Story elements, narrative transportation, and schema incongruity: a framework for enhancing brand storytelling effectiveness

Storytelling is a powerful tool used by brand marketers. However, most brand stories are neither memorable nor effective. This research proposes a model for increasing the effectiveness of brand storytelling through the use of incongruity. Incongruity can challenge the expectations of brand storytelling held in the minds of consumers (i.e., the brand story schema). This increases attentional focus on the story and triggers more complex cognitive processing. This level of processing is necessary for effective narrative transportation, or immersion into the story. This research identifies the key elements of storytelling (e.g., character, setting, and plot) and demonstrates how marketers can introduce incongruity through these elements. Moderating factors and brand outcomes are introduced to improve implementation and foster strategy development.