Consumer behavior is evolving fast, and so is marketing. Younger, digital natives expect authenticity over the “hard sell,” pushing brands to adopt video-first, story-driven strategies.
In Q2 2024, digital tactics like short-form video and social media grew by 8.7% — while traditional ads declined by 4.1%. If you’re not leveraging short-form video storytelling, you could be missing out on a major growth opportunity.
What Happened to Traditional Advertising?
Traditional media has been on a steady decline as audiences favored digital, including advertising. The internet was a disruption that democratized the dissemination of information, giving smaller brands and creators a chance to get out from the shadows of big brands and put their name out there – even without huge marketing budgets and teams.
Consumers responded. They like having direct access to the brands they support and an opportunity to learn more about a brand’s missions, values, and personalities to inform their purchasing decisions. In response, brands adopted more digital strategies to foster these relationships. That means fewer television ads and static billboards or print flyers, more social media engagement and blog posts.
Advertising budgets go where the consumers are, which is now in the digital space. Traditional media outlets relied on advertising as a big source of revenue, but it’s now allocated to social media platforms and other digital channels. Traditional outlets no longer have abundant resources to produce quality content, pushing more consumers out – and the ad budgets with them – in a vicious circle.
Why Is Video Storytelling So Effective?
Consumers are experiencing ad fatigue in both traditional and digital forms. They encounter ads on television, the radio, their morning commute, their social feeds, and their music apps. They’re desensitized to the impact of advertising and look for ways to minimize it, including paying more for ad-free programming or enabling ad blockers to limit what they see.
So, what’s a brand to do? Authentic content that provides real value, rather than pushy sales tactics, is the best way to cut through the noise and reach this new generation of buyers. They want genuine brands and connections that feel real and less one-sided than traditional advertising – and that’s where storytelling excels.
Building Emotional Connections
Stories can inspire in ways that purely informational content can’t. They wrap the viewer up in the stakes and get them investing in the characters and their journey, often drawing parallels between their own goals, aspirations, values, or experiences in the process. Story-driven content helps you tap into that emotional resonance to nurture a real connection, even if it’s only a product demo that showcases helpful features.
Creating Engagement
No matter the subject, stories build toward a climax. The viewer is invested in the narrative and seeing how it all plays out, whether the hero wins, the challenge is overcome, and everyone has a happy ending. As a brand, you can get your audience invested in the conclusion just as easily, whether it’s a customer success story or your tale of trials and tribulations launching a new product.
Highlighting Authenticity
Brand authenticity is important, especially for millennial and Gen Z audiences. That’s why they block ads and favor raw, unpolished content over shiny ads. There’s an inherent bias to brands talking about their own products or services, but a customer sharing their success with your product? That’s real and honest.
Aligning with Social Media
Videos have exploded in popularity on social media in recent years, especially during the pandemic. TikTok became a massive hit virtually overnight, leading to similar features across other popular platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Videos are easy to consume, quick to share, and stand out among text-only posts, creating a more engaging user experience.
Humanizing a Brand
Short-form video content is used in both traditional and digital advertising. Television commercials are often – arguably – short stories that are memorable to viewers. The edge that digital advertising has is adaptability, however. You can use audience targeting, tailor content to different platforms, or incorporate different features into your video – all capabilities that are limited with traditional channels.
Examples of Brand Storytelling with Short-Form Video
There are numerous examples of successful video advertising, but here are some top contenders:
eBay “Buy a Thing, Sell a Thing”
Emotion has a lot of power in storytelling, particularly in video. The “Buy a Thing, Sell a Thing” video from eBay is both humorous and whimsical, showing the story of how a product travels from seller to buyer on the marketplace platform – ending with a child wearing a huge shirt while holding a doll from eBay.
Shopify “First Sale Story”
Shopify is an ecommerce platform that enables entrepreneurs to launch and manage their stores. The brand used short-form video to showcase what it really does, which is more than just a platform – it’s an entrepreneurial dream fulfilled. The “First Sale Story” captures the joy and validation of the first sale as a new entrepreneur.
Dove “Reverse Selfie”
Dove’s branding is focused on authentic beauty. When the brand’s consumer research revealed that girls and women are more susceptible to self-image issues because of social media pressures, it launched the “Reverse Selfie” campaign. This short but impactful video shows a young girl “rewinding” the filters and makeup used to create the idealized image, revealing her authentic, natural face.
Teracube Eco-Friendly Phone
Teracube is an eco-friendly phone company that’s focused on sustainability. The brand’s personality is lighthearted and a little tongue-in-cheek, as demonstrated by its ad with “Patricia Practicus,” an “extremely practical person” who loves her sustainable phone.
Nike “Play New”
Always a brand with powerful messaging for athletes, Nike’s “Play New” campaign took a different approach. Instead of highlighting elite athletes at the top of their game, the campaign showed people trying new sports – and epically failing. The message was that trying something new is “always a win,” which aligns with the brand’s mission to inspire and support all athletes.
Share Your Brand Story
Traditional ads aren’t going anywhere, but they are no longer the dominant form of marketing for modern brands. Storytelling, particularly in short-form video, is leading the way, creating more authentic connections with audiences and leaving a lasting impression.
Author Bio:
Torrey Tayenaka
Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based commercial video production company. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations. Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.
