The marketing world is facing a strange paradox: It has never been easier to produce content. And yet it has rarely been so difficult to actually make an impact with it.
Artificial intelligence produces text reliably, with few errors, and in a matter of seconds. It organizes arguments, varies the tone, and fills digital channels with content. But that is precisely where the new danger lies: if everyone has access to the same tools, everyone will soon sound a bit the same.
Modern storytelling, therefore, doesn't start with the next prompt technique. It starts with an older, tougher, and more human question: What truly moves people?
One possible answer dates back more than 400 years—to William Shakespeare.
The concept of the bard is more than just a pleasant reminiscence. It bridges the gap between archaic storytelling and algorithmic storytelling: from the poet who transformed the depths of human nature into characters, conflicts, and images, to the bot that scales language in seconds today. It is precisely in this tension that the question lies which modern storytelling must answer anew.
His plays remain relevant to this day because they rely not on perfect messages, but on contradictions, abysses, pace, the power of language, and raw humanity. It is precisely from these elements that we can draw five lessons that brands need more urgently than ever in the age of AI.
The Crack in the Facade
Brands like to present themselves as flawless. AI reinforces this tendency. It smooths out rough edges, eliminates inconsistencies, and makes language efficient and polished.
Shakespeare did the opposite. His characters are great precisely because they are flawed. Antony is not just a general, but a man torn apart. King Lear is not merely a ruler, but a man who is broken by his own blindness.
That is precisely where the strength lies.
For brands, this means: Not every weakness needs to be concealed. Not every story needs to be polished to a shine. Those who credibly incorporate setbacks, doubts, or ambivalence come across as more approachable, authentic, and relatable. AI can deliver the perfect text. It’s up to humans to introduce that human touch.
Shakespeare realized early on that people don’t love perfect heroes. They love characters who are capable of falling. Perhaps that is precisely where the major weakness of many of today’s brand images lies: they seem too polished, too controlled, too heavily optimized for maximum approval.
But real stories rarely happen where everything is perfect. They happen where something is at stake.
The Sound of the Voice
AI can write funny stuff. But often, that humor sounds like it came from a cliché. Shakespeare knew: True humor arises from character, tension, and conflict.
In *Much Ado About Nothing*, Beatrice and Benedick engage in a «merry war»—a cheerful war of words. This is not mere superficial humor. It is attitude, intelligence, and rhythm.
Even brands today need more than just a defined tone. They need a voice—a voice that’s recognizable, one that dares to be pointed, and one that doesn’t seek the lowest common denominator in every phrase.
Brand voice doesn't mean always being friendly, always being polite, or always being smooth. Brand voice means speaking in a distinctive way.
Social media, in particular, ruthlessly reveals which brands truly have a voice—and which merely produce content. Many posts are well-written but emotionally empty. You read them, forget them, and keep scrolling.
Shakespeare's dialogues, on the other hand, live on to this day because each character has their own distinct voice. When you read them, you can almost hear the characters speaking.
Perhaps that’s why brands should focus less on how they want to sound—and more on whether people can even recognize them without seeing their logo.
The Prince and Language
Prince Hal in *Henry IV* is able to blend in with the common people. He understands their language, their rhythm, and their codes. But in doing so, he never loses sight of his own background and role.
That's a pretty modern lesson in communication.
Today, brands need to communicate differently on TikTok than on LinkedIn, and differently within a community than in a press release. Brands that sound the same everywhere come across as out of place. Brands that try to please everyone come across as generic.
The trick is in striking the right balance: close enough to the target audience, but without straying from your own identity. Or to put it another way: The brand can speak the language of the tinkerers—as long as its sun remains visible.
Younger platforms, in particular, tempt brands to constantly jump on trends. But not every brand has to dance, create memes, or desperately try to imitate Gen Z slang.
Prince Hal works not because he speaks every language, but because, despite his adaptability, he knows who he is.
That is a crucial difference.
After all, many brands today aren't losing reach—they're losing their distinctiveness.
