The Strength of Storytelling
Ruth Mortimer, Global President, Advertising Week interviewing Reggie Yates, BBC presenter and other amazing roles
I was kindly invited to join a morning masterclass with Advertising Week. They are a global company that runs events around the world, talking about the big challenges and stories in, and outside, the marketing and advertising industry.
The industry is worth USD 630billion (according to RM) and changes all the time. The discussions were focused on the big stories around AI, and thoughts about what this means, from delivering campaigns, to the impact of jobs - there was a lot to take in!
At the end of the event, they finished on the ‘The Future of Storytelling’. Storytelling is core to the industry, and connected with the MMS vision. A honest story, told in the right way, to the right audience, through the right channels not only gets interest but creates the right interest and support. I know this as I spent 12 years before my mental health work in this space.
One of the MMS goals is to find stories that connect with the audience. This can be people hearing stories from others who have the same problems and worries in their job, to people talking to me about their worries and for me to identify and help them using their story.
There are so many links between mental health and marketing the role of story telling. A good example is Coca Cola which spent just under $4 billion on its advertising in 2021. They use stories to build their brand and get buy-in from their customers; despite the fact that it is not good for the human gut…
Reggie Yates was inspiring. There were stories around him - all honest, from the heart and with humility - all of which he embraced. From his family coming to the UK from Africa with hardly any money, to how he launched his BBC career so early, and to how he has found a voice to share his passion, including shooting a film with a multi-million £ budget. He launched a charity: Pass the Mic - which is close to his heart and part of his story.
Wishing you a good story.