Brand Storytelling in The Age of AI (with David Ebner)

David Ebner founded Content Workshop in 2013 while earning his M.F.A. at the University of Tampa. David has adapted his creative writing and storytelling skills for commercial use and has built an agency around that core premise. He authored Kingmakers: A Content Marketing Story and has coached dozens of writers and students in the craft of storytelling.

David shares how the agency began as a graduate-school co-op of “classically trained storytellers,” and explains core storytelling principles that translate to marketing, including character development and narrative flow. He contrasts creative writing with commercial writing, emphasizing that brand content must fit “conversion in a box.” They discuss why AI isn’t a magic button, how it can create a “sea of sameness,” and how to use it effectively by starting with SOPs, quality examples, audience knowledge, and human discernment. Ebner defines harnesses, agents, and skills, argues for “clarity before complexity,” critiques fear-based (FUD) marketing, and closes by stressing the customer is the hero of the brand story.

If you’re looking to upgrade your marketing with strong storytelling technique, especially when standing out in this AI age, you’ll want to tune in.

DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE

~00:54 Meet David Ebner

~01:49 Origin Story Debt Joke

~03:51 Story Principles That Work

~06:57 What Marketing Must Unlearn

~08:24 AI Easy Button Debate

~12:35 Building AI With SOPs

~16:09 Agents Skills Harnesses

~17:57 Clarity Before Complexity

~21:59 Stop Fear Based Marketing

~29:46 Audience Data For AI

~32:05 Final Takeaways And Outro

FULL EPISODE VIDEO

https://vimeo.com/1217270357

CONNECT WITH DAVID

Website: https://contentworkshop.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjebner/