The importance of storytelling in marketing."