The big deal with brand storytelling
Branding
•
Apr 12, 2024
Every good brand has a story. It’s the key to carving out your brand’s identity in a noisy market, and it’s the reason why a customer would pull the trigger in purchasing your product or service. Here’s a guide to what a compelling brand narrative is.
It’s not about you.
So many businesses have the misconception that a brand story is about them, that it’s some Marvel origin-story about the founder or their superhero product. A brand message, a truly good one, is client-centric — an outcome or feeling your product inspires in your customer. For Coca Cola, it’s a story of happiness and refreshment (tssss— ah!); for Nike, the famous “Just Do It” tagline tells a story of motivation and athletic performance. It should inspire, drive change, and get people excited.
It’s selling them a vision.
A client-centric brand message is about understanding the audience, their journey with all its challenges and triumphs, and bringing it to life.
Many entrepreneurs, particularly tech-based ones, get caught up in the details of their product. While talking about compliance test results and groundbreaking circuits may be effective for a board of engineers, we need to zoom out a bit when talking to customers. Sell them the Big Dream – what pain is it alleviating? Maybe it’s about making life better for their kids, maybe it’s about returning from work and relishing in the smell of a clean home. Whatever it is, relate to your customer by solving a problem that is close to their hearts.
It’s something hardwired into us as humans.
Throughout history, we’re drawn to the power of stories. It’s the way we’ve passed on knowledge and experiences between generations – words around a fire, in song, in letters – in art. People inherently remember stories more than a single statistic, emotion more than data. Remember, how you communicate it matters (we call that the brand voice, or tone of voice) – is it whimsical and calming? Is it bold, daring and powerful? Leverage that human ability and tell a story your customers can resonate and remember.
Visual design plays a significant part.
We often say “show, don’t tell” with great examples of movie-making, the same principles apply here. Designers are equipped with an arsenal of tools that speak to your audience – typography, colour, iconography, layout to name a few. Now, we won’t go into nerdy detail about why that flick on the letter ‘y’ differs meaningfully from another font, but the ability to derive meaning is innate even if you’re 9 years old or 80. It’s the beauty of understanding the genre and plot of a movie just by looking at the poster – design tells a narrative that transcends language.
To sum it all up, a brand story is the cornerstone of an effective customer-centric brand strategy. It builds rapport by resonating with what matters to your customers, often by solving a pain point and embodying the positive experiences of your brand. If done right, a powerful brand narrative can even outlive your product or service and contribute to a wider, cultural conversation about the world we live in, it can define a generation.
What story do you want to tell the world?
Every good brand has a story. It’s the key to carving out your brand’s identity in a noisy market, and it’s the reason why a customer would pull the trigger in purchasing your product or service. Here’s a guide to what a compelling brand narrative is.
It’s not about you.
So many businesses have the misconception that a brand story is about them, that it’s some Marvel origin-story about the founder or their superhero product. A brand message, a truly good one, is client-centric — an outcome or feeling your product inspires in your customer. For Coca Cola, it’s a story of happiness and refreshment (tssss— ah!); for Nike, the famous “Just Do It” tagline tells a story of motivation and athletic performance. It should inspire, drive change, and get people excited.
It’s selling them a vision.
A client-centric brand message is about understanding the audience, their journey with all its challenges and triumphs, and bringing it to life.
Many entrepreneurs, particularly tech-based ones, get caught up in the details of their product. While talking about compliance test results and groundbreaking circuits may be effective for a board of engineers, we need to zoom out a bit when talking to customers. Sell them the Big Dream – what pain is it alleviating? Maybe it’s about making life better for their kids, maybe it’s about returning from work and relishing in the smell of a clean home. Whatever it is, relate to your customer by solving a problem that is close to their hearts.
It’s something hardwired into us as humans.
Throughout history, we’re drawn to the power of stories. It’s the way we’ve passed on knowledge and experiences between generations – words around a fire, in song, in letters – in art. People inherently remember stories more than a single statistic, emotion more than data. Remember, how you communicate it matters (we call that the brand voice, or tone of voice) – is it whimsical and calming? Is it bold, daring and powerful? Leverage that human ability and tell a story your customers can resonate and remember.
Visual design plays a significant part.
We often say “show, don’t tell” with great examples of movie-making, the same principles apply here. Designers are equipped with an arsenal of tools that speak to your audience – typography, colour, iconography, layout to name a few. Now, we won’t go into nerdy detail about why that flick on the letter ‘y’ differs meaningfully from another font, but the ability to derive meaning is innate even if you’re 9 years old or 80. It’s the beauty of understanding the genre and plot of a movie just by looking at the poster – design tells a narrative that transcends language.
To sum it all up, a brand story is the cornerstone of an effective customer-centric brand strategy. It builds rapport by resonating with what matters to your customers, often by solving a pain point and embodying the positive experiences of your brand. If done right, a powerful brand narrative can even outlive your product or service and contribute to a wider, cultural conversation about the world we live in, it can define a generation.
What story do you want to tell the world?
Every good brand has a story. It’s the key to carving out your brand’s identity in a noisy market, and it’s the reason why a customer would pull the trigger in purchasing your product or service. Here’s a guide to what a compelling brand narrative is.
It’s not about you.
So many businesses have the misconception that a brand story is about them, that it’s some Marvel origin-story about the founder or their superhero product. A brand message, a truly good one, is client-centric — an outcome or feeling your product inspires in your customer. For Coca Cola, it’s a story of happiness and refreshment (tssss— ah!); for Nike, the famous “Just Do It” tagline tells a story of motivation and athletic performance. It should inspire, drive change, and get people excited.
It’s selling them a vision.
A client-centric brand message is about understanding the audience, their journey with all its challenges and triumphs, and bringing it to life.
Many entrepreneurs, particularly tech-based ones, get caught up in the details of their product. While talking about compliance test results and groundbreaking circuits may be effective for a board of engineers, we need to zoom out a bit when talking to customers. Sell them the Big Dream – what pain is it alleviating? Maybe it’s about making life better for their kids, maybe it’s about returning from work and relishing in the smell of a clean home. Whatever it is, relate to your customer by solving a problem that is close to their hearts.
It’s something hardwired into us as humans.
Throughout history, we’re drawn to the power of stories. It’s the way we’ve passed on knowledge and experiences between generations – words around a fire, in song, in letters – in art. People inherently remember stories more than a single statistic, emotion more than data. Remember, how you communicate it matters (we call that the brand voice, or tone of voice) – is it whimsical and calming? Is it bold, daring and powerful? Leverage that human ability and tell a story your customers can resonate and remember.
Visual design plays a significant part.
We often say “show, don’t tell” with great examples of movie-making, the same principles apply here. Designers are equipped with an arsenal of tools that speak to your audience – typography, colour, iconography, layout to name a few. Now, we won’t go into nerdy detail about why that flick on the letter ‘y’ differs meaningfully from another font, but the ability to derive meaning is innate even if you’re 9 years old or 80. It’s the beauty of understanding the genre and plot of a movie just by looking at the poster – design tells a narrative that transcends language.
To sum it all up, a brand story is the cornerstone of an effective customer-centric brand strategy. It builds rapport by resonating with what matters to your customers, often by solving a pain point and embodying the positive experiences of your brand. If done right, a powerful brand narrative can even outlive your product or service and contribute to a wider, cultural conversation about the world we live in, it can define a generation.
What story do you want to tell the world?
Every good brand has a story. It’s the key to carving out your brand’s identity in a noisy market, and it’s the reason why a customer would pull the trigger in purchasing your product or service. Here’s a guide to what a compelling brand narrative is.
It’s not about you.
So many businesses have the misconception that a brand story is about them, that it’s some Marvel origin-story about the founder or their superhero product. A brand message, a truly good one, is client-centric — an outcome or feeling your product inspires in your customer. For Coca Cola, it’s a story of happiness and refreshment (tssss— ah!); for Nike, the famous “Just Do It” tagline tells a story of motivation and athletic performance. It should inspire, drive change, and get people excited.
It’s selling them a vision.
A client-centric brand message is about understanding the audience, their journey with all its challenges and triumphs, and bringing it to life.
Many entrepreneurs, particularly tech-based ones, get caught up in the details of their product. While talking about compliance test results and groundbreaking circuits may be effective for a board of engineers, we need to zoom out a bit when talking to customers. Sell them the Big Dream – what pain is it alleviating? Maybe it’s about making life better for their kids, maybe it’s about returning from work and relishing in the smell of a clean home. Whatever it is, relate to your customer by solving a problem that is close to their hearts.
It’s something hardwired into us as humans.
Throughout history, we’re drawn to the power of stories. It’s the way we’ve passed on knowledge and experiences between generations – words around a fire, in song, in letters – in art. People inherently remember stories more than a single statistic, emotion more than data. Remember, how you communicate it matters (we call that the brand voice, or tone of voice) – is it whimsical and calming? Is it bold, daring and powerful? Leverage that human ability and tell a story your customers can resonate and remember.
Visual design plays a significant part.
We often say “show, don’t tell” with great examples of movie-making, the same principles apply here. Designers are equipped with an arsenal of tools that speak to your audience – typography, colour, iconography, layout to name a few. Now, we won’t go into nerdy detail about why that flick on the letter ‘y’ differs meaningfully from another font, but the ability to derive meaning is innate even if you’re 9 years old or 80. It’s the beauty of understanding the genre and plot of a movie just by looking at the poster – design tells a narrative that transcends language.
To sum it all up, a brand story is the cornerstone of an effective customer-centric brand strategy. It builds rapport by resonating with what matters to your customers, often by solving a pain point and embodying the positive experiences of your brand. If done right, a powerful brand narrative can even outlive your product or service and contribute to a wider, cultural conversation about the world we live in, it can define a generation.