A Storytelling-Based Marketing Strategy Using the Sigale-Gale Storynomics as a Communication Tool for Promoting Toba Tourism

The marketing strategy undertaken by the Government of Indonesia is important to set the stage for the revitalization of Indonesian tourism especially in the last three months of 2021, which showed a positive trend on the reduction of Covid-19 cases. One form of promotion that considered to be helpful and differentiated from the methods previously used such as: above, below and through the line is storynomics. Storynomics emphasizes the narrative depiction of cultural values through folklore that exists in related tourist destination areas. This is interesting because tourism marketing is carried out no longer depending on natural beauty but also involving cultural aspects, which more or less can describe the cultural identity of the surrounding community. The storynomics approach can be used as an effective marketing strategy for the any destination, indirectly increasing interest in visiting the location [10]. McKee and Gerace [11] adapted the storynomics concept from the marketing field. The marketing process changes when a good story is prepared. A story with economic value can persuade people to make a purchase decision. In terms of tourism destinations, this economic value story is folklore, which can attract tourists in decision. Storynomics Tourism is used to attract tourists who are interested in local tourist destinations' traditional stories, traditions, cuisine, and culture. The Storynomics tourism strategy is based on the richness of Indonesian culture, so that later, tourism areas will be promoted with story telling narratives packaged in interesting content by telling the local culture [12].

Sustainable tourism is more than just a socially responsible business; it also includes three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social protection. The combination of these three dimensions fosters innovation in the tourism industry [13]. Several studies have linked tourism sustainability to digital information facilities and digital marketing that uses social media in image formation [14]. Marketing communication, specifically the storytelling strategy, will explain the connection between creative tourism activities and the philosophy associated with the tourism experience. According to Anita and Lestari [15] storytelling determines consumers' perceived value, which includes emotional value, social value, and performance value. Storytelling is an effective tool for conveying a product's identity and may frame it in the long run. According to Pravitaswari [16] Storytelling Marketing is an effective strategy for building Brand Equity and influencing Purchase Decisions. Storytelling is used to connect brands and philosophies companies, in making products as well describe production activities [17]. According to Juliana et al. [18] building destination image, place identity influencing behavioral intention and willingness to post photos.

2.1 Storynomics in storytelling

Storynomics is considered to be able to provide added value in the context of tourism marketing because it elevates cultural values through folklore which is highly influential in the tourism destination area community. The understanding of storynomics in relation to marketing was first put forward by McKee and Gerace [11] who explained what stories are, why stories matter and most importantly, the ability to tell stories (storytelling) to achieve success in business. This explanation shows that storynomics and storytelling are inseparable parts in a marketing context where storytelling is a tool used to convey stories in storynomics.

Storytelling as a marketing tool plays an important role for listeners/audiences to be able to understand the story being told. This is confirmed by Miller et al. [19] that "the success of storytelling is not based on what we say but more on what they hear". The definition of storytelling according to Ohler [20] is:

"The use of stories or narratives as a communication tool to value, share, and capitalize on the knowledge of individuals. Stories provide powerful metaphors, frameworks, and sets of practical processes for resolving issues, educating ourselves, and pursuing our goals."

This definition shows that storytelling uses stories as a tool for communication that is used to convey messages. Stories have a strong influence to be able to enthrall the listeners. Therefore, a good delivery process is needed.

The advantages of communication used in storytelling are that it is considered to be easier to understand and gives a deep impression to the listeners. McLellan [21] also confirms this by stating "as a way of framing information so that it is understandable, meaningful and memorable". Thus the use of storytelling in marketing will be more memorable for listeners.

Storytelling has advantages because the way of delivery is interesting and can involve the emotions of the listeners. The power of storytelling according to Hermansson and Na [22] emphasizes that "the technique itself is built on a basis of pedagogical and psychological techniques used to create a lasting memory with a spectator or a listener". This memory forms an emotional attachment to the product offered.

Storytelling becomes an integral process with storynomics and is also very important in the process of conveying the message of the story. However, the content of the story is also an important part, especially with regard to the meaning of the message to be conveyed to readers or audiences.

