How Storytelling Campaigns Drive Brand Engagement in 2025

In an exclusive interview with Mediainfotainment, Rishabh Jain, Senior creative strategist in Schbang gave insights on how storytelling-first campaigns play a major role in building long-lasting brand engagement for the audience. Citing real world cases, Jain elaborates on how stories respecting culture truth are sparking genuine conversations among the trend following scripted narratives.

He also highlights that AI and hyper-personalization  are also bringing huge difference in the market, the pan-indian campaigns may not be certain in engaging with any particular audience. For Jain storytelling is not about just selling but building human connections that earn attention, drive action and create long-term brand love.

What does “storytelling-first” really mean for Indian brands today, and how is it changing the way they connect with audiences?

For Indian brands today, “storytelling-first” isn’t just a marketing strategy, it’s about creating a space for human emotions. It’s not about characters delivering scripted dialogues, but about crafting moments that spark genuine conversations. The intent is no longer just to sell, but to make people feel something.

We’re in an era overflowing with content. Every brand is chasing the same attention across the same platforms. In this clutter, stories that are rooted in reality but told with a fresh perspective still manage to cut through. Campaigns like Adani’s “Pehle Pankha Ayega, Phir Bijli Ayegi” or Zee5’s multilingual push proved this. They weren’t just ads, they reflected lived experiences and cultural truths. I had the chance to work on a Dr. Fixit campaign built around how Indian households rely on jugaad fixes for leaks rather than real solutions – and it worked because it felt real.

Often when campaigns don’t land, the audience gets blamed: “attention spans are short now.” But the truth is, a well-told story will always resonate. Storytelling-first means understanding who you’re talking to, respecting the way they consume content, and shaping narratives that reflect their world. For Indian brands, it’s shifting the focus from “how do we sell?” to “how do we connect?”, and that’s what builds lasting relevance.

What factors make a storytelling-first campaign resonate with India’s diverse and fragmented audience, across language and regional lines?

The Indian audience has always been smart. Today, they’re just more aware. They know what they want from the content they consume, and surface-level tokenism no longer works. A Diwali mithai or an Onam sadya might suffice for a festive social media post, but if a brand wants to be remembered, it has to dig deeper.

Resonance comes from respecting nuances culture, language, and celebrations without reducing them to symbolic checkboxes. That doesn’t mean every campaign has to be hyper-local, but the story must feel authentic and lived-in. The most impactful campaigns often highlight something that was always in plain sight, but never expressed in that way before.

A pan-India approach sounds attractive in theory, but in practice, it often dilutes originality. When you try to speak to everyone at once, you end up connecting with almost no one. However, when the core insight is universal, not geographically, but in terms of human truth it travels seamlessly across regions.

That’s why campaigns like VB’s “Regulars” or Bournvita’s “Tayyari Jeet Ki” worked so well. They tapped into insights that transcend states, languages, and borders, resonating with audiences because they felt real. For India’s diverse and fragmented audience, authenticity rooted in human truth is what makes storytelling-first campaigns truly connect.

Also Read: Balancing Functional Value with Emotional Storytelling

How do you see the strategic role of storytelling evolving in brand-building across India’s diverse and competitive landscape?

I actually feel storytelling is slowly losing its way in brand strategy right now. And the reason is simple, it takes time and effort. Most brands are chasing virality or quick eyeballs, looking for the next big two-week moment that trends on social media and then disappears. As a consumer, I’ve never truly connected with a brand that only pulled off a one-hit wonder. It’s like that date who love-bombs you and then ghosts you, there’s no real relationship there.

Now, short-term burst strategies do work for some brands think DuoLingo, Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto. They thrive on feeding the social media frenzy because their categories demand daily or weekly engagement. Their content is almost an extension of their product. But for most brands, especially those that consumers engage with only occasionally this approach falls flat.

For them, storytelling has to do the heavy lifting. It’s what builds memory, emotion, and a lasting relationship, not just clicks or shares. In India’s crowded and competitive landscape, storytelling’s strategic role is shifting from creating one-off viral hits to nurturing long-term brand meaning. Virality might win attention, but storytelling wins trust—and that’s what sustains relevance across diverse audiences.

How is the definition of ‘brand engagement’ shifting in India because of storytelling-led campaigns?

Earlier, engagement was measured through the usual checklist- likes, shares, and comments. But storytelling has expanded that definition. Today, engagement is also about emotional involvement. Did the audience pause while scrolling? Did the story linger with them afterward? Did it spark a conversation later? Many people consume content passively, so even without visible reactions, a powerful story can still make an impact.

That’s why I believe engagement can’t always be captured in immediate metrics. Some stories build quietly in the background, shaping perception over time. The bigger shift is that not every brand needs to be the loudest voice anymore. A meme grabs attention for a minute, moment marketing lasts for a day. But a story builds a bond. That’s the difference between being relevant and being remembered.

