Storytelling is becoming more and more important for
brand building and is being used to stroke consumer’s emotions for deeper
relationship building. Who doesn’t like a story? We have all grown up listening
to one and hence we can easily relate to them.
Recently, Nestle used a stammering stand-up
comedian as a main protagonist for this storytelling, focusing on the idea that
you can overcome all hurdles if you have a passion to win and succeed.
On
the other hand I am surprised at the way Intex mobile has handled the same
disability. They have made a blatant spoof of it. For the purpose of adding some
humour to the story, they have handled the context arrogantly. How could they
even imagine that consumers would like the brand which makes ‘fun’ of them? And
it’s not that all their consumers stammer consumers show solidarity when being
talked by the brands and hence such treatment would only attract negative
emotions. Was it tactical polarized communication to draw some attention and
generate content on social media? Then it was all the more a failed attempt as
it would only spread negative comments. Consumers do not appreciate spoof which
rather than making them feel ‘good’ makes them feel ‘shameful’.
Media
and communication influence the story and I feel that it’s very important for brands
to behave responsibly while dealing with such issues. Brands should
‘communicate for a purpose of engaging with the consumers and not alienating
the consumers’.