2.2 Story contents in storynomics

The use of storynomics in marketing efforts places great emphasis on the content of the story to be conveyed. Storynomics in the context of tourism takes the form of introducing folk tales that are believed by the people or communities located around tourism destinations. This of course will enrich tourists in cultural knowledge related to these sites. Thus, the tourism that is offered is not only related to nature but also to culture, especially folk tales that can be introduced to and understood by tourists.

However, stories differ from narratives in their use for marketing. According to McKee and Gerace [11] narratives tend to be boring, flat and repetitive so that people who listen to them often feel bored, while stories are more progressive and provide added value so that listeners feel engaged and interested. McKee further adds:

When story aspires to art, it becomes an infinitely complex and endlessly variable thing. Fiction’s styles range from farce to tragedy; its compounds span from the one-man show to interweavings of dozens of plots and subplots. When we use the phrase story form, we mean its universal, irreducible foundation [11].

In this statement it can be seen that the story is flowing and interesting for listeners to follow and cannot be separated. The story has a very appropriate character when associated with art.

The use of storynomics in the form of folk stories that can be used to support tourism can be seen from previous studies [10-29], where storynomics derived from folklore are considered appropriate and able to market tourism in Indonesia in building sustainable tourism. However, the above studies have not clearly described the process of conveying these stories through storytelling. In particular, storynomics in the context of tourism marketing cannot be separated from storytelling because storytelling is considered the most appropriate way, because the style of speaking like a storyteller is considered to be able to provide emotional closeness.

Storytelling, in conveying the contents of the story in the form of storynomics, must be interesting to be able to bind the listeners. El-Said [30] conveys several important elements related to the content of the story, namely:

1. Conflict: this element is of particular interest for people who listen to the story because in conflict there are various kinds of character conflicts. Conflict can make a story more interesting and make listeners want to know how to solve it [31].
2. Character: also an important element in a story because characters can affect listeners' emotions. Hung et al. [32] also clarifies this by emphasizing that the interplay between character and conflict often influences the emotions of listeners and fosters a sense of empathy to find solutions. Characters are generally divided into groups of protagonists (supporting each other) and antagonist (hostility against each other).
3. Plot: refers to the structure of the story. In general, the story structure consists of: beginning, middle and end, which are arranged in chronological order [30]. The structure of the story is important because it makes it easier for listeners to understand the contents of the story.
4. Message: the end result of a story that is conveyed, where each story has various messages. Denning [33] clarifies that stories have differences in conveying messages and therefore also have differences in how they achieve their goals. This message is used by storytelling to become a bond between stories and listeners.

The content of the story becomes very important if the delivery through storytelling is used as a marketing tool because it is this story that will be heard and will have an emotional effect on the audience.

2.3 Storytelling as a marketing communication tool

Marketing communications emphasizes the importance of building good communication with customers. Ernawadi and Putra [34] emphasized this, saying that the organization must take the initiative to start building communication with customers or with the public, because of growing competition. This happens in almost every market, not only in relation to products but also services. Therefore, we need the right marketing communication tools that can reach customers.

Tourism is one of the markets that has a competitive level of competition. However, with the pandemic over the last two years, the tourism market has experienced a decline. To be able to encourage the revival of tourism, an appropriate marketing communication strategy is needed and one of the marketing communication tools that can be used because it is considered to provide more value to tourism is storytelling by packaging cultural values in the form of folk stories (storynomics) to introduce certain tourist destination areas.

Selection of the right media channel is considered to have an important role in conveying the storynomics message. Hermansson and Na [22] added that the message conveyed must be able to reach the listener and be stored in the mind and become an unforgettable experience. In the tourism context, this is considered as a way that not only introduces tourist objects but can also provide a different experience through understanding the messages conveyed in folklore in the destination area. This is considered as a new way to market tourism in Indonesia.

Delivery of message content in marketing (content marketing) also plays an important role because it involves the truth of the message to be conveyed as an effort to attract audiences. Pulizzi and Barrett [35] provides an understanding of the importance of message content in the marketing process, which functions to create and distribute interesting and valuable things, especially to involve a clear target audience. Therefore, the folk tales contained in storynomics can be used as a way to market certain regional tourism and must also be interesting so that they can encourage tourists to want to come and visit.

