Over the past year, a striking phrase has started to appear in headlines, hiring reports, and leadership conversations. Companies are not just looking for marketers, communicators, or content leads. They are “desperately seeking storytellers.” As the co-author of two bestselling books on brand storytelling that has also been an in-house brand storyteller and fractional CMO,
This week’s stories reveal a shared reality marketers can no longer avoid: trust has become a visible line item. AI makes content faster, cheaper, and more abundant, but it also introduces friction, skepticism, and new forms of brand risk. From uncanny AI video to staged paparazzi moments, from museum-worthy IKEA furniture to Wikipedia’s human proof-of-work,
I didn’t plan on a career in brand storytelling. Like many meaningful careers, it started as a side project. In 2006, I launched a personal blog called The SavvyBostonian. At the time, I was working as a public relations coordinator at a large company in Boston. I loved my job. I was learning a lot.
This week’s issue examines how brands are responding to a shared tension: audiences are overwhelmed by volume, automation, and synthetic sameness, yet still deeply responsive to stories that feel intentional, human, and culturally fluent. Google turns AI adoption into nostalgic rivalry. Lego reframes AI fear through trust and education. Equinox rejects synthetic imagery by making
Take a step back and imagine the past week in your life. Chances are, it’s also been filled with stories. When we as humans come together, we may share a few facts and data points, but more often than not, stories are at the center of how we communicate, relate to one another, share and