Ads of Vodafone SuperNet 4G: Paragons of effective utilization of Storytelling in Content Marketing
Sometime ago, I happened to learn about Simon Sinek’s ‘Golden Circle’ concept. I would say that the concept gives a unique and an interesting line to the crux of the Content Marketing approaches of some companies, which have been globally recognized as distinct and successful. In the concept, Simon Sinek conveys that such companies, while communicating about their products or services to their potential customers, first talk on WHY do they offer a product or service and HOW is that offer going to benefit the customers, and then talk about WHAT are they going to offer.
He further goes on by saying that when a company shares about the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of its products or services to its potential customers, it means that it is dealing with their behaviours by engaging with their emotions. In other words, the information of ‘Why’ and ‘How’ communicates with the human’s Limbic Brain, which deals with their emotions. But, when the company talks about the ‘What’ of its products or services to its potential customers, it means that it is speaking to their brains’ rationalistic part, Neocortex.
Going by the concept of ‘Golden Circle’, I feel that one among the best ways in Content Marketing strategies, to deal with the behaviours of the customers by engaging with their emotions, is to bring out a television commercial (TVC) driven by a well-crafted storytelling. Of late, during the IPL 10 season, many would have watched the series of television commercials (Total of 6), which have been rendered as part of Vodafone’s ‘Data Strong Network’ campaign, featuring an elderly couple (husband and wife) and narrating their experiences on their Goa trip.
When it comes to a storytelling, there are three crucial factors involved, viz., Characters, Conflicts and Resolution. In a storytelling, the characters are the ones with whom, and whose problems, the audience would relate themselves with. In the case of the advertisements of the ‘Data Strong Network’ campaign, despite the storytelling being driven from the point of view of an elderly couple, it also has characters with which people from across various generations could relate themselves with.
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Conflict is a scenario in a storytelling, where the characters get stuck with a problem and resolution is what that eventually helps the characters to overcome the conflict. In the first TVC of the campaign, we see the elderly couple facing the problem of spotting their Goa trip’s prearranged guide, whom they haven’t seen before, in a crowded railway station. To overcome the problem, they do a video call to their granddaughter from that crowded place and she helps them to spot the guide in the station. In the second ad, the couple approaches the localites who are seated in the roadside of a particular area in Goa and enquires them about the route to Chapora Fort by referring to the place as ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ Fort. But, the couple doesn’t get concrete details regarding the route from the localites. So, on the spot, they choose to use the Google Maps and in turn, the app helps them to locate the fort.
In the third advertisement, we are shown that the couple has made some new friends in a place in Goa and are having a good time with them. The couple wishes to share the happy moments at once with their beloved ones. So, they make use of the ‘Group Video Call’ facility and express their happiness to their dearest ones. In the fourth commercial, the wife character in the couple goes for a parasailing from the shore and her husband makes her ‘parasailing’ moments go live in her Facebook profile using a mobile phone. By looking at the mobile phone, she goes on to wave at and ask her Facebook friends on them being able to see her in the live. As a result, the live gets flooded with reactions and comments.
In the fifth TVC, we get to see the couple sitting in a crowded shore, watching a dance video (HD) in their mobile and getting to know few steps. In the evening, the couple is shown shaking their legs along with strangers in a boat party. In the final ad, the couple is shown sitting in a crowded railway station waiting for a train. The husband character in the couple speaks with his granddaughter over the phone via a video call. He shares thirty photos, which have been captured during the Goa trip, all in one go via his mobile to his granddaughter.
In the ‘Data Strong Network’ campaign, we could very well observe the order – ‘Why’, ‘How’ and then ‘What’ – that has been followed. As part of the campaign, Vodafone India had initially stated that, as its customers are utilising mobile internet across various applications, such as live streaming, movie downloads and video calls, it has invested in building ‘Vodafone SuperNet 4G – The Data Strong Network’ to provide faster and consistent internet connection to its customers. Thereby, Vodafone had made it clear on why they came up with a new service.
But, the aspects of ‘How’ and ‘What’ of the Vodafone SuperNet 4G have been conveyed in the television commercials. In all the above said television commercials, the order – ‘How’ and ‘What’ – has been followed in the well-crafted storytelling of the narrations. The ads first showcase us on how a fast and consistent internet connection enables the customers to perform data-heavy activities such as doing video calls, streaming HD videos and uploading multiple photos from crowded places, accessing internet based apps while on-the-go and making group video call. By that means, the commercials have let the users know the benefits of ‘Vodafone SuperNet 4G’. Finally, in the advertisements, we get to know the name of the service and the campaign, ‘Vodafone SuperNet 4G’ and ‘Data Strong Network’ respectively accompanied by the slogan, ‘#MakeMostOfNow’.
So, with the above arguments, don’t the series of television commercials of Vodafone’s ‘Data Strong Network’ campaign sound as a paragon of effective utilization of storytelling in Content Marketing? Let me know your views in the article’s comments section, which is available below!