We’re all made of stories. When they finally put us underground, the stories are what will go on.
Charles de Lint
In a world where we sometimes struggle to standout, telling our unique story is a way to engage our audience. What lies behind your brand story is your unique reason why you exist.
To capture the imagination and emotions of your audience your brand storytelling needs to be gripping and exceptional.
Storytelling is an art which requires a certain learning curve and natural skill enhancement. When we are children we our influenced by our reading and other media and we rarely struggle at storytelling. As we age we loose practice and sometimes forget how natural storytelling is to us.
So when we want to tell our brand story we sometimes struggle to tell it. I have a number of areas I consider when telling stories that I have learnt over the years, which include:
Simplicity
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
Confucius
We need to know our own brand story before we can share with others. We first need to take time to understand our own story and make sure it is consistent with the way others in our organization understand our brand story.
Over time our brand story will have evolved and we may have lost sight of our unique story. We need to consult others in the organization to reformulate our evolved brand story.
The story must be a simple tale easily understood by everyone who hears it and be compatible with media we will use to tell it. I use what I call the “child test” which is can an average 10 year old understand it.
Inspirational
Branding is not merely about differentiating products; it is about striking emotional chords with consumers. It is about cultivating identity, attachment, and trust to inspire customer loyalty.
Nirmalya Kumar
This is a catchall phrase I use to mean it must be of interest to my potential audience. Sounds obvious, however the Internet is peppered with dull, uninspiring, boring and nondescript brand stories.
Remember the subject matter is not what defines interest in storytelling it is how the story is told. A well told story about the contents of a fridge could be compelling if well told. There is always an audience that wants to hear about a particular subject. You just need to captivate them with your storytelling.
Humor, personalization and structure are bedrocks of good storytelling, you do however need a special hook to draw your audience in. Unusual hooks in marketing campaigns include Volkswagens star war reference and Coco Cola allowing personalization of individual bottle labels. They work because they capture our imagination and hook us.
Organisation
People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.
Steven Spielberg
When we were children we knew that ”once upon a time” signaled the start of a story and “happily ever after” signaled the end. We were familiar with the story telling structure and it conformed to a particular type of story. The story met our legitimate expectations. Just because we “have all grownup” does not mean we don’t still expect our stories to have structures.
At is very simplest our brand story should have a beginning, middle and end. Our brand story is about leading our audience to a “call to action” not loosing them somewhere along the way because our story is to confusing.
Remember the last time you went to cinema and were totally perplexed by a confusing ending. The feeling of confusion tainted an otherwise enjoyable experience. As a brand we need to ensure our story is well structured and does not confuse the audience, as this will make them unlikely to complete our “call to action”.
Personality
I try to build a full personality for each of our cartoon characters – to make them personalities.
Walt Disney
It can be difficult to portray the personality of your brand. You need to find the brands voice so that the brand can stand out online. Storytelling is one of the best ways I know to inject personality into your brand. Using the appropriate tone and approach a brand can show their personality through storytelling.
Brands that have successfully done this include Dove, Red Bull, Go Pro and Apple. Once you are aware of your brand personality you use storytelling to reflect personality. Audiences want to know why you are unique and by demonstrating your personality through storytelling you help them engage with your brand.
Response
The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.
Herbert Spencer
When a brand tells its story it is looking for a response. No brand can afford to create content that serves no purpose. The story requires a response at some level even if it is only to promote the brands image in the audiences mind.
If your brand story leaves your audience not knowing what response you wished to elicit your marketing effort has failed.
You must know exactly what response your story needs to elicit and structure the story accordingly.
We have learned from and told stories for over 40,000 years. They have become one of the most powerful mediums for imparting knowledge and gaining peoples trust. Story telling has the ability to inject personality into your brand. Using a simple well-structured tale you can tap into one the most powerful marketing tools available.
Matching your brands stories to the media formats currently available gives you the ability to engage your existing and potential customers alike.