AgVoice | Creative storytelling; the story of startup's

Start-ups. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about them is our own lives. We begin as young babies, take baby-steps, and grow old; unless it’s the life of Benjamin Button. That’s how brands grow as well. They begin their journey as start-ups, take baby-steps, and grow old and credible. The only difference—very few start-ups find the road to adulthood. And more so in a place like India, which is buzzing with entrepreneurs today.

India is at the threshold of accelerated growth and it is believed that this growth will be led by the new set of young and vibrant entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial landscape has been a consistent contributor towards the development of the country and is amongst the most significant growth drivers of the economy. Start-up ecosystem seems to be growing exponentially. However, what this has done is to lead to clutter, with the mushrooming of hundreds of start-ups every day. Therefore it’s important for each start-up to create a niche for itself.

In an era where consumers are bombarded with irrelevant information, success in business will be had by those who can creatively sell their story. Storytelling is a way to help create and enhance a start-up’s value proposition. In these days of information overload, a good story will always win over marketing information.

The secret to securing an enduring customer relationship is all about creating an experience the consumer will never forget. One that makes them feel warmth and passion about the brand and its offering. If I am asked as a customer, my heart will always go to those who could tell their story dipped in creativity and help me imagine an extraordinary experience. That’s the power of creative storytelling.

Even a legendary brand like Apple learnt the hard way about the importance of a good story. In the early ’80s when Apple was not the icon it is today, they used factoids and evidence to convince the corporates to adopt the Mac. This route failed miserably. Various studies were highlighted, ads created around it to talk about the user convenience that Mac offered. It didn’t go down well with the companies. Only when they began the art of creative storytelling and subtle persuasion that helped augment the sales.

Closer home, there has been a bevy of Indian start-ups that have become brands thanks to compelling storytelling. When MakeMyTrip began operations, it had a difficult task to accomplish—compete with offline travel houses, which had existed for a long time and built a credible name for them. So, to be a new category—the e-travel space—MakeMyTrip used consistent, creative and sustained communication across media vehicles. Not just that, the brand also positioned itself as a leader in this space. It spoke about convenience and relevance that led consumers to use this space extensively. The result: MakeMyTrip is today one of the biggest names in the overall travel space.

Another classical example is that of IndiGo. When IndiGo began operations, the aviation industry was in doldrums. Flights were rarely on time and flying was associated with drudgery rather than fun. So they built a storyline—based on a differentiated business model, of course—of being a fun airline and being always ‘On Time’. This definitely aroused a lot of interest amongst the customers. IndiGo has consistently maintained its image as a friendly, hip airline. Everything, from their logo to external communication tells us something that make us smile. The vehicles it uses to carry luggage are labelled ‘CarGo’, in sync with the name IndiGo. The air-sickness bag says ‘Get Well Soon’. Instead of an in-flight magazine, it has a shopping catalogue with interesting IndiGo curios. IndiGo’s in-your-face creative communication has broken the clutter in the industry and grabbed everyone’s eyeballs. In today’s turbulent airline industry this sustained and creative engagement is perhaps what has kept IndiGo soaring high.

These are just a few of the many babies who have grown to adulthood and become credible, thanks to their effective, compelling and creative storytelling. The key is in narrating stories that can create personal connections to the listener. As a storyteller, be proactive and make the connection evident to your audience. And all this with a touch of emotions; after all, communication has moved beyond B2B or B2C to H2H - human to human.

About the Author:
Atul Sharma is the India Lead for STEP UP – a Genesis Burson Marsteller initiative aimed at start-ups and investor networks. A seasoned communications professional, Atul brings over 12 years of experience in the field of public relations. He has considerable experience in the domains of telecom and technology across enterprise, commercial, consumer and services.

Sharma joined Genesis Burson-Marsteller in 2004 and has worked for clients like Intel and HP, and managed niche campaigns in the space of e-commerce and consumer technology. He has honed his expertise in corporate and product messaging and outreach, employee communications, financial communications, crisis management and industry issues. He also leverages his deep understanding of the Indian media space by conducting messaging and media training workshops. Sharma holds a post graduate degree in business economics from Delhi University.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not reflect in any way of Adgully.

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