A couple of weeks ago, I spent a few fascinating days in the beautiful mountains of Utah at the Sundance Resort, attending the Brand Storytelling Elevate conference. A gathering of people who care deeply about how brands can use the type of film storytelling that you would normally see on television or in cinemas, to grow fame, grow alignment, and grow bottom line.
A bit of background
Brand Storytelling was originally founded by Rick Parkhill and Mike Pubentz 10 years ago. They saw that as the medium evolved, proponents of the field needed a place to gather, to share war stories and best practices, and most importantly, to advance the art.
From these beginnings, it has now grown to two events. One, as an officially sanctioned spin-off from the Sundance Film Festival and the Elevate conference in the Utah mountains. Sundance focuses on viewings and panels, Elevate – a more intimate event - centres on workshops and sharing best practice.
Over three days, agencies, brands, and producers discussed the development of the field, how to make the case for this type of work, and then viewed examples of effective execution.
So… what exactly is brand storytelling?
Brand storytelling is the strategic use of narrative to shape how audiences perceive and connect with a brand. Instead of focusing on product features or direct advertising, brand storytelling conveys a company’s values, purpose, and personality through emotionally resonant stories.
It’s what happens when brands stop thinking like interruptive marketers and start thinking like publishers, filmmakers, and creators. The work can look like a short documentary, a gameshow, a multi-part podcast, a feature film, or even a series of TikToks. But what it always shares is a commitment to emotional truth, character, and craft – avoiding explicit marketing messaging to build affinity and trust with the audience.
So what did I learn?
Here are some key takeaways from the conference…
1. Brand storytelling really works.
To be fair, I probably already knew this, but example after example really demonstrated the benefit of building long-term gains over always gathering for short-term gains. Of course, ‘performance’ marketing (I hate that term because it is so misleading, but that is another blog), can be effective at encouraging customers to make the purchase, but it is made a lot easier if the brand side of marketing has softened the ground and built trust and fame with them first.
I imagine it a little like a football (soccer) team – ‘performance’ is the kick at the goal, brand is the defence and midfield who pass it up the pitch, thus making the shot easier. Which is one of the reasons it can be hard to sell this kind of work in – it’s harder (not impossible) to track. Consequently, it’s harder to persuade the bean counters to invest in it, which is particularly true when times are tough. That’s frustrating because done right, brand storytelling - not traditional ad content - drives higher emotional engagement, which Nielsen found can boost sales by up to 23 % over average ads.”
2. Data proves storytelling’s power.
One of the most significant obstacles that people working in this field face is a perception that it is a nice-to-have, or that the benefits are a bit too woolly and difficult to measure. Wherever the effectiveness of this type of work is measured, though, the data points towards just how powerful it is. Here are some of the stats that stood out to me:
· Information in stories is 22x more memorable than facts alone.
· 23% increase in sales due to emotionally engaging content vs traditional ads.
· 30% Increase in customer loyalty for brands proficient in storytelling – Nielsen.
· 20% higher purchase intent and 44% higher brand recall vs traditional ads.
3. In uncertain times, brave brands lean into storytelling.
During softer economic times, when marketers are pressured to reduce budgets, it’s easy to dismiss this type of brand work as being too slow to convert and harder to demonstrate a clear return on investment. That said, throughout history, the brands that have invested more during recessions have seen incredible gains when the market returns.
For example, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when consumers were pulling back on purchases, Procter and Gamble created a whole new genre with the soap opera. As a result, they became the largest consumer packaged goods company in the world.
More recently, during the 2008/9 Financial Crisis, with car sales slumping, Toyota launched their Auto-Biography campaign. This featured animations of real customer stories about just how long-lasting their vehicles were. This humanised the brand and built an emotional connection to their cars among the audience. In total, around 16,000 customer stories were submitted, which helped grow their Facebook page, despite four recall controversies during the period. It became the benchmark for brands seeking to establish a social media marketing presence.
· 10-40% Short-term sales increases for brands leaning into empathetic storytelling in the 2008/09 Financial Crisis
· 9x Faster recovering growth rate after the 2008/09 Financial Crisis vs. those that cut spending or relied on transactional marketing
4. There’s no one “right” way to do it.
There are so many different types of brand storytelling that it’s hard to classify them as a single genre. As I mentioned, there are podcast series, game shows, feature-length documentaries, and travel films. Each format is chosen for the story, the audience, the brand’s DNA, and the role it needs to play for the company.
Coastars - a Hot Wings inspired interview show for Universal Orlando Resort. A quirky and creative take that puts celebs on rollercoaster rides and then asks them a variety of questions while they scream.
Why We Dream – Delta Airlines. Feature length documentary, which was fresh from the Tribeca Film Festival. This powerful film follows D-Day veterans returning to Normandy for the last time, and features their reflections of these momentous events 80 years on.
5. If you want to capture your audience, you gotta hit ‘em in the feels.
Emotions drive memory. Memory drives behaviour. This is why a review of the Super Bowl commercials each year has so many powerfully emotional ads. This emotional effect can be turbocharged by longer-form emotional storytelling.
Take The Lemonade Stand for Synchrony Bank. A beautiful film about a dad and his daughter setting up a lemonade stand together and going through the years as their relationship evolves. It is a simple story, perfectly attuned to the functions of the bank. It is exceptionally well told and didn’t leave too many dry eyes in the room. Another benefit of the production was that having a photographer on set allowed them to create supporting collateral that would live across their entire ecosystem – significantly increasing the campaign’s mileage and return on the initial investment.
6. Every company has stories. Most just don’t know it.
One thing that really struck me – as it has for some time working in this field, is how many amazing stories there are in every single company. The key issue for most of them is having the self-belief, vision, and confidence to get them made. We work with so many clients who are nervous about putting themselves out there, worried that the audience just won’t care, or scared to try something out of the ordinary. The point underlined again and again at the excellent event was the spoils that accrue to those who take the calculated risk and invest. It can be genuinely business-transforming. Most important of all, brand storytelling makes money.
7. The industry is in a time of incredible flux
From all the conversations I had, it was clear that the business of video storytelling is changing faster now than it has in years. Filmmakers from all over the world discussed the need to change the way we work, collaborate, and charge for our work. I firmly believe that once we have all worked our way through the current turbulence, it will be better for everyone, with better alignment between clients and suppliers, and most importantly, with better work.
8. Nothing beats in person
The real highlight of the event was being able to spend time with so many people from around the world who really believe in the possibilities of this art form. No two backgrounds among the 90-odd people were quite the same, and everyone is doing something remarkable in their own way. I got to catch up with old friends and clients and to meet new friends from all over the map. In the afternoons, we got to mountain bike, or horse ride, which added opportunities to get to know people better. After years of sitting behind Zoom and Slack, it's great to be back in the room with real humans again. Nothing beats it.
Final thought:
My time at Elevate reaffirmed that brand storytelling isn’t just creative marketing - it’s a powerful strategic tool that can transform a business. It builds loyalty, captures hearts, and ultimately drives growth in your bottom line. Every business is made up of hundreds of different stories, we can use the incredibly powerful tools available to find them, accentuate them, and align people with them. This is an incredible opportunity for those willing to take it.
See you there next year!
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