Strategic research, analysis and planning
Every good story and every plan stands on a solid analytical background. In literature, this is researched background information playing one or even the main role in the story. In marketing, this includes demographic, demoscopic, emotional information in addition to technical and economic information. This is the exact interface linking storytelling and planned communication: It’s always about people and how to reach them.
Modern marketing planning involves analyzing markets, products and their consumers. At the same time, as in any good business plan, niches or undiscovered territories are explored. This is usually the groundwork, the collection of facts and initial conclusions drawn.
It becomes crucial when you draw deeper, more significant issues from these initial conclusions. Those that need to be re-analyzed and evaluated. That is also when you need the aforementioned personal and emotional information to understand the topics. In this phase, your creative mind is already at work, the story is emerging.
“Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed”
Dan Zarella
When writing a novel, the storyline is mostly based on results from the fact-research of the subject. It also affects the dramaturgy from resulting situations and reactions of the protagonists and antagonists to them. Having these parts compliment each other is crucial: The success of the story is determined by the number of readers who get involved in the story and identify with it.
Marketing is about exactly the same thing: The reaction of the target group, the consumer. Who are they, what makes them tick, how does a product pr service fit into their lives? All of this is based on data, empiricism and analysis. However, the success of a strategy depends entirely on the human conclusions drawn from research and analysis and how the resulting story is told.
Communication is a living organism
For this very reason analysis, like any book research, should always include a base story in the shape of a summary of the entire, big story: A kind of synopsis or basic brand story which you constantly update during research and analysis. This applies in particular to everything that decisively influences and often changes the target group and subsequent communication. In literature, this is a 2-3-page expose, in marketing analysis a key findings sheet similar to an executive summary – or simply a treatment with all the key factors. Conveniently, this already forms the preamble to the final strategy.
Communication is a living thing – an organism. Everything we research and then implement lives, develops and changes. It is up to the analyst to understand, inhale and embody that. In consequence, analysis is therefore anything but dry. On the contrary, creative work is already being done right in the moment of analysis. And this is done by people, not machines.
The result is not only the foundation of a good (business) plan – in addition to marketing aspects, in almost all cases it already defines the basic strategy and tonality of the campaign and its production.
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Data, Facts & Figures
Top 3 Q&A on storytelling in market research, strategic analysis and presentation of market data.To better plan marketing and communication campaigns:
