How I became a Narrative Strategist

Ari Mostov
5 min readSep 23, 2024

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Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

I believe “narrative strategist” is an emergent term — one I’ve adopted to describe the varied work I do, which has since evolved into a purpose-driven practice I love.

For me, narrative strategy is about using storytelling to challenge the status quo and create new, measurable outcomes, particularly with a focus on behavior change.

I come to this work through my background as a writer-producer. I’ve always been fascinated by the power of entertainment — how it can immerse audiences until the screen fades to black, and then what? Would people forget what they just saw, or would their minds, attitudes, and beliefs be permanently shifted? It depended on the story being told, but even more so on what happened after the screen faded to black. I found my niche in social impact entertainment, using films to raise awareness and inspire action. But I wanted more: I wanted to create real, measurable change.

I finally experienced that change with the It’s On Us campaign, which focused on stopping sexual violence on college campuses. We hosted screenings of two documentary films: The Hunting Ground and It Happened Here. I was deeply involved with both — being a subject in one and an assistant producer on the other. As a public survivor-activist, I was in the heart of the Title IX movement as these films were being made. Once the films were ready for distribution, I coordinated screenings and events across campuses and institutions, facilitating conversations. I had a front-row seat to witness the effects of these films, and what I saw was remarkable. These two films, paired with coordinated social impact campaigns, helped accelerate a grassroots movement into a paradigm shift.

No longer was sexual assault on college campuses a shameful secret. No longer were we accepting rape culture and normalizing sexual violence. Survivors became advocates, changing policies on campuses and across the nation. Celebrities shared their own survival stories. Bystanders became upstanders, intervening before assaults happened and shifting the conversation around consent. One of the most incredible moments of the movement came during the 2016 Oscars performance of the nominated song “Til It Happens to You.”

see if you can spot me!

Fifty survivors of campus sexual assault shared the stage with Lady Gaga. That performance became a cultural tipping point, transforming victims of violence into agents of change. Some of the impact metrics from that moment include:

  • 400% increase in Google searches
  • Snapchat released an It’s On Us filter during the telecast, reaching millions
  • 440,000+ pledges for It’s On Us
  • 22,000 new pledges after the Vice President’s speech and Lady Gaga’s performance
  • 48,719 tweets using #ItsOnUs, with a reach of 250 million
  • #ItsOnUs generated 338 million impressions
  • The website received 154,704 page views in the 24 hours following the event

We shared our stories through every available channel, breaking centuries of silence that had once kept the status quo unshakable. Coordinated storytelling across platforms made our cause irresistible.

This multi-channel storytelling approach is what propelled me into my career as a narrative strategist. I wanted to harness the power of storytelling to shift the status quo and shape a new reality.

After over five years working in sexual assault prevention and social impact entertainment, I was drawn to healthcare. The more I learned about sexual violence, the clearer the connection became between bodily integrity and health literacy. Many survivors I met had first experienced abuse as children, often without the language to name their body parts. I realized that improving health literacy and sex education was critical to preventing sexual violence. However, given the divisiveness surrounding these topics in the U.S., I wasn’t interested in working within the existing system to improve health literacy. Instead, I decided to give health literacy a Hollywood makeover.

Still fascinated by storytelling’s potential to drive change, I knew there had to be a way to make health literacy engaging and fun through entertainment. Around this time, Pokémon GO was revolutionizing mobile gaming and demonstrating its health benefits. While playing Pokémon GO with friends, I had an idea: if AR characters could make imaginary monsters engaging, why couldn’t we do the same with healthcare?

The challenge with health and health literacy is that the narrative can be dry, complex, and filled with confusing jargon, leading to distrust and fear. To make health more engaging, I returned to what I knew best: characters.

I created characters based on the microbes that govern our health. From white blood cell superheroes to villainous viruses, I built a transmedia project that grounded health literacy in character-driven stories of adventure and triumph. Virus Hunters became my playground — a space where I could test whether entertainment could change behavior and improve health outcomes. With toys, a TV show, and a mobile game, I envisioned a new narrative for healthcare through storytelling. Though Virus Hunters achieved some success, it ultimately encountered challenges, leading me to put it on hold. However, the experience gave me the confidence to see the potential of narrative strategy.

In 2020, as I was preparing to launch the first playable version of the Virus Hunters mobile game, I began writing about the convergence of health and entertainment. That led to a new opportunity when a digital health company reached out for my advice. One client turned into many, and soon I found myself deeply engaged in using story to change the status quo and deliver new outcomes — particularly in healthcare. While Virus Hunters paused, the lessons I learned from it inspired me to explore even broader applications of narrative.

Being a narrative strategist isn’t about public relations or conventional storytelling. It’s about identifying the dominant paradigms that hold things in place and designing new, irresistible stories and touchpoints that engage individuals with alternatives. It’s about sharing personal stories that challenge the way “things have always been done” and crafting a new narrative that invites everyone into a better future.

For me, being a narrative strategist is about using stories to shape a more just and equitable future.

My journey into narrative strategy has taken me deep into the study of language, story, design, strategy, and semiotics — seeking to make the ineffable inevitable. Reflecting on how I got here, I can see how my own narrative has woven itself into this path, leading toward a future we all deserve. Narrative strategy might just be the way we create that future.

Ari Mostov is a narrative strategist, working with innovators to build irresistible futures. Learn more at www.wellplay.world

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