Essay: How Apple uses storytelling as a marketing technique

This dissertation will examine how Apple use storytelling as a marketing technique to captivate the consumer and create an experience through doing so. By doing this, Apple can make an emotional connection with their audience and create a loyal customer base made up of people from all over the world. The overall aim is to fully understand what storytelling is, how Apple apply it as a technique, and overall why do they both?
Many people in the modern world from different locations and cultures have grown to be very materialistic. Nowadays, we do not just buy something because we need it, we buy things because of how they make us feel. By associating ourselves with different brands, we are able to personify who we are as an individual. “we navigate our world using symbols and visual expressions that signal our personality and our values. And strong brands are one of the means by which we do this” (Fog, 2004:20). Klaus Fog is identifying brand logos to be symbols, and different brands can signal different values and lifestyles. These symbols are part of everyday life, and the stronger brands “have opened their eyes to the consumers need for an emotional dimension in branding” (Fog, 2004:20). One way that brands are able to make this emotional connection to consumers and making values visible is through storytelling. Klaus Fog believes that there are four points, or four “checkpoints” to successfully using storytelling as a way to make personal connections to consumers. The reason Fog identifies to these points as ‘checkpoints’ is because there a several different aspects to storytelling that brands must fine tune over time for their audience, because “it is virtually impossible to lay down a hard set of rules for storytelling in branding” (Fog, 2004:32). These four main points are the message, plot, conflict and the characters involved.
Brands do not just use storytelling for no reason, as discussed previously, they use storytelling strategically to make an emotional connection to the consumer which has become a need in modern day. The first of these ‘checkpoints’ is the message of the story. This central message, “is an ideological or moral statement that works as a central theme throughout the story” (Fog, 2004:34). Klaus Fog uses Romeo and Juliet as an example of a moral, being “true love conquers even death”. The consumer is able to internalise and fully understand what the brand is trying to portray when a core moral, or ‘message’ is at the central theme of any story.
The second of these checkpoints is the conflict of the story. “Conflict is the driving force of a good story. No conflict, no story” (Fog, 2004:35). What Klaus Fog means by conflict is not something negative, it is a way in which the storyteller, or in this case brands, can communicate their perception of right and wrong. The reason why conflict is such a big factor to play in stories, is because “As humans, we instinctively look for balance and harmony in our lives. We simply don\’t like being out of tune with our surroundings and ourselves. So, as soon as harmony is disrupted we do whatever we can to restore it. We avoid unpleasant situations, feelings of stress or anxiety” (Fog, 2004:35). By having conflict within a story, the consumer can relate to the brand on a more emotional level, rather than just being skin deep.
Thirdly, the characters involved are a key feature to any story. “In order to get personally involved with a story, we, as readers or listeners, must be able to identify with the characters” (Fog, 2004:41). The use of characters helps to create the emotional connection to the consumer as spoken about previously. The way it does this is because as a consumer, we may be able to see part of our self in one of the characters. This makes a relation between the consumer and the character. The reason for this is because if we can identify with the characters, we can fully embrace and understand the story.
The last point is the plot is something that is divided into three parts, the beginning, middle and end. At the very beginning of the 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. The reason they must make it memorable is, because as research shows, the reason these campaigns are becoming less effective because online streaming and on demand are becoming more popular. People no longer sit there through five minutes of advertisements that disturb their favourite programme if they have a connection to the internet. Everything is available at the click of a finger, so long as you are connected. I’m not suggesting that TV ads are becoming useless, because that is not the case. Most people own and watch a TV, and do still sit through ad breaks, it’s just that people have grown to find them an annoyance and barely take any notice. Brands can use storytelling as a tool on their TV ads to make the thirty seconds they have as unique and enticing as possible, and it is the larger, more successful brands that do this the best. When brands use each marketing technique in conjunction with each other, to tell an impactful story, they can achieve “consumer awareness and loyalty, be it television, online, radio, or magazines” (Fog, 2004:164).
One brand that is seen everywhere is Apple, and as a brand they love to get people talking about them. Whether this be using campaigns or products, they have a way of making people talk about “the product, whether it be a Mac, an iPod, an iPhone or an iPad, and the experience with Apple itself as if they were an important relationship” (Edson and Beck, 2012:1). It is clear that Apple have this relationship with its consumers, it is noticeable to anyone. The question is, how have they done this? By dissecting two of Apples most iconic advertisement campaigns, we will be able to see exactly how Apple have managed to use storytelling as a marketing technique to create an emotional connection with the consumer.
