Captivate Your Audience

Use storytelling to engage customers

Pople like to connect with the people they buy from, which is why storytelling is such a powerful marketing tool. This is especially true for younger consumers like Millennials and GenZs, who get turned off by traditional push advertising. While many people associate storytelling with TV and radio advertising, you can tell stories in print, too. Here are three ways you can incorporate the concept of storytelling into your printed pieces.

1. Storytelling images
You’ve heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and it’s true. You can tell a story almost instantly with the right image. Ads for Heinz Hot Ketchup, for example, show a french fry with a burning tail. To advertise its distinctive headgear, Hut Weber Hats pairs an image of a 1920s hairline and a small black moustache next to the same image with a bowler hat cocked to the side, making the simple vector image instantly recognizable as Charlie Chaplin. The text restates the story the image has already told: “It’s the hat.”   Images tell stories, and when it’s the right image, it only takes one.

2. Unexpected print enhancement techniques
Print enhancement techniques like die-cuts, embossing, and soft-touch coating can tell stories, too. Tell the story of the softness of a baby’s cheek with matte coating on an otherwise glossy page, for example, or if you sell custom windows, consider brochures that use a layered look. The cover might show the interior of the home with windows featuring beautiful mullions through which you can see a lovely backyard. When the brochure is opened, the reader sees that the mullions are actually die cut from the page, allowing them to “see through” the windows as if they were actually there.

3. Fonts and color
Did you know that fonts and color can tell stories, too? Create a headline in the font “Knuckle Sandwich” and you’ll instantly tell the story of a gritty, edgy brand. Use “Feminine Handwriting” and the reader will hear “I feel pretty!” before they read a single word. The same goes for color. Incorporate elements of yellow and mint green to create a positive, uplifting mood. Use splashes of vivid orange to say, excitement! Colors do more than look great. They can influence a shopper’s mood and brand perception, too.

These elements of print design can enhance your brand story, or even tell the story in themselves. What story do you want to tell?


 
Last Updated: 17 October 2019