Source: Insider Thought Leadership Research, April 2023, N-2,001 in the US, UK, Germany, and France, survey hosted via SightX

Advertisers spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year competing for the attention of billions of eyeballs — and wallets. That means standing out among the crowd is a must, but it can be a challenge for brands to do so. Now, new research from Insider shows the key to getting consumers’ attention and consideration could come down to two things: being brave and aligning with first-person storytelling.

Insider’s “Is Your Brand Brave Enough?” research surveyed 2,000 respondents using two distinct methodologies: a quantitative survey to understand sentiment around branding and advertising and an experimental A/B test measuring consumer reactions to ads surrounding first-person narratives.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) said they feel fulfilled buying from brands they consider brave. For some companies, being brave is part of their ethos. Companies such as Patagonia were founded on principles that were bold stances, such as becoming heavily involved in environmental issues and transforming their manufacturing process to comply. Others display bravery by aligning themselves with social causes, such as Black Lives Matter. Being brave isn’t an easy thing, especially in today’s hypercritical social media-saturated environment. But consumers are noticing — and respecting — brands’ efforts.. The research shows that 63% of consumers feel fulfilled from buying from brands that stand up for what they believe.

The theme of boldness and bravery is one that aligns with Insider’s editorial mission and voice — and something that is a focus of Insider’s presence at Cannes.

“One of the biggest misconceptions in advertising is that being brand safe means shying away from bold storytelling,” said Maggie (Kiselick) Milnamow, Chief Revenue Officer at Insider. “Our research proves that today's audiences recognize brand confidence and bravery and engage deeply with real, relatable storytelling.”

The value of first-person storytelling

Insider’s “Is Your Brand Brave Enough?” research also set out to explore the power of first-person stories and how brand adjacency creates opportunities to connect with audiences in a more authentic way.

One of the hallmarks of Insider’s editorial coverage over the past few years has been first-person storytelling — articles written in the voice and from the perspective of the subject, ranging from someone fighting for salary transparency to millennials who are already able to retire. Insider even won its first Pulitzer Prize for a graphic novel depiction of a first-hand account of someone who escaped a Chinese internment camp. In fact, more than one-third (35%) of Insider's top 100 trafficked stories published this year were written in the first person, accounting for 379M pageviews.

"It's no surprise that Insider's first-person storytelling resonates powerfully with our audience,” said Matt Turner, Insider’s editor-in-chief for business. “As humans, we're drawn to compelling characters and we connect with them. In learning about their actions, ambitions, or experiences, our readers and viewers gain a window into someone else's world — and imagine their own. In the process, they become Insiders."

The research shows that consumers react well to this type of storytelling — and brands that align with it. Of respondents, 64% are more likely to believe brands associated with human stories; 75% like reading authentic, true stories, and 59% are more likely to remember brands connected to real-life stories.

Brand sentiment is valuable of course, but aligning with bold and first-person storytelling could also have bigger business implications. Insider’s research shows that advertising surrounded by first-person storytelling results in 20% higher purchase consideration. And Insider readers specifically are twice as likely to consider purchasing from an ad aligned to first-person storytelling.

“With this research we wanted to prove the impact of first-person storytelling on ad effectiveness,” said Hannah Diddams, Vice President of Marketing at Insider. “We were thrilled to see the results show an increase in purchase consideration, a metric difficult to shift, thus validating the importance of contextual environment on consumers’ attitudes toward brands.”

How brave is your brand?

To learn how you can harness the power of brand bravery and align your messaging with Insider’s authentic first-person narratives, contact Global Head of Sales Orlando Reece at oreece@insider.com.

If you’re interested in learning more about the “Is Your Brand Brave Enough?” research, contact Head of Consumer Research and Insights Cayley Arbitsman at carbitsman@insider.com.

¹Source: Insider Thought Leadership Research, April 2023, N-2,001 in the US, UK, Germany, and France, survey hosted via SightX