The Secret of the Lines
AI-generated texts tend to spell everything out. Every benefit is explained, every message is contextualized, and every punchline is backed up. The result is often informative, but rarely compelling.
Shakespeare worked with subtext. With allusions. With hidden motives. Iago’s line, «I am not what I am,» is not just a line, but a dark driving force behind an entire play.
Good storytelling trusts the audience. It leaves room for interpretation. It doesn't spell everything out in bullet points. It builds suspense because not everything is revealed right away.
For brands, this is an uncomfortable but important lesson: Not every story needs to be fully explained. Sometimes what is left unsaid is more powerful than what is said.
Modern advertising, in particular, often suffers from over-explanation. Everything is immediately rationalized, substantiated, and equipped with key messages. This may be reassuring internally. But powerful stories rarely emerge from maximum control.
They arise from tension.
The audience doesn't just want to be informed. It wants to discover, interpret, and feel.
Shakespeare knew that the audience's imagination is more powerful than any explicit explanation.
The Pain of Stories
Marketing loves benefits. Safety, efficiency, convenience, time savings. All true. But not often enough.
Shakespeare delved deeper. It was about power, love, betrayal, fear, guilt, pride, and loss—things that people not only understand rationally but also feel physically.
That's exactly where storytelling comes into play.
A car isn't just safe. It represents responsibility. An insurance company doesn't just sell protection. It addresses the fear of losing control. An educational brand doesn't just sell knowledge. It speaks to new beginnings, self-assertion, and the future.
AI can organize such arguments. But it is up to a human to recognize the emotional stakes.
Perhaps that is precisely the difference between content and true storytelling.
Content informs. Stories leave a lasting impression.
Hamlet has captivated us for centuries not because he presents compelling arguments, but because his doubts are universal. King Lear is remembered not for his power, but for his pain.
And perhaps brands should also dare to take more emotional risks again, rather than just communicating functional safety.
After all, people rarely remember the most polished tagline. But they often remember the feeling a story evoked.
Conclusion
In a world where millions of texts are generated automatically every day, pure information is losing its value. What remains is experience. Attitude. Rhythm. Perspective. The ability to turn raw material into meaning.
AI is a powerful tool. But it cannot replace the storyteller, who decides where the tension lies, which breaks remain visible, and what truth a story conveys.
Perhaps that is why Shakespeare is not the nostalgic antithesis of AI, but rather a very contemporary sparring partner. The Bard knew centuries ago that people don’t remember perfect sentences. They remember characters, conflicts, images, and truths that stick with them.
That's exactly where modern storytelling begins.
The madcap comedy unfolds a mixture of timing chaos, humanity and subtle emotion that is perfect for the pre-Christmas period. Already during the rehearsals m&k takes a look behind the scenes - Now the premiere showed how powerful controlled failure can be.
Director Markus Imboden - known from cinema and television productions such as "Der Verdingbub" and "Tatort" - relies on a deliberately unembellished concept: less heroism, more humanity. Missteps as a motor, improvisation as an attitude.
Siegmund Tischendorf (Theo) and Roeland Wiesnekker (Bernhard) carry the Christmas story almost single-handedly and slip into all the roles - from the archangel Gabriel to Joseph and Mary. Tischendorf impresses with his sonorous voice and physical acting, Wiesnekker with his characterful expression and subtle irony.
They are alternately supported by Leila Pfister and Stephanie Szanto, who provide musical accents as Mrs. Timm - and deliberately brittle, comical moments. Particularly striking: when Pfister spontaneously Carmen-Aria tries to save a scene and keeps the chaos going musically.
After the premiere, Pfister emphasizes how much fun the birth scene in particular is - a moment in which improvisation, absurd exaggeration and genuine magic come together.
Among the guests at the premiere, Martina Gedeck was impressed by the balance of humor and tenderness - for example when God and the archangel Gabriel try to save the world with a touch of snow. The scenes between an overwhelmed Joseph and a violently annoyed Mary also made for heartfelt cinema.
The result is a warm-hearted pre-Christmas ritual that does not break with tradition, but continues it in an original way: a familiar story, a modern attitude, humor instead of heaviness - and that quiet warmth that only becomes visible through failure.
