To Örebro University

Storytelling is distinct from traditional advertising and is an effective communication strategy, for organisations, that uses emotional storytelling with the hope of creating relationships with an audience. Charities face challenges with storytelling as they tend to evoke complex emotions, which can affect people's attitudes towards, and trust in, the organization. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate how audiences interpret and are transported in charity advertising films based on experiences, values and background. The study aims to analyse how audiences position themselves in relation to the intended message in the fi lms and how emotional experiences and engagement relate to their attitudes towards, and trust in, the organizations. By examining how audiences create meaning in advertising films from Cancerfonden, Stockholm Stadsmission and Greenpeace, the study aims to provide insights into how emotionally touching storytelling can be used to create relationships between organizations and their audiences. The theoretical starting points that were applied to be able to fulfill the purpose of the study were Stuart Hall’s reception theory and narrative transport theory. The material was collected using qualitative interviews combined with image elicitation. This enabled a comprehensive analysis of the study as these interviews invited interpretation and explored personal perspectives. By analyzing the audience’s interpretations and experiences of storytelling in advertising of charity organizations in the selected material, the study shows that the audience’s identification with the plot of the commercials enhances the emotional engagement and trust in the organizations. In addition, the results show that the audience’s interpretations and the extent to which they are affected by emotional storytelling are based on their personal experiences and values. Finally, the study shows that the audience’s trust in organizations increases if both their commercial and message are consistent with the organization’s identity.