MARIA'S STORY
Experiential Narrative Persuasion
The Maria's Story exhibit was created on the foundation of communication theory. It brought together the two areas of narrative persuasion and experiential event marketing. Stories are powerful all on their own, but they can be made more powerful when you experience them through a multi-sensory exhibit.
Stories have the power to change people's opinions and actions. This can happen many different ways. For example, if people are transported into the world of a story, their real-world beliefs will be affected. Or, if people identify with the main character in a story, they will take that character's perspective and are more likely to be persuaded. In addition,persuasion is more likely if a story has a changing emotional flow.
Narrative Persuasion
Experiential events provide a way for organizations to market their brand in a unique and effective way. When an organization can engage the multiple senses of the customers, they create a broader brand experience. And an event is well suited to engaging the customer on this level. In general, people have a more positive view of the brand after an event, giving events a high return-on-investment.
Experiential Event Marketing
Bringing these two areas together can create a dynamic persuasive event. A multi-sensory experience acts as a magnifying glass, enhancing the powerful elements in a story, and creating intensified persuasion. Organizations can make sure their stories are being heard. Most importantly, they can tell stories in a way that creates understanding and action. The model below provides a visual representation.
Experiential Storytelling Event
Create Impact
Commitment
Resources
Creativity
To create impact with an experiential event, an organization needs these qualities: commitment to the idea, the resources to execute the idea, and the creativity to think outside the box. You can learn more about this type of event by reading Julie's thesis.