Psychology of Media & Technology

Simon, I'm always a fan of your stuff, but I'm especially loving your insights and endorsement of the persona approach. The psychology of persona development is a subject near and dear to my heart.  It plays a big role in what we teach in the certificate program on Brand Psychology and Audience Engagement I designed with Dr. Jerri Lynn Hogg at Fielding Graduate University.  We work with story and 'the storied nature of life' as the core expression of a brand's values; similarly we use the psychology of motivations, needs and goals to understand the audience and as the basis for developing the persona story to get the right "fit" between the brand/cause/entertainment property and the audience. (We use 'brand' broadly to mean any encapsulated idea, from social cause or entertainment experience to commercial or organizational brand.) If you are telling your core story, it is also your brand promise. We all, as consumers, have stories about how any consumed experience integrates, inspires, or changes our personal story trajectory.  Lots of science on how the brain processes using story (i.e. narrative structure) to make meaning.  By creating a brand-audience link through psych fundamentals built on story, by definition it builds the trust and authenticity--creating a relationship of respect and reciprocity. As you well know from what you do, the development of a clear story arc with emotional purpose and intention allows you to construct and tell your story across media to create a larger experience or storyworld, whether a developed canon or an internal psychological experience. At the end of the day, identifying the psychological drivers on both sides (story and audience) makes the story resonate deeply with the audience which is experienced as respect.