55 Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 3 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6998-5.ch003 ABSTRACT In today’s world in which an economy of attention is dominant, brands have recently come to utilize the power of stories so as to make sure that their brands create an impact on their target audience among millions of other advertising messages. By focusing on the case of Turkey and relying on a descriptive literature review approach, the goal of this study is to show how storytelling is used by brands in the ever-increasing digital advertising studies, and why the use of cultural factors in this communication process is signifcant, and what are the important points in this process. INTRODUCTION Everyone is selling something, but not everyone is buying. Today’s consumers are skeptical of com- mercials and marketers. They can spot a spin or a pitch within the first two notes of a jingle. And with so much noise in the marketplace, companies are willing to go to great lengths to be noticed. This is a world where 500 million tweets, 4.3 billion Facebook messages and 500 million hours of YouTube footage are sent, posted and uploaded every day. In this world, only brands that are able to establish more meaningful connections with people will prosper. Brands need to know why people care and make their brands meaningful accordingly (Bollore, Meaningful Brands, 2017, p. 1). At this point, what the brand itself conveys is not listened to verbatim in this intensely competitive market, whereas what the brand shows is partially paid attention to. It has been observed that the brands have been focusing on ‘storytelling’ in the recent years so as to relay the message effectively to the other party and to make sure that the message leaves a permanent mark in these people’s minds. The facts that the human brain has The Use of Cultural Factors in Storytelling in Digital Advertising: The Case of Turkey Gülay Öztürk İstanbul Commerce University, Turkey