Interactive narrative: storytelling at the next level
Once a brand knows what story to tell, the next challenge is deciding how to tell it. Certainly, traditional print and TV ads will always be in the mix. But with the growth of interactive, we have more ways to tell stories than ever, such as web microsites, photos, videos and more. We also have more places to tell stories: brand websites, social networking sites, mobile and virtual worlds. Picking the right format and location, of course, depends on a keen understanding of the brand's target customers.
The power of interactive also has the potential to change storytelling as we know it. A brand may not always tell the story but may help customers tell their own stories or create story experiences. What do I mean? Think about the interactive potential as a scale that ranges from observing to participating in to immersing in the story.
Observing the story
Customers watching or "being told" the story is what most of us expect. In the interactive world, we can tell the story through a variety of formats. For example, Apple offers its storytelling commercials as videos on its website. Additionally, CNN.com tells most stories through the three formats of text, video and images, available through the tabs labeled Read, Video and Photos.
Participating in the story
The next level of interaction enables people to participate in the story. I see at least two types of story participation:
People share their own stories
While many brands offer some sort of "customer success stories" on their websites, they are carefully developed and controlled by the brand. In the interactive world, user-generated content -- blogs, social networking and more -- give more storytelling control to the customers. For example, in the case of Cingular's "fewer dropped calls" commercials, customers related so strongly to the dramatized stories that they shared video spoofs with their own experiences on social networking sites such as YouTube. Another example is Amazon.com and most major ecommerce websites which allow customers to share and rate their experiences with a product.
This loss of brand control over the story is mostly good because stories directly from customers seem more credible -- and therefore more influential -- than customer stories crafted by the brand. Whether you view it as good or bad, this loss of control is now a reality to factor into any brand effort. While a brand may not be able to control what stories customers tell, a brand can influence the direction. And if the stories are not always favorable, a brand can heed the frank feedback to improve its product or service.
People provide feedback that affects a story
Phenomenon such as "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars" exemplify another type of participation. These shows are essentially stories that enable viewers to vote on the plot and, ultimately, the resolution. Who will be voted off this week? Who will win it all? The addictive power of this type of participation is obvious in the success of these shows and related endeavors (tours, singing careers, etc.). A nice interactive touch is that viewers can vote through multiple channels and formats -- by phone, mobile text message or online.
Immersing in the story
Still another level of interaction to watch for in the future is immersion. Think about your favorite video game (or your teenager playing a favorite game) and feeling so completely engaged you're in another world. That's immersion.
Influenced by gaming, immersion offers all five benefits of storytelling I've described and is already being used in compelling ways. For instance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated with Whyville, an online virtual world for kids, to create a remarkable flu campaign. Whyville created a vaccination booth where kids could use their avatars to learn about the flu and get virtual flu shots. Then, Whyville released a virtual flu bug. Avatars that had received the shot carried on as usual. Some avatars that had not started to sneeze and cough, and news of the flu bug spread through the virtual world, encouraging more kids to get their avatars vaccinated. Because children were not just told about the importance of a flu shot but dramatically experienced it, the message had strong impact.
Conclusion
To increase customer engagement, brands need to reap the time-tested benefits of storytelling to make messages memorable and relevant. Brands also need to tell stories in new, interactive ways. You can take a small step, such as posting TV commercials with customer stories on your website and YouTube. Or you can make a leap, such as collaborating with virtual worlds to create a story experience. The pay off? Customers who remember, relate to -- and ultimately use -- your brand.
Colleen Jones is senior user experience architect, Spunlogic. Read full bio.