Managing Consumer Sentiment

Commercials aren’t storytelling. Whether in the form of words, images, or video your advertisements are simply assets developed to show the best version of your business or tell the scripted elevator speech told hundreds of times before. More often than not these tell the who, what, when, and where, but also the “how much.” These advertisements are crafted for the actions they drive, not for the story they tell. You measure their success in the clicks, conversions, or inventory number.

When a story is told well, it’s clear to the audience that the purpose was to inform, entertain, or give. All the best stories generate visceral responses in sentiment, the least measurable element of a campaign. What marketers call “content strategy” really means “managing emotions,” and that doesn’t always show up in Google Analytics.