Once upon a time, there was a good story

There are many ways to tell a story, but not all of them have the ability to reach the audience that truly matters. Content, format and, above all, timing: this is the formula that can mean success for a brand.

So, it seems easy. But it isn’t. Not at all. Communicating takes work. Creating a story is an exercise of being born and dying, in a fraction of seconds and over and over again. The victim is the content, and whoever devotes themselves to this – let’s say – art is also a victim, collateral, with the difference that the task remains unfinished.

On the draft cover of “Como escrever”, the brand-new title by Miguel Esteves Cardoso (July 2024),we see many of the dilemmas of this labour. “Writing is squeezing.” “Writing is just finishing.” “Get it done.”

Writing (or trying to write) is all of that – from ideation to the final result – but much more, not least because the receiver places even more challenges upon us. First and foremost, their attention span, which around 2015 stood at something like 8 seconds. At the time, it was speculated that the NBA itself was considering shortening the duration of games.

This story is good, isn’t it? But it ended up being exposed. Fake news. Even back then. Because the data cited in the study that went around the world had no scientific basis whatsoever. Still, the topic did not disappear and, in the era of scrolling, it seems that the truth may not be far from that number. The problem is that popular wisdom has long told us that “not everything is what it seems”, and science confirms that humans have an attention span far greater than that of a goldfish. Especially if what lies before them is relevant.

This is what the world of public relations and corporate communication faces every day. How do you create a story, a relevant one, that can reach those who truly matter?

Let us return to science. Telling a story – a good story – induces a feeling of“immersion” in our brain. In other words, we become completely captivated by something, in an inexplicable and almost addictive way. In recent years, Paul J. Zak, the neuroscientist of the “eight hugs a day”, has been studying the experiences that induce this state. One of the conclusions he and his team have reached is that the more our brain is activated in certain ways, the more attention we pay and the more we encode messages into our memory.

A story – a good story – meets these requirements, as proven by Paul J. Zak’s science. And this is where oxytocin comes in. Literally. An immersive story releases this chemical substance in our brain that is related to empathy.

When we come across something of this kind, something with which we identify, we say“present”. However, that is not enough to hold our attention. That is why a story – a good story – hooks us with what is closest to us and then uses novelty as a mechanism to keep us engaged.

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A principle that applies to everyone

In the relationship with the media, this principle applies in exactly the same way. A story – a good story – must reach those who are closest to the themes and, of course, must have “news value”. The only “but” is precisely the amount of time journalists have nowadays to deal with an unprecedented volume of information.

The 2024 State of the Media Report by Cision provides some interesting data. For example, the traditional press release continues to hold significant value – almost three out of four consider it an element they would like to receive from public relations professionals. Another 68 per cent state that they are important for generating content ideas.

However, press releases are only one part of the “attention-grabbing equation”, as 61 per cent of the journalists surveyed also stated that they would like to receive original documents, with trends or data. In addition, 47 per cent indicated that access to experts from specific industries/sectors is useful in the production of content ideas.

Another question addressed in the report sought to understand how public relations professionals can make journalists’ work easier. In this case, 68 per cent of respondents chose the option “understand my target audience and what it considers relevant”.

There are no absolute truths, but the clues are there. For brands, the challenge remains: telling a good story is central to establishing or consolidating relationships with the consumers of today and tomorrow.