Building a case for story design

Storytelling is tired. It's been worn out by agencies trying to explain what they do without using the word 'advertising'. In today's world, advertising is perceived as being cynical and manipulative. And storytelling has been drafted in to plug the gap.

As a writer, I'm happy to accept that everything we do tells a story. But if we look past all the talk about trans-media, multi-channel, cross-platform, bite-sized content, there's a new kind of story being told that could have a far bigger impact on everything we do – as professionals and people.

As an industry we talk a lot about systems and stories, or platforms and campaigns, as a way of explaining how we approach clients' problems. Sometimes the best solution is a new product or service. Sometimes the best solution is a funny, sweet or resonant story (told in whatever format works) that creates an emotional connection with the audience. But there is a third option, which combines the two.

I don't mean using stories to tell people about the services we build. That's still advertising – whatever we choose to call it. I'm talking about building stories into the fabric of the 'system'. So the product or service tells its own story by the way it behaves, what it feels like to use and how it fits in your life. This is story design.

Story design blurs the line between brand, experience design and straightforward comms; resulting in products that have an emotional connection built in.

Nest is an interesting example. When you first start using it, it works exactly the same as a normal thermostat. But it remembers everything you do and adjusts its behaviour around you.

On that level it's just 'smart' but it's been designed to reveal more of what it does over time – so you don't have to follow a lot of instructions to configure it. It's been designed to make the user feel good about using it. Rather than a new bit of tech, it feels a bit like a new flatmate.

If you compare it to the other smart thermostats on the market – functionally they all do the same thing but Nest is way ahead in delivering an emotional connection to the product.

As an R/GA example, Nike Fuel is a currency, a set of tools and a product. But it's also the classic American dream story. It's a personal story – told over time, not just in the advertising – of social betterment. It tells users that there is no limit to what they can achieve. That every thing they do will count in the game of life. It's epic.

Story design is the answer to how we can make things (including marketing) that people will love and make time for. So why does it happen so rarely, and often only by accident?

Charlotte Fereday is associate creative director at R/GA London.

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