Bridging the Digital Divide Through Storytelling

Her storytelling attracted neighborhood children from all over who returned to the same spot each day to feed their hunger for imagination. The children were captivated and hung on every word that came from the elderly woman, who was well into her 80s and smoked hand-rolled cigars.

Juan Santos remembers sitting alongside dozens of other kids, circling the old woman, and listening to her tales of tall tales. "Having grown up, I wish I had recorded those stories," Santos says, "She was so very imaginative."

It is not the stories that Santos still hangs onto today but the way in which the old woman told them. She inspired. She motivated. She ignited action. Now, Santos uses storytelling to communicate his ideas and concepts with employees and clients alike for Studiocom, where he is chief creative officer.

"What I do a lot of is communicate concepts that are complex, and the majority of it is through storytelling." Santos is responsible for helping his team of designers develop immersive online experiences and communities for companies such as Mattel and Coke.

The Colombia-born Santos has been immersing himself in technology since he was very young. "I'm the local kid who knew about computers when they were just a novelty," he says.

He received his first computer in middle school, and by the time he was 16 Santos was working for a local Apple Computer dealer in Colombia.

While working on dual economics and engineering degrees at Universidad de los Andes in Bogóta, Santos helped the Apple dealer set up at trade shows. His exposure to the world of advertising would have a profound effect on his career. Always interested in the concept of how, Santos soon became more interested in the what. "I became intrigued by the world of advertising, and soon found myself more interested in that than in engineering," he says.

It was enough to encourage Santos to pack some things and head for the Big Apple where he began to work for various New York studios to help pay his way through the School of Visual Arts, earning a degree in fine arts.

In 1995, a call from a high school buddy signaled his return to Columbia. His friend needed some help to launch a digital media business. Together, the duo launched INK, a corporate communication shop that provided "fancy PowerPoint presentations" for various oil companies.

"My partner took care of business and sales and I took care of the creative side," Santos says. INK grew into a successful interactive company, and soon two additional offices were opened. Eventually, a group of investors saw opportunity and proposed that Santos and his partner expand further in Latin America.

As happens all too often in business, the deal didn't live up to expectation and by 2000, Santos had had enough. He moved on to become the lead creative and technology director for iKioskos Communications Corp., a company that put Internet kiosks in subways in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.

Just two years later, in 2002, Santos was recruited to Studiocom. With years of interactive experience under his belt, Santos is now able to tackle the challenging, complex problems facing many big brands today: how do you operate at the intersection of marketing and technology and deliver a compelling experience?

"I have unbridled enthusiasm for all things digital but it is, by nature, still evolving and highly complex," says Santos. "Trends are continually shifting and it can be difficult to adjust in this fluid environment. I find though, that I can cut through the complexity when I wrap ideas and solutions in narrative."

Just like the elderly storyteller in Colombia, whose end purpose was to teach religion, Santos is at his best when he's sharing a compelling story. "My stories explore human emotion by tapping into what is intrinsically appealing. If I've done it right, at the end someone not only will say 'a-ha, I get it,' but also 'let's do it — when do we start!'"