There’s a power in storytelling that compels us to continue to read, to buy a product, to be loyal to a brand. While slogans can be extremely powerful (just do it, anyone?), people today are becoming more visually oriented, and they need stories and images to get and keep them captivated. Below are some incredible examples of visual storytelling by some of the biggest names.

1. Acceptance: Airbnb

Airbnb has done an amazing job of responding in real time to a few pressing issues. After renters went to social media to complain about being discriminated against by Airbnb hosts because of their race, Airbnb immediately apologized and enacted a series of anti-discrimination policies. As part of this effort, and in response to Donald Trump’s heavily criticized travel ban, the company ran a commercial during the superbowl to launch their #WeAccept campaign, which highlights people of different ages, races, and religions along with inspiring quotes. “No matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, or who you worship, you deserve to belong,” says Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. The combination of visuals of real people, along with short, personal text helps people to identify with and feel connected to the brand.

2. Giving Back: Heinz Ketchup

Heinz consistently shows up as one of the best brands on social media. They’re funny and they do good. Check out their campaign to make the Monday after the Superbowl (Smunday) a national holiday (Heinz gave all their employees the day off). They received over 70,000 signatures on their online petition at Smunday.org, which they are sending to Congress! They also launched their “Selfie for Good” campaign, celebrating “Giving Tuesday”, where the company will donate up to $1.57 when users take a selfie with their Heinz Ketchup bottle at participating restaurants. As of the beginning of February, they had already reached their goal of donating $200,000 to Stop Hunger Now. Both campaigns speak to issues that are important to people, on a personal and a more global level. By giving back to the people, and encouraging them be an active part of their campaigns, people feel more connected to the brand and like they are a part of something bigger than themselves, which always inspires loyalty. Also…who doesn’t love ketchup!?

3. Rewarding Fans: Expedia

It’s always nice when a company offers cash prizes to its users…especially when it’s user generated content (UGC). Instead of spending money on a campaign, the brand is connecting with users by asking them to send in their own photos and experiences.

4. Process + Awareness + Celebs: Google

Google doesn’t really need to do much  marketing at this point (perhaps you’ve heard of the company?), but nonetheless, they like to keep their fans happy. One of the ways they do this is by giving their audience a peek into the inner workings of Google. In an effort to highlight the impact of climate change, Google recruited Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to trek in southern Greenland to capture scenes of nature affected by climate change. Coster-Waldau is the first celebrity to be kitted out in Google’s Street View trekker backpack to collect imagery. This photo does a lot of things: It gives users a view into what it actually looks like when Google employees go out capturing street views; it brings a high-level of awareness to a serious, global problem, and it uses a celeb as the vehicle for the first two. Kudos, Google.

5. Humor Gets Them Every Time: Grammarly

With our 21st century stressed out lives, who doesn’t need a little giggle now and again? Grammarly, self-described as the world’s best grammar checker, does a great job at showcasing their services with funny (and sometimes cheeky) posts. By using humor and grammar, they are able to get their point across about what they do and why it’s important. It doesn’t get much better than that.

These are only a few examples of some amazing visual storytelling out there on the interwebs.

Here at DEEP, we investigate the world of knowledge visualization, so stay up to date with us as we share our findings!

Share your Experience

If you have any great examples of visual storytelling that  you’d like to share, let us know in the comments section!