On the morning of May 7, 2024, US time, Apple released an editorial video for their new iPod product launch. The video shows a room where many things, such as tables, clocks, guitars, pianos, etc., are kept together in one place, and everything is being crushed into pieces using a hydraulic press machine. The meaning of the video is that you get everything inside an iPad. Do you know what kind of marketing this is? If you don’t know, let us tell you that it is Symbolic and Conceptual Storytelling marketing.
The Secret Behind Symbolic and Conceptual Storytelling Marketing
This is a type of marketing where a brand uses symbols and ideas to instill a strong message in the minds of its audience, rather than talking about its product. There is no exact name for who actually invented it, but David Ogilvy, first launched an ad in 1957 called Dove’s ¼ Moisturizing Cream. While others were busy promoting their products by simply cleaning them well, David Ogilvy gave more priority to skin care in his ads. These ads were so popular with the audience that within just 3 years, the brand became the number 1 selling brand in the USA. The tag used by David Ogilvy in 1957 is still used today.
How Nike Turned Dreams into Dollars with Emotional Storytelling
Nike also used this marketing concept on September 3, 2018, and launched an ad video called Dream Crazy. It is one of the ads in the Just Do It series. The main message of the video was to always think about something crazy. For example, the video shows a person who is trying to lose weight and become thin again and again and again wins an athletics competition. Many more things like this are shown in the video. These ads have been so successful that online sales have increased by about 31%. In addition, their stock price hit $6 billion and their brand value increased by about $1 billion after these ads.
Did Apple’s ‘Crush’ Ad Go Too Far?
Symbolic and Conceptual Storytelling Marketing is a type of marketing that establishes a strong relationship with the audience. And this type of marketing is much more successful. But it is not always the case that it is. In their 2024 “crush” ads, Apple wanted to convey that they have everything in this iPad, but the audience could not take their ads positively. Many people could not take the broken piano and guitar in the ads positively. Although Apple didn’t face any significant losses due to this, they temporarily lost the trust of many audiences.
How Death Wish Coffee Used Storytelling to Go from Local Café to Global Brand
So you might be wondering, can small businesses adopt this kind of marketing strategy? The answer is yes. A small business in New York called Death Wish Coffee adopted the same strategy. On February 7, 2016, the brand launched their ads called “Storm’s a-Brewin”. The video beautifully shows the exciting scenes of Vikings, where it is explained that even if you can’t be a Viking, you can be one like them. The audience liked the topic very much. The ads became so popular that they reached more than 100 million viewers. In addition, their website traffic increased by 10000% and their products sold out within a few days. The ads received major media coverage from Forbes and CNBC. The brand became so popular that it went from being a local brand to a global brand in a matter of days.
Why Storytelling Is Still the Most Powerful Marketing Tool in 2025
In today’s world of social media, where any type of ads can reach an audience on a daily basis, Symbolic and Conceptual Storytelling Marketing strategy is perfect for making your brand known.This type of marketing strategy will go a long way in making your business a viral brand. You just need to make sure that you craft a story that strongly connects your brand with your audience.
Conclusion
Storytelling is very important in today’s times. A good story can increase the sales and brand value of any business. In this case, a skilled digital marketer can help you. If you want, you can also hire me. If you like my article, please share it. This will inspire me to write more, thank you.
