{"id":6489,"date":"2022-09-22T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toluna-2025.local\/?p=6489"},"modified":"2025-03-25T09:42:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T09:42:55","slug":"san-metrixlab-bring-new-insights-about-storytelling-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/san-metrixlab-bring-new-insights-about-storytelling-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"SAN &amp; Toluna (formerly MetrixLab) bring new insights about storytelling to life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The best storytellers make the best advertising<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the pillars of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanaccent.nl\/stichting-san\/over-de-san\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SAN \u2013 the Netherlands Advertiser Jury Foundation<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 is sharing knowledge to help further the marcom profession. That\u2019s why SAN has been working with Toluna since 2018 in the field of advertising research. In 2021, we conducted a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metrixlab.com\/case-study-san-tests-winning-advertisements-with-ai-powered-creative-testing\/\">meta-study<\/a>\u00a0in which a wide selection of submitted SAN campaigns were subjected to an innovative,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metrixlab.com\/portfolio\/creativity-vs-ai-identifying-winning-creative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI-driven creative evaluation<\/a>. The aim was to distinguish the strength of SAN Accent award winners compared to the average campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sequel in 2022 is based on the year\u2019s SAN theme \u201cTouch me!\u201d (\u201cRaak me\u201d, in Dutch) and seeks to dive a step further. Instead of \u201cWhat elements distinguish award-winning ads?\u201d we ask, \u201cHow can the brand builder generate more impact with storytelling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image6489_63c859-ce .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-toluna-image kb-image6489_63c859-ce size-large\"><div class=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Raak-me-1024x374.jpg\" alt=\"SAN's them of the year &quot;Raak me&quot; in 2022\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-6491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Raak-me-1024x374.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Raak-me-300x110.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Raak-me-768x281.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Raak-me.jpg 1452w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Using AI to analyze the storytelling content of TV commercials<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Toluna once again deployed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metrixlab.com\/solutions\/advertising-brand\/ai-powered-creative-testing-act-instant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ACT Instant<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a combination AI and human analysis creative testing tool \u2013 to answer this question. The AI predictive model behind the research methodology is based on more than 16,000 evaluated ads that have been reviewed by live respondents in previous research. The model assesses the potential of an ad to achieve \u2018breakthrough\u2019 and \u2018response\u2019. In other words \u2013 is an ad capable of attracting attention, driving brand and message recall and subsequently promoting brand interest or even purchase intent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The major advantages of AI instead of questionnaires and respondents for this type of research are speed, efficiency, and scalability. In this case, we supplemented the analysis with extensive coding on storytelling elements. In total, we looked at almost 100 commercials from the SAN archive from 2017-2021, using a codebook for storytelling based on work that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.swocc.nl\/over-swocc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SWOCC<\/a>&nbsp;(the Dutch Foundation for Scientific Research into Commercial Communication) has done. We assessed whether the story in each TV ad contains, for example, causality (cause and effect), chronology, character (someone who experiences the events), obstacles or emotions. We also looked at the functional and emotional benefits from the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Storytelling makes the difference<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking at ads with a high score on storytelling and where the story contains both functional and emotional benefits, we see a big difference between winners of a SAN Accent award and other entries. Winners score the best of all on&nbsp;<em>Breakthrough<\/em>&nbsp;(79 vs. an average in the Netherlands of 50) and&nbsp;<em>Response<\/em>&nbsp;(70 vs. an average of 50). These scores even exceed the average of all winners of SAN Accents in the period 2017-2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Winning awards contain multiple storytelling elements in combination with functional and emotional benefits. They score higher than other campaigns on breakthrough and response.<\/h3>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image6489_b32e75-cd .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-toluna-image kb-image6489_b32e75-cd\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><div class=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"873\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Campaigns-breakthrough-vs-response.png\" alt=\"Campaigns breakthrough VS response\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-6499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Campaigns-breakthrough-vs-response.png 873w, https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Campaigns-breakthrough-vs-response-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Campaigns-breakthrough-vs-response-768x577.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 873px) 100vw, 873px\" \/><\/div><figcaption>Storytelling = Narrative complexity (scores 5-7) + mix of functional &amp; emotional benefits<br>(n=98)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Good storytelling leads to very good results, but good execution is crucial. This is apparent from the large differences between award winners and non-winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost all ads used storytelling techniques such as&nbsp;<em>Character<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Emotion<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Causality<\/em>.&nbsp;<em>Chronology<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Goals<\/em>&nbsp;are used with some regularity.&nbsp;<em>Obstacles<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>(indirect) feelings,<\/em>&nbsp;on the other hand, are rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Almost all ads use characters, emotions and<br>causality as storytelling techniques. Obstacles and feelings are less often used.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Narrative complexity \u2013 use of storytelling techniques<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Storytelling characteristics of good campaigns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These results also show differences in the impact that storytelling generates \u2013 essentially, for it to have an impact, storytelling elements must be applied properly. We\u2019ve developed the following checklist based on the storytelling elements that winners use most effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A dialogue between people generates more attention and has an impact<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Show the product in use, in an environment that fits the brand and in a story that appeals to people (too often we see that the story and the brand come from two different worlds)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The message should be visually supported and part of the story. We often see that a message is only delivered via voiceover, or that there are too many messages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Humorous, recognizable, positive, and visual messages predominate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In short, the way in which these elements are integrated makes the difference.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The best storytellers make the best advertising<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At a time when brands more often opt for fairly flat \u2018form-driven\u2019 communications, this research shows that the \u2018content\u2019 itself does matter. Storylines with interaction between people are an important influencer of attention and processing. This has a positive influence on how viewers remember ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know for example that what helps an ad resonate with the target group is a main character that viewers can emphasize with. One way to better accomplish this is to have the main character overcome obstacles \u2013 people would rather identify with a main character who tries his best to achieve something, than with a superficial success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, a brand builder can no longer ignore the seven elements of storytelling. However, the interpretation of those elements is also crucial \u2013 if your storyline isn\u2019t executed properly, your impact will also be watered down. Good storytelling leads to very good results, but good execution is crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a more hopeful note, this is where the role of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metrixlab.com\/pretesting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">creative testing<\/a>\u00a0comes in. \u201cToluna&#8217;s meta-analyses, in which we use AI, modeling and a combination of data sources, will help us to give marketers new insights into how advertising works,\u201d says Joost Vossen, SAN board member (and VP Global Customer Experience at Elsevier). Using a combination of tools and advertising expertise, we have the means to ensure not only that the correct elements are present in an ad, but also that they are implemented effectively. That\u2019s where the goals of SAN and Toluna align \u2013 to collect insights and build knowledge that help marketers make better advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best storytellers make the best advertising One of the pillars of\u00a0SAN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":9879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_toluna_hide_sidebar":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolunacorporate.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}