When I was young, I used to read well past my bedtime, using the streetlights outside my bedroom window as a torch. I’d angle my book just right to catch the glow through the gap in the curtains, flicking pages like they were lifelines.

Because, honestly, they often were.

Books were my escape. They were a way to slip out of the ordinary and into somewhere… else. I fell in love with characters who felt more real than some of the people I went to school with. I immersed myself in worlds that felt impossibly huge and somehow still intimately mine. I read until my eyes refused to stay open, then woke up and scribbled down ideas of my own. I built entire universes in the margins of schoolbooks and countless notebooks. It was magic.

And somewhere along the way, I realised I could share that magic with other people. Telling stories that don’t just make people click, buy, and follow, but moves them to actually care. So, I started working with businesses who were doing good things in the world; the kind of businesses that deserve to be seen and heard, not drowned out in the sea of sameness.

Every industry tells stories

(even if they don’t realise it)

Estate agents don’t just sell bricks and mortar, they sell a future. “Imagine yourself here,” they say, pointing to the sunlit kitchen. “Can you picture the kids playing in the garden?” That’s storytelling.

Tourism and leisure businesses don’t just offer destinations, they offer adventures. They’re not selling a plane ticket, they’re selling who you’ll be when you come back. Someone braver and more relaxed (and with better stories at dinner parties).

Hospitality businesses don’t just serve food; they set a scene. The flicker of candlelight, the soundscape, the way the wine is described like it’s a love letter to a vineyard in the south of France.

Museums, educators, charities – every one of them leans on storytelling to invite people in, to make sense of complexity, to create empathy, curiosity, and awe.

Gaming: where storytelling comes to play

If there’s one industry that absolutely gets storytelling, it’s gaming.

Whether we’re talking tabletop publishers, indie video game developers, or full-blown RPG world builders, these are the folks who understand the power of story better than anyone. Your players aren’t just playing a game, they’re stepping into another life and becoming someone else for a little while. They get to living out adventures that stay with them long after they pack away the dice or log off for the night.

In a great game, story is everything.

Which is why it can feel like such a shame when the marketing doesn’t quite do it justice.

When you’ve spent years building a world, crafting lore, designing experiences that make people feel something, you want to share that journey, that passion, and the heart of what you’ve created with the world. But all too often, when it comes to promoting your work, the depth and magic somehow get lost in translation.

That’s where we can add real value.

At Hatter’s, we don’t just plug your features or talk about mechanics. We help you tell the story of the experience. Of what it means. Of who your players get to become.

Building connection through stories

The power of storytelling can’t be overestimated when we’re talking about building conections.

Our brains literally light up differently when we hear a story. We imagine ourselves in it. We relate. We remember. And in marketing, that emotional connection is the difference between someone buying once and someone becoming a lifelong fan.

But it has to be real.

People can smell inauthenticity a mile off, and if you’re forcing a brand story that doesn’t fit, or over-polishing it until there’s no soul left, they’ll scroll right past. We’ve all seen those ads that try way too hard…

Good storytelling isn’t about being loud. It’s about authenticity; it’s grounded in something true and real.

That’s why we work with brands that actually give a damn about the impact they have on the world around them. We help build platforms for businesses who are making the world better than they found it. And we do that by helping them to make their audience feel something real.

Where AI fits in (and where it doesn’t)

Let’s talk about the big shiny robot in the room.

AI is here. It’s in our inboxes, our social feeds, our Canva templates. It’s generating blog posts, creating images, drafting newsletters. It’s fast, clever and kind of terrifying if you’re someone who makes your living from creativity.

But AI isn’t here to replace human storytellers. (At least, not the ones who are doing it well.) I think it can support us, and  speed up the bits that slow us down. It can be a creative sounding board, and an antidote to the dreaded blank-page syndrome.

At Hatter’s, we use AI to help us, not to write for us. It’s a bit like working with an overexcited work-experience student who has the enthusiasm (and an ability to use Google), but has no life experience. You still need someone human to steer the ship. Someone who knows what to say and what not to say. Someone with context, empathy, timing, and an understanding of what makes people feel something.

That said, I think we’re heading for a future where storytelling becomes something co-created. Where humans and machines work together to create new kinds of narratives. Weird ones. Wonderful ones. Stories that reach further and connect deeper, as long as we keep that human heartbeat at the centre.

So, why am I telling you all this?

Because storytelling still works, and in a world that’s noisier than ever, the stories we tell matter more than ever.

If you’ve got something brilliant, be it a game, a place, a plate of food, or a purpose, you need more than a flashy graphic, a huge ad budget, and a hopeful hashtag. You need a story that makes people stop, lean in, and want to be part of it.

That’s what we do at Hatter’s. We take what’s brilliant about you, and we make people care about it.

If you’re ready to tell a better story, we’d love to help you write it.

Drop us a line and let’s chat.