The fundamental difference of this research on Sigale-gale compared to previous studies is that this study, besides explaining the importance of storytelling as a marketing communication tool, especially to promote tourism. In addition, the use of storynomics in previous studies was more in the nature of written stories, meanwhile in this research, the storynomics is not only based on stories, but also includes symbols (wooden puppets) and also activities that can be done together (Tor-tor dancing). Thus this research tries to involve other cultural elements, not only stories but also: art (dance) and also ceremonies, which basically can be part of storynomics.

4.1 The Sigale-gale story as a tourism object in Samosir Island

North Sumatra Province is one of the favorite destinations of tourists, both domestic and foreign, because of the presence of Lake Toba, a volcanic lake formed due to an ancient eruption. In the middle of Lake Toba there is an island known as Samosir. Besides being known as a tourism center for the Lake Toba region, Samosir Island also has a rich culture.

In addition to the beautiful scenery, visiting tourists can also see the culture and expressions of the beliefs of the local community. One of them is the Sigale-gale statues, wooden marionettes that are said to have magical powers; including being able to dance. These statues have a legendary story and has existed since the time of the Batak tribal kingdom on Samosir Island (Lake Toba Authority Executing Agency, 2022). However, not all tourists who visit Samosir Island know and understand the story behind the Sigale-gale statues due to limited information.

The story describes the cultural richness of Tomok village, where many Sigale-gale statues are found. Tourists visiting Tomok can see the unique Sigale-gale statues. The Sigale-gale marionettes can dance with the help of the people behind it and is usually followed by tourists who do the tor-tor dance under the leadership of a guide. The tourist attraction of the Sigale-gale statues is one of the favorite destination for tourists visiting Samosir because they can still see the original and unique statues. It is said that long ago it was believed that the statues could dance on their own without the help of those behind them because they had magical powers. Based on information provided by Leo Hutagalung, a Toba community leader, "with the arrival of Christianity, the belief in magic began to disappear in the society". Therefore, nowadays the Sigale-gale statues are only used for entertainment.

The story about the Sigale-gale statue can be read in full in a book entitled “The Sigale-gale Folklore from North Tapanuli" [38]. The story begins with the King Rahat who led his country wisely. Unfortunately, the king's wife had long passed away. The king only had one son, named Manggale, who was highly respected by the people in the country because of his martial prowess and his upholding of the truth. Just like his father, Manggale really loved his people.

One day, King Rahat heard the news that his kingdom was in a threatened position because an enemy had approached the kingdom's territory. After hearing this news, Manggale, in lieu of his father, King Rahat, departed to fight against the enemy. However, Manggale fell in battle, which made King Rahat sorrowfull and fell ill. Many shamans tried to heal the king, but the king did not recover. At the suggestion of the king's adviser, a wooden marionette resembling Manggale was made, which would later be imbued with the spirit of Manggale.

After the statue was finished, the shamans performed the ritual of summoning Manggale's spirit before facing the king. When the wooden statue imbued with the spirit of Manggale danced in front of King Rahat, the king suddenly became healthy again, was happy and began to dance the tor-tor, followed by his people. Since then, Manggale wooden statues have always been used at funerals of people who have no children. This ceremony is known as Sigale-gale and is now commonly found on the island of Samosir, and used to entertain tourists by dancing the tor-tor together.

However, not many tourists know the story of Sigale-gale and more are entertained by dancing the tor-tor or by enjoying the natural beauty of Toba, even though the story of Sigale-gale has become a legend for the people of the island of Samosir. Even if the Sigale-gale story is conveyed to tourists, this is done verbally and is usually done by local tour guides.

The Sigale-gale legend has so far not been used as part of Lake Toba tourism marketing, even though the legend of this story is a myth that lives very strongly in the Samosir people. Making folklore as part of tourism promotion is known as Storynomics [11], which has been widely practiced in several tourist destinations in Indonesia such as: the story of Malin Kundang for Air Manis beach, West Sumatra; Roro Jonggrang for the Prambanan temple area, Central Java; and Sangkuriang for Mount Tangkuban Perahu, West Java). Many of these stories/myths have been associated with the history of tourism destination areass and more or less provide an understanding of the emergence of tourism destination areass. Therefore the use of Storynomics is considered to be highly supportive of the introduction of cultural values of the areas, and adds value to promotion of tourism.