Apple are one of the brands that have utilised many storytelling techniques throughout many of their television advertisements, some of which have become iconic. One example of this is Apple’s silhouette campaign (see fig.1) that was developed in 1995 by an ad agency working for Apple, TBWA/Chait/Day. It was not until fall of 2003 when the when the silhouette ad campaign rolled out on televisions (The pop history dig, 2011). This campaign was a process, lasting the years 1995-2008, meaning there was only 5 out of the 13 years of actual air time on television. By refining this advertisement over such a long period of time, I feel like Apple where able to successfully create this immersive ‘universe’. I watched a video that compiled all the TV silhouette advertisements from every year (Every iPod ‘silhouette’ ads (2004-2008), 2012), and you can see how the story develops over time with some major differences. One of the most noticeable changes to me was the background music to the 10-15 second clip. Watching the video felt like I was somewhat travelling through time, listening to artists that where popular in each specific year. This may create a sense of nostalgia for the consumer, making them remember memories and experiences surrounding the specific song.
Figure 1. Apple (2003)
This ad campaign is very fast pace and extremely energetic, focusing on the music and the silhouettes. The white headphones pop on the bright, colourful background (see fig.1) and are clearly Apple’s signature headphones which adds high recognition value for the brand. Apple did this on purpose, because in daily life the headphones are the only thing visible when walking down the street and using an MP3 player. Apple have made the only visible part of their product a status symbol and if you wear white headphones, you are “part of the club” (Chazin, 2009:3). This suggests that Apple are focusing on trying to sell the experience of the product, rather than the product itself. The reason this works so well as a marketing technique is because, as spoken about before, we are in a world where we “increasingly seek experience and adventure; we look for things that entice the heart rather than the brain. We buy stories along with the products” (Jensen:1). Jensen calls modern society who seek the need for an experience the ‘dream society’ where “function is taken for granted and the decisive factor is the underlying story, lifestyle, experience, and adventure” (Jensen:2). The silhouettes are clearly having a great time, dancing energetically and letting loose. This is clearly the moral at the core of the main story of this campaign, which is one of the main four checkpoints of storytelling.
The fact that the only characters in this campaign are silhouettes, which are unidentified people, consumers look at it as if it could be themselves; because at the end of the day, everyone has let loose and had a dance at some point in their lives. This campaign features people with noticeably different styles, music genres and a few different iPod models that are hardly noticeable but are there. This suggests that this campaign has been curated over time to appeal to essentially everyone. In 2004, Apple released the first campaign in the same style but with a visible character’s (see fig.2). The featuring characters in this specific clip are U2, which is seen to be one of the biggest bands in the world at the time. Throughout the fast-paced video, it is continuously switching back and forth between a blacked-out silhouette from previous clips and the band U2 performing their song ‘vertigo’. As discussed, the silhouettes make the consumer feel like part of the experience and immersing them in the ‘story’ (campaign). By doing this, they are making the consumer feel like they are part of a performance by a huge, well-known brand. “Apple is not selling an MP3 player, they are inviting you to the apple lifestyle” (Chazin, 2009:3) By making the consumer part of the fun in the video, and part of a performance, we are able to fully ingest and embrace the story that’s being told. Saying this, the fact is they are not truly part of it unless they have the iPod, because this is clearly a huge part of the campaign. By making the experience the main feature of their campaign, Apple do not have to blatantly put huge prices and huge images of their products on their campaigns, because the story and characters are selling the brand and the experience that comes along with the products.
Figure 2. Apple (2004)
In 2004, Apple released a silhouette campaign that involved ‘PC vs MAC’ at the end in huge, bold text (see fig.3) (Every iPod ‘silhouette’ ads (2004-2008), 2012). This could be seen as the conflict imbedded in the story, and the PC could be seen as the ‘villain’. Windows has always been Apple’s biggest competitor and the fact that they put ‘PC vs MAC’ in one of their most memorable campaigns, gives a huge shock factor to the consumer. “As storytellers, we get our message across through conflict and its resolution” (Fog, 2004:36). The message that Apple are personifying through the use of this conflict, would be that essentially, Apple is better than PC and if you want to have fun and let loose, buy a mac. Although the ad does not flat out say ‘buy a mac’, they are asking you your own opinion, what would you prefer? By asking this question this instantly makes the consumer feel like they are part of the experience, leaving them wanting more. The fact that apple advertise a Mac computer on an iPod advert, backs up the point of selling the experience. No matter what apple product you buy, whether it be an iPod, iPad or a MacBook, you will be part of the story and overall experience.
