Meet John – he is your digitally savvy, progressive and responsible citizen of the global
society. At ease with the internet of all things, connectivity is the backbone of his
social life. Brands adore how he is active on all major social networking sites. Every
day John is exposed to more than 3,000 advertising messages per day, but probably
less than 200 of them will get his attention (Media Dynamics, Inc, 2014).
From the simple example above, we see that what marketers need to know in today’s
environment is not the prevalence of advertising channels, but the increasing power
of consumers in making choices. Avoiding irrelevant advertising is a simple act of a
few finger taps. Addressing this issue, and to deliver marketing messages that are on
target, has thus become a major preoccupation for today’s marketers.
Numerous schools of thought have surfaced to frame this challenge of advertising
relevance. It is common to hear terms like “native advertising”, “content marketing”
or even a “living brand narrative” as the way forward in cutting through the noise to
get consumers’ attention. But in essence, the underlying thread is the act of storytelling.