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- Creators: Department of Marketing
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My thesis aims to uncover the ultimate strategy behind short form visual stories, otherwise known as the digital advertisment. In this thesis, I analyze traditional storytelling, visual storytelling, and short-form visual storytelling in order to uncover the best practices advertisers should use when crafting a digital advertisement.
Storytelling “reveals elements and images of a story while also catalyzing the imagination of the listener” (National Storytelling Network, 2017). This tradition has two purposes for society: a neurological structure, and a social mechanism (for historic preservation, human interaction, and a vehicle for connecting with others) (Gottshcall, 2012; Scott, 2012; Paul, 2012; Woodside, 2008).
Visual Storytelling is “using photography, illustration, video, (usually with a musical enhancement) to guide” the human brain along a plotline, and has an unlimited timeframe (Ron, 2017). There are seven key elements to effective visual storytelling: A listener/audience, an element of realism coupled with escapism, a focus on the dread of life, an element of the unknown, emotion, simplicity, and a three-part plot structure (Andrews, 2010; ProQuest, 2012; Zak, 2014; Stanton, 2014; Reagan, 2016; Jarvis, 2014; Petrick, 2014)
In the words of Sholmi Ron, from a marketing perspective, “Visual [short hand] Storytelling is a marketing strategy that communicates powerful ideas through a compelling story arc, with your customer at the heart of the story, and delivered through interactive and immersive visual media – in order to create profitable customer engagements" (Ron, 2017). This advertising strategy has four best practices: non-obvious logo placement, a comedic emotion, multiple emotional arcs, and a relevant message (Golan, 2017; Teixeira, 2015; Graves, 2017, Teixeira, 2017). These are important to understand because, in 2017, online consumers can be described as skeptical, conscious of content, individualistic, and drawn to authenticity (Teixeira, 2014).
To supplement my findings, I conducted primary research by analyzing the 2017 Super Bowl videos against a criteria created using the best practices previously identified (in Part 1 and Part 2). Through the data collection of the 66 videos, I uncovered the most popular plotline is "fall than rise," the most popular emotions are humor, inspiration, and empathy and people tend to have a preference towards videos that are more realistic and simplistic in nature.
In the end, I recommend that advertisers identify an authentic yet relevant message, while employing a comedic, inspirational, or empathic tone, and that they place their ads exclusively for their target market. Additionally, producers should use a fall then rise plotline (with multiple mini plot peaks and valleys), a "logo-pulsing" strategy, and a minimal amount of characters and settings to keep the audience's focus on the ad’s message.
Micro influencers have become extremely powerful in terms of swaying buying patterns among consumers. This thesis examines the greater impact that micro influencers have on brand marketing. This was completed through a literature review that highlights the evolution of marketing, influencer marketing, discussing reach, relevance, and resonance, and Generation Z’s purchasing decisions. In addition, we conducted an online survey through Qualtrics that allowed us to analyze the impact social media influencers have. The results of our research indicate that TikTok is used most frequently, but Instagram is where social media influencers are followed most. From our data, we concluded that Generation Z is most influenced by authentic, genuine content created by influencers regardless of follower count. We recommend that a brand interested in reaching Generation Z (we refer to the brand as “Brand X”) use micro influencers, as our research shows that genuine relationships are valued among this generation. We believe that micro influencers are the most valuable to use as they are able to create meaningful relationships with consumers due to their reach, relevance, and resonance with the individuals their content reaches.
For this thesis, I analyzed the discourse and content of Proposition 22, a California law which defined all workers utilizing gig-based apps to sell services as independent contractors meaning they were not legally entitled to certain protections such as minimum wage. The law was overturned in court in 2020, however, the advertisements in favor of and discourse behind the law has had a continued impact on all workers. Because of this it is important to examine and conceptualize the ideologies behind the law in order to understand how it was able to pass in a state which tends to vote in favor of increasing employee rights and regulation of industries. To do so, I utilized two methods of analysis, a discourse analysis of legal documents and a content analysis of advertisements. The former revolves around analyzing the discourse and ideologies around two versions of the legislation which were shown to the public, while the latter analysis categorizes and examines the implications of various advertisements utilized by companies to support the proposition. Ultimately, gig companies created an effective campaign that was able to repackage neoliberal deregulation for the general public while actively misrepresenting information around the law leading to long lasting effects that continue to harm workers while lining the pockets of investors despite its overturning.
Influencer marketing is when individuals with dedicated social media followings are sought out by brands to utilize their position on certain platforms to endorse a brand’s products and be compensated through payment or merchandise. I will be looking at the concept of trust when it comes to influencer marketing alongside the Fogg Behavior Model. Used to evaluate an individual’s behavior in the decisions making process, The Fogg Behavior Model bases itself in a persuasive environment by focusing on three key elements: motivation, ability, and trigger. When utilized in collaboration with influencer marketing, these elements together could have a strong effect on driving consumer behaviors. I utilized one of the most recent and popular social media platforms, TikTok, known for its short-form mobile videos, to explore these behavioral elements in action. Like any other media platform, TikTok influencer marketing requires a high amount of trust between the consumer and influencer to be successful and efficiently persuade the target market. I collected primary research by surveying opinions on trust and buying behaviors based on three different videos. One video had a hidden partnership disclosure in the caption, the second had a plainly visible partnership disclosure, and the third had a plainly visible partnership disclosure and verbally disclosed the relationship between the brand and the influencer. The analysis showed that participants felt a higher degree of trust towards the video which contained a verbal disclosure of the influencer’s partnership with the brand. The results lacked specificity on whether this perception of trust would successfully lead to a purchase, which could be adjusted for in future research; however, it did show there was motivation through the Fogg Model to look further into the product presented. I recommend influencers be as transparent and genuine as possible to earn the trust or their followers, as well as ensure all three factors of Fogg are present to increase their persuasive abilities over consumers completing a purchase.
Influencer marketing is when individuals with dedicated social media followings are sought out by brands to utilize their position on certain platforms to endorse a brand’s products and be compensated through payment or merchandise. I will be looking at the concept of trust when it comes to influencer marketing alongside the Fogg Behavior Model. Used to evaluate an individual’s behavior in the decisions making process, The Fogg Behavior Model bases itself in a persuasive environment by focusing on three key elements: motivation, ability, and trigger. When utilized in collaboration with influencer marketing, these elements together could have a strong effect on driving consumer behaviors. I utilized one of the most recent and popular social media platforms, TikTok, known for its short-form mobile videos, to explore these behavioral elements in action. Like any other media platform, TikTok influencer marketing requires a high amount of trust between the consumer and influencer to be successful and efficiently persuade the target market. I collected primary research by surveying opinions on trust and buying behaviors based on three different videos. One video had a hidden partnership disclosure in the caption, the second had a plainly visible partnership disclosure, and the third had a plainly visible partnership disclosure and verbally disclosed the relationship between the brand and the influencer. The analysis showed that participants felt a higher degree of trust towards the video which contained a verbal disclosure of the influencer’s partnership with the brand. The results lacked specificity on whether this perception of trust would successfully lead to a purchase, which could be adjusted for in future research; however, it did show there was motivation through the Fogg Model to look further into the product presented. I recommend influencers be as transparent and genuine as possible to earn the trust or their followers, as well as ensure all three factors of Fogg are present to increase their persuasive abilities over consumers completing a purchase.