Figure 3. Apple (2004)
The Apple silhouette campaign is an example of how a brand can create their own ‘universe’ by telling a story and getting the consumer fully immersed. Another way that brands can tell stories is by “referring to, or borrowing from, stories that we already know” (Fog, 2004:168). Depending on the consumer’s knowledge, a brand can familiarise itself with an already told ‘story’ or ‘universe’, instantly making a connection with the consumer. This use of storytelling is evidently used in Apple’s 1984 campaign for the launch of Macintosh (see fig.4). This advertisement campaign was conceived by the ad agency Chiat/Day (now known as TBWA/Chiat/Day) which was the same agency that curated the silhouette campaign (Kattan, 2012). This campaign uses George Orwell’s classic, ‘1984’, to adapt the universe already created for the launch of the new Macintosh. The science fiction novel, 1984, “describes a totalitarian society where the party controls all information and brainwashes the populace to adhere to the demands of the system” (Fog, 2004:168). People in Orwell’s ‘universe’ are under constant supervision and in fear ‘Big Brother’, who is always watching.
Figure 4. Apple (1984)
The scene is set with a feel of doom and despair, with ‘soldiers’ marching all dressed in grey with dark surrounding’s, almost like a prison. Once everyone is sat down, they start being lectured by, what looks to be an authoritarian figure. The screen quickly snaps between this and a young, female athlete with a huge sledge hammer being chased by “mind police” (Fog, 2004:168) (see fig.5). I watched a video where Steve jobs speaks about the release of this ad campaign, and in this he talks about Apple’s rival company at that specific time, IBM (Apple keynote-the ‘1984’ ad introduction, 2011). This suggests to me that IBM are being described as the authoritarian figure on the screen, controlling the population as they try to “dismiss the personal computer, as it is too small for serious computing” (Apple keynote-the ‘1984’ ad introduction, 2011). This means that apple must be the youthful female athlete dressed up in full colour, which could be seen as a personification of apple as a company. In terms of the consumer, they’re part in this ‘story’ would be the ‘soldiers’ being told what to do by the authoritarian figure (IBM).
Figure 5. Apple (1984)
Toward the end of the video, the youthful athlete lunges her sledgehammer at the giant screen, smashing it leaving a look of shock and relief on the faces of the general public (see fig.6). The question I asked was why female? The fact the young, youthful athlete was a female suggests to me that Apple where seen as the underdog by IBM, which shows never underestimate the underdog. The essential characters to an effective story are the protagonist and the antagonist; hero and villain” (Kattan, 2012). In this particular campaign, the hero and villain are clear. The hero being apple, and the villain being IBM. the people being saved are perceived to be the general public, this makes the consumer feel like they themselves are being saved by Apple. This gives the consumer an emotional connection to the brand that they may have never had before this point.
Figure 6. Apple (1984)
The advertisement ends with a blurred grey/blue screen with the words ‘on January 24th. Apple computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984”’ (see fig.7). Here, Apple is saying that Macintosh is the thing that is going to save the day, almost as if it is a revolution. By stating that the current date, being 1984 at the time, will not be like “1984” (the story), it is essentially suggesting that Apple can stop these bad things happening with the introduction of their new system. Courage is personified by the woman athlete, this suggests that Apple are not afraid to break boundaries and think for themselves. The reason I say this is because, it is deemed to some people that a man is stronger than a woman, back in 1984 and even today. People believed that women did not have what it takes to be an athlete, and the fact that a woman is the person who started this revolution would have been very inspiring, and to some shocking. The clear moral at the centre of this is “creative diversity and having the courage to think outside the box” (Fog, 2004:169).
Figure 7. Apple (1984)
Even though both advertisements from apple are completely different aesthetically, the underlying story and key morals are essentially same throughout both ads. This shows that by using storytelling, Apple have successfully engaged with the consumer to sell an experience rather than a product, and create an emotional connection with them in the meantime. By doing this and creating an emotional connection, Apple have, to put it simply, been able to sell more products to a wider audience. The reason I say wider audience, is because both advertisements I have spoken about are tailored to suit essentially everyone. The silhouette advertisement shows only blacked out silhouettes of different people of different genders and styles, and as spoken about previously, the consumer can connect with silhouettes and may see a part of themselves within it. As for the 1984 ad, most people know this story and have already been fully immersed within George Orwell’s version of this ‘universe’. The consumer has already seen and had opinions on something similar, so they can identify with Apples version of the story. When Apple completely change the story to act as a hero gives a real shock factor to this campaign, which draws people in and makes them want to learn more about products and wanting to be part of the ‘revolution’ advertised.