The past, present and awe-inspiring future of storytelling in marketing
Abstract
This paper provides a comprehensive exploration of marketing storytelling, tracing its evolution from ancient Egyptian marketplace hieroglyphics to today’s artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced narratives. The paper establishes that storytelling is fundamentally about change over time through a series of reactions. It challenges common marketing misconceptions, including the notion that marketers can ‘make the customer the hero’ and the accuracy of the marketing funnel metaphor. The authors emphasise that effective marketing stories follow a three-act structure of pity-fear-catharsis, rooted in Aristotelian principles. They argue that while data and analytics are crucial in modern marketing, emotional connection through storytelling remains essential for decision-making, citing neuroscientific research by Antonio Damasio and Paul J. Zak. The digital revolution, particularly Web 2.0 and social media, has transformed marketing from broadcast-style communication to conversational engagement. Modern marketers must navigate an increasingly complex landscape of mobile devices, evolving language conventions and multichannel content delivery. Looking ahead, the paper predicts a significant shift as AI becomes integral to marketing storytelling. While AI excels at content transformation and personalisation, the authors argue that human creativity remains irreplaceable. The future of marketing will likely require engaging both human prospects and AI intermediaries, suggesting a new paradigm where success depends on balancing artificial and human intelligence. The paper advocates for a ‘LEGO’ approach to content creation, using modular elements that can be recombined for different audiences while maintaining narrative coherence. Throughout, it emphasises that despite technological advances, the core goal remains unchanged: telling authentic, compelling stories that resonate with human truth. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Ginger Shimp is a global content strategist for SAP, and an award-winning marketer with more than 25 years of business-to-business experience. She is a Professional Certified Marketer per the American Marketing Association (AMA) and a Certified Digital Marketing Professional per the Digital Marketing Institute. Since 2004, Ginger has helped companies run better by telling the stories of their customers and their customers’ customers, developing engaging content and channels and deploying tactics to educate, stimulate interest and drive demand.
Ed Shimp is a theatre instructor for Penn State University, as well as an award-winning YouTuber, writer, actor, producer, director and educator, with 35 years’ experience in storytelling. He has coached a wide range of performers, from high-school students to Hollywood stars. In addition to writing numerous books, plays and poems, Ed has worked extensively in the corporate world, writing articles, blogs, brochures and advertising copy. He was the creator/writer/ director for the business-to-business podcast, ‘The Retrofuturist Chronicles’, which won numerous marketing awards.