Also Read: The Importance of Storytelling to Build a Reputable Brand

How are Indian SMEs and homegrown brands leveraging storytelling-first strategies with limited budgets?

Smaller, homegrown brands usually have their ears closer to the ground. Many of them exist because they spotted gaps in the market that bigger players overlooked. That’s the real power of listening. Understanding audience pain points and pivoting quickly. Social media has accelerated this loop, and SMEs are often more agile in acting on real-time feedback.

Brands like Bombay Shaving Company, Sweet Karam Coffee, and The Whole Truth Foods have shown how to build communities by being real, talking directly to consumers, and keeping the storytelling honest. They’re not just selling products, they’re creating conversations.

And the truth is, storytelling today doesn’t need big-budget film shoots. In fact, the more unpolished and authentic it feels, the better it works in digital spaces. High-production gloss belongs to films and TV. For brands, especially homegrown ones, honesty travels faster than polish. With limited budgets, that honesty and agility are what make their storytelling-first strategies so effective.

How is the rise of AI-generated content and hyper-personalization tools influencing storytelling approaches in India?

AI is definitely changing how brands create content. It’s faster, cheaper, and helps scale what once took weeks. But that also means there’s a lot more noise in the system. Everyone is producing more, but not necessarily producing better.

Personalization is valuable, but only when it’s done right. Too often it feels forced, like a name plug-in or a generic “Hey Rishabh, here’s something for you” template. Indian audiences are sharp, they can easily tell when something is authentic versus when it’s just a cookie-cutter campaign dressed up with tweaks.

The real opportunity is in using AI as an enabler, not a shortcut. For example, scaling one strong idea across regions, or localizing narratives in different languages and contexts. That’s where AI can really add value. But the insight, the core story, still needs to come from humans. Without that, you’re just generating 500 versions of the same soulless idea.

At the end of the day, it’s not about how quickly you tell a story, or how many places you push it out. It’s about whether the story is actually worth telling.

Also Read: Creative Advertisement for New Brands: How to Build Buzz on a Budget

What storytelling techniques seem to be consistently driving not just awareness but action among Indian audiences?

In India, what really drives people to act is usually a mix of two things, relatability and timing. We’re a country where emotions often guide decisions, but practicality kicks in just as quickly. So, if a story makes people feel something and also makes it easy for them to do something about it, that’s when awareness translates into action.

Humour works especially well, but only when it feels effortless, not forced. For example, in our recent campaign for Dr Fixit, we showed how people often turn to jugaads like hanging clocks to hide cracks or putting cocktail umbrellas over food to stop water dripping from the ceiling. The insight was real, and that’s why it resonated. Slice-of-life storytelling tends to connect best because people see themselves in those moments, it feels like, “This is my life. This is me.” Nostalgia can be equally powerful, but it only works if it ties directly back to the brand or action, as Paperboat has shown brilliantly in the past.

One proven technique is to show real human moments and then remove friction between story and action. HDFC Mutual Fund’s “Zindagi ki SIP” is a great example, it uses a simple emotional metaphor (small steps today for a better life tomorrow), but then makes the call-to-action crystal clear. That clarity matters. Indian audiences are fine with emotional storytelling, but they don’t appreciate ambiguity. If you want them to act, you need to tell them exactly what to do next.

At the end of the day, good storytelling creates awareness. Great storytelling removes excuses.

Looking ahead, what do you think will define a truly successful storytelling-first campaign for Indian brands in the next two to three years?

The next few years will belong to brands that prioritize consistency over chaos. Right now, everyone is chasing the next viral moment, the meme, the trend-jacking opportunity, the quick spike. But those rarely build real brand love or long-term memory. A truly successful storytelling-first campaign won’t be about one great piece of content, it will be about building a narrative that evolves over time, stays true to the brand, and gives the audience a reason to keep coming back. Think of it like a series, not a standalone film you might hook people with Season 1, but they’ll only stay if you keep delivering value with every new episode.

The winning brands will be those that play the long game. Clear in their voice, authentic in their intent, and patient enough not to panic if one post doesn’t blow up overnight. Another defining factor will be personalization done right. AI and data will make it easier to talk to specific audiences in specific ways, but the story still needs to feel human. You can’t automate empathy or insight.

And importantly, the story can’t just make people feel good and then leave them scrolling on. The call-to-action has to feel natural, easy, and frictionless. Whether that’s buying, signing up, donating, or simply changing a habit. The emotional payoff and the action need to connect seamlessly.

For me, the most successful campaigns ahead will be the ones that earn attention, not demand it. They will stay relevant without being desperate, and they will build a relationship with the consumer not just trigger a reaction.