This is supported by research conducted by Sihombing et al. [39]. The results show that the story of the Sigale-Gale Statue can be used as teaching material in class, especially in English subject. This is in accordance with research conducted by Siregar et al. [40]. The results show that this sigale-gale statue is passed from oral to written (script) and an animated film that describes the structure of the story such as the theme of the Sigale-gale statue's folklore, namely the sigale-gale dance in Batak custom.

The results of the study showed that indeed Sigale-gale is one of the attractions that is in great demand by tourists, and can only be witnessed in the Tomok area on the island of Samosir, in the area of Lake Toba. Almost all tourists who visit Tomok will definitely watch the Sigale-gale show. It is almost certain that Sigale-gale is a major tourist attraction in the Tomok area, in the Toba Region.

However, from observation, it can be seen that the Sigale-gale performance has not received adequate attention from the Regional Government, where both the venue and the equipment used seemed not to be well maintained. This, in turn, results in the Sigale-gale show less attractive in inviting tourists. This is reinforced by the statement of Anderson, a traditional leader, who said that "I don't know why the government doesn't want to get involved in helping constructing the facilities." This is even though the fees charged for participating in the Tor-tor dance at the Sigale-gale show are not cheap, reaching Rp. 100,000/person.

Another obstacle in making Sigale-gale as storynomics is the differences between the versions of the story, where different tour guides would convey different versions of the story. This is important because it is related later to the process of telling the story. This fact was reinforced by Karmel, the former secretary general of Toba Geopark, who explained that "standardizing the story version can make the Sigale-gale story easier to promote through the use of various media, be it print, electronic or digital media." The presence of the Sigale-gale story on various media platforms will certainly have an impact on the promotion of the Lake Toba tourism area.

4.2 Using Sigale-gale as storynomics

The Storynomics strategy in the world of tourism is expected to provide tourists with knowledge about the Sigale-gale story which is a legendary tale for the people of the island of Samosir. Something that needs to be considered in packing a story is the content that will be conveyed. Therefore it is important to be able to distinguish between stories and narratives, narratives tend to be boring, flat and repetitive so that people who listen to them often feel bored, while stories are more progressive and provide added value so that listeners feel attached [11]. and interested. McKee further emphasized:

When story aspires to art, it becomes an infinitely complex and endlessly variable thing. Fiction's styles range from farce to tragedy; its compounds span from the one-man show to interweaving of dozens of plots and subplots [11].

McKee's opinion strengthens the understanding associated with composing a story that can involve the feelings of tourists who read. The involvement of feelings will be seen through the fabric of the story which can combine various elements of feelings such as: feelings of sadness, tension and also joy through the plots formed in the story. This is in accordance with research conducted by Sari et al. [41] shows the results that the story of the Sigale-gale statue was compiled for tourism groups that can be used as material in guiding tours such as folklore and tourist attractions, in this case, the role of folklore to increase the dimensions of the quality of tourist attractions and the benefits of tourism activities in preserving stories people by introducing it to the public and tourists.

As research conducted by Martozet et al. [42], the results show that the Si Gale-Gale folklore provides educational and exemplary values for the community about love for the ancestral land and the importance of the role of sons as the next generation, such as the system adopted by the Toba Batak people. So that a story can be enjoyed by readers, in the process of building the story, several important elements must be included in order to invite the involvement of the readers. These important elements that need to be considered according to El-Said [30] are as follows:

1. A story must involve conflict, where this element becomes important, especially to relate to the feelings of the reader [31]. In the Sigale-gale story, the conflict can be shown by how King Rahat felt sorrowful for losing his son and was unable to forget him. This conflict became more and more interesting until the idea emerged to make a statue that resembled his son, Sigale-gale. Moreover, with the existence of magical powers that could make the marionette move. This story line will bring out the climax for the readers and has the potential to be remembered always.
2. Another element that is also highly influential in the story is the visible character of the characters in the story. Hung et al. [32] clarifies this by emphasizing that mutual influence and clashes that exist between characters apart from causing conflict can also foster a sense of empathy. Characters are generally divided into groups of protagonist (mutual support) and antagonist (mutual hostility). In the Sigale-gale story, the depiction of this character is clearly seen when there are attempts from other kingdoms to attack and the desire to go to war as well as efforts from Sigale-gale to want to fight in place of King Rahat. Characters have a close relationship between feelings and conflict between feelings will encourage the creation of conflict.
3. Another element that makes it easy for readers to understand and enjoy a story is plot, which refers to the structure of the story. The story structure consists of: beginning, middle and end which are arranged in chronological order [43]. In the depiction of the story through this plot, cultural values that are adhered to by the people of Samosir Island can be inserted, such as: obedience to parents, love for the motherland and also the meaning of the eldest son in the Batak tribe.
4. The final part of the story which is also very important is the message, which is the final part of the story that is being conveyed, because it is considered important for readers to understand. Denning [33] clarifies that stories can be used to convey various kinds of messages related to the goals to be achieved.

