Rhetorics, Spies and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – The strength of storytelling, no matter what.
Storytelling always involves the presentation of a story—a narrative, no matter if it is a Russian illegalist presenting his fake life in an application for intern at ICC or a court hearing in the Hague where an alleged war criminal from Kosovo explains himself as a freedom fighter.
Many other art forms also present story. There are many cultures on earth, each with rich traditions, customs and opportunities for storytelling. Both the Quran and the Bible are examples of storytelling, bringing an meaning and identity to the people.
And in fact the storytelling had never been more vivid than today, no matter political, religious or marketing interests. We are daily fed with storytelling. But today I think of the great football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The narritve of his career is a powerful revenge and about acceptance and identification. His career made an tremendous impact on the Swedish national identity. His narrative and symbol for Swedish values and heritage was used in a classical commercial by the former Swedish (ironically now Chinese) car brand Volvo.
The secret lies in telling a great story, which Zlatan Ibrahimovic did for decades in his career. The narrative is foundation of great marketing hence it humanizes the brand of Volvo, add flesh and blood to the branding.
Today's customer are more interested of buying an identity than the product. Therefore it is important to show them what your brand means instead of only showing what you sell – I will always get goose bumps thinking of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, not because if his football career but for reading the lyrics to the Swedish national hymn and telling the story of Volvo is the ultimate Swedish symbol presented by him some years ago.
Thank you Zlatan the Go(o)d 😉