Direct, real and raw – Performance poetry is a powerful alternative to human interest storytelling

Adopted from the west, performance poetry (or spoken word poetry) is a newer communicative art. It is when an individual (occasionally a duo) gets up to perform a monologue to an audience. While the format outwardly resembles stand-up comedy, a key difference sets the two apart. Stand-up comedy makes the audience laugh through introspection. Performance poetry wields introspection with a sobering impact. It can be deeply emotional and earnest.

A relatively recent adoption by brands, performance poetry can leave its audience misty-eyed just like human-interest storytelling can. It may not move them through the tale of two friends, separated by the partition but united by the search and mapping prowess of Google. Or the story of how ">Facebook enables a kind-hearted, young woman to save livelihoods during the pandemic. But it brings its own strengths to the table.

The nature of performance poetry

Performance poetry is direct. Unlike human-interest storytelling, it does not build an emotional connect by turning the audience into observers of a third-party interaction. It does not warm them up to the issue through a fictional narrative. It has a straight-forward conversation with them. Whether by looking right into the camera lens or by addressing a live audience that is seen/sensed on screen, and of which the virtual viewer is treated as an extension.

Performance poetry is realistic. Or at least, it is not fictional in the way human-interest storytelling is. It may illustrate its argument through anecdotes and stories. But the assumption is that it draws from the performer’s observations and experience of life. Just like a memoir. Therefore, what is spoken carries greater weight and believability than what is shown in fictional branded videos.

For comparison; Philips Avent’s ‘Thank you Moms for Breastfeeding’ features performance poet Priya Malik who details the many challenges of motherhood and, thereby, resonates with women who have undergone the same and sketches an authentic picture for those unfamiliar with that phase of life.

Facebook’s ‘" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pooja Didi’, while exactly the kind of reminder we need to come out of this pandemic as better people, is only an inspirational story. It is an example of what humanity can look like at its most virtuous and is not a representation of how the average person responds to a call for help — by putting their own financial stability at risk, in the hope of helping another. Unfortunately, it is not realistic.

The third trait of performance poetry; it is raw. Especially compared to human-interest storytelling.

Conceptualising a fictional narrative and bringing it to life on screen is a long and technical procedure. Multiple professionals pool together their inputs to make the idea feel as impactful as possible. The material undergoes a lot of deliberation, revision and tweaking. All a process considered necessary by social consensus.

Performance poetry as a communicative format is significantly more organic. Partly because the content is seen as the brainchild of usually not more than a couple of people. And partly because it doesn’t demand strict adherence to rhyme and metre, unlike the high-brow Kavi Sammelans and Mushairas that form part of traditional Indian culture. Even if a rhyme is included for smoother delivery, it is very simple and does not necessarily demand rewording to fit the chosen structure.

Like the rhyme followed by Bharti Axa General’s ‘Naya Nazariya’:

“Cancer. Iss shabd main chhupa hua hai kitna darr.

Jo isko haraata hai, woh apne aap main hee buland ho jaata hai.”

Given these respective methods of preparation, performance poetry appears purer and more sincere in the thought and emotion conveyed. In a way, it cuts out the middle man to say it like it is.

How can these characteristics be leveraged?

Brands are abstract concepts; they are cultural symbols. Yet they wish to interact with their audience just like people do with each other. The analogy of ‘brand as a human being’ with values and a personality and the humanising of a symbolic entity is a necessary first step for brands to build an emotional connection with users. Performance poetry offers them an effective way to mimic the human-to-human connection. Using an individual performer to have an honest conversation that draws from real-life experience brings the brand closer to appearing like a person, and establishing a connection with its audience.

While human-interest storytelling generates likeability through association, it is a step removed from representing the brand as a human being and mimicking a person-to-person interaction. Human interest storytelling is effective in making the brand seem more respectable, likeable and trustworthy as a seller.  

The communicative nature of performance poetry can also prove useful to brands that want to convince their audience of a cause or move them to the desired action.

PGIM Indian Mutual Fund has crafted ‘Plan early and be a Mast Maula for Life’, urging their audience not to delay financial planning for when they near retirement and have already begun to feel the effects of their careless spending:

This format makes PGIM’s plea feel convincing and doesn’t make the brand seem like it is overtly trying to benefit from it.

Given the earnest style of interaction, performance poetry makes it easier to challenge the pre-existing notions of culture, without being charged with mal-intent. Its raw and realistic nature can be ideal for brands that are looking to take a stand, display a sense of political correctness and establish themselves as cultural pioneers.

Watch how Ayushmann Khurrana attempts to redefine the concept of a gentleman for The Man Company by questioning its toxic understanding and offering a liberating alternative:

You might argue that even human-interest storytelling can help meet similar requirements. True, but its nuanced and complex nature certainly makes the task more difficult.

Lastly, performance poetry is best used to address a mature and informed audience. It may not connect as well with a group that needs their messaging softened through a story and made digestible through subtlety. It is bound to do better with consumers who appreciate being addressed in a straightforward way.

As especially observed with the aforementioned ‘Thank you Moms for Breastfeeding’. It doesn’t hesitate to highlight how breast milk can leak out uncontrolled and ruin clothing — an example of the kind of specifics that can bother a culture that celebrates motherhood but prefers to leave out the graphic details that comprise it.

Closing thoughts

Brands seek to build and sustain an emotional connection to their audiences and users.  It is the primary goal of brand building. To that end, human-interest storytelling has been the most favoured approach so far, both in the frequency of usage and success received. But it is not without its limitations.

Performance poetry is the new kid on the block, a new approach to build and sustain an emotional connection. Its strengths are the very opposite of human-interest story videos — it is direct (storytelling videos are indirect), raw (storytelling videos are polished and slick) and real (storytelling videos are fictions and deal in fictional emotions). Playing to its strengths can certainly help fill the gaps left by storytelling.

(The author is a semiotician, brand strategy consultant and the founder of Leapfrog Strategy Consulting. In her weekly column for BuzzInContent, she and her team analyse interesting content pieces done by brands in terms of their cultural leverage and effectiveness of brand integration. According to her, the content has a symbiotic relationship to popular culture; it helps to form culture and draws from it. It works as part of a simultaneous and virtuous cycle of mutual reinforcement.)