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In modern corporate communications, it is no longer gut instinct that counts, but the ability to formulate comprehensible messages from complex data. Data communication and visualization combine analysis and emotion, make correlations visible, optimize corporate communication and create the basis for better decisions.
In a world that is influenced daily by new data and digitalization advances, data communication is proving to be an indispensable discipline. In the past, traditional communication was characterized by experience, gut feeling and the proverbial "grapevine". Today, strategic communication is increasingly based on objective, data-based principles. The discovery of this new form of communication represents a real quantum leap for companies and organizations. Information is no longer just columns of numbers or abstract tables.
Data storytelling creates emotions
Data storytelling combines facts with narrative elements and thus creates emotional access. For marketing and PR, this opens up new possibilities for convincingly justifying campaigns and measures. Communication becomes particularly effective when visualizations are embedded in stories.
In addition, the discussion about data protection and regulation has tightened the requirements for data communication. Transparency in the handling of data is not only a legal requirement, but also a key factor for trust. Clear, comprehensible communication on data use, processes and results strengthens credibility and reputation.
What is data communication?
Data communication describes the art of translating complex information from analysis and research into comprehensible, action-oriented messages. All stakeholders benefit from this target group-oriented data, which conveys clarity and confidence in action. The journey of data communication begins where data is created: in operational processes, in dialog with customers, in production or in HR management. This is where it is decided how raw data can be turned into analyzable insights. However, these insights require a "translator" who transforms complex analyses into understandable, relevant content for different target groups - from customers to management. Data communication acts as a bridge between the world of numbers and the world of decision-makers. It makes compliance and transparency an integral part of internal and external communication.
Data visualization as the key to success
The human brain processes visual information much faster than text. This is why data visualization is a key factor for successful corporate communication. It gives information a face and color, makes trends tangible, patterns understandable and connections visible. Visualizations such as bar, line or pie charts, maps and heat maps engage the viewer emotionally and allow them to see the situation at a glance. More complex formats achieve even more: Infographics, interactive dashboards and network diagrams tell multi-layered stories that convey not only data, but also backgrounds and dynamics. Data storytelling creates stories that captivate the audience and accelerate decision-making processes. Abstract figures are transformed into clear impulses for action for the company.
However, the best data visualization is always tailor-made, clear and simple and adapted to the respective target group. Modern tools such as Tableau or Power BI make it possible to generate knowledge live and interactively from a wide variety of data sources, which is prepared individually for user groups. Whether in marketing, HR management, finance or production. Everywhere, visualizations ensure that relevant information ends up in the right place at the right time.
Practical areas of application
- Marketing and sales: Visualization of user behaviour via heat maps or customer journeys in order to derive targeted measures.
- Human Resources: Dashboards for visualizing employee satisfaction and fluctuation enable targeted personnel management.
- Finances: Sales trends, cost structures and budget allocations become more transparent and comprehensible thanks to visual representations.
- Production: Real-time monitoring of production performance and quality indicators promotes process optimization.
Best practices for integration
- Target group orientation: Visualizations must be adapted to the prior knowledge and expectations of the respective target group.
- Simplicity and clarity: Complex data should be reduced to core statements and presented clearly.
- Interactivity: Dashboards should encourage users to explore data further.
- Up-to-date: The integration of real-time data enables well-founded decisions based on current developments.
Data-based corporate decisions
Innovative companies rely on data-based strategies, the effectiveness of which has long been proven. According to studies by McKinsey and PwC 23%, those who base their decisions on objective comparative values rather than their own gut feeling make better decisions than the competition. Real-time dashboards, automated reporting systems and the constant updating of key performance indicators make companies both responsive and sustainably more successful. Tricky challenges can be identified at an early stage and processes can be optimized with pinpoint accuracy.
Networked thinking for data communication and visualization
The consistent networking of data communication and visualization makes processes more efficient internally and more credible externally. It thus generates measurable added value for everyone involved. Both disciplines are far more than just technical tools. They are key competencies of modern corporate communication and make organizations more transparent, flexible and responsive. Above all, they create one thing: stories that arise from data and convince people.
