The Pull of a Story

Think of that time when a story dropped you back into a moment. You’re hearing it, or maybe you’re the one telling it, and suddenly you’re reliving everything. The goosebumps. The smell. The laughter.

Like that night your cat proudly dropped a “present” on the floor. Turns out that present was alive. Within seconds a bird was dive-bombing your bedroom, your cat was scaling the walls, feathers were floating everywhere, and your sisters were shrieking at the top of their lungs while hiding under stuffed animals and their Barbie Dreamhouse.

Or maybe it’s the way a single song (my fellow Swifties know the feeling, we’ve all been there) instantly takes you back. Suddenly you’re 16 again, fresh after a summer breakup, windows down, heart cracked wide open, convinced no one in the world had EVER felt pain like this before. And admit it, you still scream-sing it today, every word, for 3 minutes, or 10 😉, and you’re right back in that car.

That’s the power of storytelling. It doesn’t just describe what happened. It makes you feel like you were there, whether you experienced it firsthand or not.

That’s what I learned to love in journalism, and it’s the part of the work I’ve never let go of.

The Newsroom Lessons

As a sports reporter, I quickly learned that not everyone tuned in for the same reasons. Die-hard fans wanted the stats, the records, and the play-by-play. But at the 6:00 newscast, plenty of viewers weren’t sports fans at all. They were drawn in by the story, not the score.

They cared about the walk-on who finally played in a game, scored his first points, and did it for the same college team he grew up watching as a kid. Or the coach who broke the all-time win record, with his high school sweetheart still cheering him on from the bleachers.

Those weren’t just game highlights. They were human moments. And the challenge was framing them so the same story landed for the stat junkie and the casual viewer.

In the marketing world, that’s the difference-maker. It’s not how much information you can throw at people, but how you tell it so they actually want to listen. If you want to apply these principles directly to your business, check out our guide on brand marketing strategies to see how you can put them into practice.

Different Job, Same Questions

I’m not in stadiums or on sidelines anymore, but the job still feels familiar. What used to be studios, deadlines, and live cameras is now pitch decks and campaign launches. In sports, I had 90 seconds to make viewers care about a game they might not have even watched. That meant delivering the highlights in a way that drew them in, and finding the soundbite, that one line from a coach or player that captured everything in a way people would remember.

Marketing works the same way. Sometimes you only get a headline, a hook, or a 15-second video to make someone stop scrolling and think, “yeah, that’s for me”. The specs are just the “what”, but what really matters is the “why”.

Why does this product deserve their attention?

Why does this brand matter in their world?

Why should they care?

Those answers rarely come from the features. They actually live in the story. Who the brand is, how the product changes someone’s day, why it matters. And part of telling that story is knowing how to say it. In TV, we were taught to write like we were talking to a friend or to our mom. I think the most successful campaigns do the same thing, they simplify the message and make it relatable to their audiences. Less is always more, because if people don’t understand it, they won’t connect to it. That’s also what custom SEO strategies are built on, making sure your stories don’t just get told, but actually reach and resonate with the right audience.

Why It Matters More Than Ever

Scroll for five seconds and you’ll see a dozen products promising to change your life. Most of them get ignored, but the ones you remember? They made you feel something.

Nike turned “Just Do It” into a rallying cry that has lasted for decades. It was never about the shoe, or the gear, it was about what you could accomplish. MJ admitted he failed again and again, and that’s why he won, while Serena reminded girls that being called crazy wasn’t an insult but fuel. Two moments of storytelling that didn’t just sell a brand, they inspired people to believe bigger.

Apple still proves it every year. Their launches aren’t just about processors or cameras. They tell us every iPhone is “the best we’ve ever created”, even if the upgrades aren’t that drastic. We immediately preorder, buy a new case, and toss last year’s phone in a drawer with our iPod mini because they have convinced us this one will change how we live, create, and connect. That’s not hype, that’s storytelling mastery.

And then you see it in newer brands like Poppi. At the end of the day, it is soda. But bright cans, playful copy, and a mission behind every flavor made it feel unlike anything else on the shelf. Their story turned a niche prebiotic drink into a cool, trendy movement people want to be part of.

The product matters. But the story is what gives it a place in someone’s head. That’s why in today’s crowded feeds and short attention spans, the brands that stand out are the ones that spark something real with their storytelling.

For me it has always been about creating a connection about the moments that move us, the ones that matter, and the ones we actually remember. That’s why, whether I was covering a game or building a brand, the approach has always been the same. It’s why I’ll always believe the best brands, like the best moments in life, don’t just tell you something.

They make you feel it.