Zombies coming for a runner in the woods. A visual metaphor for story-driven marketing.
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Run for your brand. What Zombies, Run! can teach us about motivating action through story

ByJohanna

What if your call-to-action chased your audience into literal motion instead of just inviting clicks? The best stories don’t wait. They run toward you. Welcome to the apocalypse (It’s branded) You’re running. Your legs ache, your breath is uneven. In your ears: Static. Crackle. Panic. “Runner 5, they’re behind you. Faster. NOW.” It’s the Zombies,…

A whimsical image of a woman making the fool's leap of faith, embodying the untamed energy of The Fool's Journey in brand storytelling.
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What if your brand isn’t a Hero but a Fool? Rethinking the arc with Tarot’s wild card

ByJohanna

Not all journeys are about conquest. Some are about surrender. Some begin at zero. Opening the gate. The Fool, not the Hero Marketing loves a mountain. The Hero’s Journey with its cinematic arcs, tidy trials, and triumphant returns, has ruled brand storytelling for decades. From Silicon Valley pitch decks to solopreneur origin stories, we’ve been…

Iron Man costumes at the Tony Stark base at the Avengers experience in Las Vegas.
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You are not the hero. Why brands need to step out of the spotlight

ByJohanna

Most brands write themselves into the story like they’re Iron Man. But no one likes a hero who won’t stop monologuing about their own brilliance. Especially when what your customer actually needs is a J.A.R.V.I.S. Brand storytelling has become a strange kind of theatre. Everyone wants to be the protagonist, the visionary, the world-changer. And…

A winding path, symbolizing transformation and inner movement. The scene evokes both journey and choice.
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Beyond the call. The Hero’s Journey as a marketing framework (that still works, sometimes)

ByJohanna

A story is never just about events. It’s about movement through change. That’s what makes it useful in marketing and why we still reach for the hero’s arc, even when it doesn’t quite fit. Every time the Hero’s Journey is declared passé, it stages a comeback. Rebranded. Repurposed. Recast. From origin stories on startup landing…

Abstract, fractal spiral shapes symbolizing nonlinear storytelling paths in digital marketing.
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Breaking the Arc. Loops, fractals, and fragmented storytelling

ByJohanna

This is not where stories are supposed to start. But here we are, already in the middle. Already unsure of what’s been left out. Already in motion. Without direction. Which is how most of us move through the world now, isn’t it? Scroll by scroll. Echo by echo. Brand to brand to brand. Linear storytelling…

A heroic warrior on horseback, cloaked in medieval armor, evokes transformation and courage amidst a lush, mysterious forest. A visual metaphor for timeless story arcs.
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The classic story arc. Why the Hero’s Journey and three acts still work

ByJohanna

We don’t crave novelty. We crave resolution. You rolled your eyes. Another Hero’s Journey. Another three-act story arc. Another startup founder sharing how rock bottom was actually the best thing that ever happened to them. In a marketing world obsessed with breaking the rules, there’s a new kind of cliché: the one where we dismiss…

Storytelling that moves and lands. A visual breakdown of the arc behind memorable stories: tension, turning point, transformation. Communication meets craft.
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No more content without shape. Storytelling needs arcs

ByJohanna

Motion isn’t meaning. Shape is. Things are moving. Your business is pivoting. Your content is being posted. Your strategy is shifting, launching, optimizing, reacting. But is it moving in a way that matters? Motion without shape isn’t strategy. It’s just noise with good branding. The difference between a marketing machine that builds trust and one…

Halftone collage False, Truth information. Authors lie concept and how it applies to ethical, story-driven marketing
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Authors lie. So do storytellers, but the good ones tell you why

ByJohanna

Every story is a choice, but most storyteller’s don’t admit they’re making one. The question is: what are you choosing to reveal and what are you leaving out? Let’s begin with the lie. Not the one where you invent clients out of thin air. Not the dramatic glow-up story with three filters and business class…

Conceptual business illustration with the words 'ethical marketing' to feature a blog post on ethical story-driven marketing
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What’s the cost of a good story? The actual meaning of ethical storytelling in marketing

ByJohanna

Storytelling is powerful, but if you don’t handle that power with care, it turns into manipulation. Stories are spells. You cast them with rhythm. With tension and silence. With the kind of precision that can make someone nod, click, cry, or buy. But here’s the thing about spells: they can enchant or deceive, empower or…