Stories are Spells: Marketing Lessons from a Magician with Jimi Gibson
“If you're not leaning into your own abracadabra, you're leaving your competitive advantage on the table.”
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What if storytelling wasn’t just about clever hooks or flashy content—but instead about casting spells that transform how people feel and act?
In this episode, Rain sits down with Jimi Gibson, a marketing strategist, TEDx speaker, and lifelong magician, to explore the deep parallels between magic and storytelling. Jimi shares how the neuroscience behind awe, attention, and trust can be reverse-engineered into any brand message or business interaction.
He even performs a mind-blowing magic trick live on the show—proving firsthand how story structure mirrors a magic trick’s setup, curiosity, and climax.
Whether you’re a founder, marketer, or content creator, this episode reveals how to tap into your own “abracadabra” and use it to spark genuine human connection.
In the episode, you will learn to:
See storytelling as a biological sequence of connection, curiosity, and closure
Use the magician’s mindset to build anticipation and deliver transformation
Apply the three-part structure of a magic trick to your content and copywriting
Translate your personal quirks into brand authenticity and visibility
Reframe timing as a tool for trust—not just attention
“If you're not leaning into your own abracadabra, you're leaving your competitive advantage on the table.”
- Jimi Gibson
If you want to learn how to find your own magic in a way that attracts and delights an engaged audience, this is the episode for you!
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-storytelling-lab/
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Some of the highlights of the episode:
00:00 – Words as Spells, Storytelling as Magic
01:14 – Welcome to The Storytelling Lab: Introducing Jimi Gibson
03:00 – Why He Changed the Spelling of “Jimi” and What It Signaled
05:08 – From Class Clown to Professional Magician
08:42 – Performing 50+ Shows a Year While Building an Ad Career
10:24 – How Magic and Marketing Share the Same Structure
11:47 – Embracing Your Unique “Abracadabra”
13:31 – Why Businesses Struggle to Show Their Real Selves
15:18 – How AI and Algorithms Are Forcing Us Back to PR
17:58 – Becoming the Face of Thrive Agency’s Brand Story
20:03 – What It Takes to Tell a Thousand Stories for a Thousand Clients
21:48 – A Framework for Onboarding Small Business Clients
23:30 – The Hero, The Guide, and The Business Pain Point
25:04 – The Magic Trick: A Journey Into Rain’s Mind
32:36 – Breaking Down the Trick: Connection, Curiosity, Closure
35:20 – What Marketing Can Learn from Magic
36:58 – Curiosity vs. Clarity: The Dopamine Equation
40:10 – “What If” Messaging and the Power of Imagination
41:43 – There Are Only 13 Magic Effects—Just Like Story Arcs
43:54 – Why “Show, Don’t Tell” Actually Works
45:20 – Storytelling Timing in Social Media vs. Live Performance
47:16 – Learning to Talk to One Person, Not the Crowd
49:10 – How to Start with Connection Instead of Cliché
51:30 – Final Thoughts on Magic, Messaging, and Making People Feel
As always, I hope you enjoy the episode!
Rain
Follow Jimi on:
Or visit the Thrive website HERE!
For more storytelling tips and tricks,
Visit my website rainbennett.com, or
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