From the passive experiences of entertainment consumption in the past, to the currently active, interactive and immersive capabilities, the one thing that continues to stay constant, unbeatable in importance and at the heart of the complex layered consumption ecosystem is the Story !

1. The STORY will always be the only CONSTANT!
A quick rewind to 20 years back ....Remember the cool cassette device and the VCR tape that used to
be the icon of entertainment until the early 90’s revolution of the well-known cds? Recall the excitement,
around the family time in the living room, defined by the combined watching of a primetime show on
Sunday mornings? If you really have no clue what I am talking about then obviously you must be one-third
my age and I probably sound like 'gen-Xtinct' to you ! Let’s now flash-forward to our current entertainment
icons, powered by the influence of the man who tamed technology, Steve Jobs. Today, in the midst of
the Apple vs. Android battle, we as consumers have a plethora of devices that swallow our wallets but
never our hunger for more. Even our television, apparently the 'idiot-box', links up now to our smartphones;
not just with a cord, but with a super cool technology that enables content display and sharing with just a
gentle screen swipe. We really belong to a highly complex multi-screen world where consumption
behavior is way too difficult to predict with a linear logic. Content being the king as always, is funneled
down our consumption network now in innovative ways like never before. However often overlooked and
underestimated, what is most important for us to remember is that from the passive experiences of
entertainment consumption in the past, to the currently active, interactive and immersive capabilities, the
one thing that continues to stay constant, unbeatable in importance and at the heart of the complex
layered consumption ecosystem- is the - story, story and Story.
Story has always been and will always have to be the heart of the consumption eco-system. But if story is
the constant, then let’s understand what has really changed. Spotting the easier first, no doubt that the
medium and devices of course have changed and so has the method. With them evolving, even
distribution innovation has had to follow fast. All this has boosted a dynamic consumption environment.
But the one ultimate element worth noticing and accepting, is the evolution in the storytelling style and
format. This has happened for two reasons; one being the consumer’s quick and frequent adoption of
technologically advanced devices and second being his constantly evolving preferences, dominated by
his extremely competitive lifestyle. To express this better, let’s compare our yesterday's media ecosystem
with today’s. What stands out the most is the dramatic movement of consumption from 20 channels on
television with a remote in a fixed living room, to 500 channels anytime and anywhere across television
and the mobile, laptop, tablet or now called ‘the second screen’.
However while the ecosystem
has branched, the fundamental
seed that ensures it is healthy and
relevant, is afterall the 'story',
which forms both the need and
desire for consumption. Therefore
what now is interesting to observe
is how all this branching out of the
consumption ecosystem has
boosted 'the art of storytelling'.
If we were to analyse storytelling
evolution, one might wonder
what was the real trigger for such
innovation. Many may say it was
the advancement of Technology,
marketers would boldly claim it
was the need for differentiated
brand communication and some technology businesses would share their insight being the demand of
the consumer. I, on the other hand, have a different theory. I strongly believe it was the stagnancy in
content consumption due to the rise of the highly mobile or transit lifestyle that drove businesses across the
consumption value chain to push their limits and this positively triggered the spark in storytelling evolution.

2. It was the consumption stagnancy that pushed technology businesses to work on smarter content
consumption solutions which was complimentary to the lifestyle of consumers. This, in return, influenced
content producers and marketers to revolutionize their storytelling format. Thus was the beginning of the
constantly evolving up-gradation from not just a liner passive format but the story as well.
Technology cannot lose focus that it is always going to
be differentiated on the ‘how’ value it brings to the
experience of consumption. Media channels cannot
afford to forget that it is always going to be the network
effectiveness that will ensure its value. Finally Brands and
their marketers, absolutely need to always question their
communication goal in the clutter of all. In a chaotic
world where every professional and every business is
struggling to win the rat race of consumption, it is
extremely important to stay focused on the heart, the
'story', while battling against each other.
So if you spend your average 12 hours a day running the much admired rat race with your own
professional batten, do not forget to ask yourself the fundamental question, time and again... "really what
is the story?"
If you have used any of the above strategies or have any additional strategies or recommendations, please do share…
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