Marketer as Storyteller as Marketer

Towards the end of 2025, I started to see some chatter on LinkedIn about companies looking to hire storytellers for their marketing teams. While this concept of “storytelling” has been a bullet point on most marketing job descriptions for over a decade, the idea that some organizations might be ready to embrace the storyteller as marketer does seem to speak to a shift in thinking. At least on the surface.

So, what does it mean if marketing becomes more about storytelling? On the surface, not much. Marketing is storytelling and always has been, just like sales or product or customer service. Each department in your organization is telling a story - or a narrative, the more trendy term - about your business, your customers, your product or service, your goals.

However, I think that if executed expertly and correctly, injecting true storytelling into your organization’s marketing could make a difference in how your brand’s story is told and received.

Building a Good Story

I think the biggest issue with this type of thinking is that many people don’t actually know what it takes to write a good and compelling story. It’s not just about a beginning, middle, and end. It’s even more than a compelling premise and a satisfying resolution. It’s more than our product is better than theirs. It’s more than customers and a needed service.

Here’s a quick rundown to the true parts of a story:

1. Compelling premise

2. Characters

3. Conflict

4. Rising stakes

5. Structure that encourages momentum

6. Distinct POV

7. Theme

8. Emotional resonance

9. Change (or realization)

10. Satisfying payoff

(Thanks to ChatGPT for the assist in getting a succinct list pulled together).

There are elements of story where marketers absolutely thrive - I’m looking at you, 6-7, 😉. But there are other areas where things can be murky or just plain tough. 

Start at the Beginning: A Compelling Premise

Let’s start with #1: Building a compelling premise is the foundation of a good story (and a long-lasting campaign). But how do you build a compelling premise? What does that mean?

I’m going to use one of my favorite stories, Star Wars, as an example. The whole story doesn’t mean much if we’re not aware within the first 20 minutes that the plans for a planet-destroying weapon are stored in the bipedal droid with an attitude. Introducing a farm boy with big dreams or a mage with a haunted past, doesn’t matter if we don’t know that the droid with a fussy and shiny best friend is the key to our story. He becomes the central focus, narrowing the scope of the story to get the droid to safety. The other big themes - good, evil, questionable hair styles, swashbuckling rogues with fast ships - are part of the story, but they’re not the whole story. We have to know the mission - the mission is to get the droid out of harm’s way and deliver those plans.

So, who - or what - is your R2? Yes, your organization’s mission is revenue, but that’s not your story and it’s not a compelling premise. 

I’m going to talk more about this over the next few week’s, but wanted to start here. Do you agree or disagree with me? Have you heard about this storytelling push for marketers? I’d love to know your thoughts.