Storytelling has existed for thousands of years and is a powerful means of engaging and fostering emotional connections. In the tourism industry, storytelling is an integral part of a marketing campaign. It can strengthen the brand image, promote trust between businesses and customers (Russell, 2019).
In a light-hearted session at Nanyang Polytechnic, Mr Azhar Abdul-Salam, a senior lecturer for the Mass Media Communications, shared with SIT Hospitality students the art of digital storytelling.
Digital storytelling is about picking the best story and finding the best way to deliver the story. Interesting stories are everywhere. One of the most critical aspects of storytelling is knowing your story and who it is for. The biggest mistake one can make is to set out to do a story without knowing the answers to these two questions. Only through these questions, can you find the best way to reach and connect to your audience.
According to Mr Azhar, there are six elements that make a great digital story - purpose of story, narrator’s point of view, clarity of voice, pacing the narrative, meaningful and appropriate audio and quality of images.
Videos were shown throughout the one-hour session to exemplify the different points that he had made. One that stood out was Casey Neistat’s ‘What Would You Do with $25,000?’. As part of Twentieth Century Fox’s advertising effort for the movie ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, Neistat was offered $25,000 to create a promotional video centred on the theme of ‘living your dream’. Instead of making a promotional video, Neistat used the money to help the typhoon victims in the Philippines. The video encapsulates the different elements that make a successful digital storytelling - engaging content, attractive visuals and an honest narration.
Closer to home, the late Yasmin Ahmad is another great storyteller. The Malaysian director’s Petronas ad ‘Tan Hong Ming In Love’ has garnered positive reviews. Being in a racially diverse country like Malaysia and Singapore, there bound to be racial tensions as there is diversity. Thus, what makes this ad successful is that it managed to create a conversation on an issue that is real and relatable in a light-hearted manner through a simple message that children are colourblind. Even though this video may seem more straightforward than the video by Neistat, this video still conveys the emotions and message that it intended to.
At the end of the day, digital storytelling is not about using the most sophisticated editing tools or expensive, it is about conveying a story in the most sincere way that allows the audience to connect with the story that is being told.
References:
Russell, E. (2019, July 7). Storytelling in Tourism Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.tourismtiger.com/blog/storytelling-in-tourism-marketing/
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