These four elements are important and need to be considered in composing storynomics to make it more interesting and easier to remember.

In addition to paying attention to writing the contents of the story, another thing that needs to be considered is the process of conveying storynomics through storytelling. The storytelling process is considered the most appropriate method because it applies a speaking style like a storyteller which is considered to be able to provide closeness and build emotional bonds for listeners.

4.3 Use storytelling to promote Sigale-gale as a culture of Samosir

Tourism is one of the markets that has a highly competitive level of competition. The pandemic conditions for the past two years have resulted in a decline in the tourism market. In the effort to encourage the revival of tourism, an appropriate marketing communication strategy is required. One marketing communication strategy that can be used because it is considered to offer something different is storytelling. The reason is because it can package cultural values in the form of folk stories (storynomics) to provide added value in introducing certain tourism destination areas. This is also reinforced by the statement of Leo Hutagalung (a Toba-Samosir community leader) who emphasized that "a number of important things that must be considered in marketing tourism are 3A: access, accommodation and attractions, which these three things can be used to encourage Toba-Samosir tourism". Sigale-gale, as part of the culture of the Samosir people in the form of folklore and related to art can be introduced to promote tourism on the island of Samosir in the form of an attraction package.

The marketing strategy for Sigale-gale can be packaged in an attraction package for tourists which contains: dancing with the Sigale-gale statues and also continuing with storytelling about Sigale-gale. This is important because apart from providing a different experience, it is also equipped with an understanding of the relationship between dance and the Sigale-gale story. Hermansson and Na [22] support this by emphasizing that the message conveyed must be able to reach the listener and be stored in the mind and become an unforgettable experience. This is considered a new strategy for marketing tourism in Indonesia which can increase tourists' knowledge of folklore related to local tourism objects.

However, with regard to promotion, skills are needed in choosing and also filling in content on the media, which cannot be separated. Today, the use of media refers to social media, therefore the choice of social media to be used is influential on the content to be written and this is also related to the creativity to be developed. This is also explained by Kotler and Armstrong [44] with regard to promotion which emphasizes that it is the organization that must start building communication with customers or with various publics because of growing competition. Therefore, the selection of media and content creation is the right choice to be able to get closer to tourists.

Another obstacle that might occur is related to the story content of Sigale-gale itself. This can be seen from the statement issued by Anderson, an adat leader in Samosir, who said that "The difficulty in composing the story from Sigale-gale is due to the many versions of this story, making it difficult to determine which version of the story is considered the most authentic." According to him, this is also a challenge in promoting the Sigale-gale story. The importance of message content in the marketing process because message content can convey interesting and valuable things to engage the target audience . Thus, it is important to prepare and pay attention to the contents of messages or tourism products before carrying out tourism marketing to be able to ensure the suitability of the contents with tourist interests.

This sigale-gale statue can increase its merchandise, such as selling souvenirs typical of Tomok village [45]. In this case, modeling souvenirs in Tomok village in order to increase tourist visits to tourist motorcycle taxis. The results that Lake Toba as a tourist destination activates tourism consumer reciprocity related to 7 dimensions of well-being such as tourist consumer welfare [31]: 1) Biopsychological; 2) Cultural Identity; 3) Social Connectedness; 4) Spiritual Alignment; 5) Social Entrepreneurs; 6) Inspirational Mindfulness; and 7) Environmental Welfare Altruism. The number of Batak Toba souvenirs such as Tunggal Panaluan, wood lizard carvings, Replicas of Batak Traditional Houses, Batak Calendars, and Hasapi are not as many as souvenirs from Java and Bali [31]. Hard work, curiosity, friendliness, and wisdom are four character-forming values in Sigale-gale folklore [46] and almost same with folklore from Central Java timun mas [47].