Is your brand story beautifully memorable (or instantly forgettable)?
“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.”
– Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal
Never underestimate the power of a good story, something that effective marketers and canny politicians intuitively understand. In essence, a good story tells us simple truths about a complex world and shows us a way to navigate through various obstacles and challenges. Read The Little Prince or Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to a child and watch how their eyes light up. We adults are just as susceptible. Have you been hooked by a cable TV drama into binge-watching for an entire weekend?
Consumer brands have long used vivid storytelling to pluck the heartstrings or fire the imagination. Think of Apple, Coca-Cola or Nike and we can’t help but summon up a host of potent images and narratives that multi-million-dollar ad campaigns have planted in our minds. So often the dominant brands have captured the high ground as much through the power of their advertising as the superiority of their products.
Ask yourself why you favour BMW over Audi, Rolex over Omega, Chanel over Christian Dior (or vice versa!). They’re all great products offering comparable performance at a similar price. If you have a clear preference, it likely stems from whichever advertising has most effectively pushed your buttons.
Why should B2C brands have all the fun?
Must storytelling be confined to consumer goods and services? Surely B2B brands, especially those competing in cluttered sectors such as hedge funds, legal services or fintech, could use this proven communication tool to get an edge? After all, institutional investors are just shoppers faced with an abundance of choices in a noisy marketplace. Why not make it easy for them by giving your product a simple and compelling storyline.
When building a brand story, you should begin with the people you most want to influence. Who are they and what are they keenly looking for? Accurately defining your target audience is crucial. Is it a homogenous group or a series of very different audiences that will each require tailored messaging?
Who are your main competitors and why should an investor choose you over them? What is your killer edge and why should they believe this – your experience, calibre of personnel, track record, technical specs…?
For example, if you’re a fund making a presentation, will your pitchbook wow them with a unique and compelling investment thesis? Or stupefy them with unconnected and unnecessary detail?
Make it easy for your audience
Too often we work with clients who want to highlight what they’re most proud about or impressed by – rather than what the prospective buyer, investor, or client is looking for.
No matter how sophisticated and dispassionate your audience appear, they’re shopping around for a simple, credible and captivating story. Don’t forget, they in turn will likely have to justify their reason for choosing your product, fund or service over all the others to their stakeholders – who in turn will also be looking for a good story.
In our experience, the clearer, truer and well-formulated your brand story, the easier it will be to shape all your other communications and the more they will resonate.