People come to us because we are storytellers. The “Storied” Experience – it’s right there in the name. They know they need a story, and they know their story needs to be told. But why? And equally as important – how?
The power of stories lies in their ability to ignite emotional energy and stretch people’s minds. Telling stories is an act of expansion, not simply a marketing tool. Stories crack us open to seeing new possibilities beyond logic and our own past experiences.
But if we relegate stories to words alone, we are operating at minimal capacity. Words are powerful, but they aren’t the only story medium. Experiences are stories, and this is where we shift from story-tellers to story-doers. Because a narrative is more than just the words you use, it’s a world you immerse people into.
Storydoing and storytelling are very similar and follow one common approach: to transport a core message and powerful emotions. But storydoing goes one step further – it advances your narrative through action, not solely communication. The storydoing delivery is tangible & tactile, multi-sensory, immersive.
Where storytelling in marketing has the tendency to overpromise, storydoing says “don’t talk about it, be about it”. And brands that approach story this way see 30% faster growth while spending less on media and gaining more revenue.
If you treated your experience like a story, how different would it look? It would still have a beginning, middle, and end. But it would also have a purposeful message, a journey with peak moments, thoughtful symbolic meaning, and there would be some sort of conflict resolution – something all good stories share.
According to the Global Wellness Summit, more wellness destinations are creating “new concepts that cast the traveler-pilgrim in an immersive story or defining narrative: A multi-chapter wellness journey…an emotional, even theatrical, saga of transformation…a true circuit or “necklace” of linked experiences rather than the disconnected “beads” of traditional programming, amenities and itineraries.”
We believe one of the most exciting aspects of travel is the empowerment to try on different roles and experiment with our self-concept. This is a big motivation that pushes people to travel, people who are driven by this feeling of “there must be more to life than this”. After all, what good is distance from the everyday if what we experience during our travels is more of the same? Where’s the epic in that?
A storied experience goes the distance to show guests what that ‘something more’ can be by immersing them into a creative cultural narrative. And it’s not necessarily about staged theatrics and fantasy (although a little sensory magic goes a long way). As Anna Bjurstam of Six Senses shares, transformative epiphanies come from stepping into a story larger than oneself.
We all want the fairytale experiences, the happily ever after. Every day since we’re old enough to listen, we are exposed to stories that make us crave our own epic journey. It’s not enough for us to be observers, we want to experience it for ourselves.
So know that when you come to us for story, our approach is layered, multi-dimensional, and not just about writing you some compelling copy. Together, we're going to explore ways to bring an immersive story to life through your visitor journey! Because this is where the true value of story comes alive.
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