The issue of human rights is central to good corporate citizenship and to a healthy bottom line. Many companies find strength in their human rights records; others suffer the consequences of ignoring this vital part of corporate life. Today, human rights is a key performance indicator for corporations all over the world. Businesses can affect people`s human rights in more subtle ways, such as unsafe working conditions, at home and abroad. Companies with an online presence will need to make sure they respect people`s right to privacy and uphold data protection laws and an obligation to ensure safe working conditions for their staff.
story, the scene is set and “the progression of change creates conflict and sets the parameters for the rest of the story. The conflict escalates but is finally resolved, marking the end of the story” (Fog, 2004:44). The reason the plot and flow of the story is so important, is because “it is vital to the consumer’s experience” (Fog, 2004:44). The plot is something that can be developed over time to create a more immersive experience, or can be done cleverly in 30 second advertisements to catch the consumers attention.
Now the four ‘checkpoints’ have been outlined and explained, it’s time to work out how brands apply this to their marketing and advertisement strategies. Once it is understood how these brands apply storytelling, it will become visible how they can “create identification, engagement and relevance” (Fog, 2004:164) with their consumers. Brands use storytelling as a sales promotion tool, and “More and more companies are looking to create a story universe surrounding their products and services. In doing so, their story becomes the driving force behind their brand values” (Fog, 2004:164). When companies can tell an immersive story through their marketing and advertisements over a long period, Klaus Fog refers to brands being able to create a “story universe surrounding their products and services” (Fog, 2004:164). The fact that Fog identifies the stories that brands tell as a fictional universe, allows the consumer to get fully immersed in the story. This is where the story becomes “the driving force behind their brand values” (Fog, 2004:164). By creating this other ‘universe’ revolved completely around the brand, they can strengthen their image, and make an even stronger emotional connection to the consumer, which separates them from other brands.
Storytelling can be applied to many different marketing techniques, including advertisements on television, online campaigns and even static posters/banners. Advertisements that appear on TV can be believed to be the most popular, where it’s you’re your 30 second gap to shine. However, the arrival of YouTube, Netflix and on demand streaming where the consumer decides which advertisements they want to watch, the effectiveness of television ads have decreased (Edson and Beck, 2012). This suggests that companies need to create a thirty second story/experience that will completely captivate the consumer after only seeing it once or twice, making them part of a brands experience and image.
