Balancing Functional Value with Emotional Storytelling

In an exclusive conversation with Media Infotainment, Shawn Candy, Chief Marketing Officer at Paragon Footwear, shares how the brand balances functional clarity with emotional resonance in its storytelling. From highlighting durability, comfort, and affordability to weaving in narratives of belonging and everyday resilience, Candy explains how Paragon adapts its messaging across cultures without losing brand consistency. He emphasizes that emotional storytelling should amplify, not overshadow, product value, and discusses how AI-driven personalization will further sharpen the blend of functional benefits and emotional connection, ensuring Paragon’s stories remain authentic, relatable, and enduring.

How do you define the right balance between highlighting a product’s functional benefits and creating an emotional connection with the audience?

At Paragon, the functional promise always comes first, people choose us because our footwear lasts, feels comfortable, and fits every budget. That is where emotion makes the message resonate. A simple example is one of our Instagram messages, “Relax, recharge, repeat because comfort starts from the ground up. Slip into Paragon footwear and feel at home, always.” It highlights the comfort factor clearly but also evokes a sense of belonging. The right balance is achieved when customers remember both why the product works for them and how it makes them feel understood.

How do you adapt storytelling for different cultural and regional contexts without losing brand consistency?

For us, the essence of Paragon: durability, accessibility, and trust, remains constant across markets. What changes is the narrative lens we use. In some regions, customers connect more strongly with themes of everyday resilience, while in others the focus might be on heritage, affordability, or contemporary style. By respecting these cultural nuances and weaving them into our communication, we ensure the message feels authentic to local audiences while still carrying the same brand values. This allows us to stay consistent at the core, while also staying relevant and relatable in different cultural contexts.

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How can brands ensure emotional storytelling doesn’t overshadow or dilute the core product proposition?

For Paragon, durability, comfort, and value are always the starting points. We build the emotional layer around those functional benefits, not separate from them. For example, a line like “Be it your living room or the local café next door, comfort never felt this good” works because it connects with lifestyle moments, but still reinforces the product’s everyday comfort. Emotional storytelling should always act as an amplifier, never a distraction, ensuring the brand promise is felt more deeply rather than being overshadowed.

In a digital-first environment, how do you adapt emotional narratives without losing clarity on functional value?

Digital platforms reward speed and clarity, so the product benefit must always be communicated instantly. Sharp visuals, concise captions, and product-first messaging make sure the audience understands the functional value from the outset. Once that clarity is established, emotional storytelling can be layered in through lifestyle reels or customer testimonials. For example, a reel showing someone moving from their living room to a café highlights comfort and elegance in a relatable way. The strength lies in delivering functional clarity upfront while letting the emotional layer build engagement and recall.

What metrics or feedback mechanisms help measure the success of campaigns that blend emotional and functional storytelling?

Success for us is measured through a mix of tangible results and consumer sentiment. On one hand, metrics like sales growth, website traffic, and conversion rates reveal whether the functional proposition was communicated effectively. On the other hand, engagement rates, positive sentiment on social media, and brand recall surveys indicate whether the emotional story struck a chord. Very often, customer reviews combine both aspects — a shopper praising the durability of the footwear while also sharing how it has been a trusted part of their family for years. It is in that combination of functional proof and emotional loyalty that we know a campaign has truly worked.

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Looking ahead, how do you see technology like AI influencing the blend of emotional storytelling and functional messaging?

AI is creating exciting opportunities for personalization at scale. It enables us to deliver the same brand ethos while tailoring narratives to specific consumer needs. A student could be shown content that emphasizes affordability and style, while a professional might see stories highlighting comfort and longevity. This ensures that people feel personally understood without fragmenting the brand identity. AI also sharpens the feedback loop by helping us identify which messages resonate most strongly. It will not replace human creativity, because the emotional heart of storytelling must remain human, but it will empower brands to tell the right story to the right audience at the right moment with greater precision.