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Let’s start with the truth we already know. Attention spans are collapsing. Distraction is everywhere, and every brand is fighting for the same 0.8 seconds of oxygen on a screen overflowing with noise.
TL;DR: If you can’t make people care, you don’t exist.
And the only tool left that actually makes people care is storytelling. Which is why, in a few moments, I am going to tell you a story about storytelling. So that you care enough about storytelling to implement it for your business.
Here’s something wild: The human brain daydreams almost 50% of the time.
That means nearly half of your life, you’re not even fully present.
Your brain literally checks out to conserve cognitive calories.
Now add Instagram, TikTok, Meta ads, WhatsApp notifications, Q-commerce dopamine loops...
You have a world where the brain is checking out even more.
Most content doesn’t even make it to conscious processing.
It gets filtered out, ignored, or forgotten before your neurons fire.
Except for one thing...
Introduce a story...
And everything changes.
Your brain locks in.
Attention stabilizes.
Dopamine rises.
Memory kicks in.
Emotion floods the system.
This is why we binge Netflix.
It’s why mythology survived millennia.
It’s why religions passed orally for centuries.
It’s not entertainment.
It’s neuroscience.
And that is exactly why your brand needs storytelling more than anything else today.
Time for the story about storytelling that i promised.
Before social media existed, before Reels, before short form, before the dopamine apocalypse…
I had ADHD.
Clinically diagnosed. Short attention span. Hyper-distraction. Overstimulation.
But there was one thing that could hold my attention for hours when nothing else could: Stories.
As a 5-year-old, I memorised 100+ poems.
As a teenager, I could solve math word problems instantly...
but completely blank out when the same thing was written as a formula.
That’s how MY brain worked.
And that’s how my communication evolved.
If I had to explain anything to anyone, it was always through story.
I didn’t choose storytelling.
Storytelling is just how I survived the world.
And unintentionally, this wiring shaped everything that came after.
When you think in stories, you attract storytellers.
Today, 35-40% of Porcellia’s team has ADHD, compared to less than 5% of the global population.
You know who else has ADHD? Steven Spielberg. Richard Branson. Jim Carrey. Robin Williams. Justin Timberlake. Trevor Noah. Leonardo Da Vinci, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway
Do i need to go on....?
We didn’t plan this.
It wasn’t a hiring strategy.
It wasn’t diversity and inclusion.
It’s just that storytellers attract storytellers.
We became a team of:
Right-brain brains…...engineered to create left-brain outcomes. And then the world caught up.
The average consumers today behave exactly like an ADHD brain: easily distracted, easily overwhelmed, but deeply engaged by story.
So yes, my clinical disadvantage became my strategic moat.
From the previous blog (The Instant Gratification Economy), here’s the summary:
And in this new world:
Story is the only lever that creates meaning.
Meaning is the only lever that creates memory.
Memory is the only lever that creates loyalty.
Loyalty is the only lever that creates profit.
If you haven’t read that breakdown yet, read it after this blog. You’ll understand exactly why this era is a story-first era.
Let’s talk frameworks for a second.
Every story ever told follows the same structure:
Your customer is the hero.
Your brand is the guide.
Your product is the rope.
When brands mess this up, everything breaks.
Alex Smith says it best:
If you follow the market, you disappear.
If you contradict the market, you stand out.
Strategy differentiates your business.
Story differentiates your brand.
You don’t need a unique SKU.
You need a unique narrative, a contrarian position that challenges the category.
This is the part founders get wrong.
You’re not competing for money.
You’re competing for mental availability.
You need the kind of story that:
If your story doesn’t do this…
Meta ads can’t save you.
Discounts can’t save you.
Better packaging can’t save you.
Only story can.
This is where most founders don’t get the magnitude of the shift.
The algorithm is creative-first →
Creative today is story-first.
Better stories =
Reels are getting shorter.
But narratives inside Reels are getting longer.
Skits, characters, arcs, jokes, POV content...
Instagram is turning into a storytelling platform.
Right now, Amazon content is boring:
5 bullets, 3 images, 1 A+ module.
In 2 years?
Story-first product pages will triple conversions.
The brands that adopt storytelling on Amazon will dominate.
When 100 people land on your website because of AI search or PR, story decides:
This is straight out of our Organic Growth Mastery philosophy. (you should seriously check it out if you’re a D2C founder serious about making more money without spending more on ads)
Your website is NOT a store.
It’s a narrative.
And your narrative determines your LTV.
This is where we separate from every agency on the planet.
We don’t tell stories because they sound nice.
We tell stories because they drive revenue.
We have scientifically decoded:
Our creative team isn’t a creative team.
It’s a neuroscience and behaviour team disguised as a creative team.
Examples:
Every story must point to a number.
Every number must point to a story.
That’s why our brands don’t grow by accident.
They grow by design.
Story: nostalgia, motherhood, warmth
Outcome: insane retention, emotional loyalty
Story: culture, rebellion, identity
Outcome: higher AOV, stronger brand tribe
Story: problem clarity you can’t ignore
Outcome: viral awareness, strong conversion lift
These aren’t creative campaigns.
These are story-led P&L engines.
Most brands don’t fail because of bad product.
They fail because nobody cares.
And nobody cares because the story sucks.
Not your capital.
Not your discounts.
Not your agency.
Not your funding.
Not your influencer spend.
Not your Meta ads.
In a distracted world, story is the only antidote.
If you want:
You need a story that people cannot ignore.
Book a call with Sakshi, our head of marketing & creative strategy.
She’s been instrumental in building this storytelling engine with me over the last 4-5 years.
She will show you the story your brand was meant to tell.
If you want to understand why storytelling is now the only lever left,
read the previous blog:
The Instant Gratification Economy: The Biggest Gift and the Biggest Trap for D2C Founders.
Together, these two blogs complete the full blueprint that i am trying to communicate :)
In a world optimized for speed and dopamine, meaning is the only thing that lasts.
Read the full storyIn a world optimized for speed and dopamine, meaning is the only thing that lasts.
Read the full story
Get your hands on the the stuff that actually compounds.
Positioning. Retention. Content. Community.
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