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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

ly to the audience's taste - by means of users’ behavior, We are for sure still at the beginning of this kind of sto-
when they switch on/off or just the channel. rytelling, although Samsung, for example, invites us
already to climb onto skyscrapers to overcome our fear
AI storytelling is still in its infancy, but will be a success of heights or Lufthansa flies us virtually to San Francis-
model in the long run, since the automated form of sto- co. All these are insights and outlooks, show and wow
rytelling provides solutions for three problems that mar- projects, but no stories yet.
keting is facing today:
It will be the task of marketing and corporate communi-
1. Big Data: Already today we have a lot of infor- cations to inspire us here in the future with exciting sto-
mation at our disposal, but don’t know how to tell ries, not only to take us along, but to participate, too.
this amount of data. AI can help us filter citing sto-
ries out of the “Big Data”. The use of IBM's Watson However, as much as the enthusiasm for new technolo-
during Wimbledon 2017 is just a recent proof of gies and the future possibilities of artificial intelligence
how data-driven storytelling can look like. is, it is also crucial to recognize the limitation of AI sto-
rytelling: Although chatbots can give us, for instance,
2. Dynamic and Fragmented Markets: AI enables answers to the most frequently asked questions, they
people to tell stories flexibly in a constantly chang- can’t tell immersive and empathic stories, Petra Sam-
ing environment and to adapt content agilely to dif- mer emphasizes in her article.
ferent target groups. With AI-storytelling you can
communicate targeted in the most fragmented mar- Many elements of a story can be automated, but the
kets. The machine calculates how and where effec- magic of a story comes ultimately not from an algo-
tive content is placed (programmatic planning) and rithm. On the contrary, the unforeseen, the surprising,
adapts the content in real time, according to the the human is what fascinates us with stories and
notions of the target groups addressed. makes us immerse into it. As much as AI is a work re-
lief in marketing and corporate communications, the
3. UBX (Useful Brand Experience): In the future, need for creative, inspiring and human stories will re-
however, the inclusion of the recipients in participa- main, she concludes.
tory forms of storytelling will be the most exciting
part. New techniques, such as AR or VR, combined This results in clear requirements for the composition of
with AI, offer the opportunity to let customers partic- marketing teams and communication departments: It
ipate in brand stories. Recipients are no longer takes colleagues that hurl themselves deeply into bits
spectators or listeners, but are right in the middle, and bytes to be constantly familiar with the technologi-
witnessing and co-designing stories. It’s the under- cal prerequisites and changes; and some others must
taking of a completely new brand experience and know the magic and success of good stories which they
consequently brand loyalty. can present all the time in a new and inspiring way. ◊

By Daniela La Marca

MediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia