As you can see, I write better than I speak. Let me expound on my thoughts on brand storytelling here. As I said, I think today’s consumer wants to feel connected to brands. They want to see how a brand fits into their lives and how their life fits with the brand. They want to engage with a brand, not just consume or use the brand. I love writing stories for brands looking to enhance their marketability.
Humans feel connected when they relate to a product or service. When we feel the same emotion, understand the same theory or experience the same event, we connect on a gut level. Have you seen those AirBnB commercials lately with the classic music and the photos of happy people on vacation? And the tagline “Made possible by hosts…..” Don’t they make you remember happy vacations from your past? And don’t they make you want to go on vacation again, this time at an AirBnB? The commercials are tapping into our need to connect with others, see new places, experience new things, and remember happy times, all at once. And those connections inspire us to something to feel those things again.
The commercials tell a story of a family or friends on vacation. And we see ourselves in that story with our own family and friends. That is good brand storytelling. It’s promoting your brand and selling your product or service by connecting to consumers through a story. It’s not a list of features and benefits in which the brand is saving the day for the customer. It’s telling a story in which those features and benefits are woven into the narrative. And the hero is the customer, not the brand.
A story has a beginning, middle and end. It has a hero, a conflict or question, and a resolution. All of these elements are important in brand storytelling. The AirBnB commercials follow the classic story arc. The music starts, the hero (the vacationers standing in for the viewer) arrive at their AirBnB, the hosts leave a note saying “have a great time!” (will they???), through beautiful candid photos we see the heroes do have a great time, and they leave a happy “thank you” note for the hosts. The music ends with the AirBnB logo and the viewer is left wishing it was their family in the story and wondering how to make it happen. It’s wonderful and effective brand storytelling at it’s very best.
I love writing brand stories for my clients. The challenge is finding that connection between the brand and the customer. Sometimes it’s easy, like AirBnB, but sometimes it takes some work to uncover. The best way to find it is through asking existing customers. They are your best source of inspiration for all kinds of marketing including ad messaging, testimonials, marketing campaigns, and brand stories. I don’t think enough brands tap into this essential marketing resource. Anyway, I usually ask to hear from customers if a client needs to find that connection point with their customers.
Once you have that connection point, the story tends to write itself. As long as the product or service is good and the connection point is authentic, you’ve got the makings for a great story that will uplift and enhance any brand. And I’m here to help make that happen.
