REFLECTION -

Monica Avila AUTHOR:

Student of University

DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION

Storytelling

Storytelling is a fundamental tool to connect the brand’s story with the values of the people. I am a volunteer of an NGO which works with vulnerable population, dependent people, immigrants and people with mental illness. All of them need physical, emotional and spiritual care support as a health maintenance. The members and volunteers of the association are doing a great job because they seek to create a comfortable environment which responds to the needs of each individual. Sharing stories of life in order to help them is so important to improve and recover their self-esteem.  We realize that patients typically have a strong connection with young people so our challenge is increasing the number of young NGO’s members for the purposes of having an active and motivated community.  Our team has already gone through several design thinking tools, so we are ready to use the storytelling tool to persuaded young people to be part of the team.

Challenge & Selection

Applications

We start the process by holding brainstormed messages to be aware of the resources that are available or necessary to connect with our young target. Young people should know that they could contribute to the social benefits of the target communities and society in general. It’s important to say that they have the capability to help vulnerable people and the NGO needs their help. I explained the importance to use social media to accelerate the dissemination of information. Young people tend to spend long hours at social networks, so we could take advantage of using this online channel to communicate with them.

So we focused on strategies such as: advertisement, viral communication and social networks to expose the humanity task that the members of the NGO are doing. It’s a way to produce an emotional shock to the viewers and at the same time, incentives the population to think about the NGO’s work. After discussing different options, we decided to open a Youtube channel where the members of the Non-Governmental Organization explained their own experiences as volunteers, shared stories and uploaded some challenges to involve young people in these activities.

Insight & Approach

Finally, we realized that the storytelling tool would be so effective to appeal to the viewer’s emotions and, currently, we can say that we were right. As a volunteer of the NGO I use the YouTube channel to talk about how I helped a girl with a mental illness from a personal story. When I was fourteen I suffered anorexia nervosa and I needed to stay in the hospital. It was hard because I wasn’t aware of my illness and the level of danger. I was very thin and it was so difficult for me gaining weight. It took me a long time to be healthy because the process of gaining self - esteem and relativizing problems or reducing stress it was difficult. After explaining the story, the girl felt immediately understood and thanked me to share this personal story with her because he felt stronger and willing to take one step further.

Since this experience, I could see the importance to share stories with other people. At the moment she called me to say “I’m cured” it suppose a great satisfaction. This video had a great impact on young people and, as a result, many of them joined an NGO. So, we achieved our goal through the storytelling tool.

In my opinion, every brand should have a good storytelling behind it to create a direct connection between people and the brand’s essence in order to engage an audience. So, as David Jones said “a cause is something that ignites people, and unites people. And I think that’s what a good story does, is it creates a cause”. To conclude, storytelling tool is useful to get an insight into users, build empathy and reach them emotionally.


REFLECTION - Monica Avila AUTHOR : Student of University DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION Storytelling Storytelling is a fundamental tool to connect the brand ’s story with the values of the people . I am a volunteer of an NGO which works with vulnerable population , dependent people , immigrants and people with mental illness . All of them need physical , emotional and spiritual care support as a health maintenance . The members and volunteers of the association are doing a great job because they seek to create a comfortable environment which responds to the needs of each individual . Sharing stories of life in order to help them is so important to improve and recover their self - esteem . We realize that patients typically have a strong connection with young people so our challenge is increasing the number of young NGO ’s members for the purposes of having an active and motivated community . Our team has already gone through several design thinking tools , so we are ready to use the storytelling tool to persuaded young people to be part of the team . Challenge & Selection Applications We start the process by holding brainstormed messages to be aware of the resources that are available or necessary to connect with our young target . Young people should know that they could contribute to the social benefits of the target communities and society in general . It ’s important to say that they have the capability to help vulnerable people and the NGO needs their help . I explained the importance to use social media to accelerate the dissemination of information . Young people tend to spend long hours at social networks , so we could take advantage of using this online channel to communicate with them . So we focused on strategies such as : advertisement , viral communication and social networks to expose the humanity task that the members of the NGO are doing . It ’s a way to produce an emotional shock to the viewers and at the same time , incentives the population to think about the NGO ’s work . After discussing different options , we decided to open a Youtube channel where the members of the Non - Governmental Organization explained their own experiences as volunteers , shared stories and uploaded some challenges to involve young people in these activities . Insight & Approach Finally , we realized that the storytelling tool would be so effective to appeal to the viewer ’s emotions and , currently , we can say that we were right . As a volunteer of the NGO I use the YouTube channel to talk about how I helped a girl with a mental illness from a personal story . When I was fourteen I suffered anorexia nervosa and I needed to stay in the hospital . It was hard because I was n’t aware of my illness and the level of danger . I was very thin and it was so difficult for me gaining weight . It took me a long time to be healthy because the process of gaining self - esteem and relativizing problems or reducing stress it was difficult . After explaining the story , the girl felt immediately understood and thanked me to share this personal story with her because he felt stronger and willing to take one step further . Since this experience , I could see the importance to share stories with other people . At the moment she called me to say “ I ’m cured ” it suppose a great satisfaction . This video had a great impact on young people and , as a result , many of them joined an NGO . So , we achieved our goal through the storytelling tool . In my opinion , every brand should have a good storytelling behind it to create a direct connection between people and the brand ’s essence in order to engage an audience . So , as David Jones said “ a cause is something that ignites people , and unites people . And I think that ’s what a good story does , is it creates a cause ” . To conclude , storytelling tool is useful to get an insight into users , build empathy and reach them emotionally .