Story Time: Making Positive Connections Over the Power of Storytelling

In November, we presented our annual The State of the Story Summit, a gathering that provides access to the latest trends and connects top marketers, tech leaders, and creatives interested in mastering the transition from advertising to brand storytelling. This year's virtual portion of the event included executives and entrepreneurs from Google, Microsoft, The Creative Conference, Black Star Fund, JPMorgan Chase, and more addressing the most urgent topics in modern marketing: the creator economy, the metaverse, inclusion and representation, and sustainability were among the subjects covered. You can now watch on-demand videos of all the sessions on our site.

On the second night of our summit, our community gathered for an exclusive, in-person conversation.

At 4pm on November 16, business leaders and executives arrived at WARC in Midtown Manhattan for a series of conversations with brand storytelling experts like author and former chief speechwriter to President Barack Obama Cody Keenan. Keenan reflected on his time in the White House, where he helped write Obama's State of the Union addresses and drafted other memorable global and national presidential appearances. Some of the moments that Keenan shared with the audience are presented in his book Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America, which attendees received a copy ofKeenan signed at the evening's close.

Magnet founder and CEO Megan Cunningham started the gathering with a recap of 2022's top storytelling trends and a look forward to advances and opportunities in generative AI (download the presentation). WARC's vice president of Americas, Carolyn Murphy, looked at the data and effectiveness behind creative campaigns, and how emotional storytelling can supercharge them (download the presentation).

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The evening's final conversation involved a panel chosen and moderated by Lola Bakare, owner of be/co and one of 2022 LinkedIn's 15 Top Voices in Marketing & Advertising. Bakare hosted a roundtable discussion on "Brand Storytelling Beyond the Performative," featuring Kerel Cooper, president of advertising at Group Black; Dr. Marcus Collins, head of strategy at Wieden+Kennedy New York; and Malea Otranto, head of global programs at Meta. The group discussed marketing campaigns that honestly exhibited diversity and inclusive values, and that were celebrated by the press and consumers for doing so.

Important conversations also happened during the social moments that bookended the presentations. Over cocktails and appetizers, marketing leaders from TikTok, JPMorgan Chase, Greenhouse, Amazon, Meta, Forbes, and Microsoft were imparted their own experiences crafting brand stories and messages, as well as connected as peers and potential collaborators.

Consider joining us at our next event. The State of the Story is a community of imaginative marketers and strategic storytellers. Throughout the year, we connect top business leaders and global creatives interested in mastering the transition from advertising to brand storytelling. Want to join the cause and conversation?

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Magnet is a global brand studio that uses data and storytelling to drive measurable business results. Our team is made up of strategists and creatives who use our THINK / MAKE / REACH process to develop marketing strategies, world-class creative production, and distribution strategies for our clients. Our work starts with data and insights to develop storytelling that’s distributed across all platforms. Our clients are currently appearing in the top media outlets, being shared by influential community members, and rising to the top of the search rankings. Recently we've produced award-winning campaigns for Google, Adobe, Chase, Microsoft, LinkedIn, CHIEF, Greenhouse, Cedar, YouTube, PBS, HarperCollins, Goldman Sachs, Airbnb, IBM, and more.