Stein Simonds Writes About Narrative Storytelling For Hospitality Brands

Brand storytelling via feature-length films [and series] provides the ability to create an emotional connection with an audience, with access to the broad reach of A-list talent who can essentially play a spokesperson role in a far less obvious way. And a brand's core values and mission can come across clearly, reaching not only a loyal consumer base, but also an audience that it did not previously have.

Generally, larger brands are moving into the storytelling space, mainly because they have the resources to fully finance a project that might not recoup quickly (either via the box office or increased consumer engagement), and they have the leverage to retain high levels of control over the creative, production, and distribution processes.

Regardless of the route, the entertainment space is different than the marketing space, and brands should engage with an entertainment attorney who is familiar with the requirements and policies of distributors, which would include how to structure certain transactions that will be palatable to distributors, and how to be properly prepared for legal delivery once a distribution agreement is in place; the right kind of legal support is necessary from the get-go to put the project on the best possible footing to get the final product visible via platforms and forms of media that will meet exploitation goals and make the investment worth it.