Brands often compete for attention in the same marketing channels, but they are now creating real-world engagement with fictional stories.
Television, print, and social media are some of the biggest and most common platforms for advertisers. So how can brands stand out from the crowd? A recent article published by Digiday shares how brands are using fictional stories to entertain and engage customers.
Microsoft’s Future Visions
This creative short-story anthology blurred the line between science fiction and fact. Microsoft invited nine renowned sci-fi authors and graphic novelists to their research lab, sparking the inspiration for a series of fictional tales. The 239-page book is available for free via digital download and gives readers a glimpse into what the future of technology might look like.
AT&T’s Freak Week
AT&T launched a yearlong influencer campaign called Hello Lab. As part of this project, the company sponsored YouTube sensation Grace Helbig to co-author a novella called “Freak Week.” The story centers around a high school student stuck in an alternate reality caused by global warming. Readers can follow along on the story-sharing platform Wattpad. Additionally, users can submit their own chapters using the tag #WritingWithGrace, and chosen winners get published in the narrative.