This brings clear benefits for all stakeholders:
- Management makes well-founded decisions on risks and opportunities more quickly.
- In technology and production, it enables rapid reactions and process optimization.
- Customers receive more transparency about quality and service.
- Partners benefit from reliable collaboration thanks to real-time information.
- It strengthens the modern image, information security and credibility of sustainability reports in the eyes of the public.
Future prospects
In the future, data communication and the visualization of data will become even more important. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and automated reporting systems are driving development forward.
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No one can hide from digitization - not even companies. Website, social media, selecting the right target group, online marketing, digital campaigns and storytelling. SMEs can now learn this from the 360-degree storytelling agency Ferris Bühler Communications and the online marketing agency Digital Go: In a newly conceived workshop, the agencies join forces and pass on their know-how in a bundled way. In the workshop "Digi-Telling they combine the creative storytelling world with the analytical and technical digital marketing world.
Tools and stories
Companies are given the tools and stories they need for a strong online presence, targeted social media marketing and the right approach to the target group. With the help of a comprehensive analysis and concrete suggestions for improvement, experts from the two companies show which digital channels have the greatest added value and how a company can generate and implement sustainable creative ideas in online marketing. Beforehand, an analysis of the existing channels is made. This and the jointly developed strategy from the workshop are elaborated in a detailed concept and supplemented with a concrete catalog of measures.
In addition to Digital go, the agency is now working with other partners such as Sweetspot, Refluenced, Crosscreators, OMAG and Videogramm.
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Storytelling is the big credo in advertising films. An off-screen voice often leads the viewer through a story that encourages individuality and/or challenges him or her to try something new. At the end of the film is the logo of the brand to be advertised - even if the connection between story and brand is not always obvious.
In his guide "How to make a commercial (no matter for what and which brand)" director and editor Lukas Gähwiler shows with a wink the composition of such generic commercials - and that different actors in the production process bring in their ideas.
"Telling stories and provoking emotions is the task of us filmmakers. The dramaturgy often follows more or less the 3-act model and similar protagonists in similar settings always appear in it," says Gähwiler.
The "instructions" were created exclusively with stock footage, the quotes come from existing commercials - all ingredients that can be found online. It is probably only a matter of time before such films can also be implemented by artificial intelligence.
]]>An innovative lighthouse project with charisma must also be appropriately staged - not least in order to fulfill its role as a reference object for product, image and employer branding.
More than 40 trades have built a data center for ewl Energie Wasser Luzern in the former civil defense facility in Lucerne's Wartegghügel. It is cooled with treated water from Lake Lucerne, and the resulting waste heat is used to heat the surrounding residential quarters.
Corpmedia's film focuses on the people involved and their work - authentically and personally. In their own words, those involved report on this outstanding project. The film team shot the scenes taking into account the ongoing construction site and in the sense of efficient post-production.
The result is a new Storyworld for Bouygues Energies & Services - a construct of a long film and various short versions. The comprehensive pool of evergreen content is suitable for landing pages, social media, product and company presentations, screens at POS or trade fairs, and much more. The concept enables Bouygues Energies & Services to present itself to different target groups and on diverse channels with an outstanding project.
Responsible at Bouygues: Katja Jäger (Head of Marketing), Dragan Zvonar (Project Management). Responsible at Corpmedia: Timo Wäschle (strategy, text, concept, voice over), Lars Badertscher (direction, edit), Marlan Rötlisberger (DOP).
]]>On June 5, 2022, the Swiss woman became one of the first two women in history to complete a full-distance triathlon in less than eight hours - and she did it as a 40-year-old mother of three, just three months after being seriously injured in a bicycle accident.
Swiss sports company On recounts the remarkable journey in a five-minute short film titled "Nicola's Spirit," which is the centerpiece of the campaign. Alongside the athlete's sporting preparations for her potentially final race, it shows insights into Spirig's extraordinary attitude to life and strength of spirit.
