It pains me to say this, but: That typo in your last campaign made your audience more Busy
That’s because in a world where you don’t always know what’s real and what’s not – and trust generally erodes quickly – a bit of fluff indicates that a real person wrote it (see what I did there?).
“We’re taught to think B2B or B2C,” says today’s marketing master, “but what I’m really interested in is B2H—there’s a human being on the other side.” “
Meet the Master
Britta Calloy
Claim to Fame: Kalloy isn’t anti-II by any means—his company just developed an MVP of IDA, an AI tool that helps people tell the stories of what’s in their systems without them having it in mind. “AI is a really great tool to enhance your strategy,” she says. “Don’t change it.”
Lesson 1: Emotion + Logic = Engagement.
“I always say to start with an emotional resonance,” Kalloy tells me. “Literally, if you’re making a four-sentence story, start with the emotion.”
To find that point of contact, ask yourself: “What did you feel? What did you see? What did you hear?” And don’t underestimate the humor — “If you can get your audience to laugh, you’ve already bypassed the part of the brain that says, ‘I don’t trust this.’
Now you want to back up that emotion with something logical, she says. “It’s a data point, a proof point. It’s something that stabilizes the emotion so the brain can control it.”
“We like emotional resonance, but I need something concrete to build my confidence,” Callaway explained. And it’s not until you’ve provided an emotional connection and data or proof points that you’ve earned the right to describe a product.
Says Kalloy – The equation of emotion + logic works in any channel. “If you combine emotion and logic in any way, you’ll increase engagement with your content exponentially.”
So, back to this four-sentence story: 1. Emotional resonance. 2. Data or proof point. 3. Product description. 4. CTA. Boom.
Lesson 2: Follow the 85/15 Rule
Okay, so there’s one small A warning for the first lesson.
Emotion + logic should always be your storytelling keeper, but the ratio can vary from platform to platform. And that’s where Callaway’s 85/15 rule comes into play.
“85% of what you do should be templated, optimized—checking the boxes of your strategic marketing plan,” she says. “And if you’re the marketing leader, you should let your team play 15% of that work.” (Q: Everyone is sending it to their bosses.)
Callaway says his point is to be “a little bit faster—a little bit dirtier in output, a little bit more laid back.” “A little less, ‘Did this person sign?'” A little more fun, more experimental.
The flexibility to play gives you a way to test and explore, and then—this part is important—to— Apply what you learn to your next campaign.
“We’ve done it for the last couple of years when we’re just building a templated thing. Let someone do the experiment in a safe place.
The best part of it all? Callaway says it “restores the joy of marketing to marketers.” The reason most of us go into marketing is because “we want to tell people amazing stories about amazing products.”
Lesson 3: Avoid the Ambiguity Effect.
“If something is vague, my brain will fill in the blanks based on what I know, right?” Kalloy says.
And if you don’t know much, suddenly your mind becomes a fiction writer.
If you describe, say, an “AI-powered solution,” your audience will fill in the gaps based on whether they think AI is a force of pure good, evil, or somewhere in between.
And this is why storytelling is so important. Because the more stories you share, “the more context and value you’re giving people, it means they’re able to fill in the gaps with more accurate information,” not something they saw online or read in a book 10 years ago.
“If you’re working with a product that feels unfamiliar,” says Callaway. “Try to build a narrative that helps fill out who you are, the value you bring, and relate to the human beings who share the space with you.”
And “that’s really the beauty of storytelling,” she says. “If I’m telling stories about who I am as a person, suddenly I want to be a part of it with you.”
Your Monday move: Tell some great stories. You only need four sentences.
Lingering questions
This week’s question
I think nostalgia is something that has been overdone. I’d love to know: What’s a better way for brands to engage with the communities or consumers they want to connect with? sharesshareese Bembury-Coakley, VP of Business Development and Partnerships, Culturecon
This week’s answer
Kalloy: I agree, nostalgia became an easy button for connection. But real community is built forward, not backward. A better path for brands is participatory storytelling: inviting people to share the narrative rather than just consume it. Communities don’t want to be reminded of who they were. They want to be who they are.
This requires marketers to move from campaigns to context, places where shared curiosity, lived experience, and emerging identity meet. Whether through local storytelling, behind architectural transparency, or by platforming authentic consumer voices, brands can move from “remember” to “imagine with us.”
Communication nowadays is not about familiarity. It’s about alignment. The question is not, “How do we like people?” But “how do we stack up to what they’re creating next?” This is where trust, loyalty and the modern relationship live.
Next week’s lingering question
Kalloy asks: As marketers, we often talk about authenticity and alignment but those words can quickly become buzzwords. How do you make sure your team stays connected to real people, not just connection performance?
