In a society of storytellers, it's not uncommon that South African audiences find themselves captured by a marketing narrative.
Despite marketers often only having a few minutes to convey stories, the creativity that colours these great narratives is everlasting in their audience's eyes.
Curious to know how brands animate their adverts with such intriguing tales?
Well, although KFC may not divulge the secret of its 11 ingredients with us, its marketing director Grant Macpherson has agreed to share KFC's renowned storytelling recipe with
media update's Lara Smit right here.
Let's take a page out of KFC's storybook:
What role do storytelling and culture play in marketing to a diverse South African audience?
Storytelling is a fundamental part of any culture. This makes it an incredibly powerful tool for marketing as it enables brands to resonate with audiences on a basic human level.
It also communicates a message in a way that people
remember [as] it
entertains and helps to
build connections.
Our latest
KFC campaign is a great example of this.
In 2019, an urban legend about a fake KFC food inspector, who was allegedly going around soliciting free KFC from stores so he could 'taste test' it, started doing the rounds.
Although our records show that this in fact didn't take place,
why ruin a good story with the facts?Because the story is so captivating, it allowed us to embellish the idea, creating a full 360 campaign that features a 'Fake Food Inspector' character, as well as a private investigator — Beckett Mathunzi PI — who tries to track him down.
We believe the campaign's success is rooted in a story that was
already part of South African culture when we incorporated it into our message.
What are the benefits of storytelling in marketing?
In a world where we often experience information overload and must make thousands of decisions daily, good storytelling helps
break through that clutter and ensures that we
drive brand salience.
The reason why storytelling works is that it is one of our most effective, most powerful ways of relating to each other.
Stories, myths, legends and fairytales are integral to mankind and they help us transmit our values across the generations.
We remember stories because they always
entertain and often
teach. This makes storytelling an
incredibly powerful tool for all kinds of messaging — including marketing.
How do you make a story compelling?
Start with
interesting,
relatable characters. People will
recognise and
relate to those characters.
If you are then able to throw in a story that captures people's imagination, you will be well on your way to a
winner.
What elements does a good story have?
Besides fascinating characters, it should have
a narrative journey that these characters go through. Typically, there are
seven universal story archetypes that most narratives follow. These archetypes include:
- a quest
- comedy, or
- tragedy, to name a few.
Once you have decided on your story archetype, it is up to you to season with good
locations,
humour and
interesting dialogue. We believe a splash of 11 herbs and spices will only elevate that story!
How does storytelling help you address the needs of your consumers?
For the past 50 years, KFC has been truly a part of South African culture.
Storytelling ensures that we remain
relevant and with our consumers while keeping them
entertained and
engaged. If we do it right, our storytelling reflects the
spirit of our brand and reinforces the reasons that they relate to us.
We want to keep on creating memorable experiences with our consumers through rich, exciting stories.
How does storytelling inspire action from your audiences and get them involved?
With the rise of digital and social media, the media landscape is getting more and more fragmented, therefore
standing out is
critical.
These mediums also allow storytelling to be
highly interactive. It's a constant, ongoing feedback loop.
In the case of the 'KFC Fake Food Inspector' campaign, we learnt about the urban legend
from our audience.
The creative minds at Ogilvy were then able to bring the story to life across multiple engaging platforms such as:
- TikTok
- Instagram
- Facebook, and
- Twitter.
This meant that we could engage with our audience
directly by asking them to contribute to the campaign through Instagram stories, social media tip-offs and TikTok challenges.
From here, we were able to enter another phase of the campaign that was
highly user-generated as our audience shared the different ways that they are prepared to do anything for the 'KFC taste’'
How can marketers sustain their audience's interest and keep the story going?
Involve the audience in the story. Allow them to help you tell it.
The modern media and storytelling process is incredibly
collaborative.
No one owns every part of the story completely. This means you must give up an element of control, but it also means more people become
interested and
invested in it, which helps to
ensure its
success.
What effect do you think storytelling has in marketing? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Still not quite convinced storytelling is fundamental to your strategy? Then allow us to persuade you even further with our article, Why brands should use the power of storytelling in their marketing.
*Image courtesy of Marques Thomas from Unsplash