Simon Brotherson wrote the screenplay and directed the short film, which was produced by filmmaker Andrew Telling. With a mix of aerial footage and accompanying interviews, the documentary-style biography gives viewers a personal perspective on Nicola Spirig's rise to become one of the most famous athletes of our time. The footage comes from her home in Switzerland, Germany and Gran Canaria. "Nicola's Spirit" offers an unprecedented insight into the psyche and fighting spirit of a true top athlete in her final year of competition.
"Nicola has achieved the impossible. She is the epitome of how the power of determination can overcome any obstacle if you want to achieve your dreams and goals. Fulfilling her professional dream as a 40-year-old mother of three shows that there are no limits that cannot be overcome. Nicola's fighting spirit is a true symbol of On's core values," says Feliciano Robayna, Executive Producer and Sports Marketing Manager at On.
Client: On. Executive Producer: Feliciano Robayna. Producer: Gessica Giulini. Creative Director and Writer - Simon Brotherson. Director: Andrew Telling. Producer:- Olivia Hirschberg. Director of Photography: Lee Thomas
You can see the film on on-running.com
You can see the film on on-running.com
]]>With its three locations in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, KSBL offers medical care close to home. With the new claim "exactly for you", KSBL wants to establish a relationship with the people in the region - and show that it is the right choice in every situation. Both the claim and the campaign slogans and story for the animated video are based on the new positioning (vision, mission, values) and were developed by the KSBL's Marketing & Communications team.
For the visualization of the messages, the agency Mosaiq in Egerkingen was involved for the first time. The challenge of integrating seven messages into a one-minute video was solved with an animated video that simplifies the customer journey of Lara, the biker who had the accident, and accompanies it with a somewhat more modern version of the old Baselbieter song.
Responsible at KSBL: Marketing & Communications Team. Responsible at Mosaiq: Joël Karlin (production), Aiden De Rivo (illustration), Reto Spiegel (consulting).
More about the Campaign
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The latest issue of "Geschichten, die Mut machen" (Stories that give courage) focuses on the experiences of Steffi Buchli, editor-in-chief and mother, Abassia Rahmani, Bladerunner, Hendrik Rogner, male midwife, and ex-professional soccer player Tranquillo Barnetta, among others. The latter tells of his move from the playing field to the playground.
The stories realized with Sir Mary seem to strike a chord with the community - in a very short time, the portraits of Barnetta and Buchli that have already been published have been met with countless positive comments and expressions of solidarity and have been shared several times. In Barnetta's case, the strategy is working well beyond his own channels. From SRF via View up to the Swiss Illustrated, NZZ am Sonntag and Nau, various media have now reported on the story, lifting it from branded content to media story.
A social success that Julia Fischhaber, Content Director at Sir Mary, does not take for granted: "Telling stories that really interest people today means one thing above all: showing the flag. The fact that companies like Allianz Suisse have the courage to be part of the social discourse and even initiate it makes us feel very positive. And it obviously pays off."
Close to life
For the online series, Allianz and Sir Mary opted for a departure from classic narrative forms in favor of a journalistic approach. With a two-head team consisting of storyteller and videographer, the agency shot in close collaboration with Andy Was Right documentary-style and without a big technical set-up.
Corina Brunner, Social Media & Digital Specialist at Allianz Suisse, explains the true-to-life approach: "As an insurer, we want to support our customers so that they can follow exactly the path that is right for them. That's why we deliberately want to break through role clichés and highlight life stories that are authentic and lived."
In addition to Tranquillo Barnetta's story, portraits of Steffi Buchli and Hendrik Rogner (male midwife) are also available on Facebook and Instagram. Two more episodes with Abassia Rahmani (bladerunner, paralympian), and Diyala Kayiran (photographer with hearing impairment) will follow in September and October.
Responsible at Allianz Suisse: Claudia Staub, Corina Brunner, Simone Schmitt. Responsible at Sir Mary: Julia Fischhaber, Naemi Sauter, Daniel Zuberbühler. Responsible at Andy Was Right: Pascal Geithner (Video Creator), Raphael Drobi (Production), Anjali Kosman (Project Management).
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